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Activity Forums Blackmagic Cameras Workflow status?

  • Workflow status?

    Posted by Nicole Elmer on August 21, 2012 at 7:55 pm

    Hi all,

    So it seems after poking around different forums, that the most talked about workflow for the BMCC requires Davinci Resolve.

    However, what about some of us that have older Mac Pro stations? I own a Mac Pro 2007 1,1 model and from BM’s Resolve configurations, anything older than 2009 is not even listed as an option for a Resolve configuration.

    So, does anyone know if this is true?

    And if I can’t use Resolve because of my computer, what other options would I have for a good workflow that harnesses the power of this camera?

    I’m running 10.6.8, 13 gigs of RAM, using FCP 7 (but might migrate to Premiere CS6.) My vid card is NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT.

    Thanks for your input!

    Nicole Elmer
    https://www.bluepaperfilm.com

    Eric Santiago
    replied 12 years, 5 months ago
    6 Members · 14 Replies
  • 14 Replies
  • Marco Solorio

    August 21, 2012 at 8:03 pm

    Hi Nicole,

    Resolve is only needed if you want to debayer RAW footage you have shot. If you shoot in 10-bit ProRes or DNxHD, you wont need it for that. And if you do shoot in RAW, your specified system may have a hard time keeping up with it anyway, as 12-bit RAW consumes a lot of resources, namely storage and drive speed.

    Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | ORM Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Media Batch

  • Juan Salvo

    August 21, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    Marco, won’t the BMDCC shoot ProRes and DNxHD in a log format? Wouldn’t you want/need to take it into resolve or similar to apply a LUT to view in 709? This is common practice for Alexa logC footage for example.

    Colorist | Online Editor | Post Super | VFX Artist | BD Author

    https://JuanSalvo.com

  • Nicole Elmer

    August 21, 2012 at 8:18 pm

    Thanks, Marco, for your input!

  • Marco Solorio

    August 21, 2012 at 8:24 pm

    I don’t know if I can even say much more (or even speculate) at this point. That’s the problem with NDAs. ¬_¬

    Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | ORM Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Media Batch

  • Eric Santiago

    August 21, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    I could test Resolve 9 on an old 2007 Mac Pro just to see if it does.
    However, I would have to load Snow Leopard or Lion just to try this.
    Now even it runs, its really your call how slow/stable you would like to work.

  • Sareesh Sudhakaran

    August 22, 2012 at 3:39 am

    “And if I can’t use Resolve because of my computer, what other options would I have for a good workflow that harnesses the power of this camera?”

    SpeedGrade CS6 accepts CinemaDNG. The other workflow is to use Lightroom or RAW therapee in batch mode – if you have stored your footage as a DNG image sequence rather than MXF.

    If you’re migrating to CS6 you’ll probably need a computer upgrade anyway.

    https://wolfcrow.com/blog/ – Workflow information and support for filmmakers, photographers, audiographers and videographers.

  • Nicole Elmer

    August 22, 2012 at 8:45 pm

    Thanks to all of you for your expertise and input. I have much to learn from you all.

    So…here is what I am thinking will work in regards to the old computer/workflow issue.

    Yes, I would like to shoot in RAW, but as the computer upgrade is probably still another year away due to $$$$, would this scenario work?

    1. Shoot RAW
    2. Ingest using my old computer and a USB docking station and load the footage on a relatively large RAID drive for future use.
    3. When I have a new computer that can handle Resolve and the RAW footage, create proxies (?? This and part four are where I’m not completely clear).
    4. Edit, send EDL to Resolve for final grading.

    Basically, I’d like to just have a way to store the RAW footage using my current old computer, and when I have a beefier system, return to this footage to make the one light pass, etc.

    Thoughts? Will this work?

    Thanks!

    Nicole

  • Sareesh Sudhakaran

    August 23, 2012 at 3:02 am

    Nicole, you can always create proxies. Use Lightroom or ACR or RAW Therapee to batch process (transcode) your footage

    1. Downconvert to 1920×1080 (or even 1280×720) JPEG
    2. Change to 8-bit
    3. Color space Rec. 709
    4. Low quality setting (you’ll be surprised how good this is)

    Edit using proxies. Once you’ve locked your edit you can apply the edit to the DNG files and you’ll have a locked DNG image sequence ready when you are to color grade it.

    If your final video is only a few minutes long, there’s no reason why you can’t color grade it with Lightroom or Raw therapee – I have a feeling they will give better results than Resolve.

    I used this exact process to work with the free DNG files supplied by John yesterday on the BM forum. There’s nothing stopping you from working on it with your current setup.

    By the way – RAID is not a storage or backup solution. It’s a ‘storage and backup while you work solution’. For storage just use regular disks – internal or external.

    Hope this helps.

    https://wolfcrow.com/blog/ – Workflow information and support for filmmakers, photographers, audiographers and videographers.

  • Eric Santiago

    August 23, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    If you buy the BMDCC it comes with Resolve 9.
    You can use that to create Proxies with your DNG files.

  • Paul Provost

    August 23, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    Somebody on the bmd site said they were getting good results with this. Works with older Mac OS. Might help
    https://www.phaseone.com/en/Image-Software/Capture-One/Pricing.aspx

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