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HD workflow
a documentary series of 25 episodes, 45 minutes long each
6 FCP systems connected to FC server
20 TB disk space
material is shot on EX3 1920×1080and editors who have no experience with HD material!!
what would be the best workflow!?
work in native format? or work offline(SD) as was suggested by APPLE, and how does that happen exactly?how do you convert from HQ to SD? and when and how do you upres? what about color correction?
we would appreciate your help and any material that you would suggest us to read.
Many thanks in advance
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20 Replies
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I just need to add that we have archive material that is SD and the final product is going to be both SD and HD formats!
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Convert all the EX footage to ProRes during ingest and stay in HD.
Put an AJA Kona 3 into at least one of your systems and upconvert your SD to ProRes 1080 HD during capture. The Kona does this in realtime. Your edit goes much easier if you’re in one format for the entire process.
For Color Grading nothing beats Apple’s Color. I have an instructional DVD right here on the Cow to teach you the interface.
https://store.creativecow.net/p/66/stop_staring_and_start_grading_with_apple_colorFor final output, again the AJA Kona 3 will downconvert your HD to SD in realtime so you can make both an HD and SD master from one timeline.
That will get you started. Really you would want a consultant to come in to your facility to spend a little time with your editors and create a full workflow to suit your needs. We’re starting 3 feature length documentaries this month with over 300 hours of material that will be cut to about 6 hours of finished material. The big key is get everything to one format during capture so the edit goes as smoothly as possible. We will be editing in 720p ProRes for all our documentaries.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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Hi Tel,
I agree with Walter, the Kona 3 is the best way to up and down-convert everything.
However, as you’re working with EX3 material, I’d be more inclined to edit using the XDCam files, rather than spend a lot of time converting to ProRes – the whole point of shooting tapeless is that you don’t have to wait while things digitise.
This is especially true of something like a documentary where you’re starting with a lot of source material. Just ensure that you render to ProRes for your final output to avoid extra compression. Walter’s way is more organised in the long run, but personally I just think that converting everything to ProRes when you don’t have to is a little wasteful both in terms of time and disk space.All the best,
Alex -
[Alex Elkins] “rather than spend a lot of time converting to ProRes – the whole point of shooting tapeless is that you don’t have to wait while things digitise. “
The Log and Transfer window does the conversion. There’s no digitizing.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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[walter biscardi] “The Log and Transfer window does the conversion. There’s no digitizing.”
Hi Walter,
Does Log and Transfer support XDCam? I’ve just tested it and it didn’t work but maybe I’m doing something wrong. I’ve always done it via the Sony software which doesn’t give you the option to transcode. I know L&T works with P2, RED and AVCHD but I can’t see any options for XDCam.
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[Alex Elkins] “Does Log and Transfer support XDCam? I’ve just tested it and it didn’t work but maybe I’m doing something wrong”
There’s a Sony plug-in that allows you to use Log and Transfer instead of their own software tool.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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That correct Walter, but I think if you check you’ll find that Sony’s plugin only enables transfer not transcode. (Last time I looked anyway … PDKZ-LT1)
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Awesome, thanks Walter. Not sure how that managed to pass me by!
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“Just ensure that you render to ProRes for your final output to avoid extra compression”
Alex, do you just Render to ProRes or do you Export the whole program to ProRes?
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[Chris Babbitt] “do you just Render to ProRes or do you Export the whole program to ProRes?”
I would do both – render to ProRes for the purposes of laying off to tape for the channel, and then export a self-contained Quicktime for archive purposes.
A 45 minute 1080i ProRes file should be roughly 40GB, which isn’t too bad at all – better than archiving every programme to HDCam anyway.
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