Exporting Pro Res in Log mode?

Is there a way to export pro res but in log mode from within FCP7?

i dont quite understand the question, so maybe i'm not the one to be answering...

do you mean like camera originals before they get a LUT put on them?
i've worked with those in FCP and simply exported as-is.


nick

Joe's question was well-answered in a forum for colorists.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

basically:

1. Do as little as possible yourself to the footage you deliver to the colourist.
that's their job.

2. Talk directly to the colourist, don't work though a 3rd party, even if it's the client.


nick

Well, no one really answered my question on that site, if I can export a log version from FCP7, they offered thier .02 cents on if it was worth it or not. So I'm still curious if it is possible to do so from FCP7 timeline?

To clarify I'm working with files with the color baked in (so no lut), it is possible to export a flatter version of it? i'm guessing no.

no.
as there's no way of knowing what exactly as done to the footage in the first place, there can be no blanket "un-grade"

you could try to approximate something "flatter"
but you'd just be doing more damage.

give the grader the least messed with material you can.


nick

Quote
Joe Riggs
Well, no one really answered my question on that site

Not true! Post #5 on that strand said: "You could technically use a Lin -> Log LUT to provide a simulation of Log". That's the wrong LUT, but the right idea. Post #23 described the right LUT: "As an experiment, I took an Alexa LogC ProRes 4444 clip, and created a Rec.709 ProRes HQ file from it. I then took my inverting LUT and created a LogC ProRes 4444 file from the Rec.709 file." The writer of post #23 sells LUT plugins. He even included a link to the three clips.

WHAT MORE ANSWER CAN YOU EXPECT?

You can apply LUTs in FCP7. This was discussed here two years ago. You choose (or build) the LUT when you know how your video was encoded -- what encoding function and what color space -- and also know which flavor of log you want and which color space. If you're not sure about the details, why make a mess for the colorist?

If you just want to fake the Alexa LogC encoding function without transforming color space, there's a nifty method entirely within FCP7, using no LUTs. Assuming your video was encoded per BT.709, just apply 0.23 gamma correction to it. See what you get:



Because the FCP7 gamma correction filter is screwy, it's better to use the FCP7 gamma filter set to 1/0.23 = 4.35.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany