Setting up AE cs4

[Loyd Bateman]

Does anyone know how best I can setup AE cs4 so when I open my r3d files they look like they do in redcine instead of like washed out cineon files?? 32bit float, gamma, rec709 etc???? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[D Fuller]

First, be sure you have updated to Adobe After Effects CS4 9.0.2 and that you have the RED CS4 plugin loaded.

1. In Project Settings, either turn color management off (select Working Space: None) or select the color space you need to work in. (DO NOT turn on color management unless you are using a monitor that you have profiled with a hardware profiling device.) DO NOT check "linearize working space" or "blend colors using 1.0 gamma" DO check "compensate for scene-related profiles". Bit depth doesn't come into play here. Your monitor will probably not allow you to see the difference between 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit. That setting will come into play when you composite or color-grade a shot.)

2. Interpret the footage. With the RED CS4 plugin loaded, there will be a button in the lower left corner of the "Interpret Footage" window that says "More Options". Click it. "RED R3D Source Settings" similar to Red Alert will appear. There is a "Preset" drop-down menu at the upper left of this window that has "As Shot" as one of its choices. That'll give you the settings the camera was set to, or you can adjust them (like RED Alert) and save the settings as a new preset.

3. Color Management. If you have turned color management on in the project settings, then after you get done with the R3D Settings, click the "Color Management" tab in the "Interpret Footage" window and select the color space you want After Effects to display the footage in (most likely the same as the one you are using in the project settings) and make sure "Interpret as Linear Light" is Off.

4. Remember Interpretation and apply it to like scenes. It will remember the R3D settings as well as the color management stuff, so this tedious process gets a lot less cumbersome.

This should get you pretty close. However, you won't get exactly the same results as RED Alert or RED Cine if you are using build 20 or 21, because there is no support in the CS4 plugin for the new color science. The CS4 plugin only supports up to build 18. How bad is that? You'll have to judge for yourself. For my part, it's been 4 months now since the release of build 20, and it's really starting to piss me off.

 

[David Collard]

Hey Guys,
Here's some useful info that might get you closer:

blogs.adobe.com/toddkopriva/2009/12/prores-4444-colors-and-gamma-s.html

 

[D Fuller]

David C - That's a whole different issue. It really doesn't come in to play if you're trying to work with R3D files in AE. (But good to know about it for sure if you work with prores.)

 

[Tim Hayes]

It's interesting, I haven't been able to get R3D files into AE yet. I'll walk through these instructions again and see if anything will work, but so far all I get are errors.

 

[Loyd Bateman]

Thanks so much for all the input!! Super helpful

 

[D Fuller]

@ Tim: First, be sure you have updated to Adobe After Effects CS4 9.0.2 and that you have the RED CS4 plugin loaded.

 

[Jeremy Newmark]

Keep in mind, that at the moment, R3D files in adobe products will never look like they do in RedCine, RedCine-X, RedAlert, etc. due to the fact that the new color science is not enabled in Adobe products yet. So don't pull your hair out if you are comparing them.