[Ivan Myles]

I can’t test this, but off the top of my head try selecting the audio portion instead of clicking on the video. Otherwise, select the desired audio attributes in the Effects Panel, copy, then paste into the target clips. Note that position on the timeline matters if pasting key frames.

[Ivan Myles]

Lee, import the encoded MP4 into you Premiere Pro project and 1) analyze it with the RGB Parade scope, and 2) compare it to your final sequence (with and without scopes). It is not uncommon to see a slight shift in color balance, but the change should not be dramatic. Please post screen captures if the difference looks significant in Premiere Pro. Otherwise, it is probably attributable to external factors as per Shane’s post.

[Ivan Myles]

Possibly USGS or NASA.
Note that NASA restricts how its images may be used; I am not sure about USGS.

[Ivan Myles]

In the Export Panel you posted both the source and export sequences are set to 1440×1080 (1.333). Set to 1920×1080 (1.0) instead.

[Ivan Myles]

Michael, in response to your earlier question, it is better to use Adobe H.264 unless you specifically need the QuickTime version.

Be sure to clear your cache files, too. You might also consider temporarily transferring another 75-100GB to an external drive just for a little extra SSD headroom during the encoding process. After that, I would try the full encode and periodically check how it is progressing. If it looks good after 10-12 hours, and then gets more than halfway done within 16-20 hours, just ride it out. If it doesn’t progress well then seek another option as per your messages with Craig.

[Ivan Myles]

That’s possible, Craig. One way to test if CS5.5 is the bottleneck is to transcode the 30min ProRes file (or a short clip) to H.264/MP4 using QuickTime Pro or Compressor. If the processing time is much shorter, use these tools instead. If the processing time is the same or longer, then keep troubleshooting.

Michael, what is your storage configuration (HDD/SDD, available capacity, I/O to each)?

Also, please confirm that it took 2-3 hours to transcode (without additional processing) a 1080p@30fps ProRes 422 file to H.264 using Premiere Pro CS5.5. And, you are correct, there should not be any additional rendering if the colorization was included in the initial ProRes file. Does your output sequence just contain 16 copies of the ProRes file end-to-end? If this is the set-up, then make sure “Use Previews” is unchecked in the Export Panel.

And finally: Are you exporting with the Adobe/MainConcept H.264 codec or the Quicktime H.264 codec?

[Ivan Myles]

In general, transcoding from ProRes to H.264 should be fairly quick. Two-three hours seems reasonable all things considered. (Other posters are welcome to respond.) Therefore, I suspect the 212 hour estimate is incorrect.

If you don’t want to wait for the full cycle to complete try rendering a two hour section without colorization (straight transcode from ProRes to H.264). Based on your info it should take no more than 8-12 hours unless there are background tasks or hardware issues inhibiting the process (high CPU temp, or full/slow disk, perhaps). You might also consider single-pass compression if time is of the essence, but picture quality will likely suffer. Try encoding a short test clip that includes high motion or quick edits to compare 1-pass versus 2-pass.

Also, it would be better to render a second intermediate file rather than reprocessing the colorization 16 times during the final compression. Alternatively, if you are pre-rendering preview files on the timeline be sure to 1) use a high quality codec, and 2) check “Use Previews” in the Export Panel.

[Ivan Myles]

Try motion stabilization with the point tracker. It is more interactive and provides greater user control, but takes longer than Warp Stabilizer. I get good results by combining stabilization with position keying to maximize the useable image area. Please refer to my last post in this thread:
Removing judder from panning shots (image stabilization issues)

Here are examples of clips stabilized using this technique: Shuttle Launch Tracking Shots

[Ivan Myles]

Yes, ProRes 422 is appropriate. Intermediate codecs were designed for multiple generations; there will be a slight degradation compared to the source, but it is relatively minor compared to the final H.264 encoding.

Rendering is performed on a frame by frame basis, and that in itself can require a fair bit of resources. The way to tell the software that a section repeats is to make copies of it; either as the source sequence or as an intermediate file.

Good luck completing the project!

[Ivan Myles]

Do you have the GoPro Cineform codec? It can be downloaded for free.

ProRes would be another good choice on a Mac, but if you don’t already have it you would need to buy Compressor ($50).

AVC-Intra is another option, which I think is available in CS5.5. If so, export a short test file to check whether it can be re-imported.

Uncompressed YUV 422 should work without issue provided enough disk space is available. If my math is correct a 30 minute 1080p, 30fps, 8-bit file would be about 1.7TB.

Avid DNxHD (mov) is another alternative, but I have experienced problems with luma shift and clipping.

If no other option were available, you could export a maximum bit rate H.264 HP@L5.0 file with key frame distance set to 1 frame (i.e. all-intra). This is a sub-optimal solution, though.