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question—grading workflow.
hi,
i’m about to start grading a project that’s due soon, and i’m looking for advice on choosing an appropriate workflow.
i’m trying to decide whether to work on the footage in resolve, or continue using premiere pro. what’s thrown me off is that these rushes appear to have been shot in a rec.709 colour profile—i usually start with footage shot in s-log and work my way from there.
my plan was to use resolve as a way of familiarising myself with the software. but, considering that the deadline’s approaching and i’m working with balanced footage that looks like it needs a creative grade rather than technical transform, i’m wondering if it’s worth using premiere as i have been and wait to use resolve for a project where i have more control over the footage.
currently leaning more towards premiere, but open to suggestions.
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2 Replies
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Hello Ellis!
If the project’s due soon and you already know your way around Premiere, I’d stay in Premiere for this one, especially since the footage is already sitting in Rec.709 and “balanced.” Resolve is better when you’ve got log/RAW, messy exposure, mixed cameras, or you need serious secondaries and cleanup. But for Rec.709 material that mostly needs a creative push, Premiere (plus Lumetri) can absolutely get you over the line fast, and the biggest risk right now isn’t “wrong color science,” it’s losing time fighting a new workflow.
Also, don’t overthink the “Rec.709 profile” part. If it was truly captured/processed as Rec.709 (i.e., it’s already in a display-referred space), you’re not doing a technical transform anyway — you’re just grading on top. In Resolve, that means you’re basically skipping the whole “input transform” phase you’re used to with S-Log, and you’re straight into creative work. That’s fine, but the advantage you’d normally get from Resolve only matters if you’re comfortable moving quickly in it.
If you want to try Resolve without risking the deadline, keep the edit in Premiere and only round-trip to Resolve for grading if you truly need its tools: export an XML, grade in Resolve, then render graded clips (ProRes/DNxHR) and relink them back in Premiere. Just be aware that round-tripping is where people lose hours (timecode, scaling, mixed frame rates, and Premiere effects/graphics can get messy) so it’s only worth it if your timeline is simple.
So my practical answer: if the grade is mostly “make it feel nicer” (contrast, saturation, gentle curves, a look LUT if appropriate, maybe a couple of power windows), do it in Premiere and deliver. Then duplicate the project after delivery and rebuild a few key scenes in Resolve as a learning exercise. You’ll learn faster because you’re not under pressure, and you can compare your Premiere result side-by-side.
Good luck with your project,
Ivan Eldredge G.
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What was the verdict?
Not a lot of as are adventurous when it comes to client deadlines 🙂
I’ve done a few where I cajoled a director from Premiere to FCPX.
It was so worth it due the nature of his work-flow.
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