FCP/Color DPX trick

[Kaku Ito]

I don't know if this is something other people realized, but worth mentioning I think.

This is part of my film out workflow, too but when you want your DPX on FCP go back to Color again (say you receive DPX file from compositing people and grade it with other R3D footage), you can simply place it on R3D timeline, send to Color, then you will be able to grade and render as DPX back again.

I tested with GlueTools set with 2.2 gamma, go back and forth between FCP to Color to FCP, the gamma remains the same.

Also, if you mainly have DPX clips on FCP with Glue Tools working, normally, you can send to Color, but the Color won't let you choose DPX for rendering. If you just place a small portion of R3D file on to that timeline and send it to Color, viola!, the DPX rendering option turns on.

In case someone needs that.

 

[Ido Karilla]

similar issues

similar issues

Hi Kaku,

I see that we are facing similar issues maybe you already resolved this two:


1. Lets say you graded DPX's for film out, now you want to create an HD master so you massage your grades to rec 709 and want to export QT to finish with FCP.

- Did you find any codec/settings that enables to render DPX's to QT from color and bring them into FCP without gamma shifts?

2. Lets say you want to mix R3D with DPX created by Redcine. Have you tested mixed timelines in color?

- I get weird renders to DPX's when mixing them in color.

Thanks.

 

[Kaku Ito]

karilla,

First of all, I installed Glue Tools to make FCP work with DPX.

For 1., Color seems to change the gamma when it exports DPX. But when you send DPX created with Glue Tools on FCP to Color, come back as DPX from Color and load it to FCP timeline, I don't see any gamma shift. Glue Tools figured out that DPX with Glue Tools video rendering in "high quality YUV", that is what I let it.

For 2., my initial test with Glue Tools DPX and R3D was okay. Maybe I should try placing more clips.

 

[Gunleik Groven]

Is this also true when you render without the LUT?

 

[Kaku Ito]

I'm not using LUT at this point.

 

[Kaku Ito]

Also make sure you turn off the broadcast safe radio button in Color. That changes a lot.

 

[Gunleik Groven]

Ah... I need the LUT to be on while grading and off when rendering...

 

[Kaku Ito]

Oh, no, DPX sent from FCP to Color is stuck at one frame. I guess I can't go back and forth. Hope Bob from Glue Tools can fix this some how.

Another workable codec is Blackmagic 10-bit 4:4:4. This one gets sent over with proxies fine. It's gets lifted up a little but if this is going to be final grading along with R3ds before DI, then I guess it's workable.

 

[Ido Karilla]

Ok I did some more tests before reposting.

I mixed redlog dpx"s and R3D (redlog) in color graded them with my lut cleared the lut and rendered.
most of time every thing is perfect. In two random renders I got again an R3d render that appears linear and with groups of duplicate frames. it happened in 2 out of 20 tests, I can not put the finger on the reason so just be alert and check your renders.
I stumbled upon this bug from a film-out test that was intended to check side by side full debyering from redcine and half from color.

Any one with experience from native R3D in color to print?

I will redo the test and update when it is back from the lab. (2-3 weeks)

Thanks,

 

[Kaku Ito]

Karilla,

I'm in the middle of film out, too, then what I'm working on, we had a short test to provide DPX from Color, then they adjusted it with Da Vinci then to Arrilaser.

Imagica did a fabulous job making the material look the same on the film, but they had to do little adjustment with the gamma curve. The DPX out of Color, when they were imported to Da Vinci, top and the bottom were perfect but imported as high area was little pushed up and dark area was pushed down. But it was workable (we made it to lift it up a little to make sure we don't crush the dark) for them and final film looked like how we provided. It is so beautiful to see RED ONE footage on film.

 

[Ido Karilla]

I have sent to the lab the first film and it will be back in a week or so. It was done the avid -automatic duck to fcp - crimson - redcine - color - lab way. I am checking now for the next film the option of rendering dpx from color strait. I like better what I get from redcine but the ease of the workflow might be worth the comprmise.

 

[Kaku Ito]

karilla,

Right, we discussed about the quality between REDCINE and Color here and there.
You must be excited about getting the film done . Hope it turns out good for you.

Have you played around with After Effects? Although Adobe doesn't provide native color parameter support, using their debayering and OLPF compensation and simply use the effects with colors and gain controls amazed me last night. What I saw on the computer monitor was just amazing and easy to manipulate some artistic adjustments in color and dynamic range.

I'm going to test somethings with AE and Synthetic Aparture's "Color Finess" plug-in.

 

[Antoine Fabi]

Hi Kaku,

Yes!!! After Effect can push some nice images from RED footage.
The images are very very smooth, precise and rich looking.

Antoine

 

[Kaku Ito]

I guess that's to do with real support on the OLPF compensation and debayer and so on.

 

[Harcharan Singh]

LUT for Color and 35mm workflow

LUT for Color and 35mm workflow

Hi,
What LUT are you using while grading in Color ?
Is it the in built LUT of Color?
Which workflow gives you better result :

1.FCP(Native Red footage)>Color>Out in DPX in 2K or
2.FCP(Native Red Footage>XML to Crimsons>Output DPX>Color>output DPX in 2K for Final print
3.Redcine>output to 2KDPX>FCP with Gluetools>Color>output DPX in 2K for Final print

Thks
Harcharan:umm: