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Should I Uprez from DNX 145 for Color Correction?
I am working on a documentary that has a mix of HD and SD footage from many different sources and formats.
For offline we worked in DNX 145. The show actually looks terrific – even when projected onto a very large screen. The HD is crisp and the SD is acceptable for a doc about events 20 years back.
We are preparing for color correction, and I had always assumed that we would uprez the show before we color corrected.
But I believe in questioning my own assumptions.
So, how much of an improvement will I see in uprezzing from 8bit in DNX 145 to full resolution? Is this going to be dramatic?
If there is a serious improvement to be had, I’ll stick with the plan – but with all those different sources, it’s going to be a huge pain. If there won’t be much benefit, maybe I should skip a step.
Thoughts?
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3 Replies
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[Michael Mayhew] “For offline we worked in DNX 145.”
Interesting choice. That’s on online, full res codec. DNx36 and 14:1 are offline codecs. You offlined in a finishing codec.
[Michael Mayhew] “The show actually looks terrific – even when projected onto a very large screen. The HD is crisp and the SD is acceptable for a doc about events 20 years back.”
Yup…because you used a finishing codec.
[Michael Mayhew] “We are preparing for color correction, and I had always assumed that we would uprez the show before we color corrected.”
Already done. There are only a couple higher codecs, depending on your frame rate…175, 175x and 220 and 220x. But many many shows finish at 145.
[Michael Mayhew] “So, how much of an improvement will I see in uprezzing from 8bit in DNX 145 to full resolution? Is this going to be dramatic? “
Depends where you watch it. TV? You’ll see very little if anything different. Not a huge improvement. But again, depends on where this is destined, oh, and your source footage. For broadcast…this is fine. And if your sources are 8 bit, then going to a 10 bit codec won’t really improve things much.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
60 MINUTES, which shoots mostly in HDXDCam50 color corrects and then outputs DNX145, which is then used in the timeline along with studio segments shot in DNX145. Final output is transcoded and FTPed into our Media Distribution Center at HDXDCam50 for broadcast. A good amount of the material we get is shot in less than ideal conditions and really pulled around to make a decent picture. So the process is doable.
M. Scott Cole
Senior Post Production Editor
60 MINUTES
CBS News, NYC
sc6@cbsnews.com
mscottc@comcast.net -
Nearly everything I finish for broadcast on various networks is at DNX 145. Its considered a finishing codec. Good balance between storage space and quality. Perfectly fine for a lot of material.
Thats not to say there is no reason ever to finish at anything higher…though normally, if you were going to do that, you would maximize your offline storage by using DNX 36 (which looks surprisingly good).
Depending on the footage, you may benefit from having your color correction done at 10 bit DNX 220X. Look for banding and other artifacts carefully, if this is important to you. You might not care now, but in a few years….maybe after looking at a lot of 4k or other high resolution footage in the interim, you might regret not finishing in 10 bit.
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