Wiki · Autograph / EXR / color workflow

Autograph EXR channel and data-pass checklist

Published 2026-07-02 · Wiki · EXR / Data passes / OCIO

A practical checklist for testing multi-channel EXR sources, alpha, utility passes, and color-managed data before using Autograph in a VFX handoff.

Why this page exists

Autograph is presented as a free motion graphics and VFX/compositing host with OpenFX support, multi-channel EXR support, ACES and OCIO workflows, Red Giant and Universe access, and third-party OpenFX compatibility. That feature set is useful only if the exact EXR files used by a project survive import, preview, effect processing, render, and re-import without silent channel or color changes.

What to test first

Beauty RGBA: confirm RGB, alpha, premultiplication expectation, frame range, resolution, pixel aspect, and missing-frame behavior.
Layered or multi-channel EXR: check whether Autograph sees the expected channels or layers, and write down which names are visible in the UI.
Utility passes: test Z-depth, normals, position, motion vectors, object IDs, crypto or matte-like passes, and any custom AOV names used by the renderer.
Data versus color: make sure non-color passes are not viewed or transformed as display color. Depth, normals, IDs, and vectors should be treated as data.
Round trip: render a short range, re-import it, and compare channels against the source rather than judging only the live viewer.

Channel naming notes

Before starting a job, collect one representative EXR from each render source and record the actual channel names. A compositor-friendly channel set is not universal: one renderer may write diffuse.R, another may write a grouped layer name, and another may split utility data into custom AOVs. The practical question is not whether EXR supports those channels; it is whether the current Autograph build and plug-in path expose the channels needed for the shot.

OCIO and ACES checks

Record the OCIO config path or ACES setup used by the project.
Test the same EXR through preview, exported stills, exported sequence, and any downstream host such as Nuke, Resolve/Fusion, Flame, After Effects, or Blender.
Keep scene-linear image data separate from display-referred review files. A good review MOV does not prove that the EXR source values are intact.
For utility passes, verify that the intended colorspace is data/non-color rather than a view transform or display colorspace.

Failure signs

Alpha changes after an effect is applied or after render.
Utility passes appear clipped, gamma-shifted, normalized, or posterized.
Only beauty channels are available even though the source EXR contains more data.
Motion vectors, normals, or depth render correctly in another host but are unavailable or altered in Autograph.
The viewer looks plausible while the exported sequence fails when opened in a second application.

Practical rule

Treat EXR support as a project-specific verification surface. OpenEXR can carry arbitrary channels and additional attributes, and OCIO can distinguish scene-linear, display, log, and data encodings, but that does not guarantee every host, plug-in, effect, or render path will preserve the exact pass structure needed by a production shot.

Useful next pages

Sources checked

Maxon Autograph product page — checked 2026-07-02. Used for Autograph feature context: OpenFX, multi-channel EXR, ACES, OCIO, Red Giant/Universe, third-party OpenFX, and OpenUSD positioning.
OpenEXR Technical Introduction — checked 2026-07-02. Used for EXR support for high dynamic range, 16-bit and 32-bit floating point pixel data, arbitrary image channels, additional attributes, multi-view, and deep data context.
ACES Documentation — checked 2026-07-02. Used for ACES as an open color-management system for preserving consistent color through capture, VFX, mastering, archiving, and delivery.
OpenColorIO colorspaces documentation — checked 2026-07-02. Used for scene-referred colorspaces, scene-linear encoding, bit depth, and the isdata distinction for non-color passes.