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5D footage converted in ProRes = Damn’ heavy files !
I recently add the 5D MarkII to my production unit.
After a day of shooting i come home with a full 32Gb compact flash of footage.
First things first: backing up the content of the card to my hard drive, then I launched FCP and the Log and Transfer utility.
I imported all my 32Gb of footage to my working raid system.
After the files have been completely imported into FCP, I checked the capture scratch where my ProRes files have been stored.
Now the 32Gb of 5D H264 footage turn out to be 140Gb of converted ProRes… ouch!
I didn’t expected the files to be that large…How can import the 5D footage into FCP without this file’s size enlargement ??
I don’t quite understand how the converted ProRes can be 5 times bigger than the H264 original files.
If anyone knows about the 5D to FCP workflow, it would be nice to share that info. -
10 Replies
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[Enguerrand Bouillaguet] “I didn’t expected the files to be that large…”
Sorry man, that’s what you get when you want a codec that edit systems can work with. The HIGHLY compressed H.264 codec is too much for edit systems to handle…they slow down, crash. Thus the need to convert.
[Enguerrand Bouillaguet] “How can import the 5D footage into FCP without this file’s size enlargement ??”
Try ProRes LT. Or you can do the offline/online workflow…work at lower res then recapture at higher res later. Or get bigger hard drives. Drives are cheap.
[Enguerrand Bouillaguet] “I don’t quite understand how the converted ProRes can be 5 times bigger than the H264 original files.”
Higher data rate…more color space…non-GOP format so less compressed, easier for the edit system to work with.
[Enguerrand Bouillaguet] “If anyone knows about the 5D to FCP workflow, it would be nice to share that info.”
Either log and transfer and work full res…on larger drives (4TB G-Raid is around $300)…or do this:
https://library.creativecow.net/ross_shane/tapeless_online/1
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Shane Ross] “.non-GOP format so less compressed,”
Shane, FYI, the Canon 5D H264, curiously, are Intraframe.
rafael -
From my understanding of H.264, it is an MPEG-4, GOP format. But, if the camera does another type, then OK. Still highly compressed and hard on processors when it comes to editing.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
OK Shane, thanks for the tips!
I’m running FCP6, so I guess i’ll have to upgrade to FCP7 to get the new ProRes LT.
I may give a try to your offline workflow.
Thanks again for the technical explanations about codecs and stuff.
Greatly appreciated! -
About the native compression of the camera, I read something about Magic Lantern plugin that allows the 5D to record at higher bitrates.
Anyone using this special feature?
Does it enhance picture quality out of the box?
What about editing? -
[Shane Ross] “From my understanding of H.264, it is an MPEG-4, GOP format. “
Shane, the possibilities of H264/MP4 are almost infinite:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC
H264 supports evenYUV/444 Uncompress 10b and, of course, GOPs and Intraframe.
I found that these Canon H264 are Intraframe, because they can be “Conformed” in CinemaTools.
GOPS movies can’t.
rafael -
[Enguerrand Bouillaguet] “About the native compression of the camera, I read something about Magic Lantern plugin that allows the 5D to record at higher bitrates.
Anyone using this special feature?
Does it enhance picture quality out of the box?
What about editing?”
I guess it could be possible to make this camera to record an H264 422 instead of 420. Or even a LGOP H264 more efficient. This would bring “more picture quality out of the box”.
But I don’t see many more possibilities to improve this camera performance.
IMO the main problem is a short processor for a huge task (BIG CMOS to HD/H264 in RT).
rafael -
Since the firmware updates to allow multiple frame rates and audio at 48Khz, I don’t know if firmware hacks like Magic Lantern have been updated.
It would be nice to get zebras and focus aids happening with the 5Dmk2. Higher data rates are less of an issue for me than larger frame sizes. I would rather capture 4k full sensor files at the current data rate.
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[Michael Gissing] “I would rather capture 4k full sensor files at the current data rate.”
I think that data rate for 4k would be compromise the quality.
But I agree with you that avoiding the in-camera downscaling would be the way to get the best from that CMOS.
rafael -
[Shane Ross] “Sorry man, that’s what you get when you want a codec that edit systems can work with. The HIGHLY compressed H.264 codec is too much for edit systems to handle…they slow down, crash. Thus the need to convert.”
Technically you can edit H.264 in FCP but it is difficult for anything other than cuts. Some NLE’s can edit it natively without quite the pain and chunkiness that GOP formats usually bring, so I would say ‘the need to convert for FCP.’
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