Output Profile

Output Profile

By default, After Effects uses Working Space as the Output
Profi le, usually the right choice. Place the comp in the
Render Queue and open the Output Module; on the Color
Management tab you can select a different profi le to apply
on output. The pipeline from the last section now adds a
third step to the fi rst two:
1. The source image is interpreted on import (on the
Footage Settings > Color Management tab).
2. The image is transformed to the working space; its
color values will change to preserve its appearance.
3. The image is transformed to the output profi le specifi
ed in Output Module Settings > Color Management.
If the profi le in step 3 is different from that of step 2, color
values will change to preserve color appearance. If the
output format supports embedded ICC profi les (presumably
a still image format such as TIFF or PSD), then a
profi le will be embedded so that any other application
with color management (presumably an Adobe application
such as Photoshop or Illustrator) will continue to preserve
those colors.

In the real world, of course, rendered output is probably
destined to a device or format that doesn’t support color
management and embedded profi les. That’s okay, except
in the case of QuickTime, which may further change the
appearance of the fi le, almost guaranteeing that the output
won’t match your composition without special handling.