Shoot For a 4K Master

[Andrew Swisher]

This is the first time I've gone into post knowing I want a final 4K version for DCP conversion. I'm editing low resolution proxies in Final Cut and letting the colorist relink everything. However, these are the questions that have me at a stand-still. We shot in 4K HD with 1.85:1 crop marks. So when, how, and where in editing do I need to letterbox my footage and also crop and reframe whichever clips I wish to do so on. I've had people tell me to do it in Redcine-X, have the colorist do it, etc. I'm just not sure where I can do it so the information will still be in the original RAW files for color correction.

 

[Andrew Swisher]

Also, should I even touch the footage in Cine-X or let the colorist have the complete RAW file?

 

[Angelo Lorenzo]

If you have a decent colorist, they'll probably strip any adjustments you make in Redcine-X and interpret the R3D footage in a way that makes sense for the look of the film; what looks good to you in Redcine may be counter productive to making it look even better from the colorist.

Crop and pan & scan (repositioning) can be done in most finishing apps (Resolve, Speedgrade, etc). You should render out a "master review" version of your full timeline (or reels if you're splitting it up for post) from proxy with your reposition and letterboxing. The colorist should lay this copy over the version they conform from the original camera footage to 1) Find any issues in the conform like cuts out of place and 2) to see any scaling and position changes.