Improving Media Composer
As an editor, I’ve probably used a dozen different editing systems for billable gigs. If you add the other systems I’ve reviewed, but didn’t use on client projects, coupled with those I’ve had working exposure to, that’s easily twice as many. This experience gives one a keen awareness of the pros and cons of different product designs. When you spend eight, ten, twelve hours or more staring at a screen, the user interface becomes a key factor in whether the system helps or hinders your work.
Within the past year or so, Apple, Adobe and Avid have all released updates to their flagship editing products. Since I use and have reviewed them all, it gives me a unique opportunity to compare apples-to-apples, so to speak, with the same footage and same projects.
I started nonlinear editing almost 20 years ago with early Avid systems (around version 4.5). A lot of my work today is on Apple Final Cut Pro, but I still do a certain percentage of Media Composer jobs and have a soft spot for the product. Competition is good and the release of Media Composer 5 was a milestone for the company.
Unfortunately, Avid has a large installed customer base, many of whom are reticent to change. They have two decades of muscle memory based on how the user interface has traditionally worked, so even the slightest change is met with very polarized responses. Some of the occasionally negative reactions are justified, because certain changes didn’t seem very well thought-out. In fact, a number of Avid product designers have responded on various forums to clarify that a few of these are “works in projects” and are likely to be improved in subsequent releases.
In other cases, the changes are perfectly logical, but Avid might not have done the best job of re-educating its customers, so these changes came as a surprise. In fairness to Avid, I’ve also seen forum posts by editors who simply dived into a new project – using a freshly installed version of MC5 – only to flounder went hit with the unexpected, because they didn’t acquaint themselves first with the changes.
I’m an advocate for a serious overhaul of the Avid Media Composer user interface. The current model, even with the MC5 changes, is very long-in-the-tooth compared with the competition. Here are 25 suggestions to improve the interface and functions of Media Composer, as well as Symphony and NewsCutter.
1. Font size and smoothing. The interface text doesn’t take advantage of the way the OS renders text to the screen. In general, the interface stems from a time when 1024×768 was an extremely high-resolution display. On a 20” Apple Cinema (1680×1050), text is thin and wiry. Options to change the font or size look awful. Compare this to any other applications, like Word or FireFox and there’s a world of difference. This is more obvious on Macs than on PCs.
2. Interface colors and text brightness. In an effort to “clean up” the GUI in MC5, designers dropped the button shape, shading and color options for a more streamlined and limited approach. If you like MC5 with a dark UI (like Adobe or Magic Bullet applications), then you only get lighter letters with the darkest background color choice. That’s too much contrast. Adobe does a much better job with their simple interface brightness slider. It intelligently switches from dark to light text at a functional point. This can easily be fixed in MC5 with the addition a brightness slider for the text. Or just copy Adobe.
3. 1:1 pixel mapping. Media Composer started in the day when all on-screen video looked bad and you had to use an external broadcast monitor. Those days are all but gone for many editors, who frequently edit without an external video monitor. When you look at video in FCP’s Canvas or Premiere Pro at 100%, you get 1:1 pixel mapping and very crisp full-frame images. HD in Media Composer’s Record window looks pretty good, but SD is embarrassingly bad. Even more so with text and graphics.
4. Expanded luma range. Digital video uses a luma range with nominal black and white points mapped to values of 16 and 235 on a 0-255 scale. Avid systems display this accurately on RGB monitors (your computer screen) while FCP expands the scale, so that 16-235 looks like 0-255. Even though the two systems will output video at the same level, the result is that images look washed out on the Media Composer interface screen and more pleasing on an FCP screen. Avid offers the option to display an expanded range in their full screen mode, but it would also be nice to have this option for the source/record monitor windows.
5. Real-time scopes. Media Composer offers waveform/vector displays in the color correction mode only. It would be nice to have these available at all times and to update in real-time as the timeline plays. It would be even nicer if these were active for anything in the Source window, as well.
6. Logical submenu item placement. One frustrating issue for new editors is that not all items are in their appropriate place. For example, to set a custom bin color, you have to look in the Edit pulldown menu instead of the Bin menu or the dedicated “hamburger” menu at the bottom corner of each bin.
7. Docking, tabbed, unified windows. Take a look at how others do this and copy it. SuperBin is a weak attempt to get away from numerous floating windows. Time to revisit the paradigm.
