Importing and interpreting Cineon and DPX sequences

You can import Cineon 4.5 or Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) files directly into an After Effects project as individual frames or as a sequence of numbered stills. Once you have imported a Cineon or DPX file, you can use it in a composition and then render the composition as an image sequence.

Cineon and DPX files are commonly used to transfer motion-picture film to a digital format. To preserve the full dynamic range of motion-picture film, Cineon files are stored using logarithmic 10-bpc color. However, After Effects internally uses 8‑bpc, 16‑bpc, or 32-bpc color, depending on the color bit depth of the project. Work with Cineon files in a 16- or 32-bpc project—by default, After Effects stretches the logarithmic values to the full range of values available.

In most cases, you should use color management features to automatically interpret the colors of Cineon and DPX footage. (See Cineon and DPX footage items.) You can, though, use the Cineon Settings dialog box to control the conversion manually.

Manual settings in the Cineon Settings dialog box:

Converted Black Point

Specifies the black point used for the layer in After Effects.

Converted White Point

Specifies the white point used for the layer in After Effects.

10 Bit Black Point

Specifies the black level (minimum density) for converting a 10-bit Cineon layer.

10 Bit White Point

Specifies the white level (maximum density) for converting a 10-bit Cineon layer.

Current Gamma

Specifies the target gamma value.

Highlight Rolloff

Specifies the rolloff value used to correct bright highlights. To get over range values when working in 32 bpc, set the value to 0.

Logarithmic Conversion

Converts the Cineon sequence from log color space to the target gamma specified by the Current Gamma setting. When you’re ready to produce output from the Cineon file, it is important that you reverse the conversion. (To convert from logarithmic to linear, set Current Gamma to 1.)

Units

Specifies the units After Effects uses to display dialog values.