AVI to QT color shift?

[tubbesing]

Using an eMac and AfterEffects, I'm supposed to add FX to miniDV footage that was captured on a PC and saved as AVI files.
When I open the AVI files in Quicktime they have a slight blue cast -- which the editor wants to keep. But when I convert them to MOV files using Quicktime, they are slightly warmer and sharper. (They actually look better this way, but that's not the point.)
If I import the AVI files directly into AfterEffects (using the "all Files" option), then render them uncompressed as MOV files, they have the same undesireable warm cast.
Any insights and/or suggestions?

 

[Thank The Cheese]

I presume you are using Quicktime Pro 7 to convert. If so, have you tried applying a ColorSync or HSL Balance filter before exporting?

When you open the DV in QT, go to File > Export as usual and choose Movie to Quicktime Movie, then click on the Options... button.

In the options window, clickon the Filter... button and select the expander arrow next to Adjustments and choose ColorSync

Fiddle arround with those sttings, keeping an eye on the thumbnail image at the lower-left of the window.

Alteranatively, you could choose HSL Balance in the same window and play around with those settings.

If you're using Quicktime 6 or earlier, the filters should still be there (maybe in the same place), but I'm not sure if it's exactly the same procedure or not.

hope that helps

 

[Mikuro]

Sounds to me like you might have more than one codec installed that can decode this video, and one is taking control for playback while the other is taking control for conversion. I know from personal experience that 3ivx returns slightly warmer video than Divx, for example. Take a look through your /Library/QuickTime (and ~/Library/QuickTime) folder and try removing everything you don't need at the moment. Then quit + reload the relevant apps and see if the inconstistency remains.

 

[LKT]

You could also be having this problem because there are some codecs that use the RGB color space and some (such as the uncompressed codec) that uses the YUV color space. Try rendering the AVI file to a RGB codec such as None or Animation and see if the problem goes away. Look to see what codec the AVI files are using the Get Info in Quicktime.

 

[tubbesing]

Thank you all. I now have plenty of fodder for QT creative playtime.