Utility effects

Third-party effects:

• CC Overbrights effect

Apply the Apply Color LUT effect to a layer to transform the colors of the layer according to a color lookup table (LUT). LUTs are sometimes used to perform manual color correction or color management tasks.

This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.

When you apply the effect, you are prompted to choose a .3dl or .cube LUT file. You can also change the LUT loaded into an instance of the Apply Color LUT effect by clicking Choose LUT in the effect’s controls.

The Apply Color LUT effect can use .3dl files with floating-point values or 3DMESH/Mesh keywords, or those saved from an ASSIMILATE SCRATCH system (i.e., that have SCRATCH in the comments at the top of the file). Overrange IRIDAS .cube files, IRIDAS .look files, and cineSpace .csp files are also supported.

A LUT can be visualized as a three-dimensional coordinate system (a 3D cube), with each axis representing color transformations for the range of all values for a color channel. Points along each axis define the color transformations for each color channel. After Effects can read and use 3D LUTs that have all three axes the same length (same number of points), with each axis containing 64 or fewer points. For example, After Effects can read and use a 17x17x17 3D LUT.

Cineon Converter effect

The Cineon Converter effect provides a high degree of control over color conversions of Cineon frames, but in most cases you should convert the colors in a Cineon file using color management features. (See Cineon and DPX footage items.)

This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.

To use the Cineon Converter effect, import a Cineon file and leave it in its default state; After Effects either condenses the colors to 8 bpc or expands them to 16 bpc or 32 bpc, depending on the mode you work in. You can then apply the Cineon Converter effect to the file and precisely adjust the colors while interactively viewing the results in the Composition panel. You can set keyframes or expressions to adjust for changes in tone over time—use keyframe interpolation and ease handles to precisely match the most irregular lighting changes. Consider using other Color Correction effects to perform these corrections instead. (See Color Correction effects.)

The 10 bits of data available in each Cineon channel for each pixel make it easier to enhance an important range of tones while preserving overall tonal balance. By carefully specifying the range, you can create a version of the image that faithfully resembles the original.

How the Cineon file is converted. Log To Linear converts an 8-bpc logarithmic non-Cineon layer that you plan to render as a Cineon sequence. Linear To Log converts a layer containing an 8-bpc linear proxy of a Cineon file into an 8-bpc logarithmic file so that its display characteristics are consistent with the original Cineon file. Log To Log detects an 8-bpc or 10-bpc logarithmic Cineon file when you plan to render it as an 8-bpc logarithmic proxy.

The black point (minimum density) for converting a 10-bpc logarithmic Cineon layer.

The black point used for the layer in After Effects.

The white point (maximum density) for converting a 10-bpc logarithmic Cineon layer.

The white point used for the layer in After Effects.

Increase or decrease Gamma to lighten or darken midtones, respectively.

The rolloff value used to correct bright highlights. If adjusting the brightest areas makes the rest of the image appear too dark, use Highlight Rolloff to adjust these bright highlights. If highlights appear as white blotches, increase Highlight Rolloff until details are visible. An image with high contrast may require a high rolloff value.

Color Profile Converter effect

The Color Profile Converter effect converts a layer from one color space to another by specifying input and output profiles.

In most cases, you should use automatic color management features to convert from one color space to another, rather than using the Color Profile Converter to manually do the conversions. (See Color management.)

The profiles you select are embedded in the project, so you can use them even if you transfer the project to a computer that doesn’t have the same profiles. When converting from one color space to another, you can specify how After Effects handles the color conversion by selecting a rendering intent. You can also choose whether to linearize the input or output profile.

This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.

To convert the color profile of the layer, select a color profile from the Input Profile menu. Select Project Working Space to use the profile specified in the project settings (File > Project Settings). To linearize the input profile, select the Linearize Input Profile option. Then select an output profile from the Output Profile menu. To linearize the output profile, select the Linearize Output Profile. In the Intent menu, select a rendering intent.

