Wiki · Autograph / color / troubleshooting
Autograph color transform troubleshooting checklist
A short diagnostic page for finding where a shot changes color while moving through Autograph, EXR sources, OCIO or ACES viewing, plug-ins, review exports, and downstream compositing or finishing tools.
Why this page exists
Autograph is positioned as a motion graphics and VFX/compositing tool with OpenFX support, multi-channel EXR support, and ACES and OCIO workflow support. Those capabilities make it useful in a mixed VFX pipeline, but they also create several places where a shot can look correct in one viewer and wrong after export, review, or re-import.
First isolate the failure
- Source read: open the same EXR, ProRes, still, or plate in Autograph and in a second trusted viewer. Record whether the mismatch appears before any effect is applied.
- Viewer transform: change only the display or view transform, not the image data, and confirm whether the apparent error follows the viewer setting.
- Effect path: bypass all modifiers and plug-ins, then re-enable them one at a time. OpenFX, Red Giant, Universe, and third-party effects should be tested as separate failure surfaces.
- Render path: export a short still or frame sequence, re-import it, and compare it with the live viewer. A correct viewer does not prove the file written to disk is correct.
- Downstream read: open the exported file in the next tool in the delivery chain, such as Nuke, Resolve/Fusion, Flame, After Effects, Blender, or editorial review software.
Record the project assumptions
- Input file type, codec, bit depth, alpha state, and whether the file is display-referred, log, scene-linear, or data.
- OCIO config path, ACES version or preset, input transform, working space, view transform, look, and display/output target.
- Whether utility passes such as depth, normals, vectors, IDs, mattes, or masks are treated as data/non-color rather than image color.
- Exact output settings: still versus sequence, EXR versus ProRes or another review codec, alpha, premultiplication, range, and naming.
Common mismatch patterns
- Double viewing transform: an image is converted or viewed twice, often making contrast and saturation appear too strong.
- Missing input transform: camera log, display-referred, or scene-linear files are read as the wrong kind of image.
- Data pass treated as color: non-color values such as depth, IDs, or vectors are affected by a color transform and become unusable.
- Review file mistaken for source truth: a ProRes or other display-ready export looks acceptable, but the EXR or float-data path is already wrong.
- Plug-in-only change: a modifier or plug-in clamps, premultiplies, gamma-shifts, or otherwise changes values even when the base layer is correct.
Minimum practical test
Use one boring test shot before diagnosing a complex comp: a gray ramp, a saturated color patch, an alpha edge, a bright highlight above 1.0 when using scene-linear EXR, and one data pass that should not be color transformed. Move that test through import, viewer, one native effect, one OpenFX or third-party effect if the job needs it, export, and re-import.
Useful next pages
- Autograph EXR channel and data-pass checklist
- Scene-linear EXR, ACES, and OCIO handoff checklist
- Autograph render review and delivery checklist
- Autograph OpenFX plugin compatibility note
Sources checked
- Maxon Autograph product page — checked 2026-07-07. Used for Autograph feature context: OpenFX, multi-channel EXR, ProRes, ACES, OCIO, Red Giant/Universe, third-party OpenFX, and USD positioning.
- OpenColorIO project page — checked 2026-07-07. Used for OCIO as a VFX-oriented color-management framework and for current ACES 2.0 support context.
- ACESCentral Knowledge Base — checked 2026-07-07. Used for ACES reference context and documentation entry points.
- OpenEXR Technical Introduction — checked 2026-07-07. Used for EXR context around high dynamic range, floating-point image data, arbitrary channels, and metadata.