RAW footage in AE

[aymanrefaee]

Hi guys,

Im new in After effects, my version is Cs6, and i have a RAW footage shot with ALEXA Camera, I will create VFX and 3D elements on some shots, You know the RAW footage is so pale, So how to adjust the shot colors, Black and Contrast in AE without adding any effects ? Or maybe the monitor i don't know... I just want to see the normal colors not the RAW,

and doing my compositing effects without changing the original clip colors,But when i'm done i will export the same RAW footage with the ugly pale colors again,

Because the final color grading will be on Davinci,

Thank you so much

Ayman 

[BYarsulik]

Just use an adjustment layer and add your color correcting effects on there. You can just turn it off when you are ready for exporting!

[aymanrefaee]

Thanks,

That's really good idea.

[Rick Gerard]

When you are as old as I am and have made as many mistakes as I have made you learn a few tricks...

[Rick Gerard]

Depending on your version of AE you may be able to all a LUT to the footage. If it's going to be graded then remove the LUT before rendering and make sure you contact the folks grading the footage and ask them what format to use. This is very important.

[aymanrefaee]

Thanks for your prompt response, but i'm really not familiar with LUT if you can explain more please if you have time.

Thank you

[BYarsulik]

Rick Gerard can correct me where I am wrong (because I don't often use LUTs), but you can apply the lumetri effect plugin to your footage and have LUTs (which change the look of the footage), and there are many different preset LUTs you can choose from. There are even a few that are presets for specific cameras I think.

[aymanrefaee]

Thank you,

I will search and try to download it.

( lumetri effect )

[Rick Gerard · Accepted solution]

LUTS are just look up tables and there are a bunch to choose from that have a bunch of different looks. The latest version of AE pretty good at using them. 

If you leave them in and send the project file off to someone else they can apply the look to the footage that they want. If you render, the look is baked in and you may have just fouled everything up for the folks trying to color grade the final.

The key here is communication. It's just like sending a CMYK job to a printer. I you don't know what profiles to use the color is going to be fouled up. You never look foolish if you ask, only if you guess and guess wrong.

[aymanrefaee]

Thank you so much, you are a great master and be prepared for many questions later

[aymanrefaee]

My version is Cs6