Fast Import ProRes – How?

[Andrew Mckee]

2 things to try.

1) Set media creation to match your source and in the import settings set the colour space to 601/709 (otherwise avid assumes it must convert the files from RGB and does not do a fast import)

2) AMA the files in and then consolidate them to a media drive.

Both should be equal the speed, although the AMA option may give better results (i havent tested this but it does in other scenarios).

Andrew McKee
Editor/Colourist
Avid Certified Instructor – MC5.5
Apple Certified Trainer – FCP7
Pixelwizard.net

[Alex Elkins]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

From what I can tell I’m already importing using the settings you describe, but just in case I’ve taken a couple of screenshots so you can see what I’m doing…

My Media Creation settings (I’ve also clicked on ‘Apply to all’)

Then I go to File > Import, using these settings:

This is what MC6 does when I click ‘Import’

Does all of that look right?

I’ll try the Consolidate method now and post my results…

Thanks

Alex Elkins
Twitter: @postbluetv
http://www.postblue.tv
View Post Blue showreel
Shot on RED @ 100fps, Post on FCP/Color: Capoeira Film
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[Alex Elkins]

Hi Andrew,

I’ve just tried the Consolidate method you suggest and no matter what settings I use, Avid is skipping the file (even though I have unchecked the ‘Skip files’ checkbox.)
It’s giving me an error message saying that the video contains foreign compression types. It appears that my Avid is racist as well as tempremental!

Alex Elkins
Twitter: @postbluetv
http://www.postblue.tv
View Post Blue showreel
Shot on RED @ 100fps, Post on FCP/Color: Capoeira Film
My Vimeo Pro page

[Andrew Mckee]

How strange. I do not have MC6 installed on my personal computer as yet but will do some testing when I am next at work. Hopefully someone else will come up with an answer before then. What is the origin of the media?

Andrew McKee
Editor/Colourist
Avid Certified Instructor – MC5.5
Apple Certified Trainer – FCP7
Pixelwizard.net

[Alex Elkins]

The media is actually an animation from After Effects, rendered out as ProRes, so perhaps that’s the difference.

Alex Elkins
Twitter: @postbluetv
http://www.postblue.tv
View Post Blue showreel
Shot on RED @ 100fps, Post on FCP/Color: Capoeira Film
My Vimeo Pro page

[Nathan Grout]

I just successfully did a fast import of ProRes 422 (not HQ) with the exact import settings from your screen shot. The ProRes MOV files were created in After Effects CS 4 and were 1080p at 23.976 fps, the same settings as my Avid project.

The only thing I can think to suggest is that you double check that the frame size and frame rates of your MOV and Avid project match (including any interlacing that might have been applied to your AE render).

[Oliver Peters]

[Nathan Grout] “The only thing I can think to suggest is that you double check that the frame size and frame rates of your MOV and Avid project match (including any interlacing that might have been applied to your AE render).”

Correct. If the frame rates do not match you will not get Fast Import. In addition, the gamma will be incorrect because you are going through a QT decode/Avid re-encode when it isn’t a Fast Import.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Hector Berrebi]

things might have changed on this one… for example i couldn’t find the help page for fast import
which i do remember seeing before.

the way I remember it was, that you can only fast import Avid codecs
ProRes isn’t one, and this option shouldn’t work.

from the avid website:
(look under the codec box)
https://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=271233

unless of course it changed,
or i remember it wrong (i don’t think so…)

not sure AMA and consolidate should work either, but i may be wrong on this one, i’ll test it tomorrow.

and if anyone finds the help page on fast importing… please let me know what you entered in search

thanks

hector

Hector Berrebi
prePost Consulting

[Nathan Grout]

In short, it has changed.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have successfully done a fast import of ProRes footage in Avid 6 on my Mac. If you go to https://www.avid.com/US/products/media-composer, you’ll see that at the top of the second column of new features it says, “Get full native ProRes support on Mac (encode and decode) and Windows (decode only) for easy integration into any ProRes workflow.” It simply isn’t packaged with the Avid codecs, just as XDCAM and other supported codecs aren’t packaged with Avid’s codecs.

As I mentioned, I’m on a Mac, but since Windows machines can decode ProRes, and no encoding should be needed for a fast import, it should still work.

Mac Pro (Mid 2010) – 3.33 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon Processor – 10 GB 1333 MHz RAM – ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB Video Card – OS X Lion 10.7.2 – Avid Media Composer 6.0 – Adobe Production Premium Suite CS4 – Final Cut Studio 3.0

[Alex Elkins]

I’ll double-check that my project settings all match the QuickTime when I’m back in the suite on Monday. I’m pretty certain they do, as I wouldn’t have any reason to begin the project as anything other than 1080/25.

Thanks to everyone for your help on this. Will keep everyone posted.

Alex Elkins
Twitter: @postbluetv
http://www.postblue.tv
View Post Blue showreel
Shot on RED @ 100fps, Post on FCP/Color: Capoeira Film
My Vimeo Pro page