Color Management; To Calibrate And Profile Your Monitor - Adobe AFTER EFFECTS 7.0 Manual

Color management

Color images can look different when viewed with different display devices and in different contexts. For example,
an image displayed on a computer monitor may look different from the same image displayed on a video monitor or
projected onto a movie screen. Colors shift because different devices use different methods to create color and
produce different ranges of colors.
In After Effects, you can compensate for color output between different display devices by first calibrating and
profiling your monitor and then selecting an RGB working color space, an intermediate color space used to define
and edit color, which After Effects uses for all pixel color calculations. Each project can have its own working color
space, which is saved with all other project settings in the project (.aep) file. When After Effects displays pixels, it
converts from the working color space (which characterizes the space colors are in) to the monitor profile (which
defines how the monitor reproduces color) to produce predictable, consistent color.
Because After Effects doesn't honor ICC profiles assigned to images such as those from Adobe Photoshop and
doesn't assign profiles to files on output, it doesn't provide a complete color management system. However, if you
calibrate and profile your monitor and set an RGB working color space for the project, colors in your images will
look the same on any calibrated monitor.

To calibrate and profile your monitor

When you calibrate your monitor, you're adjusting it so that it conforms to a known specification. After your monitor
is calibrated, the profiling utility lets you save a color profile. The profile describes the color behavior of the
monitor—what colors can be reproduced on the monitor and how the color values in an image must be converted
so that colors are displayed accurately.
Before you calibrate and profile your monitor, make sure that your work environment provides a consistent light
level and color temperature. For example, the color characteristics of sunlight change throughout the day and alter
the way colors appear on your screen, so keep shades closed or work in a windowless room.
Make sure your monitor has been turned on for at least half an hour. This gives it sufficient time to warm up and
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produce more consistent output.
Make sure your monitor is displaying millions of colors or 24-bits-per-pixel or higher.
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Remove colorful background patterns on your monitor desktop and set your desktop to display neutral grays.
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Busy patterns or bright colors surrounding a document interfere with accurate color perception.
Do one of the following to calibrate and profile your monitor:
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In Windows, use the Adobe Gamma utility, located in the Control Panel.
Note: Don't use Adobe Gamma to calibrate an LCD (flat panel) monitor—it doesn't produce reliable results. Instead, use
a hardware calibrator.
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In Mac OS, use the Calibrate utility, located in the System Preferences/Displays/Color tab.
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For best results, use third-party software and measuring devices. In general, using a measuring device such as a
colorimeter along with software can create more accurate profiles because an instrument can measure the colors
displayed on a monitor far more accurately than the human eye can.
Note: Monitor performance changes and declines over time; recalibrate and profile your monitor every month or so. If
you find it difficult or impossible to calibrate your monitor to a standard, it may be too old and faded.
Most profiling software automatically assigns the new profile as the default monitor profile. For instructions on how
to manually assign the monitor profile, refer to the Help system for your operating system.
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