MOV Exports Much Lighter Image Than Harmony File

Harmony Harmony Support and Troubleshooting
1

My studio is working on a series of videos in which each animator is given their own shot, we export the MOVs, and then edit them together for the final video.

I’m running into the issue that my MOVs are constantly exporting a much lighter image than what is shown in my Harmony file. This is a problem when trying to composite the final video. So far we’ve had to just color correct the shots I export to match the rest of the video.

My coworkers and I have made sure that we have all the exact same export settings and there doesn’t appear to be anything abnormal within the files themselves. I believe this issue may have started when I transferred Toon Boom from my old computer to my new one, but I can’t seem to find any reason why this issue is occurring.

Does anyone know why this may be happening? Thanks.

2

Hi fablekeeper,

Thank you for the additional info.
Do you have the same issue if you export using the Animation encoding instead?

Thanks!

Marie-Eve

3

Oh yes and I forgot to ask which version and edition of Harmony you are running.
The build number would also be useful.

You would see that under Stage > About.

Thanks!

Marie-Eve

4

Hmm… Yeah, it looks like I have the same issue when using the Animation encoding. Also, I’m using Toon Boom Stage 10.0.1.

Thanks!
Owen

5

Hi Fablekeeper,

There are some slight issues when rendering in 4K or above where compressed movies (like H.264) lowers the image quality. Also, it’s not recommended to render compressed Quicktime movies for editing… but if you have the same issue with the Animation codec, it might be something else.

If you render your projects in image sequences, you will have a much higher quality and consistency.

I may recommend to contact our Support team who could help out further.

https://store.toonboom.com/contact/support

6

Hi fablekeeper,

Would it be possible for you to post the QuickTime export settings your team uses as well as the differences between your previous and current computer?

Thanks!

Marie-Eve

7

Hi mechartrand, thanks for your reply!

The export settings for the final shots are:
Compression type: MPEG-4 Video
Data Rate: Automatic
KF Rate: Every 24
Compressor Quality: Best
No Filter

I just upgraded from a 2010 MacBook Pro running OS X 10.9.5 to a new Mac Mini running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5.

Let me know if you need any more info!

Thanks,
Owen