Artifacts in HEVC/h.265 clips when exported to After Effects

Report · Dec 13, 2021

Hello everyone,
just before the release of update 22, I was so happy with my Fujifilm XT4 and everything was going great, I was super satisfied with the 10 bit color depth and how much the f-log recorded files were giving.
But along came the 2022 update and I confidently installed it and watched in horror as the color depth of my clips seemed to go from 10-bit to 4-bit or less judging by the tremendous digital artifacts that appeared thereafter.
Anyway I read that there was some problem in the new update with HEVC color rendition and the proposed fix only worked in premiere. But clips exported to after effects still had the same problem. So I decided to uninstall the 2022 update and continue with the 2021 update with which everything was perfect.
Surprisingly the problem is still there. The perfect image in premiere 2021 is full of artifacts when exported to After Effects, as you can see in the attached image.
So please help me to see how I can fix it. I wonder if anyone has encountered the same problem.

thank you all in advance

Report · Dec 13, 2021

What corrections have you applied in Lumetri?

And what color space does Premiere show for that file ... Rec.709 or HLG? Check the clip properties.

There are major changes between Pr2022 and previous versions for color management (CM) options and default behaviors. Some not exactly working out as the devs expected, especially involving some Log media. I've tested some Slog-3 Sony, and from further testing, there are other log-encoded formats that Premiere is doing things we users don't expect.

This FAQ covers what has changed, how it affects use, and how to work with the new system.

Neil

FAQ: Premiere Pro 2022 Color Management for Log/RAW Media

Report · Dec 14, 2021

Thank you very muchfor your help Mr. Neil. Your "FAQ: Premiere Pro 2022 Color Management for Log/RAW Media" is very enlightening.

But working in the 2022 version environment, the solution worked only for premiere. Once you export the clip to After Effects the artifacts reappear. So I decided to uninstall 2022 and continue with 2021.
When I continued my editing with 2021 everything was perfect again, and I had a clean image without artifacts and I was happy thinking that I had solved the problem. But at some point After Effects changed something again and I got the digital artifacts again.
The same clip on the same timeline, which has not been exported to After Effects looks perfect. So I think the problem lies in After Effects, which does not offer the same color management possibilities as you explain for Premiere.
I wonder if After Effects 2021 has somehow been contaminated with some feature of 2022....Before the update I didn't have this problem.

The lumetri corrections that I apply are:

the f-log correction LUT offered by fuji on their web site for my camera.
a slight grading, not radical at all

In the clip properties the color space data does not appear. When I was working with Premiere 2022, the properties showed Rec.601. I remember this because I found it very strange, can this be a revealing piece of information?

Thanks in advance

Report · Dec 14, 2021

I think that Premiere applies the ancient "601" to several things it doesn't "see" correctly. Weird.

I haven't tried going to Ae from Pr with the Sony clip. Yea, they do have different CM, and I think one could find the correct option in Ae after trying several things. Might not, but ... huh.

As to applying a tech LUT for normalizing LOG footage ... I would always suggest applying that in the Creative tab slot, never the Basic tab's input LUT slot. Because manufacturer or other 'normalization' LUTs are always built for specific clips with 'perfect' exposure, lighing, and contrast plus matching camera settings.

Which real media rarely matches. And LUTs will clip or crush anything not perfectly suited for them. So ... apply the LUT in the Creative tab, but before the LUT, in the Basic tab, adjust or "trim" exposure, contrast, highlights/shadows and sat to fit properly through the LUT.

Next ... no normalization LUT is needed for log media used on an HDR sequence, as ... the HDR sequence is a log thing mathematically.

Neil

Report · Feb 19, 2022

This is also in issue with Premiere Pro, see my comment on:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/premiere-pro-introducing-color-banding-to-fo...

Report · Feb 18, 2024

Just wondering if you ever found a solution to this? I remember encountering this on my h.265 footage record on my s5mkii, and was dissappointed I could no longer record in 6k, as 6k is only an option in h.265.