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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Conform a FCP project for grading on a baseline system

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Markus Rave

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I am working on a feature film edited with ProRes HQ in FCP 7. We need to rename the Quicktime files in FCP to find scenes and claps, also to match audio for final editing. Grading will be 2k and realtime on a baseline grading system which reads Redcode natively. We want to export an EDL and then conform on the baseline system for final grading.
When I do testing and after renaming the clips FCP obviously only remembers the reelname which is the folder for the clips but I can´t find the clip´s name. What would be the proper procedure to go? Anyone who has worked in that environment before? Will it be possible to confrom with renamed clips?

Any help appreciated.

Markus
 
Hi Markus !

First i think you mean BASELIGHT and not baseline ?

In FCP is a function which is called "merge clips". So you set in points on the clap at the video file and audio files. Then you mark them and merge them by inpoints. You will get then a new clip which is synced with audio and you can rename that in fcp to your clap number. Dont rename any prores QT files. If you later on export an edl for example be sure that filename is activated and you will get an edl with your filenames which are the same as the R3D filenames.
If that is done you can use monkey extract software to consolidate with that edl your footage for transport to baselight. So only the footage which is used will be copied. Then you go to your lab and autoconform on baselight....

hope that helps...

rainer
 
Hi,

We do this everyday here on our Baselight system.

The way we have gone about it is very straight forward.

1) Use red rushes to transcode all de R3d's to ProRes.
2) Edit in FCP as usual.
3) Feed the XML from your edti to Monkey Extract ro copy only the used R3d's (based ont he XML) to the Baselight's storage
4) also export a H264 version of the project (this is for a edit/conform confidence test)
5)Load the xml into the Baselight and point the Baselight to the folder where you copied the files.
6) Conform =)
7) use that h264 as reference because repos and such dont come thru the XML yet.
8) enjoy how simple it really is.

-Frank Cueto
-Reaktor Post & Transfer
-San Juan, Puerto Rico
 
Rainer and Frank,

you really took the pressure away from that step. I will prep a HDD with a test project in that way and bring it to the posthouse. I also will try and see, if the EDL what the EDL will transport into the baselight (of course that´s the name). The director asked if it is possible to reframe slightly and I will check on that issue as well as others.

You helped a lot and I thank you very much for this invaluable input.

Best

Markus
 
It's a good idea to do a test run before putting together the whole show.
Make sure you are grading on a Baselight 4.1 system, as this is the one that supports R3D's files.

As far as your re-frames, you can definitely do those in FCP, but keep in mind that they wont cross over to the Baselight. So plan accordingly and be sure to bring that reference movie so the colorist can re-frame the shots for you again. Should be the first thing you take care of once the session is conformed.

Bring both, a CMX 3600 formatted EDL, AND a XML.

something else that will simplify a lot your workflow is to keep all your clips in one layer. Baselight can load multiple layer edits via XML but not via EDL. That said, having multiple layers just makes it a tad more confusing and prone to errors.

Should be very straightforward.

Best of luck

-Frank Cueto
 
Frank Cueto said:
As far as your re-frames, you can definitely do those in FCP, but keep in mind that they wont cross over to the Baselight. So plan accordingly and be sure to bring that reference movie so the colorist can re-frame the shots for you again. Should be the first thing you take care of once the session is conformed.
Click to expand...

If the reference movie is Quicktime, there are a limited number of codecs you can use, because Baselight runs on Linux, an "officially" unsupported platform for Quicktime. You cannot use ProRes. You can use Photo JPEG (recommended) or an uncompressed codec.

As for re-framing, Frank is correct, as long as you're using Final Cut. If you are using Avid, Baselight will import an AAF file and all repositions will come across correctly. But every conform I've ever seen or been involved with requires some degree of manual manipulation, no matter how well the project is prepped.
 