8. XML import and export. XML interchange has been a huge development edge for Final Cut. For Media Composer to advance, there needs to be even more openness and XML is a great place to start.
9. FCP project import. Avid lives in a world shared with Apple’s Final Cut Pro. There’s no reason Media Composer shouldn’t be able to directly open any FCP project. These are open and based on XML, so what’s the hold-back?
10. Improved relinking. AMA is a nice feature, but using it to relink to other media requires some very arcane steps. I tried moving an FCP sequence into Media Composer and then used AMA and relinking to connect to the ProRes media files. It’s ultimately an easy process if there are no timecode issues, but the steps are akin to knowing the secret fraternity handshake. Compare AMA relinking to the ease of doing the same in FCP or Premiere Pro and you’ll see what I mean. I should just be able to point a clip to the right media file and be done.
11. Drag and drop using AMA. You can currently drag & drop clips from the Finder into a Media Composer bin. This activates an import process, which automatically transcodes the clip (based on your import settings) and creates new media. The drag & drop import method should also follow AMA rules, acting like the “Link to AMA file(s)” command. This would link to the file “in place”, without creating additional media files.
12. Smart Tool. In an effort to out-do FCP, Avid engaged in a classic case of “overthink”. The intent was to add in-context, timeline-based editing tools, but Smart Tool seems to have made matters worse. The biggest two complaints are that the tool palette itself cannot be removed from the timeline pane and there is no way to actually disable the tool. Even when it is toggled off, Smart Tool will occasionally activate itself based on its operating rules. The tool functions change based on the location of the cursor within a track, so mouse precision is critical – something that Avid editors haven’t had to deal with in past versions. This is one of those “works in progress”.
13. Slip-slide trim. As Avid editors have been trying to figure out Smart Tool, slip-slide trimming behavior seems to have confused many. You have to lasso the clip in the right direction and combine that with the right modifier key. Come on! FCP does this much easier. Tap the “S” key once or twice and move on. A simple 1-key tool would improve Media Composer efficiency.
14. Subframe audio editing. Moving some functionality from Pro Tools into MC5 was a nice first step, but how about adding subframe editing? I realize there’s perf-slipping in film projects, but it seems like it’s time to modernize the audio editing capabilities of the system.
15. Resolution-independence for graphics. If you can’t make the entire application completely resolution-independent yet, then how about doing it at least for stills, photos and graphics? Time to end being limited to a plug-in, just for dealing with high-res images.
16. External i/o hardware support. Matrox MXO2 Mini was step one. This needs to be expanded to the rest of the ecosystem, including the other Matrox units, AJA, Blackmagic Design and MOTU.
17. External control surface support. Avid now owns Euphonix, so clearly, it’s time to see Artist panels compatible with Media Composer for mixing and color correction. But don’t stop with the “in house” brands. Include others, like Tangent Devices, Mackie, Tascam, Behringer, Presonus and Frontier Designs.
18. Improved color correction tools. Symphony started it, but now seriously lags behind other available toolsets – notably Apple Color. The lack of a good secondary tool for shapes and vignettes is the most common complaint. Take a look at the Boris 3-way filter or Magic Bullet Colorista II for some ways to amp up Media Composer’s (and Symphony’s) color correction tools.
19. Improved text tools. You have your choice between the ancient Title Tool or Marquee – a vestige of Avid’s 1990s attempt at a dedicated OpenGL character generator. Why not dump these for something better? Avid owns Deko, but I’m not sure it’s all that editor-friendly. Seems like something closer to Adobe’s Premiere Pro titler is a better design target. Of course, Avid could simply get Boris to write a custom version of Graffiti for Media Composer or purchase LiveType from Apple (since they don’t seem to want it anymore). Any of these would be better.
20. Fix GUI corruption. It’s vexing that MC5 is still plagued with earlier bugs, like screen draw corruption. One of these is the persistently corrupt trim icon.
21. Custom filter interface in AVX. There are a number of popular plug-ins that can’t be used with Avid Media Composer, because the AVX architecture doesn’t allow custom filter interfaces. That’s why there’s no Colorista II for Avid. Audio plug-ins can have their own unique interfaces, but not video.
22. Multiple open sequences. The ability to have several sequences open at once and to be able to bounce from one to another is a popular FCP feature. It would be nice to see Media Composer offer this.
