Color Rendering Handles/EDL Issues

[Alex Ferrari]

Hey Guys,

I've been working with Apple's Color for a while now and have just started to work with RED Camera RAW files. Here is my problem:

I edit Apple Pro Res 422 HQ files in Final Cut Pro.
I then export out a CMX3600 edl of the sequence. (the sequence is one layer, no speed changes, no audio, no dissolves)
I then import the edl into Color, reconnect the RED Raw files and open the sequence in Color.
It opens fine, I color grade.
I then go the project settings and set up a 3 sec handles setting.
I then render out back to Apple Pro res 422 HQ for final HD Mastering in FCP.
The footage comes back into FCP off. Instead of 3 sec of head and tales it has 6 frames of head and 5:14 in tales.
Also the cuts are off, each shot has shifted 6 frames. This happens with ALL my RED projects if I work in this pipeline. It's fine if I stay in Apple Pro Res all the way through but I lose all the wonderful RED Color Space if I do.

I'm running an 8 core mac with 13 gigs of RAM with the latest version of all the software.

Please help, any ideas what is going on? :head_explode:

 

[BigLu]

Hi Alex

I just recently worked on a video with similar problems.
I spent a full day fighting it, working on it and trying to figure it out.
Ultimately 2 days later I decided to punt and use Crimson, go threw REDCINE

Questions
You edited from ProRes files? how did you make them L&T or what was your workflow
Why did you use CMX3600 it is possible that may not handle the handles properly, ill look into that.
How did you reconnect the RAW files in color if you edited in ProRes what was your workflow.
Batch capture L n T to native redcode? Or did you make ProRes from the Proxies?

my guess is its the Proxies which gives FCP problems down the line.
SAY NO To Proxies.


"It's fine if I stay in Apple Pro Res all the way through but I lose all the wonderful RED Color Space if I do."
With the bugs that arise working Nativity threw Color , for finishing projects in a timely manner we make sure we have a great 1 light and stay in ProRES 422 HQ or Uncompressed 10 bit just because FCP tends to have much more stable results.


------------------

After playing with it for a while try this.

You could media manage and do a batch capture L n T to native redcode
then do a send to fcp
select the sequence a take the media offline
no proxies
Select the sequence and do a batch capture
The L n T window should open. locate the red raw files and L n T them in Native Redcode
then you could send to color and have the red room
that may bail you out.
Or if your under the gun.
From your FCP sequence become familiar with Crimsonworkflow just try the demo.
Go threw REDCINE add your handles, give it a 1 light best light
get it back into FCP then to color and you can finish.
This will not allow you to use the REDROOM in Color but its a fast solution if your under the gun.

good luck.

 

[Alex Ferrari]

I transcode through FCP to Pro Res 422 HQ. I'm using the CMX3600 edl so I can reconnect the RED r3d files in color and grade RED Raw. I can get it back to FCP with cuts only but not with dissolves.

 

[BigLu]

Have you solved your problem?

You mention you transcode threw FCP to ProRes 422 HQ
exactly how? threw log and transfer?
or did you render the H Proxy what exactly did you do, I have to ask specifics because ive seen so many things that its easier if I just duplicate what you did.

Using the CMX3600 i feel it asking for trouble because it does not carry all the information you want.

 

[Alex Ferrari]

Yes, someone on another forum told me the secret and it works like a charm. Make sure you have a tower that can handle this workflow if not you will have trouble. Here it is:

Work Offline Using ProRes; Finish Using RED QuickTime Media

This workflow describes transcoding to ProRes for efficient offline editing, then reconforming your edited sequence to reingested RED QuickTime media for final mastering and color correction using Color.

• Advantage — Editing with ProRes 422 media is less processor-intensive than editing using RED QuickTime files. After you reconform, you can work in Color at higher quality with access to all of the raw image data in the R3D file, as Color can bypass QuickTime and use the RED framework directly.
• Disadvantage — Reconforming is an extra step that requires good organization.

