Hello, first post and first problem. I read through some other posts for a solution first.
I included a photo I put together with settings and results. I am having issues importing EXR file exported from After Effects back in to Resolve.
Once I apply the ACES Import Transform the image gets dark and bad. But when I import the same EXR image back in to After Effects, that I had just exported and apply the ACEScct, it looks fine. What am I missing? Why is Resolve not handling the file correctly, or what am I doing wrong? Thanks!
@Lars welcome. Hopefully we can help get you an answer.
Because it was your first post, it doesn’t look like the system let through your image. Could you try adding it as an edit or as a reply to this post?
A few things I need clarified before we can figure out what’s going on.
You say your are trying to bring an EXR from AE into Resolve. What is the original source of the EXR? Do you know the color space of the embedded image data (is it linear ACES2065-1?, Rec709, what?)
I presume you mean Input Transform.
Is this in Resolve that you are applying an Input Transform? Which one? If you are exporting an ACES2065 EXR from AE, then you don’t need an Input Transform because the data is already an ACES EXR.
Did you have any Output Transforms applied for your display? If not, the preview in Resolve will not look “correct”. You can apply this in the project color management settings when selecting ACEScct as your working space, or manually by applying an “ACES Transform” DCTL.
This might also indicate that your configuration of AE isn’t properly set up. It is working for you in a closed system but is not exporting the correct encoding in the EXR to make it interchange as intended. This is all speculation which we wont be able to answer until I know the answers to the previous questions.
We can probably figure this out, just need a little more information first.
Hi Scott, Thanks for pointing that out. It was my fault for posting and forgetting to attach. Not sure if it would have prevented me, being my first post or not. I hope the image is clear as to what my issue is.
In general you should have the following colorspaces at several points in the pipe.
Camera media: raw or camera log encoding space
Resolve - color grading working space: ACEScct
After Effects compositing working space: ACEScg (using OCIO)
ACES media interchange in linear EXRs: ACES2065-1 (AP0 Linear)
Resolve’s color space tags on delivery do not actually dictate the output space for such exports. To properly export ACES interchange files in EXR you need to set your ACES Output Transform to No Output Transform which is Resolve’s way of saying ACES2065-1. This is the AP0/Linear color space which is the ACES expected space for interchange. I would also recommend to disable the Apply ACES reference gamut compression in the project settings before you export your plates. If you’d like to have it baked in instead, make sure that when it comes back in Resolve, you disable it for that specific clip in the right-click context menu of the media to prevent doubling it.
Regarding EXR itself it is not recommended to store log encoded data in that container because it is not optimized for it. If for whatever reason you have such needs dpx or other 10-16bit int image sequence formats would be more suited.
When exporting from After Effects, the output color setting should be set to ACES2065-1 just like the initial export from Resolve.
Make sure the file in AE is being interpreted as ACES2065-1 and also the exported one that you take back to Resolve. Hope that helps.
Your Resolve project is set to convert your footage to BT.1886 . This means your final export is display-referred , not scene-referred. Even though the Delivery page tag typically labels an image, it won’t perform any further conversion in this scenario. Since EXRs don’t carry color space tags, this particular setting on the Delivery page is irrelevant.
Alternatively , you could use node based color management to remove a lot of the guessing. If not , you would need to set your project settings to output Linear AP0 , but you would need to change that when you get the files back from After Effects
Looks like I came to the right place. Let me make revisions to my set ups and let you know my findings. It seemed like the only issue I had was coming full circle back to Resolve, but you guys have pointed out other steps that may cause issues. Let me test with you advised adjustments and report back. Thanks you.
Question… You say to shut off the BT.1886 from the project settings for the ACES Output Transform when I export the footage out of Resolve, but I should leave it on otherwise so I am working in the correct color space as my external monitor, right?
Yes, that’s right . Again i think the best would be to use manual node based DavinciYRGB color management , instead of automatic. You can still use ACES in that mode if that’s what you want
Looks like I got it working round trip now. I did some color correction first in Resolve. Then shut off the Output Transform and exported as exr. In After Effects it imported as 2065-1 automatically, I use to set this to ACEScct since that was the color space I was working in in Resolve, but now set it to ACEScg, which worked. I didn’t do any work in AE, I just wanted to test the output. so I just made sure in the AE output module that the Preserve RGB checkbox was checked. Back in Resolve I assigned the input transform to ACEScg and it looked good / matched the version I had on the timeline.
I am not sure why if I am working in Resolve in ACEScct why I would need to switch to ACEScg in After Effects and just not keep ACEScct all the way back to Resolve? But it looks like with your guys help, I was able to figure it out. Thanks!