23. Interlace/de-interlace management. We live in a world with all mixes of progressive and interlaced media. Avid provides few if any provisions for dealing with interlace errors. Seems like some field shift, swap and blend and de-interlace tools are in order.
24. Copy & paste or remove attributes. One of the most useful FCP tools for me is the ability to copy & paste or remove attributes from a clip. This allows me to copy a set of filters from one clip and then apply these to the rest of the timeline or just to a handful of selected clips. All in one step without entering a special mode.
25. Improved effects mode. Media Composer’s effects controls need a huge overhaul. For example, an easy way to stack filters without nesting and then to be able to quickly enable/disable and re-arrange the filters. This is something quite common in just about every other application.
Well, there’s the list for now. I offer this as constructive criticism. These are suggestions that I feel would make a great product better and more efficient to use. Of course, that’s mainly based on my own personal world view, however, I also recognize that the Avid editor crowd is hard to please. So, product designers – good luck!
By the way – here are a few earlier perspectives. Some of these older issues have been addressed in newer application versions, so it’s good to know that product developers are responsive to user input.
Improving FCP and Media Composer
©2010 Oliver Peters
Automatic Duck ProImportAE5
Even though many NLE vendors are integrating the ability to import AAF and XML project formats, Automatic Duck remains the leader in timeline translation. The company started in 2001 with Pro Import for After Effects. The main goal at that time was to move Avid Media Composer sequences into After Effects for advanced compositing work.
Automatic Duck has recently released Pro Import AE 5.0 for After Effects CS5 (Mac is shipping now, with a Windows version to follow.) The application will also work with After Effects CS3 and CS4. Pro Import AE elegantly handles the process of importing Avid OMF/AAF, Final Cut Pro XML or Motion projects into After Effects as a composition. In this file conversion, it will connect clips to the original media files, translate as many applicable effects parameters and keyframes as possible and apply matching filter settings whenever a common filter occurs in both the NLE and After Effects. Version 5.0 adds even a few more twists that are hard to beat.
I tested Pro Import AE 5.0 with both Final Cut Pro 7 and Media Composer 5. Simply export an Avid AAF composition file or an FCP XML file as a starter. Automatic Duck also offers a free XML exporter for Final Cut. Both it and the built-in FCP exporter work, but I had more consistent results using the Automatic Duck XML exporter. If your Media Composer 5 sequence consists of AMA-linked media, then you’ll first need to transcode the timeline into Avid MXF media before an AAF export is possible.
Start a new After Effects project and use the Automatic Duck Pro Import AE option to open the target XML or AAF file. Pro Import AE offers some settings choices to control how media is to be handled and how to configure the After Effects timeline. For example, you can opt to bring all clips in as individual media in one timeline – or nest all clips from a single NLE video track into a mini-composition within a larger After Effects comp. You may also choose to include audio or not. QuickTime media files from Final Cut open natively in After Effects, but Avid’s MXF format typically can’t be read. Automatic Duck adds the neat trick of creating QuickTime reference files for Avid media. This takes very little time and makes it possible to open an Avid sequence in After Effects. Since a clip on the After Effects timeline is linked to the full-length media clip, you still have the ability to slip, slide and otherwise trim your edited sequence even in After Effects.
A very interesting option added in version 5 is the ability to handle native REDCODE .R3D camera files. If you edited a RED project in FCP using transcoded proxy media (created by FCP’s Log and Transfer – NOT the camera-generated QuickTime reference movies), Pro Import AE can be set to automatically replace the proxy files with the camera raw .R3D files. The imported After Effects composition now includes the RED files in all their 4K goodness. Since the media file sizes have changed in this process, you will need to make some scale adjustments in After Effects. At the moment, this media replacement feature only applies to Final Cut XML and not to Avid AAF files.
I tested a number of complex sequences from both Avid and Final Cut with good success. In fact, this process worked far better than Adobe’s own XML and AAF importer built-in into Premiere Pro. I’ve never had Adobe’s AAF import work and XML import frequently had errors. Pro Import AE seems far more bullet-proof. Unsupported effects showed an error message, but never stopped the import from working. When a filter is used that doesn’t exist in After Effects, like FCP’s 3-way color corrector, the timeline clip will show a little flag with the name of the filter.