Rendering intent options determine how source colors are adjusted. For example, colors that fall inside the destination gamut may remain unchanged, or they may be adjusted to preserve the original range of visual relationships when translated to a smaller destination gamut.

The result of choosing a rendering intent depends on the graphical content of an image and on the profiles used to specify color spaces. Some profiles produce identical results for different rendering intents.

When specifying a rendering intent, you can choose to use black point compression. Black point compression ensures that the shadow detail in the image is preserved by simulating the full dynamic range of the output device.

The following rendering intents are available for the Color Profile Converter effect:

Attempts to preserve the visual relationship between colors so it’s perceived as natural to the human eye, even though the color values themselves may change. This intent is suitable for images with many of out-of-gamut colors.

Attempts to produce vivid colors in an image at the expense of color accuracy. This rendering intent is suitable for images, such as graphic logos, in which bright saturated colors are more important than the exact relationship between colors.

Compares the extreme highlight of the source color space to the extreme highlight of the destination color space and shifts all colors accordingly. Out-of-gamut colors are shifted to the closest reproducible color in the destination color space. This rendering intent preserves more of the original colors in an image than Perceptual. This rendering intent is used by default throughout After Effects.

Leaves colors that fall inside the destination gamut unchanged. Out-of-gamut colors are clipped. No scaling of colors to the destination white point is performed. This intent aims to maintain color accuracy at the expense of preserving relationships between colors.

Use the Scene-ref. Profile Compensation control to determine whether each instance of the Color Profile Converter effect compensates for scene-referred profiles:

Compensates for scene-referred profiles.

Doesn’t compensate for scene-referred profiles.

Uses the setting indicated by the project’s Compensate For Scene-referred Profiles option.

For an explanation of scene-referred profiles, see System gamma, device gamma, and the difference between scene and viewing environment.

On his fnord website, Brendan Bolles explains how to use the Color Profile Converter effect and film color profiles to adjust colors and perform tone mapping to make an HDR image appear as if it were shot on motion picture film.

Grow Bounds effect

The Grow Bounds effect increases the layer size for the effect that directly follows it. This effect is most useful with layers that have Collapse Transformations / Continuously Rasterize enabled, because they render using a buffer that’s the size of the composition. For example, if you apply Drop Shadow to a text layer that’s partially out of the composition frame, the shadow is clipped because only the portion of the text that’s in the composition frame casts a shadow. Applying the Grow Bounds effect before the Drop Shadow effect prevents the shadow from being cut off. The number of pixels you specify increases the height and width of the layer buffer.

This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.

HDR Compander effect

The HDR Compander (compressor/expander) effect gives you a way to work with tools that don’t support high-dynamic-range color—such as 8-bpc and 16-bpc effects—without sacrificing the high dynamic range of footage.

The HDR Compander effect works by first compressing the highlight values in the HDR image so that they fall within the range of an 8-bpc or 16-bpc (low-dynamic-range) image, and then expanding the values back to the 32-bpc range.

Apply the HDR Compander effect to a layer once in the effect stack above low-dynamic-range effects, and once below low-dynamic-range effects.

Because the first instance of the HDR Compander effect compresses the range of values through sampling, some precision is lost. For this reason, use the HDR Compander effect only if you accept the tradeoff of some precision in values for the sake of high dynamic range.

This effect works with 8-bpc, 16-bpc, and 32-bpc color.

Apply the HDR Compander effect

HDR Highlight Compression effect

The HDR Highlight Compression effect compresses the color values in a high -dynamic-range image so that they fall within the value range of a low-dynamic-range image.

Adjust the amount of compression by setting the Amount property for the effect. If the Amount value is set to 100%, color values are compressed so that no pixel has any channel value outside the low dynamic range of 0.0–1.0. At Amount settings less than 100%, the effect can still bring some detail into the visible range from highlight and shadow regions.