CS6 to DaVinci workflow (render clips for DaVinci)

[Ryan Patch]

Unfortunately, there is no workflow to transcode all media in timeline and “bake in” effects like you can in Avid. With the ease of integrating Dynamic Link into your editing process, this generates this new problem when you need to go to DaVinci, yes.

There’s two options: export a “baked in” whole timeline and then use shot detection / EDL to cut the shots back up in Davinci. This is painful if you have fades, though.

Other is this: Delete every timeline from a project except the one you will color. Duplicate this sequence. Save as NEW project file.

Remove all effects from new sequence, import this sequence into Davinci. Manually add source files from AE comps. DO all color without effects on clips. Export clips. Relink clips in Premiere project. You can also duplicate AE files, relink to colored source media in AE comps and to new AE projects in Premiere (if you duplicated). Re-apply speed effects, copy and pasting from original sequence you duplicated if they’re fancy or complex.

It’s a pain the butt, but that’s the way to go. Basically, if I am doing anything that I know is going to Davinci, you need to wait until AFTER color to do heavy work on it. That’s just the way the pro toolset works. You can do everything out of order, free-wheeling and neauveux-editing style… but it limits you when you want to use pro tools like Davinci or Protools. There’s a post workflow that is followed for this reason – there’s only a certain number of effects that translate between programs.

Ryan

[Ryan Patch]

I do agree, though, that there should be some sort of media manager that allows you to “bake in” AE comps that you’ve embedded.

[Andy Kolb]

Thanks for the good reply.
This is not really what I wanted to hear but at least now I know.

Since I was in a rush I graded this project in Redcine-X but next time I will try to grade in DaVinci and then do the speed adjustments after.

[Drew Lahat]

I’m writing this as I’m supposed to be conforming a PPro project for Resolve 🙂
We do plenty of effects and transitions in our edits, so every round-trip process is quite a PITA. It is doable though.

As far as the “right” way to do this with a “pro toolset”, I talked to Stephen Nakamura a few months ago – he’s a colorist at Level3 whose recent work includes Prometheus and Zero Dark Thirty. While discussing Prometheus, he said that he got the materials to grade AFTER everything – VFX, compositing and all. That’s been my understanding – that the proper way to do this is effects before grading. What we have to do with PPro & Resolve is a technical limitation, not the proper industry way. I’d be happy to hear otherwise.

(Stephen even said that he doesn’t deal with individual comped elements – it’s the VFX dept job to balance them and he gets the flat comped shot to grade once.)