Text generators seem to be the biggest issue. FCP’s Boris titler resulted in a blank, color slug in After Effects. Standard FCP text generators were partially translated. The text itself and opacity keyframes were there, but the font style, size and position were wrong. I had far better results when I applied common filter sets. For example, the same Noise Industries and CoreMelt filters install into Final Cut, Motion and After Effects. If you use Final Cut on the same system as After Effects and apply one of these filters in your sequence, it will appear with the correct parameters in the translated After Effects composition. That’s because the same filter has been installed into both applications.
Out of curiosity, I also moved the After Effects sequence into Premiere Pro. I first imported an XML file via Pro Import AE into After Effects CS5. Next, I copied-and-pasted the After Effects clips from its timeline into a Premiere Pro sequence. Much easier and more reliable than using the Adobe importer! After Effects stacks timeline clips onto adjacent tracks like a continually ascending or descending staircase. When I pasted the After Effects clips into Premiere Pro, they returned to the track order used in Final Cut. Pretty cool!
Automatic Duck continues to be in a class by itself. Pro Import AE is a must-have for anyone using After Effects to augment their NLE for advanced effects or as a finishing tool. With the new RED replacement option, Pro Import AE becomes the ideal bridge between a Final Cut creative edit and a 4K finish in After Effects. Not to mention that it’s still the best way for Avid cutters to tap into a word-class desktop compositor. Once again proving why Automatic Duck Pro Import AE is an essential item in the toolbox.
Written for Videography and DV magazines (NewBay Media LLC)
©2010 Oliver Peters
Solutions to Improve FCP’s Media Management II
Back in May, I wrote about FcpReconnect as one answer to Apple Final Cut Pro’s less-than-robust media management. In this entry, I’ll cover Matchback Magic, a handy application developed by Philip Hodgetts and Dr. Gregory Clarke of Intelligent Assistance to make FCP media bullet-proof. Through the Assisted Editing product line, they’ve developed a number of workflow tools that leverage the power of XML for Final Cut Pro users.
The essential media management differences between Avid Media Composer and Apple Final Cut Pro stem from the fact that Avid cross-references media files with bin clips through a media database. You can rename clips, but not media and the database files keep everything straight. Matchback Magic was developed out of the need to make FCP media “operator safe” and in effect, to behave more like Avid media.
Offline/Online
Matchback Magic is designed for an offline/online editing workflow. The creative editing phase uses proxy media and the final project is relinked to full-quality media for finishing and output. FCP handles this fairly well, but the process is prone to operator error, which can result in files not properly relinking at the end. The main reason for offline/online editing is so that you don’t have to deal with a lot of high-resolution files during the rough cut phase of the project. For instance, it might be an HD job, but cutting with DV25 media makes it possible to cut on a laptop without taxing the system.
Matchback Magic “protects” files against human error by “injecting” metadata from the full-quality master files into the proxy media files. Once that’s done, no matter what happens to the proxy media – change timecode, reel numbers, files names, etc. – Matchback Magic can conform an edit so that the final sequence frame-accurately matches the rough cut and media is properly relinked.
Real world test
I tested this out with the same Cheese Shop project as before. My master files are 1920×1080 ProResLT conversions from H.264 camera files that originated in a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Reel and timecode information was added using QtChange. These files were further encoded to a second set of anamorphic DV25 files to be used for offline editing. This is my starting point. All media handling at this stage has been outside of FCP, which is typical of a lot of file-based workflows, not just with HDSLR cameras. For example, if you used an AJA KiPro recorder or were supplied converted QuickTime camera masters from a videographer or a film lab, then this would follow the same methodology.
I originally ran into one small, but puzzling issue. Matchback Magic didn’t work correctly until I removed the file extensions (.mov) from both sets of media files. That’s easy to do with the R-Name batch utility, but it wasn’t the way it should work. It turns out that this was related to which metadata from the XML was used to determine file names. After some testing and discussions with the developers, they were able to make a quick modification to the application to correct this issue. An automatic online update to the application and everything was working as expected. No need to worry about the presence or absence of file extensions. One of the beauties of working with a small, but responsive software development company!
Here are the basic steps to follow.
Step 1 – Start a new FCP project and import the folder of full-quality files. Highlight that folder and export an XML file.
Step 2 – Open Matchback Magic. Import the XML file and the folder of matching proxy media. Press Add Matchback Protection. This will insert metadata from the full-quality files into the proxy files. When this step is done, there will be a new FCP project labeled Matchback Magic containing the folder of proxy clips. You may delete this project or rename the project and continue from there as your rough cut starting point. One way to verify that the proxy media has actually been altered is that the modification date will now read as the current date and time.
