Adobe AFTER EFFECTS CS3 PROFESSIONAL User Manual page 67

Important: In all of these cases, the information is used to make decisions about how to interpret data in the imported
footage item. The interpretation settings in the Interpret Footage dialog box should match the settings used to create the
source footage file. These settings are not to be used to specify settings for your final rendered output.
Generally, you don't need to change interpretation settings. However, if a footage item isn't of a common kind, After
Effects may need additional information from you to interpret it correctly.
You can use the controls in the Color Management section of the Interpret Footage dialog box to tell After Effects
how to interpret the color information in a footage item. This is usually only necessary when the footage item does
not contain an embedded color profile.
See also
"Shortcuts for working with footage" on page 637
Interpret a single footage item using the Interpret Footage dialog box
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Select a footage item in the Project panel and choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.
Apply Interpret Footage settings to multiple footage items
You can ensure that different footage items use the same settings by copying interpretation settings from one item
and applying them to others.
In the Project panel, select the item with the interpretation settings that you want to apply.
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2 Choose File > Interpret Footage > Remember Interpretation.
Select one or more footage items in the Project panel.
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Choose File > Interpret Footage > Apply Interpretation.
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Edit interpretation rules for all items of a specific kind
The interpretation rules file (interpretation rules.txt) contains the rules that specify how After Effects interprets
footage items. In most cases, you won't need to customize this file. When you import a footage item, After Effects
looks for a match in the interpretation rules file, and then determines interpretation settings for the footage item.
You can override these settings after importing, using the Interpret Footage dialog box.
Quit After Effects.
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As a precaution, make a backup copy of interpretation rules.txt. By default, this file is in the same location as the
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After Effects application.
Open interpretation rules.txt in a text editor.
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Modify the settings according to the instructions in the file.
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Note: You must supply a four-character file-type code for each footage type or codec. If you don't know the code for a file
or codec in a project, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you select the file in the Project panel. The file-type
code and codec code (if the file is compressed) appear in the last line of the file description at the top of the Project panel.
Save interpretation rules.txt in the same folder as the After Effects application.
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