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whats the best codec for color grading?
I recently had a with discussion qithe a DP because he said that the Apple Prores 444 footage it is way better than Apple Prores 422 (HQ), my question is, is there any substantial, clear, important benefit to do the color grading with the 444 fotage over the 422 HQ?
He said that the 422 (HQ) is a crap footage because it is noisy and lack the full range of color, latitude than the 444 footage has. Is this true?
Thanks for your help
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4 Replies
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OK.
ProRes 422 HQ as acquired by an Alexa is just fine.
The ProRes 4444 content from Alexa is recorded as 12bit instead of 10bit, there is not any difference in the quality of the blacks in the base image, however the 4444 content is preferred by most colorists due to the higher bit depth.
Uncompressed HD is only 10bit and that is the standard that most use for quality, I have not seen noticeable differences between UC and PRHQ content except when using a scope, nor would that show after being compressed for broadcast or delivery.
gary adcock
Studio37Post and Production Workflow Consultant
Production and Post Stereographer
Chicago, ILhttps://blogs.creativecow.net/24640
follow me on Twitter
@garyadcock -
Can we expect the same results if you apply the same color grading in both codecs? or the higher bit depth makes a substantial difference?
Thanks for you help.
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[Alberto Zavala] “Can we expect the same results if you apply the same color grading in both codecs? or the higher bit depth makes a substantial difference?”
That would depend on the content as shot, the deliverables and and the colorist.
Having a higher bit depth allows the colorist greater range to adjust the image, particularly in the shadow areas.
gary adcock
Studio37Post and Production Workflow Consultant
Production and Post Stereographer
Chicago, ILhttps://blogs.creativecow.net/24640
follow me on Twitter
@garyadcock -
Higher bit depth is useful in post production, but not necessarily for color grading. It is helpful in the case of matte extractions from green or blue screen material because it allows for more color information and thus more precise edge delineation. But for color grading, the difference between ProresHQ and Prores4444 is minimal at best, and non-existent most of the time.
What might be confusing the issue here is the color space used. If you record using a log coded format, like LogC on an Alexa, you retain much more information than you would recording the Rec709 output, and in a more usable form. But that has nothing to do with the codec, it has to do with how the image is being processed. You can encode a LogC image in Prores4444, and you can encode it in ProresHQ. For all practical purposes, the grading will be exactly the same. You could even move a color correction from one to the other and get the same result.
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