Step 3 – Edit as you normally would using the proxy media. At this point you may safely change not only the master clip names, but also the media file names. This could potentially be disastrous under normal FCP operations; hence, the beauty of Matchback Magic.
Step 4 – When the cut is locked, create a new, blank sequence with a preset that matches your final quality output. (This isn’t essential, but will save some steps.) Highlight both this blank sequence and the sequence representing the approved cut and export an XML file.
Step 5 – Open Matchback Magic, click the Conform tab, then Read Matchback Information. Open the XML file from Step 4. The information will be displayed in the spreadsheet-style window.
Step 6 – Click Conform Sequence, which takes you back to FCP and an Import XML dialogue window. Select Create New Project (from the pulldown) as the target for the conformed sequence. A new, single sequence will be linked to the full quality media files. As an added touch, the offline media will be on higher tracks of the same timeline. You may compare tracks to verify frame-accuracy between the rough cut and the conformed cut. Sequence clips will display the names (as added or changed during offline editing), while the actual media file names of the full-quality media will remain unchanged.
This is a very simplified workflow test that demonstrates the power of Matchback Magic. One of the beauties of FCP is how XML can be used to augment the application beyond its inherent design. Other features include the ability to track double-system audio and exporting ALE and Excel files. More of this can be seen in their demo video. The process is bullet proof and actually simpler than FCP’s own Media Manager.
The demo version of Matchback Magic can be used to inject protection information. Even if you don’t think you’ll need it, you can use the demo to protect the files. If it turns out later that you need Matchback Magic to “save” you after all, simply buy and activate the software to enable the other steps.
©2010 Oliver Peters
RED Post – the Easy Way III
If you’ve read some of my past articles about RED, you know I’m not a huge fan of “native” editing using the camera raw files as source clips. I find that an offline/online workflow is still best for smoothly editing RED projects, yet it still retains access to the raw color data during the finishing process. Previously I discussed an easy workflow for Apple Final Cut Pro and Color users, but this isn’t the only solution. As you know, Avid Media Composer 5 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 have both integrated support for RED’s camera raw files. In this post, I’m going to discuss a couple of ways to use these tools in a non-native fashion.
Option A: Avid Media Composer 5 offline-online RED workflow
Thanks to AMA and RED camera’s SDK, Media Composer 5 offers access to RED’s .R3D files. You can import camera files and adjust the source color settings from within the NLE’s interface. You can either edit directly from these files or transcode them to Avid media for a smoother and faster editing experience. Here is a short step-by-step explanation of a Media Composer-based workflow.
Step 1. Access/import RED .R3D files via AMA (Avid Media Access). Camera clips will open inside Media Composer bins, complete with camera metadata.
Step 2. If you want to change the levels/gamma/exposure/balance of the file by altering the camera raw data, then open the Source Settings for each clip and adjust the video.
Step 3. Adjust the clip framing by opening the bin Reformat column and set the option for each clip (center cut, letterboxed, etc.). Remember that your RED clips may have a 2:1 aspect ratio, but your Avid sequence will be either HD 16:9 or SD 16:9 / 4:3.
Step 4. Set the Media Creation render tab to a video resolution of DNxHD36 with a Debayer quality of “quarter”. Since the objective is a good rough cut – not “finishing” – this quality settings is more than adequate for editing and screening your creative edits.
Step 5. Transcode all source clips. This process runs at close to real-time on a fast machine. When transcoding is done, close all AMA bins and do not use them during the edit. You’ll edit with the transcoded media only.
Step 6. Edit as normal until you get an approved, “locked” picture.
Step 7. Now it’s time to switch to “finishing”. Move or hide all Avid media (the transcoded DNxHD36 clips) by taking them out of the Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1 folder(s) on your media hard drive(s). You could also delete them, but it’s safer not to do that unless you really have to. Best to simply move them into a relabeled folder. Once you’ve done this, your edited sequence will appear with all media off-line.
Step 8. Open the AMA bins (with the .R3D files) and relink the edited sequence to the AMA clips. Make sure the “Allow relinking of imported/AMA clips by Source File name” is NOT checked in the Relink dialogue window. When relinking is completed, the sequence will be repopulated with AMA media, which will be the native, camera raw .R3D files. If you want to change the raw color data at this point, you will need to change each source clip and then refresh the sequence to update the color for clips that appear within the timeline.
