Overexposed/ wrong colors after upgrading Premiere Pro to 22.0.0

[johnl33044717]

I had Premiere 2020, but since I work with the new M1 macbook air, I thought it makes sense to upgrade. (Bonus question: It was also constantly crashing, not sure if cause of the processor, or because of using iphone footage with variable frame rates) 

Now the vids I already edited seem all overexposed, while the origial is still fine. Very thank ful for hints, what to do here.

Example:v

[johnl33044717]

Edit: If I add new footage to a sequenz its fine, its just the vids I already edited. (For the edited material also this solution didnt do the trick: Right click footage > Modify> Interpret footage > Color space rec709 )

[sclear001]

I have this exact same problem with A7iii footage with the HLG (1-18-1) colour profile, but not from my A7siii Slog3 footage or A7iii footage with the standard colour profile.

For me with the HLG colour profile it's happening even if I add new footage to the sequence. But it looks as it should in the source window.

I wonder if this has been caused by HDR features?

[Gujjar305549704mlu]

 which picture profile ??

[Stan Jones]

See this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/just-upgraded-to-v22-hlg-footage-overexposed...

Stan

[johnl33044717]

This seems to work for new material I add. But for the already edited material the solution you mention didnt do the trick.

[xaviportales]

Hi, I also have the same problem. I updated to 2022. I had already followed the trick but it doesn’t fix the color. The original in MOV is bright and vivid. When you import the file into Premiere it loses color and when you put it in the sequence it is overexposed. I don't know what to do anymore.

[xaviportales]

Hi, Stan, I also have the same problem. I updated to 2022. I had already followed the trick but it doesn’t fix the color. When I modify the color profile as you explain, the clip goes off in color. It can be seen in the screenshot in the yellow colors that turn greenish. The original in MOV is bright and vivid (center). When I import the file into Premiere it loses color and when you put it in the sequence it is overexposed. I don't know what to do anymore.

[johnl33044717 · Accepted solution]

I think I figured it out: with my M1 macbook air I needed to follow this solution (footage > Modify> Interpret > Color space rec709), but use Rec. 2100 HLG instead. Also: I needed to go into every subfolder seperatly to do that with all the footage.

[xaviportales]

with this discussion I found how to solve and fix the problem. It's like you explain but entering each clip. I didn't understand. As he has shared a screenshot I have seen it better.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/sony-a7s3-footage-performance-in-premiere-pr...

[R Neil Haugen · Accepted solution]

There are new color management controls in V22. And you may need to set color managment in both places.

First, for media in a project panel bin, right-click/Modify Properties, go to the bottom of the dialog box. There's a setting there now for color managment and you have several options from HLG/PQ to Rec.709.

Second, for every sequence, you should go to the Sequence settings and check the color space of the sequence, which has the same options as the Clip properties dialog.

It's new, it's potentially confusing, and there isn't it seems any way to set a 'default' behavior. So you may need to do this with all clips if you are working with other than Rec.709 media.

Neil

[Igor Margato]

Hey there!

I was with the same issue here and the Interpret Footage totally worked here. Still kind of a headache doing this to every video file since I organize them in differente folders before importing to Premiere. But better than nothing.

A tip to improve this workaround and speed up this process: I created a shortcut to the Interpret Footage box then I don't need to right click>Modify>Interpret every time. Just select the clips and press control+i [my shortcut].

[Lachlan5E92]

This is profoundly bad. Incomprehensible that this shipped. Adobe should be holding an emergency meeting to find out who gets fired over this. I can't even wrap my head around how this could possibly occur.

99.9999% of all video in 2021 is digital to digital. The fact that this doesn't default to not making your PNGs weirdly dark, making your exports weirdly saturated or desaturated, and making every colour setting names after a Dalek is beyond incomprehensible. You've completely made me lose faith that any of the colours my designer picks or my videographer shoots is in any way represented inside of Premiere.

[R Neil Haugen]

The problem with the changes to color management and default behaviors are not with the program. They are that users are not made aware of the changes.

The changes are very necessary, though I do not feel they were rolled out in a best-case way. And they do work fine once the users understand the new process, giving far more flexibility to different workflows that include working with both higher color images (wider/deeper color space and gamut) and higher dynamic range images.

