Answers.Body: <p>Since I cannot use hyperlinks in comments, here is the gist of my research:</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/2T9NL.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This answer</a> on a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/3446nr/has_anyone_solved_the_color_shift_when_rendering/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">reddit post</a> suggests, that the reason for the color-shift is the way illegal and legal colors are handled. So maybe the &quot;broadcast colors&quot; effect can help limit the color-range to the legal range? I'd recommend giving that a quick shot.</p>
  <p>If that doesn't work, it should certainly do the trick to use Resolve and select video-levels instead of data-levels and encode the 4444 to h264 from there.
  Please do report back and good luck!</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T12:30:51.597Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-09-29T12:30:51.597Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Florian Claaßen
Body: <p>I am working on a video for the web only.
  It is going to be on a webpage (never on broadcast), delivered as an h264 file.
  The web page background is hex code FFF1E5 (RGB 255, 241, 229).
  My background colour in After Effects is a solid with colour FFF1E5.
  How do I generate an h264 video file with a background <em>precisely</em> this colour.
  Not a little bit off. Exactly this colour.
  Because I've tried adjusting colour Working Space in Project Settings until I'm 0000FF in the face...</p>
  <p>The link supplied in the highest rated answer <a href="https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/10305/upon-export-in-premiere-pro-colors-lose-saturation-when-previewing-in-quicktime/10336#10336">in this similar question</a> is broken.</p>
  <p>My usual workflow is:</p>
  <p>export as ProRes 422 (or 4444 - same problem) from After Effects CC2020</p>
  <p>Convert to h264 in Media Encoder CC2020</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/cLHMI.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cLHMI.png" alt="screengrab" /></a></p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T07:38:04.887Z
Comments.Text: In which colorspace are you working? Just an idea: Have you ticked the checkbox "Preserve RGB" under the color-management tab in the Output Module?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Florian Claaßen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T09:01:42.187Z
Comments.Text: Ah, I hadn't tried that... Wish it was all in one place! But it's still not working...  Just tried : project setttings = 8 bit, no working space, assume working gamma = sRGB. In the output module I chose ProRes 4444, and Colour Management = preserve RGB. Converted to h264 in Media Encoder, and opened the mp4 in Chrome.  It's still wrong!
Comments.UserDisplayName: tomh
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T09:10:52.157Z
Comments.Text: Huh that is strange. Have you tried converting the 4444 to h264 using ffmpeg or handbrake? I'm assuming the error might be in the conversion through the media-encoder.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Florian Claaßen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T09:55:06.957Z
Comments.Text: Just tried doing the h264 conversion in Handbrake using the technique in previous comment - same issue
Comments.UserDisplayName: tomh
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T10:06:03.173Z
Comments.Text: That's so very strange... I'll do some googling around and ask at my workplace. Maybe someone knows how to deal with this issue. Until then, good luck!
Comments.UserDisplayName: Florian Claaßen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-09-29T10:06:37.910Z
Comments.Text: Appreciate it! It's an odd one, but should be easy to replicate the fault I hope
Comments.UserDisplayName: tomh
Tags: <after-effects><h.264><color><colorspace>
Title: How to manage colour in After Effects to get precisely a desired colour in h264 output
UserDisplayName: tomh
ThreadText: # How to manage colour in After Effects to get precisely a desired colour in h264 output
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-28)
  
  I am working on a video for the web only.
  It is going to be on a webpage (never on broadcast), delivered as an h264 file.
  The web page background is hex code FFF1E5 (RGB 255, 241, 229).
  My background colour in After Effects is a solid with colour FFF1E5.
  How do I generate an h264 video file with a background *precisely* this colour.
  Not a little bit off. Exactly this colour.
  Because I've tried adjusting colour Working Space in Project Settings until I'm 0000FF in the face...
  
  The link supplied in the highest rated answer [in this similar question](https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/10305/upon-export-in-premiere-pro-colors-lose-saturation-when-previewing-in-quicktime/10336#10336) is broken.
  
  My usual workflow is:
  
  export as ProRes 422 (or 4444 - same problem) from After Effects CC2020
  
  Convert to h264 in Media Encoder CC2020
  
  [![screengrab](https://i.sstatic.net/cLHMI.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/cLHMI.png)
  
  **Tags:** after-effects, h.264, color, colorspace
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: In which colorspace are you working? Just an idea: Have you ticked the checkbox "Preserve RGB" under the color-management tab in the Output Module?  
  > **username_0**: Ah, I hadn't tried that... Wish it was all in one place! But it's still not working...  Just tried : project setttings = 8 bit, no working space, assume working gamma = sRGB. In the output module I chose ProRes 4444, and Colour Management = preserve RGB. Converted to h264 in Media Encoder, and opened the mp4 in Chrome.  It's still wrong!  
  > **username_1**: Huh that is strange. Have you tried converting the 4444 to h264 using ffmpeg or handbrake? I'm assuming the error might be in the conversion through the media-encoder.  
  > **username_0**: Just tried doing the h264 conversion in Handbrake using the technique in previous comment - same issue  
  > **username_1**: That's so very strange... I'll do some googling around and ask at my workplace. Maybe someone knows how to deal with this issue. Until then, good luck!  
  > **username_0**: Appreciate it! It's an odd one, but should be easy to replicate the fault I hope  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2020-09-29. Score: 1
  
  Since I cannot use hyperlinks in comments, here is the gist of my research:
  
  [This answer](https://i.sstatic.net/2T9NL.jpg) on a [reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/editors/comments/3446nr/has_anyone_solved_the_color_shift_when_rendering/) suggests, that the reason for the color-shift is the way illegal and legal colors are handled. So maybe the "broadcast colors" effect can help limit the color-range to the legal range? I'd recommend giving that a quick shot.
  
  If that doesn't work, it should certainly do the trick to use Resolve and select video-levels instead of data-levels and encode the 4444 to h264 from there.
  Please do report back and good luck!
  
  
  ---
  
  