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  • Recommended AECS6/Resolve Workflow for an already messy project…

    Posted by Andrew Akada on December 9, 2013 at 5:53 am

    I’m at a bit of a loss at the moment regarding the most efficient approach to a short film project that’s been troubling me for some time.

    As it currently stands, I have a fully-edited MOV file exported via FCPX. Clips were originally shot in ProRes 422 on a T3i.

    The original cut of the film was exported without finalized plates for the FX shots (e.g. all elements to be handled in AE).

    The original plan was to perform all color correction in AECS6 while simultaneously prepping the mattes, compositing & roto work.

    But that was before I acquired DaVinci Resolve 9.

    Now – I’m trying to figure out which workflow would work best…

    Should I simply polish all FX plates in AE – importing the entire span of the MOV file (which is approximately 17 minutes long)?

    OR:

    Should I perform color correction using Scene Detection, export to an AE-friendly codec and finalize the film there?

    For reasons that are too convoluted too explain, I no longer have access to an XML/EDL from the original edit (though I do still have the original footage).

    That being said, am I overthinking this entire thing or does it matter which path I take this late in the game?

    Andrew Akada replied 12 years, 4 months ago 3 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • Tudor “ted” jelescu

    December 10, 2013 at 10:22 am

    I would finish all fx in AE matching the original footage look and feel and then do the grading in Resolve.

    Tudor “Ted” Jelescu
    Senior VFX Artist

  • Robert Figueira

    December 15, 2013 at 10:35 pm

    At that point I would recommend completing the compositing and VFX in AE using sort of a “technical” grade, just setting neutral black, white, grey, matching grain, etc. to integrate all the elements, then export the whole thing as a DPX sequence to bring into Resolve, making sure that you aren’t clipping black or white anywhere. Whether or not you split each cut up yourself or let Resolve automatically find the edits is up to you. Then use resolve for the “creative” part of the color grading for the final movie.

  • Andrew Akada

    December 28, 2013 at 5:19 am

    Duly noted. I’ll give it a run through as per the original plan. Thanks for the input, guys!

    I am, however, concerned about the size of the master footage I’ll be modifying in AE. The clip is 17 minutes long, give or take.

    Granted, precomping and parenting the FX layers is a must – but is there an easier way to break up the sequence into smaller more ‘digestible’ pieces to split up the individual plates while I work on them, then recombine said pieces once each one has been polished?

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