[Michel Aboudib]

Thanks Margus,
I have done some more reading and here is the workflow I am going to test for this project:

1. First light in resolve
2. export prores LT for offline
3. export DPX 10bit for VFX
4. Conform using r3d for non-effects shots, DPX for effects shots.
5. Some effects may need to be done after grading, in which case do a roudtrip to AE using DPX.
6. Review final grades and export a full scale master (target export) or clips and xml (source export) to go back to NLE for titles, etc.

Does that sound reasonable?

Hobgoblin Pictures
Cinematography | DI | Color Correction

[Michel Aboudib]

Thanks Margus, I am planning on getting low res (probably ProRes LT) files after first light for offline. My concern, apart from reconforming, which so far has bee easy using resolve and R3D, is mainly regarding VFX grading in a RED workflow. BTW offline will be done on Premiere Pro and VFX on AE. A couple more precise questions:

– The client would like to return to R3D during final grading. We can’t do that with files coming from VFX. Would you recommend using the same format across the board or going back to R3D for non-FX files and use a different format for VFX?

– What format is best for VFX out and back to Resolve: DPX, OpenEXR, Uncompressed, other? The client will do effects himself as there isn’t much to do, but not sure what format would ensure flexibility and lossless quality.

——-

Hobgoblin Pictures
Cinematography | DI | Color Correction

[Michel Aboudib]

Regarding the timecode shift, the only solution I found so far is to use “offset source timecode” in resolve. You can do that from the media pool by right clicking on the clip. You can also do multiple clips at the same time. Offsetting works by number of frames. This would also solve the “timecode extents” not matching, if you had that problem (due to resolve looking for inexistant frames, outside of the clip, because of the timecode shift–it happens on clips where the beginning or the end frames from the master clip were used).
According to the Resolve’s documentation, timecode mismatch just happens. There must be a way to prevent having to offset by hand.

[Michel Aboudib]

Okay so, I fiddling some more, in a clean project. I decided to see what would “reconform from folders do.” I am not familiar with this fonction. I don’t what it is for exactly, but I just wanted to see if it would potentially mess up a previously properly conformed project. IT DID. Some of the clips remained the same, other were link linked to completely unrelated clips (different name, reel, etc, but from the same project.
I think that is what messed up my previous project.

[Michel Aboudib]

What is the base memory? database related?

[Michel Aboudib]

That’s what I thought. But it turns out the nodes are there, for most of the grades, but they are “empty.” They have all been reset.
I’ll be more careful next time, and will track all changes, in case it happens again.

Thanks for your help.

[Michel Aboudib]

I compared all the sessions in that project and I think I know what happened, but I have no idea why.
Here’s what I did:
– I had first created a session from a rough cut to run some tests while waiting for the editor’s final version.
– When I got the final version, I made a media managed version because I had to convert FX footage that Resolve couldn’t open (it also solved reel issues I think).
– I loaded the xml from the media managed version. This is the session I graded. It was supposed the “new” footage, from the folder created by the media management tool. I did’t pay attention while grading, as I pointed Resolve to the right folder, and all was running fine every time I opened the project. I saved a lot. I looked again after the lost grades issue and it seems some clips were linked to the old folder (media manager preserved names, etc, and all clips except effects were prores).
– When I was done grading, I rendered using the source setting and exported an xml, which I reimported to do some tests.

Now I have the two first sessions (rough cut and the one I graded) with mixed up grades. Some test grades from the rough cut were applied to the final cut, and clips from the final cut had lost their grades. However, the rendered and reloaded version seems to have all the grades I though I had lost: all the nodes are there and al clips have the little rainbow strip.

I have no clue what happened. I just remembered, I did click on reconform from folders by accident. That was after reloading the rendered clips. Could that be the cause?

Is there a way to apply all the grades from one session to another one? That would fix everything.

It is not a big deal, the project is finished, but I want to avoid having that problem in the future.

[Michel Aboudib]

I did. When I noticed the missing grades, I had 4 sessions, created from CMO. Some pointed at the same media, one pointed at a completely different media folder.