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shown in the nex 2 images, there are more svere examples.
AFTER EFFECTS:
PREMIERE PRO:
Contras and saturation are added automatically, without a color grading mask or anything else, this makes my color correction process very dificult and it happens on export as well.
This is an example of a video I graded and exported, the exported video is shown on the left, the color is shown washed and desaturated and with different contrast levels.
I was told to use VLC because QuickTime was shown to desaturate video files on playback, but my results using VLC where different as well.
This is an exaple of the same video Shown on after efects and exported, where you can see the VLC playback on the top left, The QuickTime playback on the bottom right and After Effects playback on the top right.
Weirdly VLC shows higher amounts of contrast and saturation cliping some of the shadows, wich in my opinion looks worse.
I've been having this issue since I upgraded my computer this chirstmass, I used to use a 2014 Mackbook Air with 4 GB of RAM to edit my videos until last christmass, and even with OS Catalina, the 2020 updated apps where working and the color was accurate.
I have tried uninstalling After Effects and then reinstalling it agin sevreal times, but it was to no avail, then I tried downgrading my after effects version but this was again to no avail.
I researched online about the issu but it seems as if I'm the only one that has this problem or I'm not good searching for terms that would have the information i need.
And finally I saw a supposed fix for premiere, a file that would be added at the time the video export called "QT Gamma Compensation.cube", this solution was once again to no avail, the end result was a lot more contrast and saturation, even more than with just VLC without the file, or just quick time player, at the end nothing realy looked the same, I ended with 5 different versiosn of the same video file.
Needless to say Adobe online support has been lackluster to say the least, I tried 3 differnt times to resolve my issue, the firs time they kept me in aloop of "support" transfering me to different people that resulted in nothing.
The second time i tried the guy simply told me that I was facing an issue, I was like thanks Sherlok, I didm't say it though, then he told me to ask on the forums, so I did.
And last but not least the worst "support" I have recieved, this girl told me to do all of these thing asgain, even though I began by telling her everything I had done already and sharing all the information I had, then she proceded to tell me that I was facing this problem because of the ram of my computer, even though previoeusly even with a 4GB of RAM and a less than ideal compuder the color worked well, and even if my computer was just 8GB of RAM, Premiere was doing the same thing, this girl just wanted to wash her hands when she told me that unti I have the After Effects sistem requirements she could not continue, Then when I showed her that Premiere an 8GB RAM as sistem requirements, she strtred to ask for more screanshots, and finally asked for remote controll of my computer, I am not giving cotrol to my coputer to anyone, not even if they are supposedly from Adobe and the worst part is that she took a lot of time, I mean like 15 to 35 minutes to respond, and she responded by asking for more screanshots or just telling me the same thing about the system requirements.
And none of them even told me about the "QT Gamma Compensation.cube" solution.
I've been using Premiere Pro for almost 6 years on a 2014 Mackbook Air, this year I updated my computer to a late 2019 Mackbook Pro, and I have had the same problem since, this problem and the horrible customer support led me to research for different apps I could use instead of the Adobe programs, if my problem is not resolved, wich will bie a shame, because I have used tis progrma for such a long time and I enjoy using it, but this probles affect my living and they leave me no choice if my proble is not solved.
How can I fix this?
1 Correct answer
With a little education and some steps.
The color management and the nature of the monitor have changed between your old computer and the new one. The old computer and its monitor were set to sRGB, and handled video color and color management better. The new Macs are different. Apple chose to go with a completely different color space like nothing else "out there". It's a beautiful monitor to look at for certain! But ... there are some difficulties to get past for video production.
Now, the
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With a little education and some steps.
The color management and the nature of the monitor have changed between your old computer and the new one. The old computer and its monitor were set to sRGB, and handled video color and color management better. The new Macs are different. Apple chose to go with a completely different color space like nothing else "out there". It's a beautiful monitor to look at for certain! But ... there are some difficulties to get past for video production.
Now, the first part one needs to understand thoroughly is what color management details are expected by video media and an app like Premiere Pro. I'll start with the proper broadcast standards:
- video sRGB primaries;
- Bt.(Rec) 709 profile using both the camera transform function and the accompanying (and required by the Standard) display transform function;
- gamma 2.4 (though for bright-room viewing 2.2 is acceptable);
- and screen brightness of the monitor nominally at 100 nits in a dim room, 120 nits in a moderately lighter room, or 80 nits in a darkened room.
