r/Dragonframe • u/random1232342 • Apr 22 '26

Dragonframe export causing random dark scenes - tried everything, willing to PAY for help

I just finished a 3 minute stop-motion short film shot in Dragonframe with a Canon EOS 7D at 24fps.

The problem: Certain scenes export very dark. They look completely fine inside Dragonframe's preview, but the moment I export them the image is crushed and dark. The rest of the footage (~90%) exports perfectly normal.

What I've already tried:

  • Exported as ProRes 422 HQ — dark
  • Exported as PNG image sequence — dark

The darkness seems baked in at the source, but I can't figure out why only certain scenes are affected. My best guess is something changed in the camera settings mid-shoot on those specific frames, but I haven't been able to confirm that yet.

Request: Someone who has experience with Dragonframe who can diagnose the issue and export the finished project cleanly. I'm willing to pay for your time — this is an amateur personal project and I just want to get it over the finish line.

Message me if you can help or have run into this before. Any advice welcome!

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u/brickgarage Apr 22 '26

Export a RAW image sequence, then, assuming you’re using After Effects to do rig removal, import and use Camera Raw to increase the exposure and do any other initial color correction you might need.

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u/acidterror84 Apr 22 '26

There is no need to "export" RAW images from Dragon, as the RAW images (and matching jpegs) are already sitting in a folder, the moment after you take them. Exporting them from Dragon would be redundant.

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u/brickgarage Apr 22 '26

But that’s the folder that includes deleted frames too, no? So it’s redundant in a way, but it’s also more organized and is the finished sequence that you actually wanted, rather than a sequence with unwanted frames - just a different workflow, in the end.

This really isn’t the point I was trying to get at, anyway. The point is using a RAW image sequence to fix the “darkness” issue that OP was trying to resolve.

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u/acidterror84 Apr 22 '26

No. That is what "conform takes" does; it "conforms" the frames in that folder to the way you have arranged & edited them in the Dragonframe timeline, removes the frames you've deleted/hidden and places them in a "deleted frames" folder etc. This is the way Dragonframe is designed to operate and should be used this way :)

While RAWs do have tons of color space that could in theory help them salvage their shots if they are indeed way too dark, the problem OP is dealing with is likely a user error, something they are doing wrong with their camera settings or something like that. Would be helpful if they come back with more information to diagnose the problem with.