Friday, June 22, 2012

DPX Plus

Occasionally I hear an After Effects user asking how they can read a DPX that doesn't conform to AE's expectation of a 10-bit RGB file. The DPX spec allows for 8, 10, 12, or 16-bit images, and also supports alpha channels. Since even After Effects CS6 can't read these files, I decided enough was enough and pushed out a free plug-in, which I'm calling DPX Plus. Fortunately this was a pretty easy project thanks to Patrick Palmer's open source DPX library.

When DPX Plus is installed, it becomes AE's default DPX reader, which is not ideal. I'd rather you had to go out of the way to use DPX Plus, but as it stands you have to manually designate AE's internal reader if you don't want your project to rely on a 3rd party plug-in. If you're worried about this, perhaps just use DPX Plus to convert your DPXs to 16-bit PNG or some other format AE can read natively and then remove the plug-in when done.

Enjoy!

Update: DPX Plus now includes Photoshop and Premiere Pro plug-ins as well.

Update 2: DPX Plus can now write DPX files out of Premiere and After Effects.

Update 3: After Effects CC is now shipping with read support for all the DPX varieties that DPX Plus can read. It can also write specific varieties of 8, 10, 12, and 16-bit DPX. Premiere Pro CC can read 16-bit DPX too.

Version: 0.8
Date: 20 December 2012
Mac | Win

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40 comments:

  1. ckuehneJune 22, 2012 at 2:33 PM

    This is very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and inclination to release this for AE users.

    Is there any chance of you releasing an equivalent DPX Plus writer?

    ReplyDelete
  2. BrendanJune 22, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    I'm inclined not to make a writer. I'm not sure I want to contribute to there being more DPX files out there that native After Effects can't read.

    Is there a specific workflow that would benefit from more DPX options, as opposed to using 16-bit PNG or TIFF? JPEG 2000 is another format that supports multiple bit depths and alpha channels.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JonAugust 14, 2012 at 2:11 PM

    you did an great contribution to the AE community. Thanks for your effort

    ReplyDelete
  4. Michael Wentworth-BellAugust 23, 2012 at 9:37 PM

    One day soon I am sure this plugin is going to be very useful, so thankyou very much in advance!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownSeptember 1, 2012 at 1:22 PM

    hi Brendan i have test your plugin in AE CS5 ( i apreciate your work ) but when i import a 16bit Sony F65 4K Footage it's imported them in black ( 0 Brightness )... any idea

    ReplyDelete
  6. BrendanSeptember 1, 2012 at 2:25 PM

    Send me the file and I'll take a look!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousOctober 15, 2012 at 3:44 PM

    Does it mean I can read and write 12bit or 16bit DXP files with Adobe Premiere that is by default limited to 10Bit DPX max?

    If true this would be a real revolution!

    ReplyDelete
  8. BrendanOctober 15, 2012 at 3:57 PM

    Actually, yes, the Premiere plug-in will write DPX files as well, and you can pick the bit depth.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BrendanOctober 22, 2012 at 1:37 AM

    All right, apparently enough people want to write different types of DPXs in After Effects, so I changed my mind and added writing to the AE plug-in.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousNovember 16, 2012 at 3:45 AM

    You are one awesome guy. Just what I needed.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ray LewisNovember 23, 2012 at 1:51 AM

    The file extension for AE CS6 has changed to .plugin and it will not load your pluggin.

    ReplyDelete
  12. BrendanNovember 23, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    After Effects 7 and Photoshop CS were the first versions to use .plugin on Mac years ago. Premiere Pro on Mac has always used .bundle, including with CS6. That's how the DPX Plus plug-ins should appear.

    If you see .aex, .8bi, and .prm, you downloaded the Windows version.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousDecember 1, 2012 at 10:28 AM

    Perhaps a silly question but what folder do I put the DPX Plus plugin into in AE CS5? Mac version.
    Thanks!! Jeff

    ReplyDelete
  14. BrendanDecember 1, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    For CS5 on Mac, you'd put the plug-in in:

    After Effects
    /Applications/Adobe After Effects CS5/Plug-ins/

    Premiere Pro
    /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Plug-ins/CS5/MediaCore/

    Photoshop
    /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS5/Plug-ins/

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousDecember 17, 2012 at 5:24 PM

    Hi,

    have to checkout the 12Bit DPX route to preserve color deepts of digital cinema material...

    Premiere itself is rendering 64bit float but limited in file I/O to 10Bit RGB via Adobe DPX plugin...

    ReplyDelete
  16. MMFebruary 27, 2013 at 7:12 AM

    Hi Brendan,

    Thank you for this plugin!

    Is there any reason the output resolution is limited to 4096x4096 ?
    The sequences I wish to export are 5120x2700.

    Matt

    ReplyDelete
  17. BrendanFebruary 27, 2013 at 10:39 AM

    This is for Premiere, I take it. I just doubled the output limits. Re-download, please.

