BRAW stopped working in AAE (25.0.1)

[Dave Soldy]

Hi, I just run into huge problem as all my workflow is based on BRAW footage and I'm in the middle of a complex video I'm working for two months with deadline next week, and After Effects just won't let me to import BRAW.

I work separately on laptop (Win11) and desktop (Win10), using newest After Effects (25.0.1) on both, switching machines, but working on same projects (synced on cloud). Today I done some VFX work in AAE, rendered, no problem. Imported another footage and noticed that it is somehow color lifted. Then I noticed that every BRAW footage I import to After Effects on my desktop is now color lifted - like everything is way brighter than when I open the same footage on my laptop. I thought "Yeah have no idea how this happened, but let's update the BRAW plugin, as it's the first thing Adobe support would probably told me to do", I downloaded and installed the BRAW blugin, restarted PC, but now, After Effects WON'T IMPORT ANY BRAW AT ALL. 😄 

Everytime I try to import it, I got the message "Blackmagic RAW video support requires a plugin" with the link to download it. I have tried to reinstall the plugin, no result.

How can something like this happend since I'm working with BRAW for several years with no problem? How can I tell to After Effects "THE PLUGIN IS INSTALLED!"? 

Please advise, thanks.

Dave

[Dave Soldy]

Ok, this is super weird. I have reinstalled Blackmagic RAW several times and was able import the footage to AAE as the first thing after startup, it normally worked. But then I imported the XML timeline (normally using this workflow between Resolve and AAE) and when I tried to relink the Braw files, I got the error message again and since then I wasn't able to import the Braw anymore even as a single file (as it worked after startup). And now I am again not able to import the Braw even after restarting After Effects.

Screen recording - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KfEdmIR_7gOddpPTf9ZI0NhXRKQNidRM/view?usp=sharing

[Paul Uu]

Is it possible for you to provide access to a small clip of the BRAW footage that is no longer working?

[Dave Soldy]

Hi Paul,

thanks for the answer, I have sent the footage in PM.

Let me just mention that I don't think the problem is in the footage as it worked well till today, when it firstly become color lifted, and then, after I reinstalled Blackmagic RAW plugin, After Effects won't import BRAW again If I try to do so over "Replace footage" after XML import - I have to mention that I have never had problem with this, so I think it must be something with the Blackmagic RAW plugin reinstall - After Effects somehow don't know it is properly installed (I can play the footage in Blackmagic RAW player normally).

After Effects import the footage correctly on my laptop, I am using the same After Effects and same Blackmagic RAW plugin versions there.

[Dave Soldy]

Hi, I have another update - I have desperately downgraded my Blackmagic RAW plugin from most recent version 4.3.1 to two years old version 2.3 and voila, After Effects can import BRAW files again (even over "replace media" after XML import). Now, as you can see, there still persists the color lift problem, as it appears to be in wrong colorspace, but better than have nothing there.

So I assume the problem with weird BRAW import behaviour is probably caused by the newest BRAW plugin version.

I have no idea why the colors are lifted by default after import, but found out that checking "Preserve RGB" in Interpret media kinda "solve the problem" - a hardly unprofessional solution, but but I have nothing better to do right now.