STEP BY STEP ENHANCE AN ACES FILE IN AFTER EFFECTS
01 ACES CG RENDER
I have created an EXR file from a Cinema 4D scene using Redshift. The Redshift Renderview has had the Color Management dropdown set to 'OCIO' (Opencolorio), and the OCIO config is pointed to the latest ACES configuration file downloaded from github.com/colourscience/opencolorio-configs. Keep the ACES config files in a space that can be accessed by all software and computers on the network, as any software that is using ACES will need to link to this file.
02 SET UP AFTER EFFECTS FOR ACES
With the EXR file loaded into After Effects as a new composition, select the working space in File>project Settings that is best suited for the project. In this example, SRGB has been chosen as the file will be used as an image for a website. The colour working space can be set to ACESCG, which is the colour space of the render; however, to minimise confusion, while there is a slight potential loss of data, it is best to start working with ACES in the colour space of the output destination.
03 SET THE COLOUR PROFILE OF THE IMAGE
While at first glance the render may look good, it is washed out compared to the render view from Redshift in Cinema 4D. This is because After Effects has not been told that the EXR image has been rendered in an ACES colour space (specifically ACESCG). To fix this, add a Color Profile Converter effect to the EXR Footage (Effects>utility>color Profile Convertor) and switch the Input Profile to ACESCG and the colour should look the same as in Cinema 4D.
04 USE COLOUR MANAGEMENT TOOLS WITH AN ACES FILE
Now that everything is loaded the fun can begin. ACES files have a much better colour response when working with colour correction tools than is typically found in renders that are saved using other colour formats. When working with exposure, for example, an ACES rendered file will typically have a response similar to analogue film. This allows a much more cinematic look to be created than would be possible with other render types.