Media Composer 7 features listed

[Fred Jean]

If we could have the possibilities to create loadable CCs done in Resolve, them apply those custom looks in MC bins, specially with the new watch folder, that would be a great accomplishment because the only thing involved would be a file, a file that can be sent by mail and contains the metadatas, exactly the same system as the RMDs. Looks created independently could be applied to some clips selection in the avid timeline. As resolve can do a lot more than rcx it would be a gaz.

Fred.

[Pat Horridge]

You’d need Resolve to be create a LUT to export that was generated from the CC for MC to be able to use that as a source LUT.
There isn’t any other way to have 2 different colour correction system swap “look” effectively.

Pat Horridge
Technical Director, Trainer, Avid Certified Instructor
VET
Production Editing Digital Media Design DVD
T +44 (0)20 7505 4701 | F +44 (0)20 7505 4800 | E pat@vet.co.uk |
http://www.vet.co.uk | Lux Building 2-4 Hoxton Square London N1 6US

[Michael Phillips]

The marketing does mention CDL support so we’ll see where that goes. They also mentioned that one will be able to add new LUTs so, if properly designed, one could keep footage as LOG and metadata reference a LUT and/or CDL values as metadata.

Michael

[Fred Jean]

Let’s see if I got it because it seems that these watch folders are going to be a gaz.

Taking a practical example:

– Edit is done in log
– I want to apply a particular CDL and/or LUT corresponding to a serie of scenes that belong to the same color decision.
– All I’d have to do would be group the source footage corresponding to those scene into a Bin via custom metadatas where this CDL would be automatically applied to all the clips thanks to the watch folder
– refresh my timeline
and Bang, all the clips involved with the correct look in the timeline?

Because that would mean that someone in Resolve could work independantly the source material at least for primary without the need to bring the sequence into Resolve.

Am I saying something stupid here?

If that is the case, that is what I’d call a flexible and friendly turnarround.

It’s in the idea of custom sift but automatized. I’d tell Avid: aplly this CDL (and not only CDL but any other posible action) to the clips that have this particular metadata.
(thinking here that my sequence has been conformed to the source material)

Fred.

[Michael Phillips]

You’re not saying something stupid, just validating the fact that if properly designed, it could work that way. From the demo I got yesterday, it did not seem that the watch folders were tied to LUT and Frame Flex views at all – I am hoping that a combination of steps might get us there – but we shall see. At first glance, the primary design goals seem to be around Media Composer having first and direct access rather than that as well as a pre and post MC pipeline for image processing and conform.

But this was an alpha version – beta doesn’t start till next week, so I would expect changes and adjustments to some of the stuff before the release.

Michael

[Fred Jean]

Let’s hope then.

I see some really great possibilities with the new version and it could really speed-up the workflow as well as make it more friendly and flexible.

It’s good news, even if the implementation takes time to be really good and we may not have it ideal at first, it’s an open motorway that engineers could improve easily.

Cheers.

Fred.

[Tyson Birmann]

The Specs on the AVID website mention CDL support quite a few times. I am excited to know what this means. As a “near set” Dailies tech, I’m curious to see how this will be implemented in the workflow as this version becomes more prolific and editors get comfortable with it.
Though, the idea does have it’s flaws with current workflows and without some changes to the way we work on set, this CDL support will be less useful than they might think.

The main problem I see is that CDL information is only useful in the editor if it is part of the METADATA of the file. In order to add CDL information into the METADATA the clip needs to have color correction applied. If it has color correction applied, there won’t be a “clean” version of the footage for AVID to apply it’s the correction to. I am afraid that this will result in a lot of footage being viewed with a “double LUT”.

If this is going to be useful, Dailies software(s) are going to have to figure out a way to apply CDL info to a clip without actually applying it to the footage itself. Frankly, we wouldn’t even need to transcode the footage at all… simply re-write the Metadata fields and let AVID and AMA do the rest. It would be great if this could be true of Audio as well. Simply do all of the sync / and color work and then export an ALE that would contain all of the information that AMA would need to import the work.

This would provide the best of all worlds:
DPs would get the color they want translated to post.
Post could “tweak” this color when it is needed to match like shots.
Production can save on Drives and transport of drives.
The DI will have better starting information and also include work done in the AVID rather than CDL’s that haven’t been touched since the shoot day.

What isn’t clear from the AVID site and info is whether it is applying this LUT / CDL info over the clip or creating new transcodes of the clips with this new color. Essentially, is it doing it’s own dailies or just adding a color layer on the LOG/RAW footage?

Anyway, my thoughts and comments. Curious what you all think.
Tyson

[Michael Phillips]

I have done both LUT, CDL and LUT + CDL dailies with v7 with varying results – I think the concept of “LOG” dailies with color as metadata is very close. Most of my feedback in beta was around third party metadata applications to LOG type essence, be it camera originals or DNxHD.

The soft spots in all of this is the process by which the metadata gets applied to the essence. I very easily created LOG DNxHD 36 and applied CDL as metadata and for the most part if worked. One main issue right now in this release is that ASC SAT does not work –

LUT description is the area that falls apart, and does not work as part of an ALE process. I am told that AAF does/will at some point but have not seen that to be true at this time.

Michael