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HD COLOR BIT DEPTH
I am creating a gfx package in HD 720p and will be rendering to FCP uncompressed 4:2:2. What color bit depth should I be working in inside AE8?
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2 Replies
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16-bit. 8-bit is ok for most low-end work, but these days the use of gradients, clean lines etc. dictate that 16-bit is the best choice. Just be aware that the files you render from AE will only be 8-bit even when your project is 16-bit. Not a problem, but some people expect the rendered files to be 16-bit as well, and it doesn’t work that way.
Only bother with 32-bit if you have very high end HDR-type needs, or want to squeeze some extra realism out of your effects such as blurs, etc. They composite a little better/more realistically in 32-bit, but the slow down in workflow is not usually worth it for average use.
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[beenyweenies] “Just be aware that the files you render from AE will only be 8-bit even when your project is 16-bit…”
… unless you render to a 10-bit codec. But unless you output that 10-bit file to something like Digibeta through SDI, it’s quite likely that your final output will eventually be 8-bit, as beenyweenies wrote.
Now sometimes, working in 16-bit then rendering to a 10-bit intermediate file anyway can preserve quality even when the job will end up in 8-bit. Hey, do some tests. 🙂
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