General Workflow Questions

[Jon Chema]

Hey guys,

First off I appologize for being a newbie when it comes to Red Cine X. I've been trying to figure out the program but am running into some problems when exporting clips. As far as workflow goes, I import files into Red Cine X, tweak settings and add sharpness then attempt to export. What setting do you guys recommend for a 1080p project in FCP6? I've attempted using quicktime as the output format and then ProRes as the codec, however when I view the exported file it looks like absolute trash. Jaggy edges and lots of compression artifacts. Am I doing something wrong here?

J

 

[AaronPicot]

Make sure you set your quicktime video codec to ProRes422(HQ), that the frame rate matches your project, and that your debayer pattern is set to 1/2 Premium (if you're finishing in ProRes). What are your current, specific settings?

IMO, newbie or not, as long as you have an honest question on this forum, there is no need to apologize. You are using the forums for the exact reason it was created

 

[Brandon Kraemer]

not sure why the debayer settings default to such a low setting, but when you create a new preset, you often have to change them to something well above 1/16. We only transode selects because we offline with proxies... so when I transcode selects I debayer at FULL quality.

 

[Jon Chema]

Make sure you set your quicktime video codec to ProRes422(HQ), that the frame rate matches your project, and that your debayer pattern is set to 1/2 Premium (if you're finishing in ProRes). What are your current, specific settings?

IMO, newbie or not, as long as you have an honest question on this forum, there is no need to apologize. You are using the forums for the exact reason it was created

Thanks guys. These forums are great. Can you two explain to me what the Debayer settings deal with? Example: If I shot all of my clips in 24p, at 4k, and want to do a quick grade then downscale the clips to 1080p resolution what settings do you recommend for the best quality. I am also using a Macbook Pro to do this with so I expect it to take a few days. This is for a music video so I plan on using proxies to cut with, then re-conform the footage to the full rez stuff when I'm done.

J

 

[Brandon Kraemer]

Best quality = Full Debayer.

Anything less than Full might be acceptable, but it's not the best.

De-bayer is taking the bayer pattern and converting it to a non-bayer pattern image. The Red camera uses a Bayer filter. It's how it shoots 4000 px wide + at a modest data rate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_filter

 

[Jon Chema]

Totally makes sense now. So the more the image is "debayered" the better the quality, but im assuming the longer the processing time. Do you feel that Apple Pro-Res (HQ) is the best resolution to cut with?

 

[Jon Chema]

Second question...what is meant by the 2k, 3k, and 4k values? Does this mean when I've got source format of 2k it will debayer at whatever is selected in that dropdown, and if the footage is 4k it will debayer at that particular dropdown as well? Or is it more math than that?

 

[Brandon Kraemer]

Totally makes sense now. So the more the image is "debayered" the better the quality, but im assuming the longer the processing time. Do you feel that Apple Pro-Res (HQ) is the best resolution to cut with?

Apple Pro-Res (HQ) is acceptable for a lot of things... but not the best codec for doing a lot of post workflow like keying and roto. Uncompressed 10-bit or DPX sequences are the best for working at full quality for finishing and color grading. We always finish at uncompressed.

Yes, full debayer is going to take a lot longer, especially on a lap top.

For offline editing, 1/2 or 1/4 debayer would work, Apple Pro-Res is fine for this too, or just use the camera "M" proxies.

 

[Brandon Kraemer]

Second question...what is meant by the 2k, 3k, and 4k values? Does this mean when I've got source format of 2k it will debayer at whatever is selected in that dropdown, and if the footage is 4k it will debayer at that particular dropdown as well? Or is it more math than that?

I believe that is how the presets work... you are designating a target output resolution, like 1080... but you can say that 4K clips debayer at 1/2, 2K at Full, etc...

If you are transcoding for your offline, 1/2 or 1/4 will work... but for your final online clips prior to grading, Full in all the above categories will be the best quality.

 

[David Ibbitson]

There is a fix in for the next release such that a new export preset will default to full debayer for all resolutions.