Pull List / Conform / Batch Scale/Crop

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Maybe you are right, but I am preparing for major dissapointment. I don't think APPLE INC. cares so much about the high-end of the "pro user" group - because we are "too small". Steve is thinking phones and living rooms.

I'm starting to have similar thoughts... Their high-end has been sliding lately, IMO. Then again, cell phones and an iPod for your living room. Wow, gotta admit those are two pretty [potentially] huge markets for them to jump into.

I expect NO new compositing application and no movement in 3D.

I agree. I don't think Shake is done yet, we may see some upgrades to it at NAB, but I doubt they replace it anytime within the next year.

Watch Adobe buy LUXOLOGY - an emerging standout in 3D software, PRIME for acquisition - while Apple says ... the 3D market is "too niche" ...

I really don't see Brad and the guys at Luxology selling out to anyone. They really have a great thing going there and I hope they keep it up.

Maybe I am wrong ... sure hope so ....

It's possible. I'm figuring we see updated Final Cut Studio apps at NAB, 8-core Mac Pro systems (hopefully with the new Stoakley chipset) along with some price adjustments, maybe even cheaper FB-DIMM memory. Beyond that, I'm not expecting much from Apple at NAB this year, maybe a new display model or two would be nice.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Insert obligatory request that I've been asking for since before REDCine was announced:

Red Workflow:

Images are captured on set in 4k RAW and recorded to a portable hard drive.
The data is then ingested to an onset laptop connected to external hard drives for archival and editorial.

Once back 'home' the footage is generically processed out to an SD proxy using REDCine. Bulk naming is a possibility using simple scripting such as: TestProject_%Camera_%Tape_%Date_%ClipNum_SD.avi

Obviously some of the variables would be from the RedCode metadata and others would be defined within the REDCine project settings.

Within each of these processed RGB files there would also be some absolute clip and/or frame id meta data.

Within REDCine the software would also be logging a Reference Table for the footage:
REDCode4k_ShotA == Test_Project_CameraA….SD.avi
etc.

I would then hand off the SD proxies to an editor, and they can do whatever it is they normally do in their post workflow to edit. They will do no grading on this footage.

The editor will deliver an EDL to the post house (or using later mentioned features submit an EDL for processing to the post house.)

REDCine loads the EDL. Sorts through its Reference Table and starts exporting clips in one of several configureable manners:

Let's say for example that you have shot two takes that you have now edited.

You have a 401 frame long sequence named "DV_A_FOOTAGE"
and a 200 frame long sequence named "DV_B_FOOTAGE"

You edit this in say AVID and export an EDL which consists of

AVID EDL:
CLIP_0001: DV_A_FOOTAGE from frames 100 - 150
CLIP_0002: DV_B_FOOTAGE from frames 0 - 10
CLIP_0003: DV_A_FOOTAGE from frames 250-400

REDCINE looks at this EDL, sees that DV_A_FOOTAGE is only needed between the frame range of 100-150 & frames 250-400. And DV_B_FOOTAGE is only needed from frames 0 -10 The user has configured REDCine to use of a 10 frame padding in addition to the necessary frames the EDL requires for existing transitions in case they want to adjust transitions in the online, and a 5 frame slate.

So REDCINE now exports a new 4k online cut of two files consisting of:

4K_A_FOOTAGE: [5 frame slate][DV_A_FOOTAGE: 90-160][5 frame slate][DV_A_FOOTAGE: 240-400]
4K_B_FOOTAGE: [5 frame slate][DV_B_FOOTAGE: 0-20]

REDCINE now performs a simple math operation on all of the EDL frames (assuming frames start at 0):

REDCINE EDL:
CLIP_001: 4K_A_FOOTAGE from frames 15-65
CLIP_002: 4K_B_FOOTAGE from frames 5-15
CLIP_001: 4K_A_FOOTAGE from frames 90-240

The user exports this new EDL and loads it into Fusion, Combustion, AE, Smoke, Avid.

A second option would be instead of grouping 4K_A_FOOTAGE, split it up into two files:
4K_A_1_FOOTAGE: [5 frame slate][DV_A_FOOTAGE: 90-160]
4K_A_2_FOOTAGE: [5 frame slate][DV_A_FOOTAGE: 240-400]
4K_B_FOOTAGE: [5 frame slate][DV_B_FOOTAGE: 0-20]

EDL then is updated accordingly.

Settings to the user would include:
[]Reduce Footage (Instead of exporting the full clip frame for frame from the original)
[]Pad cuts by ________ frames (Contextual if reducing)
[]Create new Clip for Each Cut (Each cut based on the EDL)
[]Generate Slate [design]

Slate would be a ridiculously simple text creation tool maybe even following HTML basic formatting and XML parsing:
<ORIGINAL FRAME RANGE><BR>
<LENGTH IN FRAMES><BR>
etc...

This would greatly facilitate working with VFX and Color Grading where you don't necessarily want to send someone more frames than they really need. You don't want to grade frames you won't see and quite honestly people just might not have enough hard drive space for *another* copy of a significant portion of their film in 4k.

This way, if you only use 2 frames of a 1000 frame clip, REDCINE only exports the two frames (or maybe a few more if you have a defined Front and End clip padding). This would also greatly accelerate the REDCINE Process since it won't have to Encode, White Balance and LUT 1000 frames.

These clips are then graded in whatever grading application the user wants such as Combustion, Fusion, Lustre, etc… and rerendered into a new folder.

The EDL is loaded into either an online 4k editor such as Smoke or else loaded into a compositing application for render such as Combustion (w/ Automatic Duck) or else Fusion which supports EDLs natively. And rendered out as a master 4k.