Step 9. Change the Media Creation settings to a higher video resolution (such as DNxHD 175 X) and a Debayer quality of “full”.
Step 10. Consolidate/transcode your sequence. This will create new Avid media clips at full quality that are only the length of the clips as they appear in the cut, plus handles. Since a transcode using a “full” Debayer setting will be EXTREMELY SLOW, make sure you set very short handle lengths. (Note: If you have a Red Rocket card installed, Avid supports hardware-assisted rendering to accelerate the transcoding of RED media.)
Step 11. Finish all effects and color grading within the NLE as you normally would.
Option B: Apple FCP / Automatic Duck / Adobe CS5 workflow
You might be asking, why not just edit in Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro? The hitch is that Final Cut doesn’t support 4K files and Premiere Pro has a good native, but not a good offline-online workflow for RED files. FCP users clearly outnumber Premiere Pro users among professional film and video editors, however, both After Effects and Premiere Pro offer some interesting finishing options. In fact, a number of feature films have used both for all or part of the finishing process. A combination of Apple and Adobe tools creates some interesting scenarios for RED post. (Note: Automatic Duck Pro Import AE 5.0 is required.)
Step 1. Ingest your RED .R3D clips into Final Cut Pro using Log and Transfer. Set the preferences to use ProRes Proxy (NOT “native”). Set the color to “as shot”. This requires that the RED plug-in for FCS has been installed. (Refer to the previous article for a more in-depth explanation of this first step.) Please note that it is important to do this with the R3D files and not to start by simply dragging the in-camera-generated H, M or P QuickTime reference files into the FCP browser. Many RED users erroneously consider these to be “proxy” edit files. They are not. They are reference files at different resolutions/sizes that are linked to the R3D files and do not work correctly in this process.
Step 2. Edit normally in FCP until the cut is “locked”.
Step 3. Export an XML of your Final Cut sequence. I prefer using Automatic Duck’s free XML exporter and have had more reliable results with it, but the built-in FCP XML exporter will also work.
Step 4. Launch Adobe After Effects CS5. (Pro Import AE 5 works with CS3 and CS4, too, but you need to use an Adobe CS version compatible with native RED files.) Import the XML file using Pro Import AE 5. Make sure your Automatic Duck preferences are set to “Replace proxy footage with .R3D files.” The result will be an After Effects timeline with settings that match the Final Cut Pro sequence settings, except that all the clips will now be linked to the original camera files.
Step 5. Since the ProRes Proxy files were most likely 2K files, and the newly relinked camera files are the original 4K size, you will need to reset the scale value of each clip in the composition. This reframes the shot to fit inside the 2K frame, just as they did in FCP. Or you can creatively reframe the shots, since you have all the “bleed” of the full 4K frame. Alternatively, you can change the After Effects composition setting to match the 4K size.
At this point you could completely finish the project in After Effects, and there are a number of folks who would advocate that. From my point-of-view, After Effects is a compositing tool, rather than a DI or editing application. With the changes in Premiere Pro CS5, my druthers would be to get the media into that application. I’m only using After Effects as a conduit between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro in this process.
You could go from After Effects to Premiere Pro via Adobe’s Dynamic Linking, but I’d rather not. That simply nests the After Effects composition as a single clip on the Premiere Pro timeline. I want the shots available as individual timeline clips, so follow these steps.
Step 6. Launch a new Premiere Pro CS5 project and select a new sequence setting from one of the RED presets, such as a 4K timeline.
Step 7. Highlight all of the .R3D clips in the After Effects composition and Copy.
Step 8. Switch to the Premiere Pro sequence window and Paste. All of the RED clips will now fill up the Premiere Pro sequence. At this point you should have a native 4K sequence with .R3D camera raw media. Corresponding master clips will show up in the Premiere Pro project window.
Step 9. To change the camera raw color settings of the .R3D files, open a clip from the project window and alter its source settings. These changes will automatically update that clip on the timeline.
Step 10. Finish effects and color grading as desired. If you are using this process with the intent of sending files to a DI house for film finishing, then your settings and any grading should be very neutral to allow for maximum latitude at the next stage.