If you know how the new settings work, it all just works  If you don't it will seem bizarre.

The following FAQ lists all the information you need to know. It includes the information on previous practices within Premiere, the changes, and the new steps to follow.

Neil

FAQ: PremierePro 2022 Color Managment for Log/RAW Media

[Lachlan5E92]

Thanks R Neil Haugen. Very comprehensive documentation you've put together there. I agree that this hasn't been rolled out in the best case way, and Adobe should try and remedy this, but this is a good resource in the interim. Thanks for this. 

[R Neil Haugen]

You're most welcome!

I've requested that we get an actual proper color managment panel ... they can't call it the "Essential Color Panel" because the acronym would conflict with the Effects Control Panel. lol

But they could simply call it the CMP .... color management panel. Right?

Which should have both an overall section of management for input media->to options, timeline, and display options.

Then a project-specific override for any of the above.

At one quick glance, we users could then see all color management settings.

Neil

[EyelightProductions]

How then, do you change the color management settings of proxy files?

I have my FX6 file showing correctly after changing color profile settings of the clips to Rec. 709, but when I turn on the rendered proxy files, it shows the wrong colors again...

[R Neil Haugen]

At the moment, you can't. That's one of the acknowledged issues that are being worked on. It's a nasty one too.

Wish I had a better answer but we're all awaiting a fix.

Neil

[johnl33044717]

Thanks for the replies! Interpret Footage does do the trick...

...HOWEVER: 

I discovered it depends totally on which screen I view the footage. So if I edit on my Macbook, but use a second ASUS Monitor they will look as different as showed above (just the other way round).

Something one can do about that? 

But more importantly: I will present my video on a screen  that I dont know yet (in an exhibition). Do I need to last minute change the Color Space again depending on the screens - or is this problem just in the editing process on not after exporting?

[R Neil Haugen]

This is why colorists:

1. Use those expensive Grade 1 Reference monitors with multiple internal LUT storage, SDI inputs, dead-even screens across the entire surface, refresh rates to match any sequence settings ... and run above $5,000 for SDR. HDR you're talking $20,000 and up.
2. Feed that spendy monitor from an AJA or BlackMagic output card or box, so that the OS and GPU do not touch that signal, they know it's a correct file signal.
3.  Calibrate and then check by running a profile pass with spendy calibrating tools and special software, costing more than we spend on our monitors.
4. Run everything absolutely TIGHT to the Rec.709 or various HDR specs as their deliverable requirements list.

Yet ... NO one will ever see exactly what the colorist (and their scopes!) sees ... although other highly calibrated pros will see a very, very close approximation. And they know that once released "in the wild", no one's even gonna see it that close, because between screen differences, settings, OS settings, TVs being just off, the viewing environment being totally uncontrolled, that it's just impossible for anyone else to see the exact same image.

BUT ... because the pro colorist does the above, they DO know that on every screen out there "in the wild", their material will look ... relative to other professionally produced media on that screen ... professionally produced.

The closer you can come to a colorist's visual setup, the better.There are known things to sort out, such as your OS, the monitor's basic capability, GPU settings, whatnot.

The Mac OS uses ColorSync for color management, which seems to be ok with HDR media, but absolutely screws up SDR/Rec.709 signals. It applies a very wrong monitor gamma of 1.96, rather than the required 2.4 (2.2 allowed for 'bright screen' viewing environments).

Windows doesn't intentionally screw the image up, but then ... it doesn't intentionally do it right either. So depending on the computer setup, your GPU's settings, and monitor ... there are several things to check also.

IF you have calibrated that external monitor with a puck/software like the Xrite i1 Pro setup, you can have some hope that it's reasonably close. But I've heard various things between Mac users, some of which seemed to get a 'normal' Rec.709 signal out to external monitors, and some who couldn't get past ColorSync's 1.96 gamma for Rec.709 files. I don't know enough Mac stuff to know how to bypass ColorSync.

Other than knowing that while Chrome & Safari browsers and QuickTime player allow ColorSync to control or "color manage' the screen, Firefox browser and VLC player apparently don't. So ... VLC Player on that external after calibration may be a better view of the image ... maybe.

