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4k workflow Canon 5d4 to ProRes 422
I do not have the fastest of machines… a MacBook pro 2016 13′. It is more or less impossible edit the uncompressed Canon files directly in FCPX. At the end I would like to export 4k ProRes 422 (LT or Proxy).
Should I:
1. Import the Canon files in FCPX, create and edit Proxy media and then export 4k LT or Proxy? The editing is fast but I find that last export to be pretty slow and I will have to save the original Canon files.
2. Convert the Canon files to 4k ProRes Proxy which is fast enough for me to edit directly in FCPX. The 4k ProRes proxy files are good enough for me to save instead of the original Canon files. The final export is faster than alternative 1 but not as fast as alternative 3.
3. Convert the Canon files to 4k ProRes LT which seem to perform slightly worse than alt.2 editing in FCPX but if I set the project to ProRes LT the final export to ProRes LT is really fast. LT is of course better but bigger than Proxy.
I believe the best for me should have been to Convert to 4k ProRes Proxy, set the FCPX project to 4k ProRes Proxy and export the same. Unfortunately it is not possible to set the FCPX project to 4k ProRes Proxy.
Any thoughts? Are there perhaps a 4th alternative?
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6 Replies
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Confused- why are you converting your own proxies? The workflow is super simple:
Import Camera Footage
Transcode to Proxy Media
Edit in Proxy Mode
Switch to Original Mode when editing is done.
Export at original quality- Camera footage originals will be used for maximum possible quality.https://support.apple.com/kb/PH12702?locale=en_US&viewlocale=en_US
Noah
FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
FCP Exchange – FCPX Workshops
XinTwo – FCPX Training -
Thanks, yes that is a much better description of my alternative 1, but… that causes much rendering time. First a slow Canon to a lo-res ProRes transcoding and when finished editing, a slow Canon to hi-res ProRes export… … and at the end I have a good end result but as original I still only have the Canon files. Good quality, but huge, not able to play on my equipment and must be transcoded again when reusing them.
If I start by converting the Canon files to 4k ProRes LT these files are:
1 – Fast enough in FCPX to edit without transcoding to the internal lo-res ProRes Proxy
2 – Good enough as original for me and easy to reuse
3 – By editing the same codec/format as my end result I seem to get much faster final export renderingMaybe I am ignorant, but for my application I find 4k ProRes Proxy files being good enough both as end result and saving for reuse. But FCPX (I believe) cannot use that format for intermediate rendering. My Proxy files will be converted to e.g. LT files and at the end I have to convert them back to Proxy… which is slow, but not as slow as Canon to ProRes.
Maybe I should stick to a ProRes LT workflow?
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If you don’t need the quality of the original footage then transcoding to ProRes is always a good option for FCPX.
My workflow would be to use something like EditReady to convert the 5d4 files to ProRes -> edit in FCPX -> export ProRes master file.
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Jeff Kirkland | Video Producer & Cinematographer
Hobart, Tasmania | Twitter: @jeffkirkland -
Or if you’re going to throw away the Canon files anyway add a ProRes transcoder like at Atomos Ninja directly onto your Canon and go much much faster. Either way you’re going to be wasting a ton of time transcoding files you don’t even really want to use otherwise.
Noah
FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
FCP Exchange – FCPX Workshops
XinTwo – FCPX Training -
Thanks Jeff!
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Thanks Noah!
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