Color Processing: Located in the Project Properties Inspector, this pop-up menu sets how color is processed in the project—the working color space. Choose Wide Gamut HDR or Automatic if you plan to export an HDR project; choose Automatic if you plan to mix HDR and SDR elements in the same project.
Render Color Space: Located in the View pull-down menu, this submenu sets how color is processed in the Motion interface—what you see in the canvas as you work, as well as the color space and appearance of your exported project.

Important: To view the wider range of HDR colors, use a wide-gamut HDR computer display, such as an Apple Pro Display XDR or a MacBook Pro with a Liquid Retina XDR display.

Set the color processing method in a Motion project

You can assign a color processing method when you create a project, or change the method in an existing project.

In Motion, do one of the following:
- Create a new project: Follow steps 1–3 in Create a project with custom properties.
- Open an existing project: Choose File > Open, navigate to the file you want, click Open, select the Project object at the top of the Layers list, then show the Properties Inspector.
Click the Color Processing pop-up menu, then choose one of the following:
- Standard Gamut SDR: Sets the working color space to linear RGB with Rec. 709 color primaries. Rec. 709 is the current standard for HDTV projects, including HD cable and Blu-ray discs.
- Wide Gamut HDR: Sets the working color space to linear RGB with Rec. 2020 color primaries, a color space with a wider range of colors than Rec. 709. Rec. 2020 is useful for 4K and 8K UHDTV and HDR projects. Wide Gamut HDR also sets your project’s render color space to HDR Rec. 2020 PQ by default, a setting you can modify later.
- Automatic: Sets the working color space based on your project’s render color space. If the render color space is Rec. 2020, HDR Rec. 2020 HLG, or HDR Rec. 2020 PQ, the working color space is set to linear RGB with Rec. 2020 color primaries. If the render color space is Rec. 709, the working color space is set to linear RGB with Rec. 709 color primaries.
  When you choose Automatic, an HDR White Level slider becomes available for adjusting the brightness of SDR elements in the project. See Manage automatic color processing.
If you created a new project, set the resolution (width and height), projection type, field order, aspect ratio, frame rate, and default duration, then click Open.
Note: The Color Processing setting may affect the look of your exported video. For example, when the project is changed from Standard Gamut SDR to Wide Gamut HDR or Automatic, the effect of some filters or blend modes may change in appearance.

When you choose Automatic color processing, your project’s render color space is set according to your computer display. When the Motion canvas appears on an SDR display, the render color space is set to Automatic (Rec. 709); when the Motion canvas appears on an HDR display (such as a MacBook Pro with a Liquid Retina XDR display), the render color space is set to Automatic (HDR Rec. 2020 HLG). You can override this setting by choosing a different render color space.

Set the render color space for a project

You can choose any of several render color space options for your project.

In Motion, choose View > Render Color Space, then choose one of the following settings:
- Automatic: Choose this option to match the render color space to the color processing method set in the previous task.
- Rec. 709: Choose this option for SDR projects in the standard Rec. 709 color space. You can also create a project that uses Rec. 709 with wide-gamut HDR media—for example, if you have wide-gamut media but need to deliver a standard-gamut project, or if you need to deliver both standard- and wide-gamut versions of a project.
- Rec. 2020: Choose this setting for projects created in previous versions of Motion using the Wide Gamut - Rec. 2020 color space.
- HDR Rec. 2020 HLG: Choose this option if you intend to create an HDR project with the Rec. 2020 color space and HLG transfer function (Rec. 2100 standard), using formats such as HLG or Advanced HDR.
- HDR Rec. 2020 PQ: Choose this option for HDR projects with the Rec. 2020 color space and PQ transfer function (Rec. 2100 standard), such as the PQ, HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, or Advanced HDR format.
When Color Processing (in the Project Properties Inspector) is set to Standard Gamut SDR or Wide Gamut HDR, changing the Render Color Space setting controls how the image is displayed in the Motion canvas (the image is clipped to the gamut of the render color space, providing a preview of your export).
When Color Processing is set to Automatic, changing the Render Color Space setting controls not only how the image is displayed in the Motion canvas, but also controls the entire render (including any necessary tone mapping). For example, setting Render Color Space to HDR Rec. 2020 HLG renders any SDR and HDR elements in the project in HLG—from display through export.
By default, when you export a project, it’s rendered using the Render Color Space setting. However, you can override this setting by choosing a different option from the Color Space pop-up menu in export settings. See Intro to sharing Motion projects.

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Motion User Guide

Set color the processing method in Motion

Set the color processing method in a Motion project

Set the render color space for a project