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DCP issues for a newbie
Hi everyone,
I’m in a big trouble: I’ve made a video with Davinci in Prores4444 1920*1080 @25fps (pal) using Rec.709 as color space. It was clearly video oriented.
Now, the video has been selected for a theatre premiere with a (not well specified) Christie projector. Tha bad thing is that they ask to me a DCP file!
First of all, I know nothing about projectors… Anyway I have to make something.So, questions:
1. The video is @25fps, but I’ve read that the DCP standard is 24fps, so my question is: is it possible to maintain the 25fps rate, or I need to convert to 24fps? If so, is it better to “conform” the video and stretch the audio, or is it possible in Davinci to “convert” the file to a new framerate without changing the duration?
2. The video is well graded in Rec.709, but I’ve read somewhere that the color spaces of projectors are P3 or XYZ or Rec.2020 or whatdamnelse… Does it mean that I have to do an all-new-grading-from-zero, or is there a method to convert directly from my Rec.709-based-grading to P3-relative? (NOTE THAT I HAVE ONLY DAVINCI 12.5, AND NOT EASYDCP – In the sense that in Davinci Deliver tab I’ve found the easyDCP option, but I haven’t paid for any license.)
3. The frame size of my video is 1920*1080, but I’ve seen that the DCP standard is 2K (full, flat, scope). Is there a possibility to maintain the size of 1920*1080, or the Christie projector could not work or distort the image? If so, which format should I use and which method should I follow?Please, note that I have Davinci Studio 12.5 (and Premiere and FCPX and Compressor) but NOT easyDCP.
Please, I need your help guys.
Thanks a lot
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18 Replies
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DCP can handle many frame rates including 25 but in my experience a lot of cinemas are a decade behind and many only safely handle 24fps. You might need to ask a lot of questions to determine if 25 is OK plus what sort of formatted drive to send the file on. Cinemas are a technical dogs breakfast so ask.
If 25 is OK then you can export a jpeg2000 from Resolve that creates a DCI compliant color space and fits the 1920 x 1080 inside the DCP flat spec so little pillars on the side so there is no distortion and the full 16:9 frame is displayed. Safe data rate is around 125. Check the Deliver page options
There is open source software like OpenDCP to create a compliant DCP. I’ve used it with mixed success. https://www.opendcp.org/ . Others may have advice on various alternatives. I do know that people with Adobe CC have access to a DCP creator in Media Encoder that handles everything.
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[Michael Gissing] ” Cinemas are a technical dogs breakfast so ask.”
Completely correct.
If this is a one-off, approach the cinema manager directly; if they have a one-sheet of acceptable formats, then comply with that and pick the best solution. You may be able to deliver in something other than a DCP — H.264, ProRes, BluRay, these are all options that producers are not necessarily aware of, but ask for anyway, something along the line of “Just give it to me on a “Hard Drive.” Give what to you? “A Quicktime.”
1920×1080 will work, 1998 is a format, 2048 is a format. Pick your pillarbox.
Some theatre servers have issues reconciling frame rate and SMPTE vs. InterOp protocols.
Test, test, test, test… and then test it again. It will fail somewhere for some reason and usually for different reasons in different circumstances.
jPo, CSI
“I always pass on free advice — its never of any use to me” Oscar Wilde.
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Hi everyone, and a huge THANKS to all you.
I surely will test, but not too much because just tomorrow I’ll have my unique test-day (a couple of hours in the morning…)
Today I’ve tried a cool stuff named DCP-O-Matic. Do you know that? With that software the starting point can be the Prores444 I’ve just rendered: it converts videos into DCP folders.
What do you think about? Do you prefer openDCP?
Anyway, once obtained the DCP folder, how to play it on Mac?
Again, thanks guys!!!
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[Adriano Castaldini] “Anyway, once obtained the DCP folder, how to play it on Mac?”
You need player software, the DCP is not decipherable by Quicktime or many other container decoders. For one, it needs to be able to unpack the CPL and PKL XML files. DO NOT attempt to edit the DCP in any way. Even the name is encoded in such a way that it is keyed to the internal integrity of the package.
Glad you got what you needed on the BMD Resolve website.
I don’t know of any free players. Personally, I use the Fraunhofer easyDCP plugin for Resolve.
jPo, CSI
“I always pass on free advice — its never of any use to me” Oscar Wilde.
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…very pricey… 🙁
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Sorry if I disturb again with a silly question: I tried to use DCP-O-Matic. In the menu you can choose between Make_DCP, Make_KDM, Make_DKDM. Make_DCP is self_explanatory, but I can’t understand what are KDM and DKDM? Are them useful for my simple purpose (preparing a DCP projection)?
Thanks a lot.
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KDM refers to the certificates necessary to provide authorization to decode the DCP if it is encrypted. Most free DCP authoring packages don’t offer this option. If its a one-off presentation it likely doesn’t need to be encrypted — its a layer of complication you likely don’t need…. and it gets complex because you need to get certificates from the theatre for its server and then authorize showings, &c., &tc.
jPo, CSI
“I always pass on free advice — its never of any use to me” Oscar Wilde.
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Hi guys,
Can anyone tell me… if I export a recent short film we made, 24fps, Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1 out of DaVinci Resolve using Easy DCP, will it be essentially a DCP?
It’s for a film festival that will only except Blu-Ray or DCP… can’t get the Blu-Ray done in time, so looking to to a DCP, which of course is better anyway… but it is safe – as in will it definitely work the other end?
Any potential problems?
Is it really ‘Easy’ as the name suggests?
Do I need to make sure of anything?
And finally, how do we deliver it to the cinema, on just a portable hard drive?
Thank you so much for any valuable feedback.
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If you don’t understand this stuff, why do you insist on doing it yourself? You really should be seeking out someone who can do this for you, do it correctly, and charge a reasonable price to do it, rather than getting in over your head just to save a few bucks.
I don’t know when it because “normal” that everything in this industry should be “free.” If you want a car you have to pay for it. If you can’t afford it you either rent one, borrow one, use Uber, or go without. Same thing with just about everything else – except, it seems post production. Do yourself a favor and do some research. Find someone who can make your DCP and go back to what you really need to be involved with – namely the creative end of all of this.
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