Log & Transfer vs. Import Folders

[Dynamofilm]

Hi RedUsers.

I am very new to Red workflow and has just finished shooting a small music video in 2K on a Red One.

Now I'm testing the various options for editing in Final Cut Pro 6.0.4 on a 2.4 GHZ MacBook Pro (2 GB RAM)

I have downloaded all the newest Plug-Ins from Red.com, including the Log & Transfer plug-in. The music video is going to have a lot of keying, special effects etc. etc.


My questions are:

- When I use "Import: Folder" and select the entire folder from the Red One HD and then drag various clips into my timeline (or use in/out points and then drag to timeline) Final Cut needs to render A LOT. After rendering has finished I can barely move the clips without a new render is needed (my RT is even set to "Unlimited RT" and Playback quality is set to low)

- When I use "Log & Transfer" and select the clips I want to use it takes an awfully long time to transfer the clips (approx 15 minutes transfer for 3 minutes of 2K material). Besides this, the pictures quality seems somewhat less (a more "greyish" picture, with less contrast and gamma - i.e.: not as suitable for keying as the example mentioned above). However, the data facts shows that the clip actually contains 13 MB/sec, which is much higher than when I used "Import: Folder" AND Final Cut does not need to render at all when I drag the clip to the timeline!

So what is the difference between the two "methods of importing"? What are the pro's and the con's? And how will my final export to Quicktime be affected depending on which method I use to import my clips?


Hope to hear from some kind Red-Gurus out there. Thanks for a great forum.

Dynamofilm.

 

[Scott Simmons]

In a nutshell, by importing the folders you are working with the camera generated proxy quicktime reference files. The L&T plug in generates new self-contained ProRes files. I would always choose the L&T option for anything other than the most simple edits. There's a LOT more explanation here but it would take too long to type and explain and all these answers can be found in a lot of different threads on the forums. This is some basic stuff and if you look for editing from proxy files you will find a number of opinions on them.

 

[Dynamofilm]

Thanks for your answer, which was very helpful - Now I know what to look for ("editing from proxy files")

I will look through the forum to find the full explanation on editing from proxy files. Lookin forward to learn more...

Cheers,

Dynamofilm

 

[Scott Simmons]

Here's two good threads on the subject:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17171

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?p=170194#post170194

 

[dayton2001]

ya when i use log and transfer i find the picture quality to be "greyish" as well (compared to what i started with). Can anyone answer as to way this is? or if there's a difference in quality compared to outputting from REDCINE (aside from the ability to color correct in redcine).

Also if you use log and transfer is it still possible to track back to the raw footage if you wish to upprez later on? is so, how?