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HD 4:4:4 from FCP on MAC to AE on PC
I’ve been searching for a codec (preferably free) that will allow a MAC user to export uncompressed clips from FCP to deliver to me so I can composite in AE on a PC. The Quicktime HD codecs that FCP uses are not supported on the PC unfortunately. Also, they seem to be 4:2:2 as there is a gamma shift when I render them back to an animation codec. Through my research I have discovered that FCP is 4:2:2 and the Quicktime Animation codec is also 4:2:2. Has anyone had experience with this dilemma and has a solution how to pass footage through AE without ANY loss of color information?
The real issue is actually that the footage was shot on 16mm. And a post house is digitizing the footage to HD. I need to work with the raw unaltered HD footage in AE and be able to render it back out 1:1 to give back to the client. Are the Blackmagic codecs good for this? I need to tell my client how to deliver the uncompressed HD footage to me, and Quicktime Animation codec is just not going to retain all the 4:4:4 information. Thanks for any help.
-Robert
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12 Replies
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Well, what about this:
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/oconnell_pete/cineon.php
Just released in the Cow Newsletter like YESTERDAY.
Shane
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[Robert Morris] “Through my research I have discovered that FCP is 4:2:2 and the Quicktime Animation codec is also 4:2:2.”
That’s incorrect. The Quicktime Animation codec is 4:4:4 RGB, and can have an alpha channel. The gamma shift is not a 4:2:2 vs. 4:4:4 issue, it’s a YCrCb (YUV) to RGB conversion issue.
For a great codec reference resource, check out:
https://codecs.onerivermedia.com/
The central issue for you is how the post house is digitizing the 16mm footage: are they capturing via telecine to an HD video codec/format, or capturing via datacine to DPX, Cineon or TGA image sequences? Aside from HDCAM SR, HD video formats are YUV 4:2:2. Does the post house offer digitizing to a 4:4:4 RGB HD video codec? You may not even be starting out with 4:4:4 RGB video to begin with.
I’d suggest exporting your AE comps as .tga or .tif image sequences. The client can then open the image sequences in Quicktime and export them as self-contained Quicktime movie files using the appropriate codec for editing in their FCP project.
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AJA has 4:4:4 RGB codecs available in Mac and Windows and are cross platform.
You are working in 4:4:4 and want something free? Heh heh.
There’s also SheerVideo from Bitjazz.
Jeremy
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I’d second Sheer Video. No color shifts, no problems at all. The best RGB<->YUV conversion I’ve ever seen.
Regards,
Uli
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You’re absolutely right. It’s been a while since I dealt with this issue and I got confused again. Yes, it’s a YUV issue because AE is working in RGB space. SheerVideo codec is supposedly a great one to use, but I haven’t purchased it yet. I guess I’m wondering how people normally deal with a situation where they are going from a YUV NLE application to a RGB compositing application, and then back again. Surely there must be some sort of workflow that is somewhat standard. I haven’t spoken to the post house as of yet to see how they are capturing the footage because the client is still locking shots. Basically, it seems that whatever format the post house gives me the YUV footage in, I should be able to turn it around and give it back to the client in the same codec (uncompressed) after I do my compositing in AE, working temporarily in AE’s YUV space but rendering out to a YUV codec. It may just come down to some lengthy conversations with the post house once we get to that stage. I was just hoping to figure out some options before that point.
Thanks for the info and suggestions. I’d appreciate any further thoughts anyone would have if they have run into this situation.
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Thanks. I’ve researched the SheerVideo codec before but haven’t actually had a chance to try it out. The problem is that the post house will also need to have the codec as well to be able to digitize the footage in it. But I believe the footage has already been digitized. It may just be an issue of talking to the post house when the time comes for me to get the footage and see what format it is in.
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You can force FCP to render in RGB and the DualLink codecs are RGB.
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Thanks! Kona seems like it might be a viable option.
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Also, I had read that there was such a thing in Avid systems to force the output to RGB (I believe it was actually called “video” mode vs. “graphics” mode). But if I am working with a FCP editor that has never had to deal with that before, how could I explain to them how to export the RGB uncompressed shots out of FCP?
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Do you have a capture card? mainly a Kona 2 or 3, or anything else that can handle dual link output?
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