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DCP projection workflow
Hello all,
If anyone could help me with this it would be greatly appreciated.
I’m using footage ripped from SD DVDs to create a montage of film clips to be presented for cinema
Upon ripping the VOB files, most of this stuff is at an SD 1024 x 576 resolution (16:9) or a 4:3 resolution
What is the best lossless codec (ProRes 422 vs. 422 HQ vs. 4444) to use and at what resolution should I output? I’m using MPEGStreamclip.
Should I output/upscale from the VOBs into a DCP-friendly resolution/aspect? I will eventually have to make this into a DCP, this is why I ask. None of the footage will be shot for this purpose, it is all made from ripping DVDs (commercial, hollywood films). Also, because some of the footage is 4:3 it will have to be blown-up and scaled to whatever aspect I’m working with in Final Cut. But I’m assuming that I will have to create black bars within my sequence that conform to a cinema-standard? I have no idea how to do this!
Thanks a lot!
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9 Replies
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I should also note that another concern is that outputting a 1024×576 SD VOB to 1920×1080 gives me a proper 1:1 whereas outputting to something DCP friendly like 2048×1024 stretches the image….
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DCP flat (1998 x 1080) is closest with small pillar boxing not stretching.
Best to use a 1920 x 1080 timeline as FCP doesn’t work well with non standard pixel sizes.
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Thanks for your help! If I encode to that aspect, though, won’t it still distort the image? Or are you suggesting that I encode the video to 1920×1080 and then crop the image within final cut?
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BTW, what frame rate are you dealing with? AFAIK, DCPs are 24fps.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
HI Shane,
Because I’m here in the UK, I’m ripping from PAL DVDs so 25fps. But can’t I output the final as 24fps via something like Media Encoder? Or does Streamclip handle fps conversion well?
I’m still at a loss as to what I should encode the VOBs into, exactly…?
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No need to distort or crop. Just put the 1920 x 1080 with small pillar boxing inside the 1998 x 1080. Media Encoder does this automatically unless you tell it to zoom or stretch.
You can do a slight zoom and crop if you have head room in the framing but sometimes content won’t have enough frame space to crop. So depends on the content and how tight things like headroom framing was.
DCPs can be 24, 25, 30, 48 or 60 but I have found cinemas are only reliable with 24 frame. If you change the speed to 24 and correct audio pitch properly it would be safest to make a 24 that way. Doing 24 to 25 in Streamclip or Media encoder will not look as smooth. Solutions like Alchemist or Teranex might do a better job if duration can’t change because the 4% slow down to 24 changes duration. But check with the cinemas you will be screening in as 25 DCP might be fine.
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Hi Michael,
Thanks for your response. To clarify, you would suggest conforming to 24fps from 25 once the final edit is complete? and so the final container will be 1998×1080?
Thank again
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Yes but you could also check and see if 25fps is acceptable to save the trouble of changing the final from 25 to 24. The biggest hassle is correcting the audio pitch
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As far as ripping these DVDs are concerned….. they are mostly hollywood, PAL, 25fps DVDs (yes, I know this is illegal, but it’s being montaged into fair use material). Is it best to up-res them to 1920×1080 using Streamclip or is there a better option? I’m also now wondering, frankly, if leaving the resolution as-is (1024×768/720×576) and having a post-house do a DCP hardware up-scaling is a better option?
When encoding to ProRes via Streamclip – because these DVDs are all SD and therefore interlaced, should I leave ‘interlaced scaling’ ON?
Sorry for the many questions!
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