Linear Workflow For The After Effects User

Linear Workflow For The After Effects User

on Aug 20th 2012 with 23 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Requirements: Just After Effects
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Run Time: 13 min
Download Source Files

In this tutorial we’ll look at some of the problems caused when working in sRGB color space and how we can fix these problems using a linear workflow. Let’s jump in!

Tutorial

Download Tutorial .mp4

File size: 113.6 MB

 
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I'm a freelance VFX artist from Brisbane. Please check out my youtube channel JamesWhiffinVFX and my website at vfxbyjames.info  

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  • pedro soto

    really love this kind of tutorials…thanks…great work

  • J

    I’d love for a more in-depth tutorial on exactly how to setup linear workflow for different types of footage. More of a workflow piece, because I’ve known that linear workflow is important for a few years, but I’ve never been clear when and how to use it on different types of footage, and what color spaces to setup for what footage, etc.

  • Anthony

    I’ve been really trying to learn more about color space and what is best… yada yada yada…. and this was VERY helpful. Thank you.

  • Marcus

    Great information. Thanks! It sounds like we should only be working linearly. Is their a time when it is not beneficial?

    • http://vfxbyjames.info James Whiffin
      Author

      Sometimes it can take a bit of extra time to set up, such as in maya for example. That’s the only downside in my experience.

  • http://danielbroadway.blogspot.com/ Daniel Broadway

    Excellent tutorial. I did a similar one about 2 and a half years ago, but I think yours explained it better than mine. Bravo, sir.

    • http://vfxbyjames.info James Whiffin
      Author

      Thanks Daniel, I first heard about linear workflow from your tutorial, it was very insightful.

  • http://www.creativedojo.net VinhSon Nguyen

    Great work, love to see more of these conceptual and informative stuff from you. Very helpful for beginners as well :)

  • Jan Post

    In my opinion you also should have explained gamma mathematically (S_{out} = S_{in}^ɣ) and why we need to do fancy calibration and/or set up for a Gamma of 2.2 in most cases (where does it come from (CRT display and such)). But besides that it was very good.

  • Lucso

    why would you burn that KOALA dude?! Anyway great tutorial, this is the kind of information that we’ll hardly find on a video tutorial, and more likely never find at all. Thank you!

  • Hector

    thanks!! I need that information… great!

  • ChrisCore

    Great Tutorial, thank you.
    How do I render a LWF animation best so that I don´t loose the effect of the greater colorrange?

    • Jan Post

      If it’s your final render it doesn’t matter. you can simply render in 8 bit. 32 bit is only important while processing the colors inside of AE.

      • Jan Post

        but don’t get me wrong. your AE project needs to be in 32 bit but your output file (png sequence or avi for example) can be in 8 bit.

    • http://vfxbyjames.info James Whiffin
      Author

      If it’s your final render for the web or TV, as Jan said you only need to render it back to an 8 bit sRGB format. If you’re rendering from maya, check out my tutorial on cgtuts.

  • Will

    Fantastic tutorial. I always wondered why my ramps looked so lacklustre. Well worth a watch ESPECIALLY for those of us who don’t know what a linear workflow really is.

  • http://www.webistudio.com webistudio

    thanks i found this tutorila very usefull :)

  • Peter

    Awesome sauce!

  • http://www.inlifethrill.com inlifethrill

    Useful stuff man!

  • http://footstepsontheceiling.co,uk adize

    Nice tut, thanks a lot! One question: why are you setting fire to koala :)?

    Cheers

  • http://www.wrenthereaper.com Wren Weichman

    I’m definitely not new to after effects (authored 10 tuts on this site), but my biggest issue is that I tend to forget TO set my working space to linear or even up to 32bit when I start up.

    I’ve not been able to find a way to set it up so that the workspace is set to Linear/32bit by default when I start the program or start a new project. Am I missing something really obvious? Or do I simply just have to remember each time. I hate spending time getting composites to look right, just to remember I need to switch to linear, and realize that it now looks horrible and need to fix it again haha. It’s always one of those “DOH!” moments.

  • http://www.zebravideo.ca video production toronto

    really nice tutorial , different colour spaces is always a problem

  • http://www.space-jump.com Myaka

    Linear workflow is indeed great, but there is a catch: for example when you use Curves with linear workspace it turns your curve space to Log and you kinda need to manipulate curve points closer to the edges and because of that you loose a lot of precision.