RED: WORKFLOW 4K or 2K
Posting RED Media with Final Cut Studio
digital cinema postproduction
An overview of three workflows for Final Cut and the RED camera.
Pre-production planning: There is a ton to comprehend about the RED camera before shooting one, including numerous variables in the RED display menu. If you have a grasp of the structure for media directories, file and reel names, clip IDs, and timecode for online file matching, you’re ready to shoot and post.
What is 4K exactly? A 4K film scan means 4096 red, 4096 green and 4096 blue photo sites. The full 4×3 image would have 4096 sensors in width and 3000 in height; 12 million green photo-sites, 12 million blue photo-sites, 12 million red photo-sites. Needless to say 4K is not a 12-million pixel video image. 4K is the total of all the pixels in that manufacturer’s pattern. So it’s a bit of a misnomer. If RED is 4K the Genesis would have to be considered 6K. Another highly advanced camera is the SI-2K from Silicon Imaging used for Slumdog Millionaire.
Scanning film @ 4K to the actual Academy Aperture is really 3456 pixels, far less than 4K. Scan film at 2K is just scanning 1728 across the Academy Aperture. Hold on to your socks, because IMAX isn’t even 4K. WHAAAAAAAT? That’s right; 4K is impossible to see on a screen. Are you serious about RED? Click this must-read article from John Galt, SVP of Advanced Digital Imaging at Panavision. Creative Cow magazine: get the-truth-about-2k-4k-the-future-of-pixels
Our System Specs:
- Workstation: Mac Pro [online 01JULY009] 8 Core 2.93 ‘Nehalem’ processors, Final Cut Studio 2
- Monitors: Apple Cinema 30” and 23”
- Room: Soundproof equipment rack, cork floor
- Previewing screens arranged to your viewing preference.
***Work 20-40% faster on our new system than any previous Mac workstation. [read: inside our workstation]
$$$ Speed counts. What does 20% of your post budget amount to? $$$
Foundation:
First: Final Cut Pro and Color have been tested extensively with the digital cinema production resolutions and frame rates supported by the RED camera; 4K, 3K, and 2K. All production begins with extensive pre-planning, considering the details including postproduction considerations.4K media is always resized to 2K during the Log and Transfer process. So the work is done in 2K with the option to finish in full 4K, or both.
Second: If the project requires the use of Final Cut effects, plug-ins or compositing, 2K is the maximum resolution that can be output, so while shooting 2K seems like the easiest way to go it isn’t. Don’t shoot 2K if your project is headed for the theater.
Third: 3K is simply awkward and not recommended with Final Cut. Next.
Fourth: The 16:9 aspect is not recommended when shooting. Refusing any of the camera’s 4×3 sensor information makes no sense at this stage. Can you say crop? Within the RED camera the difference between resolutions is the result of shutting down or using fewer pixels on the camera sensors. For this reason alone I suggest shooting 4K. I have said this thousands of time, “Capture the greatest amount of information possible.” Let’s apply logic… Get all 4K in the can. While you cannot up-convert, you can always dump down.
This seems like a logic path to follow: “Shoot 4×3 not 16:9.” Now the project is in the can, so to speak. Is the best workflow with Final Cut Studio 2? It will likely be the most cost efficient. What I’m saying is whether you shoot RED 2K or 4K, Final Cut and Color work the RED media at 2048 x 1024. This requires a 30” Cinema Display for true pixel viewing. So what would be needed to view each pixel at 4K? A matrix of 4 displays, which is doable but not practical or even reasonable. Imagine working on a 900dpi Photoshop file. You can’t see the entire image, but you can drill down deep to where the image isn’t recognizable for editing at the sub-pixel range. Same with RED; you can’t really ’see’ 4K, not even on the IMAX screen, but you can drill down into the color information for detailed grading and access inner-pixel information.
FACT: LVHD just happens to have the machine to handle RED resolutions plus a 30” for previewing every single pixel of any single frame in 2K.
CAUTION: In preparation make sure all media is on one or more backup volumes.
Click to see the desktop in detail
The RED QuickTime codec sounds like a winner when choosing a working format. Right? Maybe, because time is money and there is nothing wrong with efficiency. Ask any Executive Producer! I have edited with Apple ProRes 422 (HQ). This high quality master quality codec is outstanding and totally integrated into the Apple/Intel architecture and two of three workflows retain the 4K resolution.
** When transcoding to ProRes the RAW media metadata for color and contrast is processed. That does NOT mean the info is lost or never existed- it does mean ‘applied’ to the clip. The clips will exactly match what was dialed in on the monitor during shooting. Like merging just a layers in PhotoShop. With a R3D workflow the metadata is retained and contained with the QuickTime file. The full spectrum of the RAW camera data is available, but the downside is; massive computer processing is needed, a.k.a time-is-money.
In Color, RED QuickTime media will be in a native 4:4:4 RGB color space. This is best when the project will be rendered out as DPX or CINEON format for high-resolution digital film scanning.
Three viable RED options.
Workflow A: Good • Very Fast • AND Cheap
Shoot 4K, Work & Finish in ProRes 422 (HQ)
This workflow tames 4K RED 4:4:4 RAW to 2K ProRes 422. Mastering in ProRes. Any project short of a cinema release can consider this workflow.
- Advantage — This is a straightforward workflow. No need to reconform media. Output a final product in a master codec. Editing ProRes 422 is fast and efficient. Native and embedded into Final Cut. The result of shooting RED and posting ProRes is still better than almost anything out there, especially on a budget.
- Disadvantage — Loss of data used to grade and finish in RAW RGB 4:4:4 color space. In perspective this data is now part of the data, not like shooting HDV where the color sample is never even recorded. In this workflow the data was recorded and is present as seen when shot in the Director’s monitor. Also, transcoding RED media to ProRes takes time, so I guess I’ll see you in the morning.
Workflow B: Very Good • Very Fast • not as Cheap
Work Offline ProRes; Finish RED QuickTime
This workflow uses transcoding for offline, then magically re-conform the sequences to the RED QuickTime media. The project is edited efficiently and now ready for final mastering and intensive 444 color correction.
- Advantage — Editing with ProRes 422 media is less processor-intensive and therefore less expensive than posting RED QuickTime simply because the shear amount of metadata tagging along. After editing is complete, reconform the sequence with R3D media and finish in Color. When you need higher color depth the same RAW image data in now used from the R3D file. Color will read the RED framework directly.
- Disadvantage — Caution: Reconforming is an extra step that requires excellent organizational skills, especially when compositing sections of clips. Not the responsibility of the editor.
Workflow C: Exceptional • Fast • not so Cheap
Work and Finish entirely in RED code
This workflow consists of Final Cut Pro with RED QuickTime clips from the start, no trascoding thus eliminating the re-conform step completely.
- Advantage —This workflow also uses the high-quality image data when grading. In Color, RED QuickTime media will be in a native 4:4:4 RGB color space. This is best when the project will be rendered out as DPX or CINEON image sequences for film prints. Ingesting RED QuickTime is fast. This is RED for cinema.
- Disadvantage — RED QuickTime media is processor-intensive however if any machine can do it our data-munching Mac Pro is up to the challenge. No Final Cut effects can be applied, so compositing and FX requires AfterEffects.
Now you know my A, B, Cz,
Next time post your RED with me.
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