    ReplyDelete
  18. MMMarch 4, 2013 at 11:30 AM

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousMarch 29, 2013 at 4:03 AM

    thanks man... just saved me a few days work!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Jesus BarriosApril 5, 2013 at 2:23 PM

    Thanks a lot for such an incredible plug-in. You are THE man ! Currently working in effects for a feature film and it saved me A LOT of time converting to more friendly 10 bit files for After Effects

    ReplyDelete
  21. UnknownMay 23, 2013 at 8:49 AM

    You just saved our production and a ton of re-rendering. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  22. BenderJune 8, 2013 at 8:33 AM

    You are a life-saver! I'm working with RED and the conversion already performed was to 16-bit DPX. This has saved our project. BTW - the installation and performance is flawless in AE CS5 (10.0).

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousJuly 17, 2013 at 12:23 AM

    thanks for developing this plug-in! it's soooo useful, and very much appreciated.
    love that you took the effort to develop and share it. cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousJuly 28, 2013 at 10:06 AM

    Hi,

    Thanks for your hard work!

    I just tried to get it to work with my AE 7 on Win 7 - it recognizes the files as DXP Plus etc., but when I click OK nothing happens! The footage does not import.

    Is this compatible with AE 7 or I am doing something wrong?

    I do not get any error message.

    Thanks!
    Dan

    ReplyDelete
  25. BrendanJuly 30, 2013 at 1:47 PM

    AE7? You mean the version released in 2006?

    DPX Plus requires at least CS3, otherwise known as version 8.0, released in 2007.

    ReplyDelete
  26. UnknownDecember 16, 2013 at 3:21 AM

    Hi Brendan,

    Just got a load of 16 bit dlx files, so your plug in will be very useful!

    I"m running AE CS6, v. 11.0.3.

    Tried dropping your plug-in into the main plugins folder and each of the sub folders (Effects, Extensions, Format) and turn up an error message:
    After Effects Error: opening resource file "DPX Plus.aex."

    Obviously I'm doing something wrong. I"d appreciate your comments.

    Bill Taylor ASC

    ReplyDelete
  27. BrendanDecember 16, 2013 at 11:09 AM

    Hey Bill, I just tried it in CS6 and it worked fine. Make sure you install the 64-bit version.

    ReplyDelete
  28. MikeApril 1, 2014 at 8:18 AM

    Same as Bill.
    In additional, when I'm copying the plugin into folder, AE keeps giving the following message:

    After Effets Error: Internal varification failure, sorry! {Unexpected FunctionBlock5 flags for FunctionBlck4} ( 5027 :: 53 )

    ReplyDelete
  29. BrendanApril 2, 2014 at 4:54 PM

    Mike, which version of AE are you using on which platform?

    I assume you don't mean you get the error when actually copying the file, but when you launch AE, right?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Duncan TellNovember 10, 2014 at 6:14 PM

    Excited to use the plug-in, but can't get it to work. Do I need it for AE CC 2014? As it is, I'm bringing in 12 bit DPX files, but AE reads the image as just noise, can't see image. Perhaps if AE CC 2014 has built in 12-bit DPX readability, the issue is something else? Thanks for any thoughts, and thanks for the plug-in!

    ReplyDelete
  31. BrendanNovember 10, 2014 at 9:17 PM

    DPX Plus should with in any AE from CS3 on. Make sure you install the 64-bit version for AE CS5 and later.

    But AE CC and later should be able to read any DPX. Can you post this problematic DPX? Or maybe send it to me in email.

    ReplyDelete
  32. UnknownJanuary 12, 2015 at 9:52 PM

    It is Really a Great Plug in

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2015 at 11:23 AM

    I'm getting the same message with AE CC. And it only works every 5th or 6th time I start AE. Apparently it doesn't work to well with the latest version of AE.

    After Effects Error: Internal varification failure, sorry! {Unexpected FunctionBlock5 flags for FunctionBlck4} ( 5027 :: 53 )

    ReplyDelete
  34. Tav FlettJuly 21, 2015 at 4:23 AM

    HI there,

    Really nice little plugin, thanks for that. All the alpha and color proliles look great however it seems to be clipping all my .dpx's at 1?

    Any idea how I can get my overbrights?

    Cheers,
    Tav

    ReplyDelete
  35. BrendanJuly 21, 2015 at 9:03 AM

    DPX files generally support 8-, 10-, 12-, and 16-bit integer, not floating point, so overbrights are out.

    Actually, the DPX standard does allow 32-bit float, but I'm not sure if Nuke or any other program reads them.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tav FlettJuly 21, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    Hi there,

    Thanks for the reply. I always thought a 10-bit .dpx could accommodate overbrights due to it being log encoded?

    I'm definitely not 100% on this, but certainly converting out a float tiff from Nuke to 10-bit DPX and then reimporting back into Nuke maintains all the overbright values in a 10-bit format. I thought that was the point of a .dpx but maybe I'm very much mistaken!

    Cheers,
    Tav

    ReplyDelete
  37. BrendanJuly 21, 2015 at 9:24 AM

    10-bit DPX is not inherently log encoded, although it often is used that way. You could certainly use the Cineon Converter to convert to log.

    AE's built-in DPX module provides log2lin controls, but DPX Plus does not.

    ReplyDelete
  38. UnknownFebruary 7, 2018 at 3:14 AM

    You just saved my life.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Locadora do WerneckOctober 9, 2018 at 7:19 AM

    YOU ARE A HERO TO MY PEOPLE

    ReplyDelete
  40. andremaatNovember 19, 2018 at 4:35 AM

    Thank you, works great and very helpful!

    ReplyDelete