Step 11. Export media. A big selling point of Premiere Pro CS5 to RED users is that it allows you to export DPX image sequences, in addition to all of the standard media options. DPX is the preferred format of most high-end DI solutions, like Quantel Pablo, Autodesk Lustre, etc. Premiere Pro CS5 is one of the few desktop solutions that enables an export of full-resolution 4K DPX files from the edited timeline.
OK, I’ve given you a lot to chew on. In three articles on RED post, I’ve covered quite a few ways to finish RED-acquired projects. Don’t get overwhelmed. Remember that you don’t have to use them all. Simply pick the one that’s best for you and have fun.
©2010 Oliver Peters
RED Post – the Easy Way II
The RED camera company has succeeded in shaking up the industry and getting all other camera manufacturers to rethink what a digital cinema camera should be. This year, the ARRI Alexa presents the first serious challenge by another system designed around a camera raw workflow. Although RED maintains a resolution advantage, which will increase with the forthcoming Epic, there are many other reasons producers might opt for an Alexa, a Panavision Genesis, a Panasonic VariCam/3700/2700/3000 or a Sony F23/F35/F900/F800.
One of the strategic errors that I feel RED made was to emphasize resolution over workflow. By doing so, their innovative approach was tagged early on by detractors as difficult and time-consuming. It’s actually rather straightforward with a lot of versatility and can be adapted to many different production needs. Unfortunately, no matter how easy it has become today, RED will continue to battle this perception issue. This is exacerbated by RED itself, who has never provided good documentation for its products, especially the post production tools. A byproduct of the “perpetual beta” mode in which the company operates.
Native vs. non-native
I haven’t been a big fan of dealing with the camera raw files during editing, opting instead to pre-grade/render/export the camera files first into an edit-friendly format. If you search through the RedUser forum, you’ll find plenty of posts pointing out that the preferred feature film workflow is to export flat-looking DPX files for conforming and grading in DI systems like daVinci, Pablo and Lustre. This is a common workflow for DI and digital acquisition. I’ve demonstrated some of the latitude such a flat image can offer, even though it isn’t camera raw any longer.
Apple and Assimilate were early adopters of being able to access RED’s raw color data. Since then, RED developed an SDK that has allowed many other NLE manufacturers access to the raw data through this spec. Now others, like Avid and Adobe, can open and manipulate RED files based on the camera raw data. This gives editors wide latitude over how the image can look, without being stuck to a “baked in” camera image as a starting point. It’s like editing from transferred film, yet having access to the original negative in the NLE. I’ve recently reviewed Avid Media Composer 5 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and spent some time testing this out. Both do a very good job with native RED files, but my conclusion is still that an offline/online editing methodology works best for complex, long-form productions.
FCP’s Log and Transfer
Last year, I edited 90% of my projects with Final Cut Pro, so I’ve decided to revisit Apple’s “native” RED workflow with a fresh eye. FCP does not let you work directly with the actual .R3D camera files. Instead, RED files are imported via FCP’s Log and Transfer module. Here you have two options: a) import as native REDCODE (the .R3D file is copied and rewrapped with a QuickTime container); or b) import/transcode to an edit-friendly codec, like one of the ProRes codecs. During Log and Transfer, you may select one of several colorimetry presets or “as shot”. Once imported into FCP, you can’t access the source settings (as in Media Composer or Premiere Pro). Instead, the workflow is designed around Apple Color, where the tools are provided to once again access the camera raw color data.
A lot of the RED appeal is over the fact that the camera records 4K images. 4K refers to a frame size of 4096 x 2048 pixels (2:1 aspect ratio). The RED One camera is capable of various frame sizes, but 4K appeals to indie filmmakers as some sort of Holy Grail. That’s in spite of the fact that most feature film DI is done at 2K sizes and some films are even posted using HD video (1920×1080) as an intermediate step. Avid Media Composer 5 limits you to an HD frame while Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and After Effects CS5 will let you work at 4K. FCP doesn’t allows 4K, so the effective workaround is to downsample the 4K RED images to 2K (2048×1024). FCP and Color deal with this image size quite effectively and i/o hardware like the AJA KONA3 includes presets for 2K images. I like the idea of 4K at the camera, but I’m perfectly okay with 2K and HD in post.
Size and debayering
The downsample issue is confusing, because it affects image size and debayering – the process that turns raw data into RGB video. Unfortunately, RED hasn’t provided clear information as to what is really happening. The rule of thumb is that 2K images are downsampled as 1:1, while larger images use a 2:1 ratio. Since you have no control over the debayering settings in either Final Cut or Color, the belief expressed by some users is that RED’s own post tools, like REDCINE-X, yield better image quality. I haven’t seen anything that’s an issue in my own testing and some of the threads at RedUser would indicate that the results are comparable in head-to-head testing. You’ll have to judge for yourself.