Premiere is built for use on professional systems ... systems built to proper color management and viewing conditions. Exactly for the above specs. It assumes the monitor/viewing situation is properly setup by the user. It is a very tightly color-managed app when used in the situation it was designed for.
Whereas, the new Mac ColorSync utility is centered on a system using the new (and very ... unique) Mac-only Display-P3 color space on the Retina monitors. Which is again P3 primaries. When it remaps media to "Bt.(Rec.)709" it:
- may not nail the color conversion from P3 to video sRGB primaries;
- it only applies the camera transform function and not the accompanying required display transform function;
- it lists gamma as (sRGB) ... but ... rather than 2.4 or 2.2, it's similar to but not exactly the same as 1.96 with "an odd flat shape near the bottom";
- and again, displays the image on a monitor vastly brighter than the Rec.709 standards.
So ... your monitor can be beautiful to look at but the system is not designed to comply with pro video viewing standards. Well, few computers out of the box are, but the Macs are specifically designed to be even more unique.
The problem editiors face trying to produce pro level video, is that it must be produced on systems tightly adhering to the pro standards so that anything you produce looks like other pro produced media on whatever screen/device it is viewed on.
If your system is outside those standards, then ... you have no way to know exactly how what you are seeing relates to any other pro media. It's something colorists spend many thousands of dollars to ensure their gear is spot-on.
After Apple came out with the Retina Display-P3 monitors, the Adobe engineers added the Preferences option of "Display Color Management" ... which is designed to have Premiere look at the ICC profile for the monitor in the OS, and remap its internal monitors (Source, Reference, Program, and Transmit Out) to proper Rec.709 imagery within the computer's monitoring system. This helps when you are working in Premiere to show you a proper look at your media ... color, tonality, brightness and contrast.
Use that, and you are probably working while viewing the image pretty close to 'correct', within Premiere.
But outside of Premiere, your system isn't set up to show the media correctly. That's a royal pain. Some apps and browsers/players do better than others. Huge topic right there!
I work with a lot of pro colorists, many of them total Mac people ... and none of them would ever consider grading on a Mac monitor (not even the new XDR), as none of them follow pro standards. Of course, they don't rely on regular computer monitors anyway, needing a full Grade 1 Reference monitor like the upper end Eizos and the Flanders Scientific rigs. And they use special cards and LUT boxes between the computer and the reference monitor to keep the signal away from the OS period.
Ideally, you would acquire a second monitor that you can calibrate with a puck/software system like the i1 Display Pro, use the Mac monitor for the basic UI work, and use the second monitor to do critical color/tonal checking.
Or at least, use the Display Color Management option within Premiere, and well ... outside of it, that's gonna be a pain.
Here's some reading for you ... first, a massive thread you may have already seen on this by Adobe support staffer Caroline Sears and then-color-engineer Francis Crossman (he's been promoted to co-product manager for Premiere) ...
Why does my color look different?
Here's a piece by noted color expert Steve Shaw, with LightIllusions.com, one of the two main color calibration utility softwares used by pro colorists on the subject ... including a very specific section dealing with Mac hardware and OS ...
Why Master On A Calibrated Display?
Noted editor and blogger Johnny Elwen wrote an excellent article explaining much of color management with a base explanation and many links on his blog ... which, as you scroll down, even includes some generous comments and a link to a tutorial I made for MixingLight.com. His article ...
Color Management for Video Editors
And finally, here's the tutorial (referenced in Elwyn's blog) on Premiere's full color management processes that I made last year for MixingLight.com, a pro colorist's subscription website. This tutorial is free, outside their paywall for all to see. It's been quoted by a number of other colorist/video-post blogs and sources around the web. I spent several hours via screen-share, phone calls, and in-person with Francis Crossman to get the data. And ... before publishing the tutorial, colorists Patrick Inhofer and Robbie Carman of MixingLight required a ton of emails between them, myself, and Francis to be sure that all the details they could think of were answered.
How Do You Finish at the Highest Possible Quality in Premiere Pro CC?
Neil