Adobe 65008009 - After Effects CS4 Technical Paper page 5

the SDTV NTSC profile. If the QuickTime file was created using high-definition
camera equipment, choose the HDTV (Rec. 709) profile. If your footage does not
have an embedded profile, After Effects uses a text file (interpretation rules.txt) to
define a "best guess" for a color profile appropriate for your imported footage. You
can edit this file to better define rules used to determine how imported files are
handled. The interpretation rules.txt file is located in the After Effects application
folder. By interpreting footage using the same color profile as the one selected as the
project working space (see step 1 of this workflow), color values will not be adjusted.
Figure 3 - Interpret Footage — QuickTime HD footage
For 8-bpc and 16-bpc raster files:
•
uses it to define the color appearance of that file. If the file does not have an embed-
ded profile, After Effects assigns the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 profile.
After you have imported video, raster image, and vector graphic files into your project, After
Effects converts color values to your project's working color space for compositing.
Step 3: (optional) Edit imported footage or graphics in Photoshop
In some cases, imported image files may require editing in Photoshop. Using color management
allows you to maintain color appearance as you switch between Photoshop and After Effects.
Follow these steps to preserve consistent appearance in Photoshop and After Effects CS4:
Select the image you would like to edit in the After Effects Project panel. Choose Edit >
Edit Original, and do any of the following in Photoshop:
for 8-bpc or 16-bpc files
The default color settings file in Photoshop (North America General Purpose 2) enables Photoshop
to automatically use embedded ICC profiles. If the file you're editing does not have an embedded
profile, Photoshop uses the default sRGB IEC 61966-2.1 ICC profile to define the color appear-
ance of the RGB values. This profile is an acceptable profile to use for HD TV work as it repre-
sents the color appearance of color values displayed on an HD TV monitor.
Note: Photoshop color settings may not be in the default state on your computer.
To specify the default, before opening the raster image, choose Edit > Color Settings, and choose
North America General Purpose 2 from the Settings menu at the top of the dialog box.
1 Make edits to the 8-bpc or 16-bpc raster image.
2 Save your changes. Select the Embed Color Profile option in the Save dialog box if you are
working with file formats that support embedded ICC profiles.
Figure 4 - Photoshop Save dialog box
If the file has an embedded profile, After Effects
uSing ThE hdTv (rEC. 709) ProfilE in PhoToShoP CS4
If you are editing high-definition stills/footage in
Photoshop CS4, you may wish to assign the HDTV
(Rec. 709) profile to those stills/footage, over-riding
Photoshop's default sRGB profile. While the color
appearance using this profile will match the color
appearance produced by the sRGB profile, the
embedded HDTV (Rec. 709) profile will provide
information allowing those in your workflow to
understand that this image/footage came from a
high-definition camera.
To ensure a color match between Photoshop CS4
and After Effects CS4 when using the HDTV (Rec.
709), SDTV NTSC, and SDTV PAL profiles, make
sure the "Compensate For Scene-referred Profiles"
option is checked in the Color Settings dialog box in
Photoshop.
See the Image state adjustment in Adobe After Effects
CS4 color workflows white paper from Adobe for more
information on the relationship between the HDTV
(Rec. 709) and sRGB IEC 61966-2.1 profiles.
Color management workflow in Adobe After Effects CS4 5