As Mike said, there are a bunch of codecs that dont play nice on Linux.
We use mostly V210, MJPEG and I *Think* we also use H.264 (not sure on this one)

There are always a couple gotchas in the conform stage. Unfortunately the implementation of slomo's and speedups in the BL leave something to be desired. You CAN conform with different speeds on the BL, but it wont do any of the fancy interpolation most other systems do.

IF you are conforming a simple cuts/dissolve piece I don't foresee any major hassles, but do remember that you wont come out with a finished piece. You will need to finish it somewhere else (titles, audio, deliverables, that kind of stuff).

If anything i would be concerned with what you are going to get back the post house. Its very likely that they are going to give you some form of uncompressed media (highly recommended). If you are planning to bring this back to your FCP be prepared, as this media is very heavy and Disk Intensive. Most of our clients (at least the ones who choose to finish it themselves) ask us to re-encode the result from the session to prores. If its a good practice or not; well, that is a topic for a whole other thread...
 
M Most said:
If the reference movie is Quicktime, there are a limited number of codecs you can use, because Baselight runs on Linux, an "officially" unsupported platform for Quicktime. You cannot use ProRes. You can use Photo JPEG (recommended) or an uncompressed codec.
Click to expand...

Markus, I'm a FilmLight engineer, if you need any help with XML conforms within BL, just ask.

In terms of QT support, Mike is totally correct in terms of a stock BL system. However, it is possible to add first-order, drop-straight-into-the-timeline support for all the Mac codecs (including ProRes) via our Kompressor option. It's essentially a Mac XServe unit connected into the BL network via 10gE. All the encode/decode is done there, whilst the heavy-lifting image processing is done by the BL. It's possible to share a single Kompressor between multiple BLs, which is handy for a big facility. You can also use it to obtain access to Avid Unity/Isis storage.

-Martin
 
We did this very successly with baselight and filmlight many times, when Cinebyte was still around in Toronto. No problems at all.

We even did some 4K filmouts to an Arri laser.

David
 
Actually my understanding and I could be wrong, that at the time of BLT beta testing, the Kompressor option wasn't available quite yet, so in order to accommodate the Prores requirement for an important beta client, BLT was running on OSX and Mac hardware, so Prores wasn't a problem. And yes, OSX version of Baselight also runs on Mac very well. Too bad it will never see the light of day...

M Most said:
This is new, isn't it? Very clever.
Click to expand...
 
Martin Tlaskal said:
Markus, I'm a FilmLight engineer, if you need any help with XML conforms within BL, just ask.

In terms of QT support, Mike is totally correct in terms of a stock BL system. However, it is possible to add first-order, drop-straight-into-the-timeline support for all the Mac codecs (including ProRes) via our Kompressor option. It's essentially a Mac XServe unit connected into the BL network via 10gE. All the encode/decode is done there, whilst the heavy-lifting image processing is done by the BL. It's possible to share a single Kompressor between multiple BLs, which is handy for a big facility. You can also use it to obtain access to Avid Unity/Isis storage.

-Martin
Click to expand...

Martin,

Could you talk to Mumbai Adlabs for XML integration into Baselight from FCP?
 
There already is XML support in Baselight.
You need to go into the preferences and enable Final cut project conform (beta) or something akin those lines.

It will conform multiple layers, dissolves and different speeds. Its a no go for Repos and wipes and such...

-Frank Cueto
 
I have tried importing R3D files into the Baselight and it could read them natively. I will follow the structure you guys explained starting with an easy timeline to see what will be drawn into the system. There is no codec to be implemented into the system except HDV. Editing is done in Switzerland and grading will be in Frankurt, Germany so the only thing that needs a match is the EDL. We tried to import HDV Quicktime codec for a couple of effect shots. That did not work, so I again try what you guy recommended and post the results.

Right now editing is done and I do tests when the suite and colorist are available. I will post progress here. But this may stretch into the next year.

Thanks again

Markus
 
Hi Markus,

In the "Help" menu of Baselight, there is an option to open a "RED Workflow" document, which should make the workflow pretty clear, I hope.

-Martin
 
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