NX1 Workflow - Best Image?

[timmyturntable]

So, I've seen a few postings...just wanted to see if you guys can weigh in on how you are getting the best (cleanest) image out of your camera.

I typically take the 4K files into EDITREADY, process them as 4K ProRes 422LT.  Then, I pull them into Final Cut Pro to grade.  Export out of Final Cut Pro as H.264 files, usually as 1080p.  What are you guys doing?

[Geoff CB]

Might want to have a look at this thread:

 

[timmyturntable]

Thanks GEOFF...been all over that thread.  I'm actually more concerned with what people do once they are done shooting...no in-camera stuff.  What export settings, straight from 4K to 1080p, edit 4k then export 1080p, etc...

 

Post-shooting, what is your workflow?

[SMGJohn]

2 hours ago, timmyturntable said:

Thanks GEOFF...been all over that thread.  I'm actually more concerned with what people do once they are done shooting...no in-camera stuff.  What export settings, straight from 4K to 1080p, edit 4k then export 1080p, etc...

 

Post-shooting, what is your workflow?

I cannot speak for Geoff but I got a pretty simple workflow. Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015 supports HEVC however the performance just is not there yet because my GPU lacks HEVC hardware support so I interchange with the old workflow a lot.

Basically its: Shoot Video -> Convert Video -> Edit Video -> Export DNxHR 1440p25

Whereas if I just edit the footage and no colour grading I do not convert the footage and just: Shoot Video -> Edit Video -> Export DNxHR 1440p25

 

Personally I never convert the 4k footage to the 1080p before edit because its too much hassle for me, but I found 2160p to be vastly useless regarding my export so I always export to a 1440p master file and then I use that master file to create smaller versions like 1080p with lower bitrate etc for my clients, for my YT I only do 1440p because 2160p is a niche at the moment and requires quite fast internet speeds it also creates huge file sizes and at the moment Blu Ray discs which I use for archiving are VERY costly for 50GB and 100GB, if I can slap the entire project on just a few 25GB discs I am happy, but a pack of 10 x 50GB are same price as a pack of 50 x 25GB BD discs.

If I convert the HEVC to ProRes422LT I use the LUT, if I edit the HEVC straight in Premiere Pro I also apply the GammaDR2LOG from EOSHD this is only if I use the GammaDR profile but seeing how good colours the camera shoots with the various Picture Profiles, I am actually moving more away from GammaDR and just using the in-camera colours.

The reason why people grade a lot of their footage from their DSLR and mirrorless is to get away from that digital look that is infamous today, but the NX1 shoots such good rec709 colours that I think you probably only need GammaDR if you need to acquire colours that are vastly different from the in-camera ones or if the client requests it.

There are various programs to convert the HEVC footage with, you probably heard of them like RockyMountain Movie Converter 2.00.0 and ClipToolz Convert V2, for Mac there are others that I do not know about because I use Windows.

 

Because Windows does not support ProRes out the box I use DNxHD or DNxHR. I never export 2160p for personal use or family videos only if the client wants it otherwise I use 1440p which saves a lot of space and allows me to still crop in post if needed, I can crop 2 times in 1440p which is quite good.

Because I use Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015 I do all my grading work in Adobe SpeedGrade CC 2015 but I am also experimenting with just creating LUT's in Photoshop or SpeedGrade from still images and then use them in Premiere with the Lumetri tool which allows me to adjust brightness, contrast and all the good stuff very easily without having to open SpeedGrade or After Effects (SpeedGrade sucks for HEVC editing, better avoid it at all costs until Adobe fixes the performance issue)

[Geoff CB]

Currently I shoot 16-235 in camera and edit directly in Premiere. No transcode. For web I output 4K Constant Bitrate at 100 mbps.

[Daniel Galli]

What is the "pro res proxy" on dnxhd? 

[SMGJohn]

DNxHD LB or 36

[M Carter]

Even on a nice new Mac Pro Cylinder, I still start with ProRes.

It really starts on set - if it's an interview I shoot 4K. Reframing interviews is just life changing in the edit. If there's handheld motion, fast pans, I shoot 1080 where the skew is massively less than 4K. If something will be stabilized or reframed, 4K. But I really try to not shoot 4K for every single shot. I tend to shoot a surprising amount of 30p for a 24 timeline - very often if there's no dialogue/audio, I go 30p - I like that just touch of slow that the brain doesn't see as "slow motion" but adds a hint of drama and weight. And I can always speed it back up.

Then EditReady, ProRes and conform everything to 24p. I also tend to do a lot of trimming and organizing in MPEG StreamClip. That's a quirk of mine - I should be using things like FCPX's tagging and sorting, but I'd rather have a folder structure of specific things, specific b-roll, picks and alts, etc, Just done it that way forever and it still works. And it's where I really get to know the footage. I see no degradation going to ProRes twice. For effect shots, I may come out of EditReady as HQ, if something is going into AE at some point. But try it sometime - recompress the same clip 4 or 5 times with ProRes, go to 4th or 5th gen, and see what you can spot. It's pretty impressive.

I just really like having ProRes, very easy if I spot some thing I'd like to fix in AE or if I have to send footage out to someone else. (And I'm pretty much 100% FCPX now that I'm used to it. The performance is pretty insane).

[kidzrevil]

I export to cineform at 1440p. The files are huge but holds grain and detail very well on vimeo

 

[Evan]

@kidzrevil very slick look - what LUT have you graded with? please teach me?