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Motion 5 ProRes4444 export shows gradient banding (Pics)

I have render settings set to their highest for a ProRes 4444 export - yet i am getting noticeable gradient banding. The following threee images are the frame in Motion (perfect) - the frame when exported (banding) and then export settings used. This is Motion 5 on LION on an i7 iMac freshly installed bougth yesterday from the store. Any ideas?


User uploaded file

User uploaded file


User uploaded file

Posted on Sep 5, 2011 6:50 PM

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24 replies

Sep 5, 2011 7:08 PM in response to Douglas Suiter

Some additional information:


• I have found the same result if i export a still TIFF.

• I have also found that if I change the render settings in the canvas to "Normal" the banding will occur in the canvas exactly as it does in the output.

• If I keep the canvas render settings to Best and press play the banding will appear until I press stop. If I render the area the banding goes away.


It seems I just can't get Motion 5 to output at best render settings.


I really need some help now - this is due out to client today and he is complaining about the banding - with good reason!

Sep 5, 2011 9:21 PM in response to Patrick Sheffield

Darn - I really thought you nailed it there. Yes - I thought it looked like an 8 Bit setting too and that I just couldn't find a float setting.


So - given that it is on float setting should I not expect to be able to render at the quality i am seeing in the canvas?


Surely if the result I want can be seen inthe canvas the result I want can be exported to a file given the correct settings...


(also, there is no Reduce Banding Filter is Motion 5 as far as I can see)

Sep 5, 2011 10:32 PM in response to Patrick Sheffield

No worries Patrick. I think looking to reduce banding is beside the point anyway. What I am trying to figure out is which setting i should use to avoid the banding in the first place.


Am i wrong when I say "if it shows without banding in the canvas set to Best Setting, there must be a way to to output it to a file without banding"?


Is there a flaw in that logic?

Sep 5, 2011 10:48 PM in response to Douglas Suiter

One would think.


Banding occurs whenever there is a shallow monochromatic gradient that the bit depth can't handle - i.e. there aren't enough "steps" to express all the levels between two similar colors.


This happens all the time in 8 bit, but should never occur in Floating Point - which Mo5 is supposed to be (in all processing). Which is why they left out the Reduce Banding filter, I guess.


Except that it doesn't seem to be working that way.


If you export it without the alpha channel - how does that work?


And if you have Motion 4, have you tried that?

Sep 5, 2011 11:11 PM in response to Patrick Sheffield

OK. I think I am getting more clues.


The gradient with the subtle tonality is actualy a 1920x1080 image that comes with an FCPX template.


It also happens to be a PNG file.


If I open it in Preview I see banding.


If I drag it into a new Motion 5 project I also see the banding. Until I press play and then stop again ..and then the banding goes away!


So i opened the PNG in photoshop. It sas It's 16 Bit. I see banding. I change the mode to 32 and I still see banding.


Then I change it back to 16 but I get a warning:


"Reducing the document depth can affect the appearance of layered HDR images. Merge layers before changing depth?"


I select Don't Merge. Now the document is 16 bit again...and banding. Then I change the mode to 8 bit. *no* banding! Change to 32 bit - no banding. And now no more banding no mater what combination.


I know it makes no sense, but it's true.


You can try it yourself - the file is called "BKG Gradient.png" and comes with FCPX / Motion 5


I think there's a whole lot more going on here than I had originally thought...


Love to hear thoughts on this.

Motion 5 ProRes4444 export shows gradient banding (Pics)

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