-
Vegas pro 11 ProRes 444
Hi,
Within a few weeks I’ll be shooting a shortfilm on 16mm. When the pellicule is digitally transferred, I’ll get Prores 444 files.
I would love to do the editing in Sony Vegas Pro 11, but in order to do so, I would have to know a few things.
1. Is it possible to down-convert Prores 444 (to 422 for example), and at the end of the editing, to re-convert/re-link it to Prores 444 files. So that I can work fast, without loosing any quality in the end. I know this can be done in FC by creating identical maps for the 444 and 422 files, with identical file names and then relinking them.
2. Is it possible to export a file from vegas pro that is compatible with, for instance FC. Something universal that saves timeline information and timecodes etc (maybe xml?). So that, at the end of editing, I can take my external HD with all the raw material with me and work on another computer and another program. Because at the end of editing, the shortfilm would go to a colorgrader, who works with prores 444-files, in a special program that normally works with FC-files. Because he needs a different file for each shot, as you would have on your timeline, instead of one big file which you would get by exporting the whole film to a single file.
Many thanks in advance
Ruben Vandersten -
6 Replies
-
As far as number 1 is concerned, yes. Vegas has the ability to use proxy files while editing. You can also bypass filters and effects while editing. Vegas also recognizes prores 444 and 422 files, so no problem there. You might want to be aware of this batch render post, it can generate batch files for external rendering. https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/24/951534
Concerning item 2 and the individual files, the recent batch render post will help you out. As far as exporting an xml file to work with on FCP, I don’t know of any way to accomplish this, but others here may have more experience with cross platform editing.
Jeff
2-Xeon X5680 @ 3.33, EVGA SR-2 Mobo, 48GB DDR3, GTX 580 3072MB, 16TB Attached Storage, Win7, Vegas 11 x64
-
Hi Jeff, thanks for the reply,
I’ve been doing some testing, but seem to get stuck when I want to render the edited prores 444 files. In the rendering options, I couldn’t find the prores 444 output. There is a HD 422, in .mxf file, although I don’t know if these files are compatible with FC.
Or should I just use the .mov uncompressed?
Thanks !
-
Did you investigate the post I referenced? As far as I know, Vegas cannot render a prores file of any kind. But, you can use an external renderer to make this happen. This post I mentioned is about a script that can generate the batch files – from the Vegas timeline – to make it happen. For your workflow, it will be worth your while to familiarize yourself with this batch render script. The video now has English subtitles.
Jeff
2-Xeon X5680 @ 3.33, EVGA SR-2 Mobo, 48GB DDR3, GTX 580 3072MB, 16TB Attached Storage, Win7, Vegas 11 x64
-
[Jeff Schroeder] ” As far as I know, Vegas cannot render a prores file of any kind”
That is correct. ProRes is an Apple-proprietary format. Vegas can decode it, but only if you have the right version of Apple’s Quicktime installed. And Apple doesn’t allow it to be created on anything but a MacOS PC, or a few recording devices that have specifically licensed the format.
-Dave
-
Dave,
This just in… FFMPEG supports now 10bit ProRes HQ de- & encoding (422) https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/20/868372
Prores 444 is possible on the PC but there seems to be some unresolved color shifting issues in some file types.
Along with a GUI to make things easier. https://www.stuudio.ee/anothergui/
And these guys have made it very easy for the Vegas user by making a script to generate batch files, encode them, then add the prores files to the timeline. https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/24/951534
I hope this works like it does in the movie.I want some time to play with this and see some results, just too busy!
If you look into this, please let me know what you think.Jeff
2-Xeon X5680 @ 3.33, EVGA SR-2 Mobo, 48GB DDR3, GTX 580 3072MB, 16TB Attached Storage, Win7, Vegas 11 x64
-
[Jeff Schroeder] “This just in… FFMPEG supports now 10bit ProRes HQ de- & encoding (422)”
Wow! Kind of cool… FFMPEG does continue to be kind of amazing. In particular because once there’s support in FFMPEG, it propagates to pretty much every other FOSS video tool: VLC, the gstreamer system in Linux, etc.
Apple’s been pretty strategic with this… they make it easy and cheap for embedded video device folks to get ProRes support, which helped cement Apple as a first class video platform. And this allowed them effectively lock out any other OS from a full ProRes workflow (possible to read it on Windows, pretty much no options on Linux .. until this, of course).
I have not had the need to generate ProRes. But I’ll probably play around with this. I was “forced” to get a MacBook Pro for my daughter Kira, as she’s heading off to Montclair University’s Broadcasting, Television, and Digital Arts program in a couple of weeks. I had been up in their studio, and it’s all Final Cut Pro 7… I do kind of wonder how they’re dealing with that now — FCPX wouldn’t be a big drag for college students, but one of the big attractions of their program is that they get pros from NYC in for studio work, and you get a big discount on studio time if you hire students in your crew. So they have to maintain a pro-level interface to the outside world.
I definitely would have used this last year. Kira had a borrowed MacBook Pro (no idea on specs) from the High School for the last two years of her “Communications Academy” concentration. Last fall, I shot some video of a couple of trips to colleges, which she needed for a project. Since in theory, we had the same format (my Panasonic TM700 on the trip, the Panasonic SD9 I bought her for the High School program, both AVCHD), I schlepped files over to her Mac. It tried, but it could barely load them, much less edit. So I crunched them down to a lower resolution… same deal, no go. Finally, I did a little online research, and crunched them even more down to Apple’s iFrame format (that’s essentially qHD AVC-Intra)… that worked. Later, I found out that to get the video onto their Macs, rather than simply copy it over from the SD Card, they had been hooking her SD9, analog outs, to a Canon DV camcorder, then reading it all in as DV. Go figure!
-Dave
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up