If you are planning to post via this workflow, then it’s important to think about the right image size before production starts. If you shoot at 4K 2:1 (4096×2048), the resulting 2K 2:1 image (2048×1024) in FCP will either have to be center-cut (a blow-up with some cropping on the edges) to fit an HD (1920×1080) frame - or it will have to be displayed with a letterbox mask.
Color scales the 2K image in the Geometry room as it renders. Since the majority of producers using this workflow are mainly interested in a proper HD image (1920×1080), I would recommend that the original footage be recorded in either 4K 16:9 (4096×2304) or 4K HD 16:9 (3840×2160), aka “quad HD”. The former gives you a little wiggle room for minor reframing, while the latter is an even multiple and will provide the most accurate downsampled image.
RED step-by-step with Final Cut Studio
Let’s take a look at the recommended Apple Final Cut Studio/RED workflow using an offline/online approach and camera raw files. Experienced RED owners who use FCP will be very familiar with this workflow. It’s also clearly described in RED’s FCP whitepaper. On the other hand, if you are about to approach your first RED project and have some trepidation about post, then this is for you. I’ll assume that you didn’t plunk down five grand for a RED Rocket accelerator card and don’t have the budget for a high-end finishing facility using Assimilate Scratch, Quantel Pablo, Avid DS or similar tools. In short, you are looking for the best way to leverage Apple Final Cut Studio and get the most out of your RED files.
Step 1: Download and install the RED Final Cut Studio Installer. This adds the QuickTime codec and the support modules for Final Cut Pro and Color. (The whitepaper is also included in this download.)
Step 2: Copy the RED camera files to your local hard drive array for editing. Back-up the files to other archive media and store in a secure location. (Avoid any illegal characters – like slashes, number signs, etc. – when you label folders.)
Step 3: Start a new FCP project. Use FCP’s Log and Transfer module to import the RED camera files. Set the L&T preferences to a target format of ProRes Proxy. Apply a color preset, like “daylight” if desired or leave “as shot”. This preset will be applied globally to all clips imported in this session.
Step 4: Edit your sequences as you normally would do. If you need to apply certain “looks” to satisfy the producer or client, use the FCP color correction tools for a temporary adjustment. Remember that this is offline editing. The goal is a good rough cut and ultimately an approved, “locked” picture cut.
Step 5: Once the cut is “locked”, use FCP’s Media Manager to generate a version of the final sequence for finishing. Run Media Manager and “create offline” to generate a new FCP project. Set the desired target sequence settings – most likely Pro Res HQ or Pro Res 4444 (1920×1080 24p 48kHz). Set handle lengths as desired.
Step 6: Open the new media-managed FCP project. Open the Log and Transfer tool. Change the L&T preferences to “native” and “as shot”. Select the master clips (media is currently off-line) and batch capture. The corresponding portions of these RED clips will now be re-imported as native files.
Step 7: Select the final sequence and “Send to Color”. Remember that all of the Color compatibility considerations still apply. Long sequences should be first broken down into shorter sequences. Speed ramps should be “baked in”. In short, do all the usual pre-flight preparation required by the FCP-Color roundtrip.
Step 8: Thanks to the RED Installer, Color has now gained a RED tab in the Primary In room. Camera raw adjustments include gamma, colorspace, temperature, tint, gains, ISO and more. This is similar to making camera raw adjustments to digital still photos in Photoshop. All clips with the native REDCODE codec can be modified by these settings. These changes are on a clip-by-clip basis, but you can copy-and-paste or drag the Primary In settings from one clip to multiple clips.
The rest of the color grading steps follow standard Color operation. Adjust the Geometry settings as desired, render and send back to FCP. There are no raw OLPF (optical low-pass filtering) controls for detail enhancement or sharpening within the RED tab. If you feel that the image is slightly soft, then apply some sharpening within the Color FX room.
It doesn’t really make a lot of difference whether you follow this approach or prep the files first and never return to the native .R3D files. Both methods work and result in great images. It really boils down to what works for you. The process isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. Jump in, test a bit first and then you’re ready to rock!
©2010 Oliver Peters
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