Pro Res RAW Conversion to other NLE

[Oliver Peters]

You have no choice. At the moment, ProRes RAW will not open in Resolve. So, if you plan on grading there, you will need to convert.

I would recommend ProRes4444 with the camera LUT removed (set to none). This give you a nice flat profile as a starting point. Alternatively, you could leave the LUT and tweak the setting in FCPX to make sure you have a relatively neutral starting point to protect highlights and shadow detail.

ProRes is resolution-independent, so the size should be fine. However, you need the paid version of Resolve (Resolve Studio) if you plan on rendering the final at bigger than UHD sizes.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com

[Richard Krall]

Hi Oliver

Thank you for your reply!

That is what I was hoping for, short of a Resolve update supporting ProRes RAW.
(I do have the Studio version.)

Do we know enough, at this point, about PRR – how much is lost as far as grade-ability by converting to 4444?

I know 4444 is a pretty ‘full’ codec but, just curious?

Likely obvious but, to confirm… PRR is, currently, only supported by FCPX so, as far as the conversion goes, that would need to be done with FCPX, correct? Selecting ProRes 4444 as the output render in FCPX?

Thanks very much again,
Richard

[Oliver Peters]

[Richard Krall] “Do we know enough, at this point, about PRR – how much is lost as far as grade-ability by converting to 4444? “

I would say yes and no. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I would imagine ProRes RAW is comparable to REDCODE RAW. I’ve done this on RED files for feature films that were projected in theaters and they have looked fine. You can always bump it up to XQ if you want even less compression (but larger files). But, I haven’t done, nor seen, any compression difference tests to see how much artifacting is introduced.

[Richard Krall] “PRR is, currently, only supported by FCPX so, as far as the conversion goes, that would need to be done with FCPX, correct? Selecting ProRes 4444 as the output render in FCPX? “

Yes. Motion will open the files, but the default color is wonky. Compressor won’t open the files. My suggestion is cut a 4K master and export from FCPX using the RAW files. Then bring that into Resolve, blade the cuts, grade, and export a single file for the whole sequence (or in parts).

– Oliver

Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com

[Richard Krall]

Thank you, Oliver! Thought it might be something like that. I spoke to a tech at Blackmagic – said they don’t, currently, have plans/dates on implementing PRR. It’s a shame for me as I use Resolve now for just about everything.
Thanks again,
RK

[Oliver Peters]

[Richard Krall] “I spoke to a tech at Blackmagic – said they don’t, currently, have plans/dates on implementing PRR”

Until there’s market pressure, it won’t change. There will need to be a critical mass of ProResRAW users, but it will also require that Apple supply other companies with some type of ProResRAW decoding module, just like RED does. However, even in FCPX, there are no specific RAW controls that are user-accessible. It’s possible that under the hood, some of FCPX’s color controls take effect prior to the raw-to-RGB conversion, but it’s unknown at this stage.

The number of camera options, coupled with the right model of Atomos, makes for a pretty small pool, so far. For instance, if you shoot with an ARRI Alexa, ProResRAW recording is a non-starter right now. That’s because there has to be a conversion/rewrap between the camera manufacturer’s form of raw into Apple’s flavor of ProResRAW. I’m not sure if that requires a development and/or licensing arrangement – or both – with Apple or Atomos – or both.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com