Re: Helpful tips on common color problems in AE

[Chris Wright] "16 bpc is definetely enough for SD but not HD color correcting. Try HD in 16. eww."

I'm confused as to what the difference here is. Please explain further? I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the different resolution, so is it an issue with the HDTV color profile? What is the issue exactly?

[Chris Wright] "As for Linearizing color, it blends color correctly so that you don't get color artifacts. You only have to worry about this if your using high-contrast, saturated colors of widely different layers."

It blends color linearly as it would be blended in the real world. I wouldn't say there's necessarily anything inherently 'incorrect' in blending gamma corrected colors. I'd say it's definitely more of a matter of the demands of your project. Linear profiles are advisable for film projects and projects in which you're attempting to more accurately emulate 'real world' optics effects such as lens filters. I definitely would not say that you will never get color artifacts however. And you really must work in at least 16bpc (32bpc preferred) with a linearized profile or you will get terrible color artifacts. Otherwise there aren't enough code values to fully represent the darker colors that the human eye is more sensitive to.

Darby Edelen
Lead Designer
Left Coast Digital
Santa Cruz, CA