After Effects help please

are you exporting in the same quality as the original file?

What are your export settings?

what are you adding to the shot. Whenever you add artificial elements back sure you match the gain to original footage.

also make sure your export setting are the same as the original footage. same color space, pixel aspect ratio, frame rate, size.

Under the render setting I use current settings and for the output module I have been exporting as a Quicktime file at 100% quality. 

As far as the video I just added some titles that mask on and off.  I've had the same thing happen when I've added a warp stabalizer also.

It's the same old Quicktime gammma shift bullshit that they've known about for years but have never ever fixed. My guess is you're exporting an H.264 or MPEG4 codec.

I don't know if you have exact delivery specs that you're trying to hit, but if not you should export to ProRes QT (with automatic gamma correction turned off). That should fix it (there are other options if that doesn't work).

This is precisely why the vast majority of VFX work in the professional world is done with DPX sequences instead of Quicktime files.

Holte, yes I am exporting an H.264 file (nikon D800).  Once I send my timeline to the render queue I go to output and from both the format and codec drop down menus I don't see Apple ProRes of any kind.  I am exporting as an Apple Intermediate Codec for now and I'll try to color correct to match clips.  Is there a better way then that?

The problem with color correcting the clips to match is that some video players won't show the gamma shift. For instance if you play your two videos through Windows Media Player on a PC, they will match perfectly. They might match perfectly if you bring them both back into AE and compare the color. It's a unique Quicktime export and Quicktime Player/Importer issue.

If you color correct the two clips to match in Quicktime player, they may not match in other video players (this might not be an issue for your particular case, I'm just putting the info out there).

If you don't have the ProRes codec installed on your system you can download it from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1396. After that, you can set your format as Quicktime and your Video Codec as ProRes (ProRes 4444 has very low compression, ProRes 422(HQ) has a little more compression, etc.). Then go into the Codec Settings and turn Automatic Gamma Correction to off.

Thanks man.  I'll download those now.  I can't believe I didn't know about that haha

Worked like a charm.  NS really kicks ass sometime. 

knows what he;s talking about