Get the most out of RedCineX?

[Ryan T. Gibb]

With the new FLUT controls and everything being introduced, I'm just a little overwhelmed. Just wondering if anyone could give a step by step of how the process footage. When should I use the FLUT? I guess I should be using Redcolor and Redgamma? I'm asking this because I'm interested in Re-grading some ordered footage, especially some stuff that I would classify useable. I should I be crunching the blacks with curves or should I use the new shadow control. Thanks, Ryan.

[Graeme Nattress]

1) REDColor / REDGamma - both very pretty looking and gradeable, and compatible with a standard REC709 display.

2) Set white balance as accurately as possible - you'll get better colorimetry - more accurate colours and better separation

3) Adjust FLUT control to get mid-greys where you want them.

That's the basics. After that I like the "Shadow" control to tighten up the left side of the histogram.

Graeme

[nigelsmith]

1) REDColor / REDGamma - both very pretty looking and gradeable, and compatible with a standard REC709 display.
Graeme
So is it fine to go with REDColor/ REDGamma for MXF file export and a REC709 finish?
I've been wondering about this for a while...
Thanks for any further info.

[Graeme Nattress]

Gosh yes!

Graeme

[Ryan T. Gibb]

That all makes sense to me. How do I white balance the scene if there is nothing white in it? Do I just go by what feels right? When you say to "adjust FLUT controls to a middle grey where I would want them", what exactly do you mean by that? Can I pull in something that is middle grey and balance off of that? Thanks

[Ryan T. Gibb]

I have two shots that are pretty important to me. Underexposed is the main problem and I was wondering if anyone wanted to take a whack at them and see what's the best possible image we could get out of them? Let me know and what would be the best possible way to send them to you?

[Jordan Livingston]

1) REDColor / REDGamma - both very pretty looking and gradeable, and compatible with a standard REC709 display.

2) Set white balance as accurately as possible - you'll get better colorimetry - more accurate colours and better separation

3) Adjust FLUT™™ control to get mid-greys where you want them.

That's the basics. After that I like the "Shadow" control to tighten up the left side of the histogram.

Graeme

Graeme's words are gospel. I've dramatically improved my grading results (in Color) by following his above procedure in REDCine-X first.

I'm using the REDRocket to perform full-debayer down to my deliverable format (i.e. 1920x1080 ProRes444). Using REDColor / REDGamma, my starting point in Colors looks like what the DP intended on set, but enough latitude is retained in the ProRes files to make a nice impact with my grade.

Best,

- Jordan

P.S. If the DP isn't involved, or the production isn't happy with his decisions on-set (usually unheard of, but possible, in theory) I would go with REDLog gamma instead, which gives me even MORE latitude in Color, albeit without the aid of the pretty / client-friendly 'look' as a jumping off point.

[Jordan Livingston]

I have two shots that are pretty important to me. Underexposed is the main problem and I was wondering if anyone wanted to take a whack at them and see what's the best possible image we could get out of them? Let me know and what would be the best possible way to send them to you?

Hi Ryan,

I'd love to take a crack at them in REDCine-X first, and send you a still frame... If that doesn't do the trick, we can go all the way into Color and see if they can't eventually be restored.

Can you upload the R3Ds to an FTP server?

- Jordan

[Luca Immesi]

Graeme's words are gospel. I've dramatically improved my grading results (in Color) by following his above procedure in REDCine-X first.

I'm using the REDRocket to perform full-debayer down to my deliverable format (i.e. 1920x1080 ProRes444). Using REDColor / REDGamma, my starting point in Colors looks like what the DP intended on set, but enough latitude is retained in the ProRes files to make a nice impact with my grade.

This is for me the best workflow for R3Ds in Color. The only difference I like to export in 2k if I need to reframe a bit.

[Graeme Nattress]

If there is no white or grey reference in the shot, then there should be! Or at least for every lighting set-up. Or pick a number that looks right for the shots. What you are doing with this is guiding the colorimetry for accuracy.

Usually, the key parts of the shot that you've exposed for are the mid bright things in the shot - use FLUT control to ensure that they're there. But obviously, artistic needs may guide them brighter or darker.

Graeme

[Jordan Livingston]

This is for me the best workflow for R3Ds in Color. The only difference I like to export in 2k if I need to reframe a bit.

I will do the same thing if the project was shot in 2:1. The key is to "fit height" resulting in 2160x1080. That way, there is no scaling of the pixels later in Color or FCP, just simple panning left and right within the 1920x1080 frame. This ensures your pristine full-debayer detail is dutifully preserved in the 2nd generation render.

- Jordan

[Jordan Livingston]

I have two shots that are pretty important to me. Underexposed is the main problem and I was wondering if anyone wanted to take a whack at them and see what's the best possible image we could get out of them? Let me know and what would be the best possible way to send them to you?

Dear Ryan,

I've taken a look at your shots, and you are correct, they are indeed underexposed, resulting in some noise. That said, I was able to produce what I feel is a pretty nice / natural grade using just REDCine-X.

I also took the shots into Apple Color to see what else I could come up with, including some noise reduction. Here I tried to really make the shots pop - perhaps I went too far - but the point is, I think you have enough information in your footage to produce very nice looking results.

You can see the before and after results of my grades in these TIFFs:

http://www.DIGILOID.com/xfers/A006_C013_0722VW_0000482.tif

http://www.DIGILOID.com/xfers/A041_C012_0912T0.0000316.tif

Please keep in mind, this grading work was done pretty quickly... If this was 'for real' I'd spend more time tweaking secondaries, and of course, seek your specific direction, etc. The purpose here is just to show what's possible given your footage, not necessarily what's desirable for your final "look."

Also, for the sake of full disclosure, I believe that the Photoshop-generated TIFF file may have introduced a slight gamma shift. So, what you see on your monitor is probably not exactly what I saw on mine while grading, but it should be close enough for the purpose of this informal demo.

Let me know what you think...

Best,

- Jordan