Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 298)

292 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Color
Last updated 12/21/2009
Enable or disable display color management
When color management is on, the default behavior is for RGB pixel values to be converted to the color space of your
computer monitor from the working color space for the project. Color appearance is preserved; RGB numbers are not
preserved. This behavior is adequate for most uses, but you sometimes need to see how the colors are actually going to
look when viewed through a system that does not use color management. For example, you may need to see how the
colors will appear when viewed in a web browser.
When display color management is off, the RGB color values are sent directly to your monitor, without any conversion
through the monitor profile. RGB numbers are preserved; color appearance is not preserved.
When display color management is on for a viewer, a yellow plus sign appears in the Show Channel And Color
Management Settings
button at the bottom of the viewer.
For each viewer (Composition, Layer, or Footage panel), you can choose whether to manage display colors, which
involves the conversion of colors from the working color space to the color space of the monitor.
1 Activate a Composition, Layer, or Footage panel.
2 Do one of the following to toggle between enabling and disabling display color management:
• Click the Show Channel And Color Management Settings button at the bottom of the viewer, and choose Use
Display Color Management.
• Choose View > Use Display Color Management.
• Press Shift+/ (on the numeric keypad).
Output simulation settings (including No Output Simulation) are remembered.
More Help topics
“ Viewers ” on page 15
“ Previewing ” on page 195
Simulate how colors will appear on a different output device
Often, you need to preview how a movie will appear on a device other than your computer monitor. One purpose of
color management is to ensure that colors look the same on every device, but color management in After Effects can’t
overcome scenarios like the following:
• An output device for which you’re creating your movie has a smaller gamut than the working color space of your
project, so the device is unable to represent some colors.
• The colors in your movie are displayed by a device or software that does not use color management to convert
colors.
For example, when you are creating a movie using a computer monitor and a high-definition video monitor, you may
need to see how the movie will look when transferred to a specific film stock and projected under standard theater
viewing conditions.
In such situations, you’ll want to preview how colors will appear when they’re displayed on a device other than your
computer monitor. Output simulation requires display color management.