Alexander Manning
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Rate My Workflow (and a couple of questions)
I do a lot of editing and am very proud of my work...but I also know I'm human. It an effort to perfect my workflow and ultimately the final product - I've decided to post my entire RED workflow here on reduser for you guys to review and chime in. I am doing this mainly for two reasons: 1) Ensure the Best Quality Final image & 2) Increase my productive potential.
The System:
Processor 2 x 2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB
Software OS X 10.9.5
Apple LED Cinema Display 27-inch & Dell U2711 Display (both 2560 x 1440)
Great setup - not outdated, but also not the cream of the crop. I can not play 4/5/6K back in realtime, but can almost always at 1/2 resolution.
Editing Software:
Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014
After Effects CC 2014
...other CC applications...
Camera:
RED EPIC MX
I mostly shoot at 5K HD around the 8:1 to 10:1 compression ratios.
My Workflow:
The first thing you should know is that 99.9% of the time shoot in 5K HD and am working toward a 1080p Master (pretty standard in the commercial world). I also very rarely stray away from the 16x9 aspect ratio. I DO crop quite a bit and I do try to make full use of the EPIC's resolution. So consider those as you read...
1) Production has wrapped and I take the REDMAGS back to the suite.
2) I back the raw footage up onto two separate drives. One that will serve as a backup in-case of catastrophe (a RAID 5 12TB G-Drive) and the hard-drive I will be working from (G-Drive USB 3.0 4TB) - both 7200RPM.
3) Because I edit in Premiere Pro, I find it a waste of time to transcode the .R3D's. I keep preview files and audio-saves in "My Documents"
4) I create my master sequence with the following settings:
Custom
23.976 (or whatever fps I'm working with)
Video
Frame Size (1920x1080)
Square Pixed (1.0)
No Fields
24fps Timecode
Video Previews
Quicktime
Apple ProRes 422 (for some reason rendering I-Frame MPEG presents tons of compression and artifacts)
1920x1080
NO Bit Depth & No Maximum Render Quality
YES on Composite in Linear Color
Again, I DO NOT work in a 5K HD sequence because my master is always 1080p. My system CAN run a 1080p sequence using Native .R3d's.
5) I import my .R3D files via Adobe Media Browser and rename...etc.
6) When I drag them to the timeline I "Scale to Frame Size".
7) I edit and render as I go - mainly for quick export times to clients. I check the "Use Previews" box and export to ProRes422 and then use encoder to convert to H.264 (8-10 Mbps) to send them. With the exception of higher-end project - I do most of my Color Correction with a combo of RED's "source settings", Adobe's Luma Curve and their 3-Way color corrector. If the project requires Speedgrade I will use the "Direct link to AdobeSpeed Grade" and export form there.
...
8) Once the client has approved the video - I then rerender the entirety of the Master sequence in Apple ProRes 4444 with BIT DEPTH & MAXIMUM RENDER QUALITY both checked.
9) I then go into the export settings and export a ProRes 4444 file with Render at Maximum Depth and Maximum Render Quality and check the "use previews" box.
10) I then import into encoder and convert to whatever the client needs.
11) I archive without preview files...etc.
Alright...let me have it.
I do want to make sure of a few things though...
For a while, I rendered my FINAL files in ProRes 422 (no bit depth checked and no maximum render quality checked) and exported my ProRes 422 file using "Use previews" - it worked, but I now understand that without using ProRes 4444, bit depth, and maximum render quality checked - it was not scaling from the original 5K HD and only using 422 not 444 color space. Am I correct?
also - I have notice that while bits of color and the depth of my ProRes 4444 files are better - the sharpness of the image is not as good as my ProRes 422 outputs. Does this have something to do with the debayer? Scaling?
Where should sharpening come in to all this? After my rendering to ProRes 4444 and Bit Depth/Maximum Render Quality Checked? After my 1080p export?
Hope you had a good read! Let me know what you think!
