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Short/Feature Film Adobe Workflow, Start – Finish
Hey – Been using this site alot for info over the yrs but now i need specific help on my own problem/set up!
Iv edited and coloured loads of short 1-2 min films before, but I am now in the process of editing a 30min Short film.
I was looking for advice on workflow.
I shoot on a canon DSLR 550D 1080p 24fps.
I edit in Adobe Prem CS5.
Iv split the film up into different projects per 2-3 scenes to keep editing simple.
All the SFX and Music etc is all done then added to the Prem Projects.
The odd visual effect was also done via the Dynamic Link “replace with after effects comp”
the next step is what I need help with.
I normally do all my colour correction in After Effects using various tools like Colourista and the curves etc etc.
So would it be best to do the normal select everything in the Prem Project sequence, Copy, Paste in After Effects, Do all my colour correction work, Render, then put all the scenes together again in Premiere Pro and Render out the whole thing?
Or is there a better workflow for the last stage.
Also, What codec should i use when i render.. I normally use the H.264 HDTV 1080p 24 High Quality setting.. but i want to send it to film festivals.. is that a high enough render?
In summary – Once edited in prem cs5, whats the best workflow to then colour the film. And then how would u render it.
Thanks
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4 Replies
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hey
I normally wouldnt BUMP a topic and just wait for a response.. but im nearing the point where Im gonna start to colour correct so was just seeing if anyone could shed some light on the issue.thanks.
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I think the challenge with your question is that it’s so broad that the answer to almost all your example scenarios could be “yes” in any given circumstance.
You can certainly copy/paste your edited scenes into an After Effects comp…
But simply opening the Premiere Pro sequence in AE would likely be easier…
You certainly could render it all out of After Effects as master clips and do a final assemble in PPro…or you could save those AE projects with your color correction work completed and dynamic link those comps to a PPro sequence, and then export the timeline, cutting down the process passes…
What does everyone else do? I think you’ll find that PPro does not have a “marquee” color correction workflow like FCP did for the last handful of years…the options are nearly infinite.
-The standard CC tools inside PPro are effective, though the interface has been a point of contention for many of us for a long time…
-Colorista 2 works in PPro…the graphic UI can be a little stuttery compared to AE on some systems, but it works the same way.
-Synthetic Aperture has a very powerful CC tool inside AE already…it’d be a great thing to roll into PPro.
-AE has color management, but PPro has the scopes…a little conundrum there…it’s been pointed out to Adobe.
-As far as post-edit “finish” CC work, I personally like the Iridas interface, but there are a myriad of options out there including Scratch, DaVinci on the Mac is an immensely powerful and industry go-to application (not to mention they just came out with a free version!)
-Dynamic link is a great technology, but it takes a pretty stiff hardware platform to handle a lot of it, so if you would like to CC in AE post-edit, I’d advocate this:
1-edit in PPro,
2-load PPro sequences into AE as comps(not DL from the sequence),
3-CC in AE and save the AE project and give the comps a name that will help you keep them straight in PPro,
4-Launch PPro, DL the CC’d AE comps and get them set on a (properly configured) sequence,
5-Export out to whatever (keep in mind that CUDA carries some water for you when exporting directly from PPro, but not when you send the job to the Media Encoder external queue.)That last export will be a beast depending on the length of the timeline, so bring some comic books…
As far as what format to create for a film festival…I find that each film festival is different so it’s likely you’ll be making different versions for different festivals anyway…
Maybe for that big final render, you want to create a “Master Clip” of the project (I use CineForm myself) and then use that for your compression source when each festival’s requirements are known? It’ll save lots of time vs running that AE comp aggregate sequence every time…
Vague I know, but it’s pretty wide open with the Adobe suite, so your preference as to how you like to work and your system configuration are all factors in what is the “best” workflow for you.
TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,Adobe Certified Instructor
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amazing reply.. thanks alot, defo gave me some great tips which i really appreciate
have saved it to my pc so i can look back over it whenever! 🙂
thanks again!
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MAC PRO
If I were working on a short form that needed CC on every shot I would invest in the Magic Bullet Suite from Red Giant Software and use either Colorista 2 or Magic Bullet Looks in the PrP timeline. If there was a need for VFX then I would dynamic link to AE. But to keep things simple and streamlined, CC with the software I mentioned in PrP
Tom Daigon
Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
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