How and what are you guys cutting Epic footage?

[Bruce Allen]

Okay, this is somewhat different form what I have been telling people to do, as what I did understood was not to exit RCX till as much as work was done to the R3D's.

Still can't understand then why an Editor, can get good results out of an Alexa file and not do good job on an R3D file when using PP for both.

Ketch, very few big feature editors use Premiere Pro.

A year ago, it didn't even have dual-system sound syncing. Huge pain for any film with a serious sound dept. It needs a few versions more to be taken seriously.

Big budget means a lot of fearful people and a lot of money on the line. They understandably want to minimize risk. So an innovative new RAW editorial workflow with previously-untested feature film editing software with unknown support and limited multi-user collaboration features might not be the best fit.

Feature editors are often not very technical. Asking them to jump to new editing software AND to a RAW workflow just because someone slightly prefers it over the Alexa (where the editor can keep working the way he likes) is A BIT MUCH. Sorry.

FOR NOW - best bet for success on big budget productions is to understand how to make an Avid and even FCP7 editor happy, sorry.

With Avid, learn both the AMA (raw R3D access) and DNxHD (like ProRes) workflows and how to make Epic slot into both of those. For features, focus on DNxHD, because the volume of media on a big feature means you really don't want to be working with RAW files.

I am not advocating this for some editorial warfare goal. I am just telling you that if you want to win big jobs, learn how to make your camera work with the editing system the editors use on big jobs.

I'm sure that soon, Premiere Pro will be a viable option - but right now, it's a bit of a tough sell still. And many features (trim tool, good offline workflow) are just not as good as Avid or even FCP7 yet.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Paul Nordin]

Agree +++

 

[Ketch Rossi]

Ketch, very few big feature editors use Premiere Pro.

A year ago, it didn't even have dual-system sound syncing. Huge pain for any film with a serious sound dept. It needs a few versions more to be taken seriously.

Big budget means a lot of fearful people and a lot of money on the line. They understandably want to minimize risk. So an innovative new RAW editorial workflow with previously-untested feature film editing software with unknown support and limited multi-user collaboration features might not be the best fit.

Feature editors are often not very technical. Asking them to jump to new editing software AND to a RAW workflow just because someone slightly prefers it over the Alexa (where the editor can keep working the way he likes) is A BIT MUCH. Sorry.

FOR NOW - best bet for success on big budget productions is to understand how to make an Avid and even FCP7 editor happy, sorry.

With Avid, learn both the AMA (raw R3D access) and DNxHD (like ProRes) workflows and how to make Epic slot into both of those. For features, focus on DNxHD, because the volume of media on a big feature means you really don't want to be working with RAW files.

I am not advocating this for some editorial warfare goal. I am just telling you that if you want to win big jobs, learn how to make your camera work with the editing system the editors use on big jobs.

I'm sure that soon, Premiere Pro will be a viable option - but right now, it's a bit of a tough sell still. And many features (trim tool, good offline workflow) are just not as good as Avid or even FCP7 yet.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

Thanks for the advice Bruce...

 

[Neil Horner]

Also found this...

 

[Rob Ruffo]

PPro 5.51 with XML 5 (sometimes effects 3D or After Effects) ->Edit in Resolve -> transcode only chosen clips (i.e. final edit) to tape or file.

We stay RAW until the very end.

 

[Craig Weeding]

PP5.5 works, for but because of the many reasons mentioned many great editors do not know PP5.5 and they are not excited about learning it.
When preparing footage for a FCP skilled editor, we do a serious grade of the footage in REDCINE-X, and crop any part of the shot the needs it. Then output a fully debayered Prores 444 file which is a ten bit file.
FCP7 handles up to 4K Prores 444, but most of the projects we do that are finished in FCP7 are done at 1920 x 1080, editors often request we output a closeup version of a mid shot. With the mid shot being shot at 5k, cropping down to a close up still looks great at 1920 x 1080, better then any 1080 video camera!
Some editors prefer to get 4K Prores 444 files and do their own pushes and crops in After Effects.
At the end the project is finished in Color or Resolve with audio being handled by Protools HD.
A item to note is since the EPIC only works with Non Drop Time code, the audio department needs to make sure all there gear is set to Non Drop, Also the Epic when set to 29.97 will not genlock to 59.94i signal , it requires 29.97

 

[Andrew Burhoe]

CS5.5

CS5.5

ringling college uses Premiere CS5.5 now.

If you got a RedRockect card it will cut like a butcher's knife through paper. CLEAN. However, I would say don't cut on a laptop.
I have the MacBook Pro before 2008. So even still being OS X 10.6.8 it is slow, but better than FCP because you can use it anywhere. Now what I found to be amazing is that you can switch keyboards shortcuts into AVID, Premiere or FCP7. Comes into handy if you can't adjust fast enough. Just know that certain keys you can do in Premiere are disabled in FCP7 shortcuts.

To know you can cut a 5K image is great. But I bet I'll still transcode out of REDCINE-X to 2K and import it into FCP7. Dumb I know, but FCP7 is my first love except that I am about to get a divorce from it.

As for sound we use the Zaxcom DEVA V.

****Take notice that color correcting in CS5.5 is dull. It's not as easy to grasp like 3-way Color Corrector in FCP7. Also you need to switch windows to do anything other than editing.****