Chris Zwar
Explorer
Chris Zwar
Explorer
Activity
‎Nov 12, 2024
02:52 PM
I'm not aware of any text scaling, but I agree that the underlying problem is having 2 monitors with different resolutions.
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‎Oct 31, 2024
04:00 PM
Seems to be a UI bug with AE 2025, present in both the latest public release and the beta. I have a dual-monitor setup, one monitor is 2560x1440 and the other is 4K / 3840 x 2160. My regular workspace is set up for dual screens, but I often switch to the "small screen" preset to make screen recordings. When I make this change (and when I change back again) some of the UI text becomes tiny. This includes the RGB values in the info palette, and the colomb headings in the timeline (ie Source Name / Track Matte / Parent & Link). Screenshots attached.
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‎Jan 23, 2024
09:06 PM
Two quick suggestions to improve rotobrush, especially for projects that are using it a lot. 1) Have an indication in the Effects Controls panel to show if the rotobrush has been frozen or not. This makes it easier to see if a layer is frozen without having to open the rotobrush in the layer window 2) Be able to queue up / batch freeze multiple rotobrush layers, preferably in the background. A sort of "render queue" but for rotobrush layers...
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‎Oct 20, 2023
05:10 PM
1 Upvote
Thanks, I re-rendered my exampled project using AE 2024 and it rendered fine with no NaNs! Thaty's great, thanks for addressing this issue. If I experience any more problems I'll let you know but so far so good.
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‎Sep 25, 2023
04:59 PM
1 Upvote
The channel blur plugin produces NaNs in 32 bit mode, especially when "repeat edge pixels" is on. The NaNs are on random frames every time the composition is rendered. This happens on both Windows and Macs, with the latest public release. While the NaNs can be hard to see as individual pixels, they cause major problems when other effects are rendered on top. I have attached an example project that reproduces this, and includes some rendered examples as well.
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‎Mar 27, 2023
08:26 PM
Thanks, it's good to know that there is an existing bug that can be replicated. However it does raise the question of whether it is possible to create a single output module template that will work with both color engines. My assumption is no, but I would be happy to be proven wrong. In some cases a colorsapce is supported by one engine but not the other (eg RedWideGamutRGB is OCIO only). In other cases like rec 709, the colorspace is supported by both engines but presumably any conversions are different. So apart from the bug, I am making the assumption that output module templates that specify a colorspace will need to be unique for each color engine. And because this has the potential for a cluttered UI, it might make sense to separate them.
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‎Mar 27, 2023
07:25 PM
2 Upvotes
I will report this as a bug although I won't argue if it's moved to idea or discussion. When setting up output module templates, the user can manually choose a colorspace for that template. This is very useful. For example, I don't just have one preset for Prores4444. I have a template for rec709, another for Arri LogC, and another for PreserveRGB and so on. This is a great workflow feature, but the problem is that the color settings in the template will only apply to the color engine they were made with. If I create an output module template for rec709 with the Adobe ICC color engine selected, then choosing that template when the OCIO engine is enabled results in the output color defaulting back to the project working space. The same happens in reverse - if I create an output module template with the color set to ACES-rec709, then choosing that template when the ICC engine is enabled also changes the output color back to the project working space. So really, the output module templates need to be split up for each color engine. We should have separate templates for the ICC engine and the OCIO engine. I'm glad I discovered this because I have been taking it for granted that my output module templates work properly, and this could have caused a lot of headaches!
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‎Mar 27, 2023
07:13 PM
2 Upvotes
In After Effects 2023, choosing the new OCIO color management engine sets the project working space to linear ACEScg. The gamma options are greyed out so there is no confusion and no manual setting for linear compositing. This is all great! But the user can still choose between 8 / 16 / 32 bpc. OCIO / ACES should be 32 bits only. You cannot do linear compositing in 8 bit, and AFAIK if you try to work in 16 bit then you'll get problems with overbrights and potentially very weird color artefacts. So - if you choose the new OCIO color engine, then the project should be locked to 32 bits, just like the gamma is locked to linear.
