After Effects + Davinci Resolve

[Tyler Strasser]

Hello!

This has been eating at me for a while now.

I use After Effects to edit entire videos and color in resolve.

Currently I've been working with a lot of slog3 footage. My workflow is: Start assembling in Premiere, then use the dynamic link function bring all the clips and overall structure into after effects. Edit in after effects, then render as a prores file. Then I bring that file into resolve, use the blade to cut everything into clips again, then color each clip. Then I'll export, and bring back into after effects to combine with the master audio file and export a final render. I understand this is not the proper way to do this.

The problem is, I am going to be working with Scarlet footage, from 1080 to 5k. I simply don't understand what the workflow would be to use after effects to edit and resolve to color - in a way that I'm coloring the R3D files, and not losing quality, and also not wasting my time coloring clips that won't be used for the final cut, as well as tracking somebody's face throughout a 30 sec shot when I will only be using 3 sec of it.

Help please!

Thanks!!

 

[Marc Wielage]

Why are you doing any editing at all in After Effects? Why not just do VFX in After Effects? You seem to be going after this in an extraordinarily complicated way. Simple is good.

Cut the basic piece together in Premiere. Do whatever you need in terms of VFX using the highest-quality files possible (like DPX or ProRes 444), using a temporary LUT to give you some reasonable picture to work with.

Export an XML from Premiere, bring that into Resolve, and use it to import all the original camera files. If necessary, bring in the VFX files by hand (or possibly with the XML if you can replace those in your original timeline). Import the final audio mix. Color-correct everything, then render it all as a final master.

 

[Tyler Strasser]

Why are you doing any editing at all in After Effects? Why not just do VFX in After Effects? You seem to be going after this in an extraordinarily complicated way. Simple is good.

Cut the basic piece together in Premiere. Do whatever you need in terms of VFX using the highest-quality files possible (like DPX or ProRes 444), using a temporary LUT to give you some reasonable picture to work with.

Export an XML from Premiere, bring that into Resolve, and use it to import all the original camera files. If necessary, bring in the VFX files by hand (or possibly with the XML if you can replace those in your original timeline). Import the final audio mix. Color-correct everything, then render it all as a final master.

Let's just say I can only use AE to edit. I found I can't use XML files from AE to Resolve. Could you explain more about using DPX files please?

 

[Elias Tejeda]

Let's just say I can only use AE to edit.

Why

 

[Marc Wielage]

Let's just say I can only use AE to edit. I found I can't use XML files from AE to Resolve. Could you explain more about using DPX files please?

Editing in After Effects is not a practical workflow. You'd have better luck doing VFX in Premiere (and even that is not ideal).

Why don't you go back to the top and explain what you're trying to do. How long is the project, how much material is shot, what specific effects are intended, and so on. Editing with temp VFX in Premiere is very standard -- then you replace them later on with much higher-quality VFX done in AE or Nuke or Fusion or whatever. Often, it's a case of using the right tool for the right job.

 

[Kris Tait]

I think I know where you're coming from. I'm an animator by trade, so AE was always more comfortable for me regardless the task. None the less, the guys writing above are absolutely right. Making things terribly complicated for yourself with this workflow. You're also losing ALOT of image quality with all those renders from each stage in the process. By the time you're ready to master you're on a 4th or 5th generation away from the raw source footage. You should really only be one, two generations max away from the source material with your master. Instead of rendering each stage, export an xml and import that into each next platform/program. You'll have to render DPX, EXR or ProRes 4444's for your vfx work, but everything else you don't need to render a new version in order to pass onto the next stage in the workflow. Try googling 'Roundtripping After Affects' or '....Resolve'. Or let us know if you need help figuring this out. We'd be happy to help if it means you'll finally be able to simplify this workflow. It would be a shame to let those nice R3D files be 3rd or 4th generation renders by the time they're ready for publishing. You'll be happy you did...!

 

[Tyler Strasser]

Thank you guys for the help. Is there a way to export from Resolve in all the different weird sizes and frame rates I can get from the Scarlet? I'm thinking I want to do the edit in AE, then open up Resolve, correct and grade the .R3Ds and export, then replace in AE. I seem to be very limited on what sizes I can export, is this something that changes with the full version?


Unrelated: 1. In the menu on the Scarlet MX, I go in and select false color video, or exposure, then hit ok and everything, but nothing changes on the monitor. 2. Everytime I change the date/time in the camera, it never affects the files on the mag. It somehow keeps going back to Jan 2000. 3. What's the common method for getting scratch audio from this thang?

Again, I really appreciate your guys' help. Game changer

 

[Dermot Shane]

Thank you guys for the help. Is there a way to export from Resolve in all the different weird sizes and frame rates I can get from the Scarlet? I'm thinking
-> I want to do the edit in AE, then open up Resolve, <-
correct and grade the .R3Ds and export, then replace in AE. I seem to be very limited on what sizes I can export, is this something that changes with the full version?

the "then open up in Resolve" is a bit of a problem eh?

no XML to apss metadata through, and no way to export r3d's from AE either...

if for some reason you can only edit in AE (back to "why?") then the only workflow i can think of is to work in linearlight and render EXR16float out of AE to send to Resolve

you will lose some flexiablilty in the debayering, as you will have to lock in DEB/DRX/HDRX etc, but everything on the sensor will remain intact if you are careful about color/data managment in AE

as noted above, a more straight forwared workflow woud be to transcode to codec light enough to edit with easly & re-conform from the cam orig.. there's a reason why this is the "standard" workflow, it maintains the highest quality and most options for finishing

i don't have the free version running, only dongled... i can chose "export at cam orig frame size", don't know if that's disabled in the free version

 

[Peter Moretti]

...Then I bring that file into resolve, use the blade to cut everything into clips again, then color each clip. ...

