This post was last modified: 2017-01-22, 00:08 by
Colin.
Gunther,
I've done a bunch more testing now. I started by verifying the version number of every piece of software in the chain and then proceeded to follow your suggestions exactly. Turns out the version of After Effects that was loading from my dock icon was still the last version from a few weeks ago. I manually opened the most recent version and then followed your steps concerning the white balance. When I imported the sequence into After Effects I noticed that, for the first time, my .dng files had .xmp sidecar files in the folder with them now. The sequence loaded in After Effects and this time it honored the transitions of my graduated filter but the white balance was still off. Interestingly, the camera raw settings that pop up when you import .dng files into After Effects showed the correct white balance. So did the thumbnail for the image sequence inside of After Effects. When I used ACR to change just the white balance of all the files back to "as shot," they then came in correctly but without the graduated filter adjustments. As I continued to re-load, re-save and re-import the sequence trying different things I noticed a couple of weird things. One was that when I first changed the white balance handling as you suggested, I immediately saw that the white balance and tint columns were added to the LRT window. However, after switching it back and forth a few times testing different things, those columns failed to appear regardless of how white balance handling was set. The other weird thing is that the first image in the sequence, which contained a keyframe, seemed to be the one that was not updating properly. I noticed that it would still have the wrong white balance when all the other images were correct. And then, while importing another test into After Effects, I noticed that all the xmp sidecar files were gone except for the one for the first image. Manually fixing this image's white balance didn't help. I ended up deleting the first image of the sequence and then everything worked! I was able to get both the correct white balance and graduated filter adjustments into After Effects. A couple of notes: One is that the white balance and tint columns never showed back up regardless of how I set the white balance handling in the metadata pane. I know I can manually choose to show it but I thought this was weird. The other is that, since using the most current version of Bridge and After Effects, the visual previews seem to render just fine regardless of the white balance handling. Not sure why that would be. I'll try more sequences and let you know if I have further issues.
Someone ought to give you a medal. You are a complete rock star for single-handedly creating one of the most useful pieces of filmmaking software in recent years as well as the best-supported one. Thank you for your awesomeness.