Viewing VFX clips in proper colorspace

Hey all,

I realize this may not be a strictly FCP-related question but I'm hoping some of the tech-gurus here can chime in and point the way. I'm in post on my feature film (which was shot Super 16) and my visual effects house is working on several effect shots for me. They were originally provided as 2K DPX files from the lab, which were then worked on in Nuke and then output as ProRes 4444 HD files (we're finishing in HD for now).

The DPX files looked darker and grainier than the normal HD scans we used in the edit, which I assume is from the Cineon colorspace vs. Rec709.; the FX guys didn't mess with the color so the ProRes files share the same dark look. We will convert this during the final conform and color correction, but I'd like to do a quick preview now of what the clips might look like. I've tried just a simple Gamma adjustment but that's not quite it. Do you guys know which piece of software or special filter might help me here? I believe I'm just looking to convert from Cineon to Rec709.

I have the following tools in my arsenal, hopefully something in here will do the trick:

• Final Cut Pro 7
• Color
• After Effects CS5
• Red Giant LUT Buddy

TIA, JVK

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SCQT! Self-contained QuickTime ? pass it on!

>The DPX files looked darker and grainier than the normal HD scans we used in the edit

This doesn't sound like the cineon colorspace. Log should look flat and pasty. How much darker? Marginally, but noticeable? It sounds like a QT conversion thing which may have happened when Nuke exported the files to ProRes. How do the files look in Nuke? Anyway to get them to render out DPX files? You should be able to convert them to ProRes in AE just fine.


>the FX guys didn't mess with the color

No no. Anyone worth their weight in salt works in managed color spaces all the time. And why ProRes 4444? Why don't they render out as DPX or OpenExr?



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