[Zack Braff]

OK, Shane.
That puts me back on the Varicam re-digitizing.
Thanks for your input!

Best,

Zack

[Zack Braff]

Hi Shane-

Thanks for posting on your Sunday.

I understand about clips not matching the sequence settings needing to render. Also, what you are saying about the Varicam footage not gaining any quality by being re-digitized as ProRes via SDI makes sense. My one question at this point is the quality of conversion to ProRes. On one hand I could have my sequence set to ProRes and just render my Varicam DVCProHD clips. On the other hand, I could have my Kona 3 convert to footage to ProRes. Is there any quality differences between the two methods of conversion?

Your arguments are swaying me towards not re-capturing the Varicam as ProRes. However, this question as to what is best – software or hardware conversion, keeps niggling at me.

Zack

[Zack Braff]

Arnie and Shane-

First, thank you both for your attention on this.

Shane: Now I’m lost. Why would you only capture one format to ProRes, and not HDV and upconvert the beta (via hardware)…and convert the Cineform? I mean, you want to deliver a ProRes file, so why would you only convert one format to ProRes? And if you are going out to tape…

I will be upconverting the Beta footage, but the formats that I will probably not transcode to my online format are the HDV, Cineform and P2. Since these clips exist only in a digital form for us, they are already “master” formats. My thinking behind this is that since I will be outputting to tape or a single QuickTime file, why introduce another generation of compression to the clips before I output? If the grading were going to be done in Color and the individual clips were going to be graded, then converting the whole timeline to ProRes would be the way to go. However, since the entire timeline will be output, either to HDCam or a single file, then the there is not really a need for a single format timeline.

In answer to Arnie’s question about what grading platform we are using, it is still up in the air, though the grading house (they have both Lustre and DaVinci) said that ProRes or Uncompressed would be an acceptable codec. This is what I am basing my codec decision on.

After having though about this over night, I think that Shane’s recommendation – or at least a variation on it, is the way to go. I will create and offline sequence in MM, deleting unused media, and recapture the Varicam in ProRes (and the BetaSP). I will lay in the clips of other formats in manually from my original timeline. This seems like the best solution, given that there is no perfect work-flow to this situation.

Best,

Zack

[Zack Braff]

Hi Shane.
Thanks so much for your comments and link.
You are right in that I brought the footage in as DVCPro HD. The point where I am concerned is in the color grading. For economical reasons, we will either be bringing in an HDCam tape or a single QuickTime file. If it is a file we bring in, it will be ProRes HQ. Would I gain any quality or keep from losing quality by going online with prores first?

Thanks,

Zack

[Zack Braff]

Sorry, no. But my wife and I have had to change our home phone number because of similar interest… 🙂

[Zack Braff]

OK. Great. Thanks Jeremy.

[Zack Braff]

OK – as the reverse telecine will just be reconstructing the original ProRes footage, am I right in assuming that there will be no quality lost by staying with ProRes? In other words there is no advantage to exporting as ProRes HQ.

Thanks

[Zack Braff]

Did I get that wrong Jeremy? My understanding is that ProRes is 8-bit, ProRes HQ is 10-bit.

[Zack Braff]

“You should see the amount of crap they strap onto that little camera! ”
That is kind of funny. The producer/director on this job has a Canon HG10 with a similar ridiculous looking setup: a hot-shoe splitter with a mini-sennheiser mic to the left and a mini-litepanel on the right. Every time the pre-production stresses me out, I just think of that little rig and it brightens my day.

As you say, I don’t think that there is much option other than really testing this workflow (and others) with the Kona (or Miranda) and and see what works best. The conforming house did say to give them everything in a single format, so I will adhere to that. Dealing with problems on my time is one thing, but possible hang-ups in the finishing stage is something that I want to avoid. The DV rebel Handbook looks like a great resource to have for this Canon, and I will keep your warning about HDV format acquisition in mind. I will have to see what comes in from the kids first before I determine whether to go straight to a dub or make my selects first. I just have no idea what to expect.

Thanks again for your help and time.

Best,

Zack

[Zack Braff]

Thanks, James. Your workflow at Discovery seems to be exactly what I need to do on this project, both to have a single project codec and for the I frame editing. Because the main camera will be recording 720p, I will keep that consistent throughout post and not go 1080i; and also because of the toes, I will make my selects first.
The one other thing that I am concerned about is the ability for the Kona to pull the embedded 24p out of Canon’s 60i (?) frame rate. I have heard that some of the consumer HDV cameras work out and others do not. Do you have any input on this kind of conversion scenario?
I am worried about the mic, but it is probably best to separate from that anxiety since there is not much I can do. The kids will be getting a primer in camera usage, so I can request that a special consideration to audio be conveyed to them.

Thanks!

Zack