Import Alexa to DNxHD 36, apply LUT

[Job Ter burg]

You should not first import into Avid DNxHD, and then add the LUT in Resolve, there is no need. You can use Resolve from the get go, it will allow you to add a LogC->709 LUT as well as transcoding to DNxHD Avid MXF mediafiles, which you may then use in MC. This will preserve metadata.

Here’s a doc that describes the process for Resolve 8
https://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/How_To/DaVinci-Resolve-and-dailes

Here’s an Arri document that I find to be less clear, but that helps you find the settings in Resolve 9:
https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=9&cad=rja&ved=0CIYBEBYwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arri.com%2F%3FeID%3Dregistration%26file_uid%3D9524&ei=qgi8UbbFMsWsPeOGgSg&usg=AFQjCNEAhTYqrh4FBBN16JZEbMeE3S7CMg&sig2=VDC11suKxbrCmnB2mFMmiw&bvm=bv.47883778,d.ZWU

[Nicholas Vanvoorthuysen]

Great! thanks so much.

[Michael Phillips]

Make sure you set the proper REEL identification in Resolve before going to Media Composer. I’ve seen far too many projects on various forums where this was not set and the dailies have no REEL at all assigned.

There is also this whitepaper to go over:
https://www.avid.com/static/resources/documents/whitepapers/digital_camera/digital_camera_workflow_whitepaper_us.pdf

v7 will change things as you can apply a LUT to sources in Media Composer.

Michael

[Nicholas Vanvoorthuysen]

Thanks Michael.

I already did a batch without setting the Reel number. I did notice it was an empty column in Resolve but I didn’t see where to add it within Resolve… I was doing this really late last night, maybe if I go back now it will be more obvious.

Will it also work to add the Reel # once I bring the MXFs into MC?

[Michael Phillips]

I would recommend re-doing that batch of dailies to be consistent with all dailies if you are doing this as part of a service. This will avoid downstream issues or confusion.

In settings, there is a section in the master project settings called “conform options” in there you can select a variety of ways to extract a REEL ID. The easiest may well be to just use “filename”. But with Arri you have the choice of “embedded” versus filename”. Check with post and conform which one they want to use. I like to have both available and is done with an additional merge from the Arri ALE created in camera.

This is a fundamental and ever so important step in providing dailies. I wish the demo videos online could be removed that show the wrong way on doing this – but it’s the internet. It must all be true.

Always do your homework thoroughly. Your conform/DI house will appreciate it, no finger pointing, and the blame won’t come back to you.

Michael

[Nicholas Vanvoorthuysen]

Thanks a million Michael. That would have definitely been a problem with the post house, and having just met them, I am really trying to get off on the right foot. I’ve learned a lot over the last few days!

I figured out how to do it from the from the Resolve 9 dailies paper above:

Master Project Settings > Conform Options > check “Assist using reel names from the: > select “Embedding in source clip file”

*note= the Avid Resolve Creating Dailes paper Job ter Berg links to above does make some things clearer, but the process described for reel numbers will NOT work in R9!

Seems like AVID should be able handle LUTs, I’ll look forward to that in 7.

[Mike Most]

>>Master Project Settings > Conform Options > check “Assist using reel names from the: > select >>”Embedding in source clip file”

That will use the Alexa reel naming scheme. Many post facilities prefer the file name so that each shot has a unique tape name for positive identification and simpler searching. You should ask whoever is finishing the show which one they want (that’s also what Michael was referring to…).

[Nicholas Vanvoorthuysen]

Yeah I e-mailed the post house and haven’t heard back yet so I am proceeding that way for now because I need to get the dailies out…

I was also told the post house would not be doing the online with AVID, so the media within avid is less important as long as the EDLs and AAFs are proper…

However now I’m having a new problem: when I import the MXFs from Resolve into Avid, it’s not showing the reel #s in the bins… not sure what’s wrong.

[Nicholas Vanvoorthuysen]

Ah, I see now, “reel no.” in Resolve becomes “tape name” in Avid. Great.

Funny how it’s really neither a reel nor a tape. Seems to me “reel no.” would be a better one to stick with, ah well. This legacy terminology gets tiresome sometimes 🙂

[Michael Phillips]

It’s all semantics, but knowing what they mean in context is important to the job at hand. REEL is also used for edited scenes assembled together in REELS under 2000 feet or ~20 minutes used for film projection, but still used as part of a conform process for feature length projects.

Michael