Dark edges after rendered

[maudequinn]

Hi! I've finally gotten my video and running and am really happy with it - Expect after I export and render some of the lines seem to have a dark edge or halo. Is there anyway I can alter this?

image is poor as is a screen shot

Thanks so much!

[Roei Tzoref]

1.Show us the before screenshot to compare

2.What are your export settings?

[A.I.1]

Does it have any effects added? Maybe it's something like a shadow, bevel, sharpening or other added effect.

[Dave_LaRonde · Accepted solution]

That wouldn't happen to be H.264, would it?  I'm betting it is.

You're seeing the result of H.264's lousy color resolution, which is part of the way it compresses video.  It's most apparent on the edges of geometric shapes with uniform colors and a lot of contrast -- which is just what you made.  If you insist on rendering to H.264, you'll want to create a custom preset with a ridiculously high bit rate, which will help the problem. 

Otherwise go with a media container & codec that won't create the problem in the first place.  Personally, I like quicktime movies in the JPEG 2000, Photo JPEG or PNG codecs.  If you happen to be on a Mac with FCP installed, ProRes 422 would be great to use.

[Rick Gerard]

I am with Dave on this one. When you put saturated colors against a 100% white background compression does awful things to the edges.

Another thing that ones to mid is that you have source footage in the project that has transparency and the color mode is pre-multiplied with alpha. That will also create color fringes on the edges.

Another possibility is that you knocked out the shape layers using some kind of matting technique that left some fringes.

If we had some production and workflow details and a screenshot of the entire AE interface with the modified properties (press the U key twice) revealed we would have a better idea of what is causing your problem. Without any of that information we are just guessing whick is almost a complete waste of our time and, more importantly, yours.

[maudequinn]

Hello and thanks so much for your detailed help. Yep you are correct its H264. This is the first thing I've worked on in after effects, so much of what you've mentioned is lost on me. I mostly work making Gifs and doing still studio photography but wanted to teach myself some basic animation, if I'd known what I know now I maybe wouldn't! my clients look for stuff for social media so need them at a decent size that won't be compressed by instagram or Facebook.

I'm not sure how to set a high bit rate or what a media container is unfortunately. Any help id be super grateful for.

[Dave_LaRonde]

Oh, you mean this is just for practice?  Then don't sweat it.

If you're looking to add another software arrow to your quiver, a word of advice -- if you found Photoshop a bit tricky to learn, After Effects is WAY trickier!  Fortunately, not insurmountable.  Learning the basics is essential.  It's like learning Algebra -- you have to know Arithmetic first.

Here are a couple of good places to learn the basics:

Create your first project

After Effects tutorials | Learn how to use After Effects CC

[Rick Gerard]

First rule of video - compositions should be an even number of pixels high and wide. This also helps with compression.

I see that you are using an Illustrator file. If you create Illustrator artwork for video you should have Snap to Pixel turned on and you should never use a stroke that has a fractional pixel or point value. Generally 2 points is the minimum stroke.

Do you see the fractional values for Anchor Point and Position? These can cause serious aliasing problems on straight lines. You need to make sure that your edges are lined up with the pixel grid precisely when the artwork is at rest especially when the colors are saturated and solid.

If you want to render compressed video, especially H.264, you need to follow the frame size and frame rate standards. MPEG compression works in even numbered multiples of pixel blocks so an odid sized comp will either be resized or the compression will not work effectively severely degrading color detail and edges.

I hope these suggestions help. Video isn't necessarily harder than still images or vector illustrations, but if you want the best results there are rules that apply that do not apply to any other medium.