Neil

[Pete_Colorist]

This is an older post, but in case someone can use this info, great. I've personally tried all this stuff and none worked for me with Premiere color (2019 Mac Pro 24c, 128gb, 4x Radeon Pro VII). Actually, I am a colorist and now I send to DaVinci grade and export/master there, because Premiere's color is so unreliable - no more round trip back to Premiere. Premiere is just so fast and an excellent editing app, that I find it hard to let it go of, ha! 

What Neil is saying below is correct. You do need a monitoring solution, if you are attempting to color grade at all in Premiere (not recommended) or in DaVinci Resolve. The cheapest option being BMD Mini Monitor 4k if you have pci available, but for the Mac Book Pro the BMD Ultrastudio series, starting with the 1080p 3g/HDMI version $125 or ultrastudio 4k $1099. Alongside this though, you're going to need a monitor that can be calibrated. A monitor that is factory calibrated can be ok, but having one that can be calibrated internally is really the best option. Benq, Asus Pro Art, LG (best) and others have some for rec 709 that are somewhat "cheap", but it adds up quick. 

If you were to do an exhibition on an untested monitor just stay with Rec 709 2.4. It takes an embedded HDMI signal to trigger HDR, which is some vudu magic in itself. If you can play from your MBP, having the BMD Ultrastudio 1080p box will net better and more reliable results, even on an inaccurate monitor, than plugging in HDMI to your MBP as Neil explains below. Again, using an output box and color grading in Premiere or DaVinci on an accurate monitor in Rec 709 2.4 is the best case scenario. Then you just hand your show over and it will look as close as your intended color as possible on that, or any other monitor. 

If you are in the USA as far as I know there is no use for HLG (that is the British standard). The only HDR format we use in the US, be it HDR (10) or Dolby Vision, is P3 D65 PQ (St 2084). I've heard YouTube takes some other weird standard that doesn't work too well, probably best to stick with Rec 709 2.4 there. 

A quick note - if you're monitoring from Premiere a DCI Scope project (4096 x 1716), it will not display properly with these output boxes, but you could make your timeline 4096 x 2160 and it would display correctly. Any reframes would look wrong. DaVinci and AVID display DCI Scope through output boxes correctly. When I edit in Premiere and need the director/client montor I just plug directly into the computer and use that screen as a playback monitor (diplays aspect ratio correctly) and we don't pay attention to the color at all. Well I don't. The director(s) almost always get attached to the color, even if it is raw. Then send to DaVinci for color.

The best "cheap" 4k monitoring scenario is BMD Ultrastudio Mini 4k connected to an LG UltraFine OLED Pro (BMD Mini Monitor 4k may work as well if you have PCI, but only one out works). EP950, BP95E or 27EQ850 from what I know are all the same. The BP95E is the one I have. It comes with a hood and a calibrator (they all have a calibrator, check descriptions tho). It can be calibrated internally to both Rec 709 2.4 and P3 D65 PQ (St 2084) simultaniously from it's own software or Colourspace/Calmann. Prices I am seeing are $1800 - $5000 +. Don't pay 5k it's for the older EP950 made over 3 years ago. The LG Oled Pro is the display that huge post houses here in LA are using for their Rec 709, HDR and Dolby Vision Masters. A lead colorist recommended it to me actually. I've had excellent results in all color grades, highly recommend.

Best...

[malbutnotbad]

Nice feature, but it really messed with a project I had already color graded and just came back to make a quick change to a year later... now I have to go through the clips one by one and set them to their proper color space (the one I graded them in in the first place). Side note - I wish the clip color space setting wasn't automatically tied to the frame rate interpretation within the same setting box. That means I can't batch interpret a bunch of clips into the right color space, because some have been slowed down already and others haven't. Because of this I have to go one-by-one... on a 30-min documentary!

[R Neil Haugen]

It shouldn't make any difference to the 'speed' interpretation if you change the color management options, if it does, please post, as that would be wrong behavior.

And yea, taking a project from the "everything is Rec.709" 'past' to the future with multiple color spaces has been a rough go at times. Especially with working continuing/older project within 2022.

Neil