I've been working on a project that was shot in ProRes 422 HQ. I've imported into AE, and want to apply/work in 32 bit mode rather than 8 bit mode, yet, the Project Settings window (Color Settings) simply will not let me change from 8 to 32.

What gives?

AE 7, Mac Pro, X1900 XT

It appears to me that you are in 32 bpc mode, with no option of changing to 8 bpc.

Can someone else verify what Emre said?

Looks to me like 8 bits/channel is selected in the drop-down menu... need a 3rd opinion. Thanks Emre.

No, the option of 8 bit is selected, and the menu grayed out. You are in 8 bit mode.

I really have no idea why this is the case.

However, there is another was to access the color depth:

In your project window, you can see the "8 bpc", "16 bpc" or "32 bpc" note below the list of files. It's to the right of the new composition button.

Using alt+click on the icon for bpc, you can change it. However, if it's disabled on your system, that might not work either.

Aside from that, you could go into the system setup, etc., to see if something is disabled on your system. You could also reinstall, etc.

Are you working from a particularly old / low RAM/processor system? Maybe it simply can't handle the workflow of +8 bit, though I think that's odd, because it should just take longer to render, rather than being entirely disabled.

Daniel, thank you for replying.

I used to be able to use 32 bit mode! Haven't used AE for a while, and now this.

I've even made new projects now to see if perhaps it was due to my 8-bit source files - no dice; it's stuck in 8 bit mode.

Nothing odd about the computer's hardware - top of the line Mac Pro with the 512MB 1900XT with 2GB RAM (soon to be 6GB). I had the Decklink HD Extreme card in this beast since I got computer, so I doubt that's the problem.

Damn.. I need 32 bit mode to work!

Very strange.

I take it that the alt+click option didn't help either?

Only option now is to contact adobe and ask what's up.

First, you could just reinstall/reformat, if you want...

It won't change, no matter how I click it, or buttons I push while clicking. I tried many variations. *sigh*

I'll reinstall when I get a chance.. soon!

Can you upload just a snippet of the ProRes source files?

I could, but it won't change my situation - even in new projects, with true 32bit source files, it won't allow me to go 32 bit. Weird.

I'm going to reinstall soon.

Maybe you can try resetting to the default settings before doing that.

I just reinstalled AE 7. It kept the serial number in the system even after I had deleted everything I could find, so it reinstalled with the same serial.

Anyhow, no change. :(

Is there a 'button' I can hit that'll reset everything?

This is getting frustrating.. I really need these effects to render beyond 8-bit. (I shot, real time, in Prores 422 HQ via HD-SDI to my computer.. 8-bit source, but still, 99% free of compression! I have to add some serious effects to the footage, and 8-bit will not cut it).

Cheers - I really appreciate your help.

EDIT: I've gone through every window/setting that AE will let me access.. nothing that'll even remotely let me change the bpc.

My only thought is that there's something that's preventing the application itself from even doing this.. some system preference? Wow.

I agree. Turn up the RAM, turn up the processor allowance, etc.
Aside from that, no idea.

If you have something disabled, like openGL, perhaps that would be a factor as well.

RAM, Virtual Scratch disk and video ram are all turned up very high.. still no dice.

OpenGL should be fine.

All the updates for OS X are installed, so everything is current.

I am considering reinstalling the OS.

I've looked around at other forums on the net - no mention of this elsewhere. :(

Like I said, if you can post a clip, we will take a look.

ANY project I make.. any new project, with new files and nothing to do with the ProRes footage all stays at 8bpc. The source isn't the cause. I can create 16bit files in Photoshop and they still won't affect AE's 'choice' to stay in 8 bpc. Shame.

You could try starting After Effects with Ctrl+Alt+Shift (on Windows, or Cmd-Option-Shift on Mac) held down, which will recreate the preferences file.

Thanks everyone - it's working now - I deleted and reinstalled the application!

So, drastic I suppose, but it did fix the problem - you all helped, I wanted you to know that.

Cheers!

Glad it's working. But no clue what was wrong? I'm curious.

After Effects now says it's working in 32 bit mode. The filters I apply look a bit smoother than what my original renders looked like. The codec I'll be outputting to is a 10-bit codec (Apple ProRes 422 HQ), and as I've read by Mike Curtis on HD for Indies, TEST and make sure it really is outputting 1024 levels of gray (10 bit) rather than 256 levels of gray (8 bit). Mike's suggested test makes a lot of sense:

"1.) Are you SURE you’re getting 10 bit output from your CS3? Often one has to edit text files to make sure the codec enables 10 bit output - see

http://www.hdforindies.com/2006/06/after-effects-stuff-workflow-tips-and.html

2.) If unsure, render a black to white gradient, left to right, on a 1024 pixel wide frame, to your ostensibly 10 bit codec. Bring it back into your AE project. Does each pixel moving right change one pixel in brightness? If they change in jumps every 4 pixels, you’ve got 8 bit output."

So, in AE, working in 32 bit mode, I made a new compostiion and.. what the hell.. even before I render OUT, the grays jump 4 levels every time I move my mouse over one pixel, not 1 level per each pixel move as they should!! I can *see* the banding as well.. what .. this shouldn't even be happening now, only if/when I export. I'm in floating point mode for crissakes!

Is this After Effects 7 Standard or Professional?

Here's what the "About color depth" section of After Effects 7 Help says: "In After Effects, you can work in 8-bpc, 16-bpc or 32-bpc color mode for each project; 16-bpc and 32-bpc color modes are available only in After Effects Professional."

BTW, there's no Standard version of After Effects CS3, so this confusion shouldn't happen with the new version.

(Sorry to respond so late, but maybe this will be helpful to someone else with the same issue.)

Todd, I'm using the Pro version.

Don''t know enough about Macs but could it be something as simple as your screen resolution (maybe set to 16 bit colour instead of 32)? Seems unlikely...

Apart from that maybe a clash with the driver version of the ATI card you are using - check for the recommended driver on Adobe's site.

This problem has existed before the drivers were updated (I installed the new drivers a week ago). Problem still exists. In the new year, I'll install a fresh copy of Leopard - we'll see if this fixes things.

Glad you got it working for you...