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mitm2002 68 posts
Hi,
Anybody know why when I import my Targa sequence (created in Maya) into After Effects, it shows up in black and white instead of color?
Thanks in advance for any help!
MITM2002
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hype 2,964 posts
the 2 things I would check first:
1 - open one of the rendered targas in another program (photoshop, maya, etc), to be sure it's AE that is making them B&W, and that they weren't rendered that way.
2 - Check up on your color profile for the project and make sure its not set to something goofy by accident. Also check everything in the Main Interpretation panel.
Other than that, I have no more ideas.
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ivanisavich 4,196 posts
My guess is that you probably (unknowingly) isolated the alpha channel in your monitor window. Just click the little button at the bottom of the monitor window to return to an RGB view.
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mitm2002 68 posts
Thanks, guys, but unfortunately, something else is causing the problem. It's probably something simple, but I'll be damned if I can find it - ha ha. When I import the footage and check "Ignore" - it looks like it should, but then of course, there's no Alpha channel. For some reason, importing "Straight - Unmatted" - there is something about the Alpha channel that is making the whole thing black and white even when I'm in RGB mode. Any other ideas?
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This might sound silly, but sometimes it's easy to uncheck a box without realising. Check both these things in Maya:
- In the camera's attribute editor, under (I think) Output Settings, make sure the "Image" checkbox is switched on
- In the render globals, make sure the RGB Channel (color) checkbox is switched on
Sounds like you just rendered out your alpha channel. Load the sequence into FCheck - it should show the colour channels by default. If it won't let you click the Color Channels button, there isn't one in the file.
Christian
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mitm2002 68 posts
I can't seem to find the RGB Color channel in the Render Globals. I've attached a screen capture - as you can see, all that is there is Alpha and Depth. Any idea what I'm doing wrong or where my RGB Color channel might be? It sounds like this might be the source of my trouble though.
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That explains it. The Image setting has been switched off for your render camera (in this case, the Perspecitve view), so all it's rendered for each frame is the alpha channel. Easy to fix, but you'll need to re-render.
- In the perspective view's menu, click on View -> Camera Attribute Editor
- In the attribute editor, scroll down to Output Settings, and check the box marked "Image" (which I'm guessing will be switched off).
- Back in the render globals, the RGB Channels (Color) box should now be there.
If that doesn't work, then I'm stumped!
C
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mitm2002 68 posts
Unfortunately, "Image" was already checked - yet for some reason the RGB Channel is not listed in the Render settings. Thanks for trying. I'll keep fiddling around - hopefully I'll find something.
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zachm 1,230 posts
Hey man, I think that Tyson is onto it personally, I have tried to replicate the error you're getting using the Maya software render, and haven't been able to do it so far... And you never really said if the image opens and displays fine out of Fcheck or photoshop, ect. But you said that you are able to load it fine if you ignore the alpha.... So that leads me to believe that you are simply only displaying a single color channel while loaded in AE.. If you woudln't mind posting a frame from the sequence as an attachment so that we could help you troubleshoot better, that'd be great. And you may have tried this, but if you haven't then do so before putting the attachment up... Load your sequence into AE and with your footage window selected, hit alt+1 a few times, and watch to see if your image changes from color to "black and white"
-Z
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mitm2002 68 posts
Hi Zachm,
Thanks for looking into the problem I'm having. It's weird - the files open in color in Photoshop, but in Black and White in After Effects. For some reason I wasn't able to attach a Targa file, but I've attached a JPEG - obviously there are no Alpha channels with JPEGs, so this might not be any help at all. If you have any advice, I'm all ears - THANKS!
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zachm 1,230 posts
If you zipped the .tga file you'd be able to add it as an attachment, I'd have to see the file with the alpha channel in it...
-Z
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mitm2002 68 posts
Hi Zachm,
Attached is a zipped file from my Targa sequence. I hope you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. Thanks for the help!
MITM2002
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mitm2002 68 posts
P.S. I zipped this file on my work computer (Mac), and for some reason on my work computer the file is in grey scale. At my home computer (PC) where I made it, the file is in color. The plot thickens I guess.
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hype 2,964 posts
Our software here at work reads it fine. All color channels are there, the sparklies have a slight blue hue to them, and the matte is there fine.
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mitm2002 68 posts
That is so weird, Hype. I wish I knew where things are going wrong. Would you mind importing the file I uploaded into After Effects to see if it's still in color and has an Alpha channel? Thanks for your time!
MITM2002
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zachm 1,230 posts
Yeah man, I see the colors fine on my machine here as well. My guess is that in After Effects, you are only viewing one of the color channels. My advice is this, import your footage into AE, and hit alt+1 until you see the right colors. Alt+1, 2, and 3 will toggle you through your color channels in AE, 1 is the red channel, 2 is the green channel, and 3 is the blue channel. I think alt + 4 is the alpha. And if you click alt+1 once while in rgb mode, you will see the red channel in the viewport. If you hit it again, you will see the RGB channels displayed in the viewport, giving you the colors you rendered out with. Hope that helps man, if that's not the case, I don't know what else it could be.
-Z
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I've imported it into AE here and I'm getting the same weird incorrect results.
Viewing the RGB straight (i.e. ignoring the alpha channel) it looks fine, as does ignoring the alpha in the interpret footage dialog. Viewing RGB, R, G, B and Alpha all give the same black & white image.
I wonder...
The blue looks like it was generated using Maya's glow, right?
I think what might have happened is that the alpha channel is based on the geometry of the objects in the scene, and the glow is applied as a post-render action, therefore not affecting the alpha channel. That's the only plausible explanation I can think of.
C
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mitm2002 68 posts
Huh, very strange. I tried toggling through the different color channels, but in RGB mode, my After Effects displays only the black and white version. As for the geometry itself, it's a Paint Effect - using the Galactic brush. Thanks for your time and help, guys. I'll let you know if I find the culprit.
Thanks,
MITM2002
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zachm 1,230 posts
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mitm2002 68 posts
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