---
title: "ACEScg"
space: "Dictionary of Stop-Motion"
url: "https://erpnext-urs-tqc.v.erpnext.com/dictionary/acescg"
updated: "2026-11-10"
---

<a title="Myndex, CC BY-SA 4.0 &lt;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CIE_1931_chromaticity_ACES_sRGB_gamut_comparison_CreativeCommons_v06.svg"><img width="256" alt="CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram comparing ACES and sRGB gamuts" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/CIE_1931_chromaticity_ACES_sRGB_gamut_comparison_CreativeCommons_v06.svg/256px-CIE_1931_chromaticity_ACES_sRGB_gamut_comparison_CreativeCommons_v06.svg.png?20231119184504"></a>

<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CIE_1931_chromaticity_ACES_sRGB_gamut_comparison_CreativeCommons_v06.svg">Myndex</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons

## Definition
ACEScg is the wide-gamut working space inside the Academy Color Encoding System ([ACES](/dictionary/aces)). It standardizes different media types — RAW stills, EXRs, stock .mov files, HDRIs, CG renders — so they can be mixed in one consistent [color space](/dictionary/color-space).

## Context
Stop-motion productions often pull from many sources: [Dragonframe](/dictionary/dragonframe) RAW image sequences, scanned film, stock [QuickTime](/dictionary/quicktime) footage, or CG elements. If left in their native encodings, they don’t match. By converting everything into ACEScg before [compositing](/dictionary/compositing), color and contrast stay coherent across shots and departments.

**Typical flow**
- Camera [RAW](/dictionary/raw) → ACEScg [EXR](/dictionary/exr)  
- CG renders → ACEScg  
- Stock/legacy footage → converted on ingest  
- Composite in ACEScg → deliver in [Rec.709](/dictionary/rec709), [DCI-P3](/dictionary/dci-p3), or [HDR](/dictionary/hdr)

## Examples
- RAW puppet plates converted to ACEScg EXRs and layered with CG skies without midtones shifting.  
- Stock ProRes clips normalized into ACEScg so they cut naturally against miniature set shots.  

## Notes
- ACEScg is the **working space**; [ACES2065-1](/dictionary/aces2065-1) is for archiving and interchange.  
- Requires correct [OCIO](/dictionary/ocio) configuration — software won’t guess the transform.  
- When footage looks “wrong” in ACEScg, the issue is almost always bad prep: missing or incorrect input transforms on ingest. Once normalized, ACEScg keeps plates, CG, and stock aligned.  
- QuickTime-only editorial workflows may not need ACEScg. Mixed-media and [VFX](/dictionary/vfx) pipelines almost always do.  

## Media
- Diagram of ACES workflow: input transform → ACEScg → output transform.  
- Suggested BTS: comp timeline showing puppet plates and CG both in ACEScg.  

## Related
[Color space](/dictionary/color-space) · [EXR](/dictionary/exr) · [Pipeline](/dictionary/pipeline) · [Post-production](/dictionary/post-production) · [Transform](/dictionary/transform)  

## External Links
- [Academy ACES Central](https://acescentral.com)  
- [OpenColorIO Documentation](https://opencolorio.org/)  
- [VFX Reference Platform](https://vfxplatform.com/)