I'm not going to comment on the overall nature of your workflow. But have you tired the automatic scene detection feature in Resolve? It should save you a lot of time vs using the blade tool.

 

[Tyler Strasser]

I'm not going to comment on the overall nature of your workflow. But have you tired the automatic scene detection feature in Resolve? It should save you a lot of time vs using the blade tool.

Oh shit.... thank you

 

[Tyler Strasser]

the "then open up in Resolve" is a bit of a problem eh?

no XML to apss metadata through, and no way to export r3d's from AE either...

if for some reason you can only edit in AE (back to "why?") then the only workflow i can think of is to work in linearlight and render EXR16float out of AE to send to Resolve

you will lose some flexiablilty in the debayering, as you will have to lock in DEB/DRX/HDRX etc, but everything on the sensor will remain intact if you are careful about color/data managment in AE

as noted above, a more straight forwared workflow woud be to transcode to codec light enough to edit with easly & re-conform from the cam orig.. there's a reason why this is the "standard" workflow, it maintains the highest quality and most options for finishing

i don't have the free version running, only dongled... i can chose "export at cam orig frame size", don't know if that's disabled in the free version

Thanks, what is linearlight and exr16float? Also, i've never seen export at cam original size... for example, resolve won't allow me to export at the same 4k res as the original file, let alone 5k. I believe the 4k from scarlet is 4096 x 2100, resolve won't go higher than 3800 x 2100

 

[Marc Wielage]

Thanks, what is linearlight and exr16float? Also, i've never seen export at cam original size... for example, resolve won't allow me to export at the same 4k res as the original file, let alone 5k. I believe the 4k from scarlet is 4096 x 2100, resolve won't go higher than 3800 x 2100

You need to spend the $295 and get Resolve Studio in order to go above UHD.

The scene-detection mode will help you chop up whole rendered sequences into individual shots, and it works very well.

 

[Tyler Strasser]

You need to spend the $295 and get Resolve Studio in order to go above UHD.

The scene-detection mode will help you chop up whole rendered sequences into individual shots, and it works very well.

Very valuable, thank you.

 

[Jarek Zabczynski]

Just edit in Resolve.

Forgive me for sounding naive... but if it's simply that you don't know how or aren't comfortable editing in Premiere, I'd say it would be easier, and in your benefit, to just learn this the "right" way instead of trying to cling to your old ways. I know this from my own experience as I've been there so I get where you're coming from.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Just edit in Resolve. Forgive me for sounding naive... but if it's simply that you don't know how or aren't comfortable editing in Premiere, I'd say it would be easier, and in your benefit, to just learn this the "right" way instead of trying to cling to your old ways. I know this from my own experience as I've been there so I get where you're coming from.

You know, that's actually not a bad suggestion. I am far from being an editor, but I can kind of limp by in Resolve 12 and 14, and I have to say it's not too far off from the experience of editing in Final Cut 7 (which I did know to a point 10-12 years ago). As long as you have beefy hardware, Resolve could work OK for a lot of editing tasks.

 

[Misha Engel]

Small review of Resolve 14

http://www.newsshooter.com/2017/07/17/editing-start-finish-davinci-resolve-14-worth-upgrade/

 

[Tyler Strasser]

Alright, just wanna post on this in case somebody runs into this too.

When I find myself with the locked edit in AE, which happens basically everytime... When I'm ready to color, I open all the raw clips back up in Resolve. Trim them down so I am grading only the frames I used back in AE, then I color them, export them making sure it's all exactly the same as the original. Go back in AE, and use the "replace file" option to replace the files to the graded files that I just exported.

This is a very time consuming process and it's now starting to cause alot of issues with the people I work for so i'm not supporting this process but it has been technically working well.

Side note: I see that in the new AE update, there's new XML options that may be a better solution, anyone familiar with this?

 

[Marcus Friedlander]

This is a very time consuming process and it's now starting to cause alot of issues with the people I work for so i'm not supporting this process but it has been technically working well.

Not to belabor the point, but this is exactly why the post professionals on this thread have offered suggestions to other workflows.

What you are doing is basically using a handsaw for a job that requires a tablesaw. I mean yeah you could technically cut up all those 2X4's with a handsaw, but it's going to be unnecessarily difficult and the people paying you are going to be upset that things are taking so long.

This is what happens when you use the wrong tool for the job. Why not just makes it easier on yourself and use the right tool for the job?

It's true that tablesaws are more intimidating, but once you get to know the tool you will see immediately see the benefits to your work.

P.S. Just to clarify the metaphor, spend a couple hours learning to cut in premiere, or even Resolve, instead of AE, and you will save days, or possibly even weeks, of your life in the long run.

 

[william howell]

I'm not sure you will find a professional editor, artist, nor a hard headed college kid that will agree with editing full video projects in after effects.

Resolve 12.5 is free. Just use that. Resolve 14 is the best digital video editing tool i've ever used (and i've used nearly every one of them extensively since late 90's)..

Premiere is basically just like final cut 7 which you said you used to use, so dive into that program if you have to.

Using After effects to edit video in is not like using a handsaw to cut wood vs. a table saw... It's like trying to use a dewalt drill to cook a steak. Seriously... everyone here is telling you it's a bad idea for a reason...

 

[Tyler Strasser]

Alright my dudes. Solution.

I can't be the only one that runs into this problem still.

When you got a bunch of clips that need to be graded, but they're in after effects:

Make a new comp with the original source settings, drop all your clips on there. Export as a premiere project file. Open in premiere, make xml. Bring into resolve. Boom.