)

II.E - Preparation of the color management of a production pipeline¶

Now that we know the different types of color spaces and at what points in the production process they come into play, let’s see how to prepare a complete production pipeline to effectively manage color from design to delivery.

The first step is to list all the formats used at the input of the production pipeline (videos or images supplied and imported, manufactured images) as well as all the formats to be delivered at the end of the production process (videos and final images).
Depending on these formats, and therefore the associated color spaces, we can choose the different spaces to be used during production, keeping in mind that “who can do more can do less”: the easiest thing is to set up a high-performance chain that can deliver in all formats.

It will also be necessary to take care that all the stages which modify the image use a colorimetric space larger than that of delivery: as well with a gamut* wider as with a larger depth.

We will also try to limit the number of spaces used (and thus limit the possible errors and shifts due to conversions). The preparation of the pipeline consists therefore most often in choosing the most adequate workspace according to the input and especially output formats, and supported by the various applications.

Here are some examples of possible choices, consistent with a cinema quality (and therefore all types of production).

E.1 - 3D animation with Blender, Filmic¶

Blender provides an efficient default workspace for 3D rendering: Filmic. This space being configured using OCIO, it is quite easy to create a production pipeline around it.

For simplicity, the textures can be made in a standard RGB Linear space.

As in most pipelines, we can use openEXR as an intermediate image format, both for textures and for intermediate renders or the final master.

Step	Type	Color Space / Format	Notes
All	Color Selectors	sRGB (screen)
It is always more convenient, and safer, to choose your colors in the non-linear screen space.
All	Display	Screen Space (sRGB)	Colors are always displayed in the color screen space.
Textures	Workspace	RGB Linear / 16 bpc	If the application does not support OCIO*
Textures	Workspace	Filmic / 16 bpc
Textures	Output	Workspace / openEXR 16 bpc
3D	Workspace	Filmic
3D	Output	Filmic / openEXR 16 bpc
Compositing	Workspace	Filmic / 32 bpc	In case of performance problems and if there is no color correction step following compositing, we may work with 16 bpc.
If the application does not support OCIO, then a LUT* Filmic must be applied to the imported footage.
Compositing	Softproofing	Final output space (Rec.709 for example)
Compositing	Final Output	Standard depending on the format: Rec.709, Rec.2020…
Compositing	Master / Archiving	RGB Linear / openEXR 16 bpc	It is probably safest to archive the images in as standard a space as possible, but without losing quality.
Compositing	Output for color correction	RGB Linear / openEXR 32bpc	32bpc is necessary to avoid loss of quality when converting to a possibly non-linear space for color correction.

E.1.a - Textures and other 2D images¶

Whatever the application (Substance Painter, Substance Designer, Krita, Adobe Photoshop, The Foundry Mari…), the color textures can be created in RGB Linear ; just be careful to have at least 16 bpc.

When importing in Blender, the images will be interpreted in RGB Linear, the data textures (normal maps, metalness, etc) in Raw, without conversion.

It is also possible to work directly with textures in Filmic space if the application supports OCIO* by simply loading the OCIO configuration from Blender, or by using an ICC profile corresponding to Filmic, such as the ones we propose download here.

E.1.b - 3D Render¶

3D rendering in Blender will be done in Filmic by default. You can choose different levels of contrast; it’s an artistic choice to make when working on lookdev, you’ll just have to re-apply the same one when compositing.

E.1.c - Compositing¶

If the compositing is done in Blender, it automatically uses the same workspace, i.e. Filmic (with the choice of contrast), and there is nothing to configure.

In case of compositing in a third party application, the easiest way is to use OCIO and load the OCIO configuration from Blender to be able to apply again the Filmic workspace (and the choice of contrast) on the openEXR files rendered by Blender and imported into the compositing application.

E.1.c.a - Filmic with After Effects¶

For the particular case of After Effects, where setting up OCIO is tedious, it may be simpler to use a LUT* for Filmic conversion… We provide a variation of this LUT here (for each Filmic contrast variation available). You will then have to choose another workspace in the After Effects project, and use a space conversion effect from RGB Linear to the project space after applying the LUT.

Example of effects to use on an openEXR Filmic file in After Effects with an ACEScg workspace*.

E.1.d - Exports¶

From the compositing software, we can then simply export openEXR RGB Linear files as master or backup, and directly video files in the standard color space that corresponds to them for the final exports.

E.2 - 3D animation with ACES.¶

Since most 3D software uses OCIO*, all of them will be able to use ACEScg* as their rendering space.

As in most pipelines, we can use openEXR as an intermediate image format, both for textures and for intermediate renders or the final master.

It should be noted that the ACES* configuration usually used, provided by OCIO, includes a very long list of color spaces, notably those of various camera manufacturers. If you don’t need all these formats, on an animation production that doesn’t include shooting, you can quite easily remove all these spaces from the setup. We provide here such an adapted version of ACES, which is more convenient in animation productions.