I do a lot of editing and am very proud of my work...but I also know I'm human. It an effort to perfect my workflow and ultimately the final product - I've decided to post my entire RED workflow here on reduser for you guys to review and chime in. I am doing this mainly for two reasons: 1) Ensure the Best Quality Final image & 2) Increase my productive potential.
The System:
Processor 2 x 2.66 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon
Memory 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024 MB
Software OS X 10.9.5
Apple LED Cinema Display 27-inch & Dell U2711 Display (both 2560 x 1440)
Great setup - not outdated, but also not the cream of the crop. I can not play 4/5/6K back in realtime, but can almost always at 1/2 resolution.
Editing Software:
Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014
After Effects CC 2014
...other CC applications...
Camera:
RED EPIC MX
I mostly shoot at 5K HD around the 8:1 to 10:1 compression ratios.
My Workflow:
The first thing you should know is that 99.9% of the time shoot in 5K HD and am working toward a 1080p Master (pretty standard in the commercial world). I also very rarely stray away from the 16x9 aspect ratio. I DO crop quite a bit and I do try to make full use of the EPIC's resolution. So consider those as you read...
1) Production has wrapped and I take the REDMAGS back to the suite.
2) I back the raw footage up onto two separate drives. One that will serve as a backup in-case of catastrophe (a RAID 5 12TB G-Drive) and the hard-drive I will be working from (G-Drive USB 3.0 4TB) - both 7200RPM.
3) Because I edit in Premiere Pro, I find it a waste of time to transcode the .R3D's. I keep preview files and audio-saves in "My Documents"
4) I create my master sequence with the following settings:
Custom
23.976 (or whatever fps I'm working with)
Video
Frame Size (1920x1080)
Square Pixed (1.0)
No Fields
24fps Timecode
Video Previews
Quicktime
Apple ProRes 422 (for some reason rendering I-Frame MPEG presents tons of compression and artifacts)
1920x1080
NO Bit Depth & No Maximum Render Quality
YES on Composite in Linear Color
Again, I DO NOT work in a 5K HD sequence because my master is always 1080p. My system CAN run a 1080p sequence using Native .R3d's.
5) I import my .R3D files via Adobe Media Browser and rename...etc.
6) When I drag them to the timeline I "Scale to Frame Size".
7) I edit and render as I go - mainly for quick export times to clients. I check the "Use Previews" box and export to ProRes422 and then use encoder to convert to H.264 (8-10 Mbps) to send them. With the exception of higher-end project - I do most of my Color Correction with a combo of RED's "source settings", Adobe's Luma Curve and their 3-Way color corrector. If the project requires Speedgrade I will use the "Direct link to AdobeSpeed Grade" and export form there.
...
8) Once the client has approved the video - I then rerender the entirety of the Master sequence in Apple ProRes 4444 with BIT DEPTH & MAXIMUM RENDER QUALITY both checked.
9) I then go into the export settings and export a ProRes 4444 file with Render at Maximum Depth and Maximum Render Quality and check the "use previews" box.
10) I then import into encoder and convert to whatever the client needs.
11) I archive without preview files...etc.
Alright...let me have it.
I do want to make sure of a few things though...
For a while, I rendered my FINAL files in ProRes 422 (no bit depth checked and no maximum render quality checked) and exported my ProRes 422 file using "Use previews" - it worked, but I now understand that without using ProRes 4444, bit depth, and maximum render quality checked - it was not scaling from the original 5K HD and only using 422 not 444 color space. Am I correct?
also - I have notice that while bits of color and the depth of my ProRes 4444 files are better - the sharpness of the image is not as good as my ProRes 422 outputs. Does this have something to do with the debayer? Scaling?
Where should sharpening come in to all this? After my rendering to ProRes 4444 and Bit Depth/Maximum Render Quality Checked? After my 1080p export?
Hope you had a good read! Let me know what you think!
Last edited:
