I need to know the best way to send video to After Effects. Here's the set up: I make a Quick Time from my sequence using the Animation setting in Quick Time and send it to the graphics guy. He makes his effect and send it back to me. When I put it into the AVID the video quality is down. It looks washed out, like generation loss in the old days. Can someone please tell me the specific settings for sending video from AVID and back from AE?
Re: AVID to After Effects by Sam Zimman on Aug 20, 2008 at 1:16:17 pm
It has to do with the 601/RGB conversion. You should be importing it with the 601 color space setting. Do a test with some color bars or a ramp. RGB black is R0,G0,B0 and white is R255,G255,B255. 601 is R16,G16,B16 and R235,G235,B235.
What I normally do is output my QTs from the Avid with the RGB color space setting. This pushes the blacks down to zero and the whites up to 255. I bring that file into AE and do all my work. After the render I import with the 601 color space setting and the Avid brings black back to 16 and white back to 235.
Now I know that the new AE has color management settings so there may be a way to work in AE in 601 color space. This would be ideal because you could export same as source, do your AE work, render with the Avid codec, and then import (with the RGB setting i guess?) and there would never be a 601/RGB conversion.
Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge will weigh in on this thread and spell out the best way to work with the Avid Meridian 1:1 codec and the DNxHD codecs when it comes to AE and colorspace.
Re: AVID to After Effects by Gary Hazen on Aug 20, 2008 at 1:43:48 pm
The only thing I would add to Sam's post is to tell your graphics guy to install the Avid codecs (Meridien and DNxHD). They can be downloaded from Avid's site.
AE's new colorspace management is a good addition to the program, but it's easy to muck things up if you're not careful.
Re: AVID to After Effects by Kevin Downer on Aug 20, 2008 at 6:15:27 pm
Yes, this has always been an obtuse and confusing workflow for Avid.
I also export RGB as well. The only problem is while it matches the digital-file colour space in AE and FCP, it also clips anything over or below those levels. So if you export something that has not been colour balanced, you might lose information.
Also, if you mix your YUV export with image files in RGB in AE and then export, your levels get messed up unless you have a workspace designations for each file.
As mentioned, make sure you import as YUV into Avid no matter what the colour space. Again, Avid just figures it out and the RGB import option just slows the process down (even though it seems correct for an RGB file to choose that option: ARGH!).
Confused yet? I do not mean to seem hot under the collar but Avid's methodology has remained a confusing, arcane art for too long.
Avid, by maintaining backwards compatibility, seems doomed to their unique methods that do not match any other application but their own. If they just explained the workflow in their manual it might help, but for some reason they fail to do so. There is no excuse for this continual omission, resulting in frustrating editors and graphics designers for years.