Step	Type	Color Space / Format	Notes
All	Color Selectors	sRGB (from the screen)	It is always more convenient, and safer, to choose your colors in the non-linear screen space.
All	Display	Screen Space (sRGB)	The colors are always displayed in the color screen space.
Textures	Workspace	RGB Linear / 16 bpc	If the application does not manage OCIO*
Textures	Workspace	ACEScg / 16 bpc
Textures	Output	Workspace / openEXR 16 bpc
3D	Workspace	ACEScg
3D	Output	ACEScg / openEXR 16 bpc
Compositing	Workspace	ACEScg / 32 bpc	In case of performance problems and if there is no color correction step following the compositing, we can eventually work with 16 bpc.
Compositing	Softproofing	Final output space (Rec.709 for example)	In doubt, it is better not to configure softproofing and to remain on the color space of the screen for display.
Compositing	Final output	Standard depending on the format : Rec.709, Rec.2020…
Compositing	Master / Archiving	RGB Linear / openEXR 16 bpc	It is probably safer to archive the images in as standard a space as possible, but without losing quality.
Compositing	Output for color correction	ACEScg / openEXR 32bpc	The 32 bpc are necessary to avoid loss of quality when converting to a probably non-linear space for color correction (which would be done with ACEScc in the case of a chain using ACES all along).

E.2.a - Textures and other 2D images¶

Whatever the application (Substance Painter, Substance Designer, Krita, Adobe Photoshop, The Foundry Mari…), the color textures can be created in RGB Linear; just be careful to have at least 16 bpc.

It is also possible, but not for all applications, to work directly in ACEScg; in this case, it will be necessary to be vigilant when importing into the 3D software to specify the right space, RGB linear or ACEScg (or raw/data for data maps such as normal maps, specular, etc.)

The interest of working directly with textures in ACEScg is to limit conversions and avoid the risks of color shift that result.

E.2.b - 3D Rendering¶

The 3D rendering is done with ACEScg

E.2.c - Compositing¶

For compositing, the easiest way is to use OCIO and load the ACES configuration so that you can reapply the ACEScg space to the rendered openEXR files and as a workspace.

For the particular case of Adobe After Effects, there is no need to use OCIO, ACEScg is provided natively.

E.2.d - Exports¶

From the compositing software, you can then simply export openEXR RGB Linear files as master or backup, and directly video files in the corresponding standard color space.

E.3 - 2D Animation¶

In 2D animation, it is less important to use a gamut* wide workspace. Although it is recommended to follow the same methods as in 3D, some animation softwares will not allow it and we can therefore fall back on a RGB Linear pipeline for example.

It will be necessary to use as much as possible openEXR files all along the pipeline to be sure to keep a sufficient quality. Here again, if for detailed scenery it is important to stay on this format and a linear space with at least 16 bpc, in the case of animation if it is less detailed or uses simple flat colors, we can fall back on more common spaces sRGB and PNG formats (with 16 bpc if possible) or vectors.

Step	Type	Color Space / Format	Notes
All	Color Selectors	sRGB (from the screen)	It is always more convenient, and safer, to choose your colors in the non-linear screen space.
All	Display	Screen Space (sRGB)	The colors are always displayed in the color screen space.
Backgrounds	Workspace	RGB Linear / 16 bpc
Backgrounds	Output	RGB Linear / openEXR 16 bpc
Animation	Workspace	RGB Linéaire / 16 bpc
Animation	Workspace	sRGB / 16 bpc	If the application does not allow you to work in linear.
Animation	Workspace	sRGB / 8 bpc	In case of vector output.
Animation	Output	RGB Linear / openEXR 16 bpc
Animation	Output	sRGB / PNG 16 bpc	If the application does not allow exporting in EXR.
Animation	Output	sRGB / 8 bpc	In case of vector output.
Compositing	Workspace	ACEScg / 32 bpc	Or any other space at gamut* wide so that you can export in all types of formats, including film.
Compositing	Softproofing	Final output space (Rec.709 for example)	In doubt, it is better not to configure softproofing and to remain on the color space of the screen for display.
Compositing	Final output	Standard depending on the format : Rec.709, Rec.2020…
Compositing	Master / Archiving	RGB Linear / openEXR 16 bpc	It is probably safer to archive the images in as standard a space as possible, but without losing quality.
Compositing	Output for color correction	RGB Linear / openEXR 32bpc	32 bpc are necessary to avoid losing quality when converting to a probably non-linear space for color correction.

E.4 - Videos, live action and VFX¶

A pipeline that includes video can be very similar to a 3D production pipeline, especially if it involves 3D renderings.

Simply, you will have to be careful and import the photos and videos by specifying the correct color space, that of the camera that captured the images, as soon as they are imported into the software that uses them.

OCIO and ACES contain a large selection of color spaces from various camera models, so it is often easiest to use a chain with ACES for production, as described above.