FCPx to Resolve Workflow

[Scott Lamoreaux]

Hey Guys - Quick Edit Workflow question for you.

When working with Red footage, what is your typical workflow with FCPx for your NLE and Resolve for Grading?

Do you use RED-CINE at all for basic corrections and save the RMD file to reflect changes to the .r3d in FCPx?
Do you just import the .r3d files via the FCPx Red plugin and then rough cut in red log film, then bring into resolve via a .xml roundtrip?

Thank you,

Scott

 

[David Battistella]

Here is how I do it.

1. Back up all the R3D
2. Open a new Redline X project and place all of the footage into bins.
3. One light grade the footage.
4. Import the footage into FCPX and allow FCPX to create proxy media (it uses the one light you did in RCX to create the media so you can edit with a ballpark look).
5. EDIT
6. Export Picture lock to Resolve
7. Re-Grade in resolve resetting everything to RedlogFIlm, 500-800 ISO or however I rated the job
8. grade and render
9. Import graded XML into FCP X
10. export.

One could skip the entire resolve pass by switching to high quality in FCP and rendering directly from the R3D files and export.

 

[Scott Crawley]

My map is largely the same as David's but I 1-light in Resolve and generate offline media there. On my system Resolve renders faster than FCPX or RCX and editing r3d's is sluggish, particularly while Final Cut is rendering proxies in the background.

When I am turning over to a client or another editor I can hand off ProRes and some of them appreciate not having to deal with r3ds at all.

 

[Eric Santiago]

David's workflow is bang on.

I have found some anomalies and still trying to figure out whats causing them.

One I def know is caused by RCXPro v.35.

Once I rolled back to v.33 all is good.

Its the one where nothing saves as far as RMDs.

However this problem persists in Avid MC 8.3.1.

 

[vincent kardasik]

Here is how I do it.

1. Back up all the R3D
2. Open a new Redline X project and place all of the footage into bins.
3. One light grade the footage.
4. Import the footage into FCPX and allow FCPX to create proxy media (it uses the one light you did in RCX to create the media so you can edit with a ballpark look).
5. EDIT
6. Export Picture lock to Resolve
7. Re-Grade in resolve resetting everything to RedlogFIlm, 500-800 ISO or however I rated the job
8. grade and render
9. Import graded XML into FCP X
10. export.

One could skip the entire resolve pass by switching to high quality in FCP and rendering directly from the R3D files and export.

What David wrote.
We used that workflow and it has been the most efficient so far... At least for us.

 

[David Battistella]

Eric,

Just put it in a bin and then grade the R3D's. I have found if I do not do this step the grades don "stick".

David's workflow is bang on.

I have found some anomalies and still trying to figure out whats causing them.

One I def know is caused by RCXPro v.35.

Once I rolled back to v.33 all is good.

Its the one where nothing saves as far as RMDs.

However this problem persists in Avid MC 8.3.1.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Eric,

Just put it in a bin and then grade the R3D's. I have found if I do not do this step the grades don "stick".

All my R3Ds are placed in a Project then saved at every update before any NLE.

 

[David Battistella]

All my R3Ds are placed in a Project then saved at every update before any NLE.

Are the R3d grades not showing up in FCP X?

 

[Eric Santiago]

Are the R3d grades not showing up in FCP X?

Here's the thing, they will show up one day.

Then then next boot up you will see some updates but not all.

Then another boot up they are all missing.

This was happening with v.35.

I had to remove that version cause it wasnt working with our ROCKET cards.

 

[Scott Lamoreaux]

Thanks David (and everyone else) --

My question pertains to the proxy media. I have never elected to create proxies when importing the .rd3/rmd files. My steps have been:

1. Off load from Red mag to External
2. Open Clips to new bin in RedCine
3. Make minor adjustments
4. Select all clips and choose save RMD file
5. Open FCPx and import RMD files into a new event and create new project. --- Here I am NOT electing to create proxy or optized media, but rather leaving the files in place and importing that way. I change the viewer to "better performance" and edit on a 4K timeline without any drop of frames for the most part.
6. Once completed with rough cut, I export a .xml file for color grading in resolve
7. Grade in resolve, render out .xml roundtrip and return to fcpx
8. Add transitions, letterbox, titles etc, final master render out in 4K (UHD) for web upload.

Am I missing anything? Is it necessary to switch the view settings to "better quality" from "better performance" before final render?

Thank you,

Scott

 

[Katie. A]

Do we must use red cine x always? Usually just import RMD in fcpx-edit-export xml- grade in resolve-render out xml-fcpx-title/transitions etc-master ender.
some dudes export from resolve as pro res 444 and brinh it into fcpx. Is something wrong with this workflow.

 

[Kalechi Noel]

Here is how I do it.

1. Back up all the R3D
2. Open a new Redline X project and place all of the footage into bins.
3. One light grade the footage.
4. Import the footage into FCPX and allow FCPX to create proxy media (it uses the one light you did in RCX to create the media so you can edit with a ballpark look).
5. EDIT
6. Export Picture lock to Resolve
7. Re-Grade in resolve resetting everything to RedlogFIlm, 500-800 ISO or however I rated the job
8. grade and render
9. Import graded XML into FCP X
10. export.

One could skip the entire resolve pass by switching to high quality in FCP and rendering directly from the R3D files and export.

Whats benefit of switching back to redlogfilm?? I was taught that redlogfilm as no additional information in highlights or shadows that's red gamma 3/4 doesn't have .... Please confirm .

 

[Eric Santiago]

Do we must use red cine x always? Usually just import RMD in fcpx-edit-export xml- grade in resolve-render out xml-fcpx-title/transitions etc-master ender.
some dudes export from resolve as pro res 444 and brinh it into fcpx. Is something wrong with this workflow.

So much more you can do in RCX as oppose to FCPX.

I would like to say the same with Resolve but dont have the experience to comment.

Things like cropping, audio time-code sync, first light, etc... can be done in mass production within RCXPro.

 

[Scott Crawley]

So much more you can do in RCX as oppose to FCPX.

I would like to say the same with Resolve but dont have the experience to comment.

Things like cropping, audio time-code sync, first light, etc... can be done in mass production within RCXPro.

Red Raw controls are fewer in Resolve, but the color tools overall are more comprehensive and pasting corrections on multiple files is no faster in either program. So far as a 1-light is concerned the same results can be achieved in either case in my experience, and for me Resolve is faster. That is both due in large part to my own familiarity with the tools and the tuning of my system. (I'm not using a rocket card, and on my old 2012 MacPro with Quadro 4000 Resolve renders faster.)

I thought I heard that Resolve 12 will do audio synch. Those who are interested in that might look it up. My workflow does not involve audio until we get out of Resolve and my associates and I are OK with that, though I would welcome reliable audio. It could streamline things a bit. But then again I generally go a step or two further and meta tag, label and synch everything for my editors so it really doesn't matter to me.

 

[David Battistella]

Whats benefit of switching back to redlogfilm?? I was taught that redlogfilm as no additional information in highlights or shadows that's red gamma 3/4 doesn't have .... Please confirm .

If base out at 500 or 800 ISO and go to redlog film many more LUTs become a little more (plug and play) as in, if you apply LUTs you can get a great ballpark image pretty quick. Redlogfilm sorta lets you, "put back the blacks" to where you want them and ride them a bit less crushed than the rg3 or rg4 which tend to squash them down a bit as a starting point for grading.

its also a great way to see just where your exposure for any given shot is at.