How to convert files from .mov/H264 to ProRes 422 (HQ) ?

[Lenny Greaster]

I’m pretty sure you can use Avid DNxHD as the codec to import into Resolve. The Avid PC codecs are free (download from Avid) and they are Quicktime wrapped (mov file) so you need to create an export preset in Media Encoder.

Make sure you have the Quicktime PC decoder for ProRes (from Apple). With this you can happily use/read ProRes in Premiere.

If you absolutely have to have ProRes (and stuck on a PC) then you can use FFMPEG to make the ProRes mov files. You either make an intermediate file (uncompressed or DNxHD) and use FFMPEG directly or you can use a combination of Debugmode Frameserver, AVISynth and FFMPEG to make ProRes right out of Adobe Media Encoder.

[Angelo Lorenzo]

Where does Avisynth come into play? I’ve used Debugmode Frameserver and FFMPEG together without issue to do single files… I’ve moved on to more advanced batching methods, but the former was rock solid for me.

Are you using Avisynth to add some kind of filtering?

Angelo Lorenzo
Fallen Empire Digital Production Services – Los Angeles
RED transcoding, on-set DIT, and RED Epic rental services
Fallen Empire – The Blog
A blog dedicated to filmmaking, the RED workflow, and DIT tips and tricks

[Lenny Greaster]

With Debugmode Frameserver outputting a “temp.avi” pointer file, setting up a “temp.avs” with just “DirectShowSource(“temp.avi”)” prevents FFMPEG from throwing up an Invalid pixel format ‘-1’ error if the source is just the pointer. It also matches the most prominent instructions on the web for making ProRes on the PC as well as the detailed workflow I posted awhile back…
Re: Pro Res Format?

I wrote a script which watches for complete mov’s and stops the frameserving but also starts the next one queued up in Adobe Media Encoder. That way I can batch to ProRes from Premiere/After Effects without using any intermediate encodes – it’s actually faster than my Mac for After Effects to Prores renders.

There are plenty of .bat scripts to bulk transcode intermediate files to ProRes (or any other codec) with FFMPEG on the web and some GUI’s like “Avanti” and “Another GUI FFMPG”. These are pretty easy to utilize.
What advanced batching methods do you use?

[Angelo Lorenzo]

Can’t say I’ve come across the “-1” error when I was using the setup but I think that was before ProRes was part of FFMPEG.

I currently use what’s described in my blog post here https://www.fallenempiredigital.com/blog/2012/06/06/encoding-apple-prores-on-a-windows-pc-with-redcine-x-pro-and-ffmpeg/

Since Redcine-X (the program that manages RED camera footage) can’t export AVI, there is a bit of a workaround using an uncompressed MOV file. The Python script monitors a folder and watches for growing files, when the file is done growing, it knows Redcine X is done converting the file so the script launches FFMPEG (or in this case, a fork called FFMBC) to encode the file. Once FFMBC completes the file, the larger uncompressed file is deleted and it continues to monitor the folder.

Super esoteric but bullet proof. I can leave it running for days.

I’m working on skipping the python script by programming a custom GUI that will do the same thing, including grabbing the source timecode from the original file; FFMPEG and FFMBC don’t copy that info over directly so it has to be set as an encoding parameter.

Angelo Lorenzo
Fallen Empire Digital Production Services – Los Angeles
RED transcoding, on-set DIT, and RED Epic rental services
Fallen Empire – The Blog
A blog dedicated to filmmaking, the RED workflow, and DIT tips and tricks