Filter Offline (RGB Curves) - Error since updating to v22.0.0 (Build 169)

[camfink]

I recently updated Premiere Pro to version v22.0.0 (Build 169)

When I load existing projects, any instance of the RGB Curves filter is now listed as Filter Offline (RGB Curves) in the effects panel, and the filter is non-functioning.

This means that a lot of color correction in existing projects no longer works. This is obviously VERY inconvenient! I tend to use the RBG curves filter for quick adjustments because it renders much faster than Lumetri. I can on longer make tweaks to existing edits without checking and fixing every clip that had the filter applied.

It seems odd to me that a filter would be disabled/offline. In other updates I've seen an "obsolete" label added, but the filter is still functional.

Is there a problem with how my update has treated the filters? I haven't had an "offline" error with any other filters.

[R Neil Haugen]

Are you on an M1 Mac? I know on those, some of the "obsolete" effects are gone.

Actually, anymore you should be able to get the same performance if you just use the Lumetri Curves tab as you did with the RGB Curves effect. I can't tell any difference whatever in playback.

Neil

[camfink]

Whilst that's fine going forward, it is EXTREMELY frustrating to edit old projects where I've used that filter.

[R Neil Haugen]

Understood. Totally understood.

However, the app isn't going to sit in the ancient past. Everything changes, much as it is a pain. And software and computers change faster than most anything. I don't know literally how many computers we've had ... and replaced ... in our business.

Neil

[camfink]

As politely as I can manage, that's a pretty filmsy explanation. How hard is it to include a legacy filter? Especially as the functionality exists in a different filter in the current version. Or create an import patch that replaces that filter with an equivalent lumetri filter? 

Anyway, thanks for indulging me!

[Richard van den Boogaard]

With all respect, to you the RGB legacy filter is very important. I can imagine that and not agreeing with Adobe taking away the tool that you've relied upon for so long. I too hate it when I open an old project and find out you have to go through the cuts to change things because the software you created it in no longer works the same way.

However, like R Neil pointed out, the only thing that is constant is the fact that everything changes. My best advice is to change your workflow a.s.a.p.

Using the color tab to navigate to the Curves section really is not much more work than searching for and adding the RGB effect.

Hope this helps.

[R Neil Haugen]

 Very good point. Instead of hunting through the Effects panel, you just go to the third tab of the Lumetri panel. With actually all the other color tools what, one click away.

Neil

[jwhite-jwhite-jwhite]

It's not one click away! 

On large film projects where I've used the RGB curves instance hundreds of time its a nightmare! 

Who are these people? 

[R Neil Haugen]

I mentioned your comment " ... on large film projects where I've used the RGB Curves instance hundreds of times ... " to a couple colorists. One uses curves a fair amount, the other a lot less so, mainly for very targeted work from his main Resolve panel.

They both were a bit puzzled though, as to what was the intent of the work. They were expecting that surely this wan't the only color being done, and well ... certainly hoped so. So I'm curious, what color work is done to the films you work on? Will there be a colorist at some point? And where do the films ... go for viewing?

It's the whole workflow here I'm curious about.

Neil

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi Camfink,

I think what is widely not very well understood is that maintaining every effect takes engineering cycles to do so. Since engineers are finite in number at Adobe, duplicating work is one thing that engineering managers try to avoid. Since all work on color is oriented towards Lumetri Color, the previous effects related to color no longer have these specialists available to work on them. Their managers would rather they focus efforts on the current feature set requiring their expertise. When this happens, the product team places certain effects in the Obsolete category in order to warn editors. When that happens, that is a red flag for editors to discontinue using those effects and to replace the effect with the newer version of that effect (or be prepared to do so when restoring older projects on demand). In other words, there is a point in time when an editor can no longer revive an old project without some interaction with swapping out obsolete effects, changing up workflows to meet the needs of the newer software, etc. It's a hard pill to swallow, but should be of no suprise to editors restoring old projects containing legacy effects. In my career as an editor, this doesn't happen very often as I have heeded the warning of using legacy effects, using them mainly to restore older projects and are never added anew. To reiterate, maintaining obsolete effects simply takes up too much bandwidth on the engineering side. Engineering, like any other commodity, has limits in its capacity to do work on a day to day basis.

Hope my explanation makes more sense. 

Regards,
Kevin

[andrewqholzschuh]

this is a sad explanation. the rgb curves filter is such a simple one and so widely used. This is one of the reasons I'm leaving adobe for davinci. 

[R Neil Haugen]

I work in Resolve daily. And I teach colorists based in Resolve or Baselight for example, how to grade in Premiere if they have to for a project. So I've some experience with both Resolve and pro colorists workflows and training.

The RGB Curves panel in Resolve is in the ... Color Page ... the equivalent of going to the Lumetri panel ... so, I'm puzzled as to how it's easier to access, with fewer clicks, um  ... how?

Neil

[Amir Garcia]

I just recently gotta the M1 Mac, and was wondering and stressing on why I couldn't find effects I normally used. After reading this response, I am truly disappointed with Adobe. It is now March and I am seeing no resolution to this problem, I am highly upset. I pray someone has found a solution by now. 

[R Neil Haugen]

I understand the frustration. You shoulda seen my posts 'here' and on the ol' SpeedGrade forum when the Adobe management of that time (which has since changed, thankfully) killed SpeedGrade ... because the guy running Premiere thought anybody doing any 'real' color would be going to Resolve, so why should Adobe have a grading app.

Grrrr .... it was a very unique, and very fast app to grade in. I still used it for years after they killed it. In fact, it's still loaded on my old computer.

Every one of thses apps change over time, inevitably. As noted above, I work in both Resolve and Premeire daily, and teach color in Premiere to Resolve or Baselight based colorists. So I'm also on the LGG and BlackMagic forums daily.

And see the posts there with users upset over the changes every new version of Resolve.

The RGB Curves in the Lumetri panel works fine, for me, and I especially like using it now that they've got the wide rectangle rather than that stupid old Adobe square box. Widen the panel out, it's far easier to make minor targeted adjustments.

And the biggest "up" about the Luemtri curves section is having all the other curves ... the HSL ones ... that really allow for targeted changes.

But in the end, these apps are all just tools ... fancy hammers. Figure out how to get stuff done, and always remember ... at some point a beloved hammer is gonna break and you'll need a new one. (Except for Dad's old Craftsman wth the steel handle ... that's never gonna break ... )

Neil

[R Neil Haugen]

If you're talking about the RGB Curves effect, that's been in the "obsolete" folder for years.

Meaning it was ancient code that wasn't getting re-written and at some point was going to go away.

So as another user, I'm ... a bit puzzled. They told us years ago to stop using the obsolete effects ... or if we did, use them knowing they'd go away at some point.

Neil

[FilmTraveler]

For anyone who's searching for a solution to this, installing version 22 (from the Creative Cloud apps area, click the dots and pick "Other Versions") can fix it temporarily. Obviously installing an older version will allow you to use the effects again which were present in that version... but I also made an amazing discovery:

After installing the older version, the deprecated obsolete effects were also available again in the latest version of Premiere Pro! (At least in the Windows environment.)

It must install these effects to some common location. I couldn't find it in any obvious place (like inside AppData) so clearly this trick will only work until I uninstall the old version. But it could be a handy band-aid for others while you transition to newer versions of effects.

[Mel Matsuoka]

Following up with a solution to this issue on Apple Silicon Macs, the solution that works for me is to launch Premiere in Rosetta 2 mode, then open the project.

https://www.postproductive.tv/2023/07/12/premiere-pro-video-filter-missing-workaround-for-apple-sili...