Problem with native clips in Color

[Alan Gordon]

I don't know if this has been addressed before, but I couldn't find anything:

I'm coloring a short film that was edited in FCP using L&T Native redcode wrapped files.

I've done send to color with only one track of video and I end up with several clips that do not link properly. (Big red X over them)

When I try relinking the files to the wrapped QTs, Color hangs up. But when I relink to the original r3ds, the files link okay but they're not edited properly. (ie it starts the clip at the beginning)

I am running the beta version of color plugin with the new color science. I may try the old color plug in in a bit to see if that clears anything up.

Any thoughts on what is going on. More importantly, how to fix it?

-Alan Gordon

 

[Alan Gordon]

Reverting to the version on the Red.com/support site does not fix the problem.

 

[David Didato]

Try conforming / swapping the clips on your timeline with the QT proxies. Clipfinder is good for this. Then send to color.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Better off to transcode to a more usable format than to push the proxy files through Color. The QT proxies, even the full ones, are still only good for proxy use in most cases and you throw away all the benefits of using RAW...

Hard to say for sure what's happening here without seeing it myself. But I'm guessing that something was done in FCP to those clips. Something was applied to them applied or done in editing that is prohibiting them from loading in Color. Check the files independently - crate a new sequence with just those clips and no cuts, send that to Color. I bet they load. If not, then they may be corrupt or you may have other things going on.

Are you doing any timing modifications to those clips?

 

[David Didato]

The QT proxies are not used by Apple Color. When it sees them in the timeline it goes directly to the Raw data in the R3D.

Alan, L&T is not the recommended way to go if you need to later work with the raw. Jef is half right, that you can transcode to DPX, TIFF or maybe a Prores4444, but RAW would be best, and the only reliable way to get FCP to send R3Ds to Color is via the proxy.

 

[Alan Gordon]

Duno what caused the problem, but I re-wrapped the problem files again and re-linked in FCP and they all worked fine.

It was odd though because the files worked in fcp before but not color. Now they work in both.

As for L&T not being the right method, I thought if you used L&T native, you were getting the raw data. No?

Thanks for the tips on the proxies though, if I ever run into the problem again, I might try that.

-Alan

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

It was odd though because the files worked in fcp before but not color. Now they work in both.

Wrapped files probably got corrupted or something. Who knows.... Kinda weird.

As for L&T not being the right method, I thought if you used L&T native, you were getting the raw data. No?

L&T to native typically works just fine and is the best, and really only, way to get access to the RAW data in Color. Using the proxies also passes through, but I've had more problems that way.

My current workflow of choice is to onelight and transcode to ProRes4444 and then run through FCP/Color. If I shoot 4K or 4.5K, I transcode to 4K ProRes and I edit natively with that. Works just great on these newer Mac Pros if you have fast enough storage. And a RED Rocket. For certain projects I'll just L&T to native and go that route. I don't mess with the QT proxies. I really don't think I've touched them in months.

Other than that, I'm liking Adobe CS5, but that's another thread and it has its own set of problems...