Best method for transcoding red footage to pro res?

Hello,

What's your favorite method of transcoding red footage to pro res?

Log and transfer? Red Rushes or some other program?

What rig will you be cutting on, how much storage space do you have and what's the time frame?

Mac Pro Quad Core
4 TB - Raid 0

I'd like to have everything trans coded asap but I don't have a red rocket so I realize it's going to take a while.

I don't think I'm going to go back to the raw Red files but I wouldn't mind having that option but as of right now I'll be cutting and finishing on pro res 1080p.

You might want to check out some good R3D forums, because it has its own slew of specific hurdles, especially if you want to go back to the 4k. AFAIK there's not really a right way to do it. It depends entirely on what you want or need to achieve.

Here's a starter paper
[ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com]

You REALLY REALLY should be scanning the forum at reduser.net. There are subforums for FCP and workflow in general.

Quick tip though:
Don't expect anyone to just give you one solid answer. We've been pretty helpful to you here answering questions that are quite basic and could be learned from reading the manual. Not every forum is willing to hold your hand like that. The fact that you're embarking on what I am guessing is your first feature, on RED and you have no background or experience in those particular areas means that you are expecting everyone here to help you do your job. Do your research before you ask a question, at least make it look like you put some effort into finding out the answer yourself before you ask.

Here's my take on RED in your situation:
Treat it like film. Do a "one light" transcode and cut in an offline/online mode. Make sure the post-edit online can reconnect to the R3Ds. If you try to avoid going back to the R3Ds you are going to be putting all your eggs into the one transcode step and, seeing as you aren't solid on how that is done, thats a pretty big gamble.
Do you know what LUTs are?
Do you know how the DOP set the look on set?
Do you know how to get the most out of the transcode if you do it only once.
Can your system handle the full res files?
Are you ready for the Gamma bug in all prores workflows?

Here's a starting point. Read the whole thread. He actually posted that workflow in many places on reduser and the discussions were different so do your research.


ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Andrew,

You are making a ton of assumptions. Believe it or not before posting my question, I scanned numerous posts on reduser.net and read the entire "Ultimate Guide to Using the Revolutionary Camera" book. Since the book is 2 years old and there are numerous ways to transcode RED footage, I simply wanted to get some thoughts from others on HERE who have worked with the format.

Using REDCine-X is usually the simplest / best option.

Graeme

Thanks Graeme

I have used REDCine-X and it TAKES FOREVER. I use the log and transfer in fcp. It is fairly quick and it is easy to go back to the R3D files. If you use REDCine-X i believe you need another program to create an xml to go back to the red files. It is a longer process.

I have cut 3 features on the red and used the workflow that I mentioned above. I have also gone out to a 35 mm print from a hdcam sr master. I truly believe that your best bet will be to transcode the offline files using log and transfer. Just remember to do a test first. I had a mac pro quad core and was able to turn around a days worth of shooting in 12 hours. I would do all my logging and synching during the day and I let the machine do the work at night.

Sometimes log and transfer can potentially alter the color space just a bit. Being that this is your offline edit I wouldn't worry too much about that. It is always nice to see exactly what you shot however I am going to assume you are going back to the R3Ds for your color correction. If that is the case I would just proceed with Log and transfer. It is really a very simple workflow.

Good luck brotha,

Jeff

I think I would like to just transcode once and do an online edit from the get go. Furthermore, I'm not interested in doing a one-light or color grade on each clip before I transcode.

With that in mind, I tried transcoding one clip using the following methods. Unfortunately, as Jeff mentioned most resulted in a radical color shift from the original footage.

I kept look source as "camera", and color/gamma space to "look source"

Red Rushes - radical color shift

Clipfinder - radical color shift

Rec Cine X - Pretty close to original but still a little color shift

Log and transfer in FCP - Spot on to the original and also the fastest at transcoding. However, because it was shot 4k 16:9, you can't make it 1080p, it results in files that are 2048 x 1152.

Should I just create a custom sequence and work with the 2048 x 1152 files or a setting in one of the other programs that may retain the original colors better?

If you're not going back to the R3D files, you'll have to be more careful about grading them prior to transcode. Some would also recommend using a log gamma to leave the greatest flexibility for the final grade.

Red Rushes is totally outdated. It will be misinterpreting the color and gamma of newer RED footage. I would find the latest stable build of REDCINE-X and use that. Try the REDcolor2 color space, and REDgamma2 gamma.

I would also consider just doing an offline and going back to the original R3D files after lock. You can use ClipFinder or RCX. Otherwise that's a lot of pressure to grade at a point in the process where you have the least amount of time.

- Justin Barham -

Clipfinder and red cine x. First do offline rushes at quarter or eighth debayer, then relink to proxy files to grade in Color or Resolve. Don't waste time transcoding everything.

If you are working on a short project, working straight off the low rez proxies is an option. Then you send to color/Resolve for grade.



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