Stage 1 — Ingest Using ProRes, and Perform an Offline Edit
1. If it’s necessary to edit your program at offline quality for efficiency, transcode the
archived RED media to ProRes 422 or ProRes 422 (HQ) using the Log and Transfer
window in Final Cut Pro. (For more information, see “Transcoding to ProRes 422.”)
2. Edit your project in Final Cut Pro as you normally would.

Stage 2 — Reconform Your Project to RED QuickTime Media
1. Once your edit is locked, prepare your edited sequence to be media-managed by moving all video clips that aren’t being superimposed as part of a compositing operation down to track V1. This makes navigation and grade management much easier once you start working in Color, and may eliminate unused clips from the Timeline, reducing the amount of media needing to be reconformed.

2. If you haven’t already, create a “RED Using ProRes” sequence preset in Final Cut Pro. (For more information, see “Creating a RED Using ProRes Sequence Preset in Final Cut Pro.”) You’ll use this preset to media-manage your edited sequence.

3. Right-click the edited sequence in the Browser, and choose Media Manage from the shortcut menu to open the Media Manager. The recommended settings are:
• Media pop-up menu – Create Offline
• Include render files – off
• “Set sequences to” pop-up menu — “RED Using ProRes” (the name you gave the sequence preset you created)
• Include master clips outside selection – off
• Delete unused media from duplicated – off
• Use Handles – off
• Include affiliate clips outside selection – off
• “Base media file names on” pop-up menu – existing file names
• Duplicate selected items and place into a new project – on
• Include nonactive multiclip angles – off

4. Next, click the Browse button in the Media Destination area and choose a location to save the media and the new offline sequence you’re creating, then click OK.

5. When the Media Manager operation finishes, you need to change the ingest options of the Log and Transfer window before you begin to actually ingest media:

5.1. Open the Log and Transfer window, and choose Preferences from the Action pop-up menu (the menu with the gear icon).

5.2. When the Import Preferences sheet appears, choose Native from the
“Transcode to” column corresponding to the RED Plugin.

5.3. Close the Log and Transfer window when you’ve finished.

6. Lastly, right-click the new offline sequence that’s been created, and choose Batch Capture from the shortcut menu. When the Log and Transfer window appears, reingest all necessary footage from your archived RED media directories.

Stage 3 — Grade Your Program Using Color
1. Prepare the sequence for sending to Color. Clips with effects or using media that is incompatible with Color (including clips with speed effects, still images, freeze frames, and multicam clips) should be prerendered as described in the “Moving Projects Between Final Cut Pro and Color” chapter of the Color User Manual. Export each clip that needs to be prerendered as either ProRes 422 (HQ) or Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2, and edit the resulting .mov file into your Timeline to replace the original, unsupported clip.

2. When you’re finished, right-click on your sequence in the Browser, and choose Send To > Color to send the prepared sequence to Color for grading.
Once in Color, you’ll find that you have access to each clip’s camera setting
metadata via the Red tab in the Primary In room. You can use the RED image data as is, or make adjustments as necessary. Please note, clips that have been transcoded to ProRes 422 (HQ) lose the ability to access these camera settings, as they no longer contain the native RED raw image data.

Stage 4 — Render Out of Color

1. When you’re ready to render the color-corrected project, you have two choices:
• Option 1 – Render to DPX for film printing. As with the digital intermediate workflow
described in the Color User Manual, Pan & Scan effects are rendered within Color when you select DPX or Cineon as your Render File Type, and dissolves are rendered by Color when you use the Gather Rendered Media command to assemble the final consecutively numbered image sequence for film output.

• Option 2 – If you’re planning to output to SD or HD video (for example, if you’re rendering a second version of your program for video mastering), set the Render File Type to QuickTime, and set the QuickTime Export Codec to either ProRes 422 (HQ) or Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2. After you’ve rendered the project, send it back to Final Cut Pro.

Happy Coloring!