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‎Mar 15, 2023
03:39 PM
2 Upvotes
I thought I'd officially report an issue with R3D files. This has been a problem since AE 2020 but now that 2023 has ACES built-in I thought it might be easier to do something about it. Since AE 2020, the default colorspace for the R3D raw importer has been RedWideGamutRGB with a gamma curve of Log 3G10. This was a deliberate change and was noted in the AE 2020 release notes. The problem is that this colorsapce is not supported by the native ICC system, and After Effects interprets R3D files as rec 709. This means that R3D files look wrong on import. Anyone using AE 2020 - 2022 has had 2 options, either manually change the raw importer back to rec 709, or download OCIO and work with the Red colorspace using ACES. But this requires technical knowledge and the basic issue is that the default color settings for R3D files are wrong. With AE 2023 now supporting Red colorsapces through ACES, at least AE can now deal with Red colorspaces natively. But the R3D files are still interpreted incorrectly. ** edit! If the color management engine is set to OCIO / ACES, then any imported R3D files are interpreted as ACES 2065. Which isn't rec 709, but it's still wrong ** It might be simpler to change the default for the Red raw importer back to rec 709, but whatever the solution - for the past 3 years all R3D files have been incorrectly interpreted by default.
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‎Mar 03, 2023
02:43 PM
...and just to be sure, here is another screen recording of me importing that same PSD file that I attached above. All I do is import the file, and as soon as I open the pre-comp and click on a layer in the pre-comp, I get the error.
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‎Mar 03, 2023
02:37 PM
Firstly, you make it sound like I am deliberately doing something silly! All I am doing is importing a Photoshop file. The photoshop file has layers in it which are adjustment layers. That is all. Secondly, I don't know why the PSD wasn't included. The website must have filtered it out. I tried attaching as a zip, but that didn't work. I will try attaching the PSD here again buy itself. It's less than 3 meg so should work OK. (OK apparently I can upload a PSD but not a PSB. The original file I had was a 10K PSB that was a few gigabytes in size. I have scaled it down and saved it as a PSD.
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‎Mar 02, 2023
01:32 PM
Also with specs - using AE 23.2.1 (Build 3) on Windows 11 (22H2). 64 gig Ram / 1060 GPU with 6 gig Vram. Intel i5 CPU
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‎Mar 02, 2023
01:29 PM
Hi, I have attached a project file with a PSD asset. (**sorry I tried to zip it but I can't upload zips!**) Please note that when you open the project (or import the PSD) the error doesn't appear if you double-click on any layers in the "main" comp. It is when you open up layers in the precomp (which are all adjustment layers with color correction effects) you will get the error. Thanks!
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‎Feb 28, 2023
08:17 PM
1 Upvote
Using the latest version of AE 2023 & PS. Importing a layered PSB file into After Effects. As soon as I click on a layer, I get a "zero denominator comparing ratios (17::16)" error, in some cases it keeps recurring to the point I can't even quit the application. Screen recording attached below - note this this is a new project with no other assets loaded. The error appears when I double-click on a layer.
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‎Feb 28, 2023
03:21 PM
7 Upvotes
Currently there is no way to play video backwards. This is especially tedious when using rotobrush. Although rotobrush has been designed to work backwards from given frames, currently the only way to actually work backwards with rotobrush is to use the page-up keyboard command. This means you can only work backwards 1 frame at a time, which is very tedious. Other tracking apps easily allow you to track backwards, including the built-in After Effects tracker, as well as Mocha. The fact that the AE mask tracker and motion tracker can track backwards, but rotobrush cannot, seems like an oversight. And while you're at it, you may as well bring back the option for ping-pong in the preview too!
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‎Feb 28, 2023
03:10 PM
1 Upvote
Guide layers and adjustment layers are "special" and work differently to other layers in a timeline. Can we please have a method to differentiate them that's more visible than just using label colors. The AE interface used to show reversed layers with red stripes through them, so presumably the interface code is able to add some degree of textures to layers in the timeline. Even something as simple as a grid, or checkerboard pattern (that works with the label color) would be useful to instantly identify guide layers and adjustment layers in a composition. I have attached a crude mockup but it's really just a conversation starter.
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‎Feb 28, 2023
02:43 PM
The saturation control in Lumetri is not smooth when working in 32bit linear projects. The default saturation value in lumetri is 100, changing this to 101 results in a noticable jump in the image. By comparison, changing saturation with the Hue/Saturation effect results in a smooth change. Steps to reproduce: 1) Set your composition to 32bit, linear 2) Apply the lumetri effect to some footage 3) change the saturation between 100 and 101. There is a big visible jump. 4) Turn linear compositing off 5) The change from 100 to 101 is now smooth and invisible/ ** I have reported this bug before a few years ago. I thought it had been fixed but I am noticing the same problem again in AE 2023. Maybe it wasn't fixed, or maybe the same bug has come back? **
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‎Feb 28, 2023
02:18 PM
This has been discussed on the form before and another user labelled this behaviour as normal. However I believe it is a bug. Basically: If you use the "replace footage" function, the alpha channel is reset to premultiplied. Steps to reproduce: 1) Import footage. 2) Interpret alpha channel to ignore 3) Replace the footage file with a different one 4) The alpha channel is now premultiplied. Interpreting an alpha channel to "ignore" is something that can only be done manually. If you've done it, you've done it for a reason. If you are dealing with a large number of files, eg multipass 3D renders, and you want to update those files to a newer version, you don't want all of the settings to be reset. Using the "replace footage" function does seem to remember manual color settings, so having the alpha channel reset seems to be an oversight.
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‎Dec 03, 2022
10:41 PM
13 Upvotes
The native Adobe Glow effect is pretty old and hasn't seen any significant updates in a long time (ever?). Although there are several 3rd party glow effects that offer a broader range of features, there's still the potantial for Adobe to update the existing effect to improve it's functionality but without going as far as a whole new plugin. Here are 4 suggested improvements that could be made to the existing effect: 1) Alternative falloff types, especially inverse square and also an adjustable exponential control 2) More precise control over the threshold that allows for HDR values and perhaps a softness. Maybe a value rather than percentage (thus not clamped to 0 -100). Working in 32bit sometimes we only want to add glow to bright areas that are already well over 1.0 but not affect the actual 0 - 1 areas of the image. 3) More options for what the glow is based on, instead of just color or alpha, include individual RGB channels, lightness / luminance / saturation as in other existing channel plugins. 4) Some type of control over the saturation of hot / clipped colors so that as colors get really bright they head towards white. To use Chris Brejon's terminology, we want to avoid the "notorious six". In fact the tendency of the AE glow plugin to push colors towards the "notorious six" is one of the biggest issues I have with it. In practical terms, this is something more application to working in 8 / 16 bit and not 32 bit, so I guess it would involve making the plugin aware of bit depth and gamma. These suggestions would improve the current glow effect without directly competing with 3rd party effects that offer more stylised outputs. (and here's a link to Chris Brejon's website where he demonstrates the "notorious 6") https://chrisbrejon.com/articles/ocio-display-transforms-and-misconceptions/
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‎Oct 06, 2021
06:29 PM
I've collected and uploaded a project that demonstrates the issue: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LzT-UN6D7n_njZkvRAcdqyC9tvTgSu-b/view?usp=sharing
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‎Oct 06, 2021
05:08 PM
1 Upvote
I have a few issues with NaN pixels in 32 bit projects. These problems are still in the latest Beta, but are the same for earlier public releases too. It does look like the problem is different when using the software renderer (worse) than the Mercury GPU accellerated renderer. I have a project that I have zipped up ready to share, but I don't seem to be able to upload a .zip Contact me to send you the file, it's less than 5 meg in size. Basically: The combination of the advanced spill supressor and lumetri plugins produces rogue pixels that are way out of range. These pixels then cause more artefacts / corruption when other effects such as blur & sharpen are used. There's a freely available "NaNny" plugin that exists to fix NaNs. Oddly, this plugin doesn't seem to work when applied to an adjustment layer. However it does work when applied in an effects stack. Adding a non-32bit plugin to the original layer also fixes the issue. NaNs and other rogue pixels are a HUGE PAIN. There should be a built-in filter to fix these issues so we don't have to rely on a 3rd party plugin. Anyone dealing with rogue pixels for the first time won't know what the problem is, it's extremely upsetting to see the types of screen corruption and problems they can cause without knowing why. NaNs should not be a problem for AE users and all plugins should have some sort of native filtering to fix them.
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‎Dec 07, 2020
04:17 PM
Screen recording attached. Once switching to fast draft, 3D layers do not render or update in the composition viewer, although wireframe outlines and gizmos continue to work. Composition window flashes to black when layers are selected, only showing colour image when mouse button is released. IE. It's like the composition window only displays the same old frame over and over, while the layers have been moved. Using the keyboard shortcuts to zoom in / zoom out causes a hang. Changing out of Fast Draft to Adaptive Resolution or Off (Final Quality) causes a hang.
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