FCP Conform Love...

[Lucas Wilson]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share a little bit of success...

I am in a small post facility right now that has been working on a full R3D feature. They shot the entire feature as R3D, and edited on FCP. Lists are exported to SCRATCH.

SCRATCH conforms the lists pretty flawlessly to the original R3D files. That's cool. But the really cool part...

SCRATCH artist goes through and starts color grading the feature. As recuts come in, a timeline can be reconformed to R3D and all colors will follow with the new reconform. If a shot that has a color correction on it is split into two pieces with a cutaway in the middle, The two new pieces will both retain color settings. If a shot is trimmed in or out, color is added to the new material.

It is a smooth and seamless process... and everybody is really happy.

This is how the R3D process should work, and this is a small, boutique setting. Not a huge facility. FCP, SCRATCH, ProTools and RED ONE. These people are finishing their own 4K feature for distribution in their own facility.

Cool.

Lucas
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ASSIMILATE, Inc.
LA, CA, USA

[Rick Darge]

The future is yesterday

[Fredrik Callinggard]

What if you need to do heavy post???


fred

[Lucas Wilson]

What if you need to do heavy post???

fred

Define "heavy." This is not a low-budget feature, and has several VFX vendors sending in DPX frames, sweetening from ADR, music from Composers, etc, etc.
What exactly are you referring to?

Lucas

[Fredrik Callinggard]

I am in a small post facility right now that has been working on a full R3D feature. They shot the entire feature as R3D, and edited on FCP. Lists are exported to SCRATCH.

SCRATCH conforms the lists pretty flawlessly to the original R3D files. That's cool. But the really cool part...

SCRATCH artist goes through and starts color grading the feature. As recuts come in, a timeline can be reconformed to R3D and all colors will follow with the new reconform. If a shot that has a color correction on it is split into two pieces with a cutaway in the middle, The two new pieces will both retain color settings. If a shot is trimmed in or out, color is added to the new material.

It is a smooth and seamless process... and everybody is really happy.

This is how the R3D process should work, and this is a small, boutique setting. Not a huge facility. FCP, SCRATCH, ProTools and RED ONE. These people are finishing their own 4K feature for distribution in their own facility.


Well the way you laid it up it was a smaller facility - budget was never mentioned.

Don't get me wrong I love the work flow and I think Scratch is a great tool, I've graded in it many times. It's just that the way you mentioned this, was as if you directed it towards the indie film making and right now it's a great work flow when it comes to offline editing and grading but what about post production as in compositing and CG, that was my question. I guess it also wasn't directed to you in particular it was more of a question just mentioned in the context of what you were saying.
It's great to be working with the 4K files but as soon as you need to "post it" it gets more difficult. I know very few post facilities (definitely not any "smaller" ones , as you called the ones you just worked with) that could post in 4K, not yet. 2K yes, but even there it's difficult for the smaller ones. When do you/ we/ anyone think that we will catch up and have codes that works with the rest of post production or do we already have that? If so, what is the workflow then? Would like to know since I just ruled out shooting on RED because I couldn't continue fully to the end. Yes I shot 35mm and telecine'd that to 2K and I could have done that with RED as well, but I hadn't had enough time to test this properly. The test I made were inclusive and not in favor of RED so I'll wait until I have my own camera to be sure.

Basically I love the concept of this camera and it's great that we can shoot 4K, edit it for 4K and grade it in 2k preview but essentially in 4K but will we be able to actually on line it with compositing in 4K? Not without bigger facilities at this very moment.

So what are your thoughts on this?


fred

[BigLu]

Scratch vs Color
I am trained in Color but I am open to all.
Can you break down Scratch for me?
And maybe give me some comparisons.
Its not every day that I get to ask someone who knows Scratch whats it all about.
Blah blah blah i know i can see the website, but theres something more personal when someone tells you what its really about, where its from, where its going, why i should get into it.

I will know and learn Scratch someday soon, but don't even know where to begin.

Thank you
Must be a good skill set to have for
RED DIT

[Simon Blackledge]

everything split if there's an insert in the middle of a clip ? Masks, animation curves etc... ? Not poking just a q dude.

[Lucas Wilson]

everything split if there's an insert in the middle of a clip ? Masks, animation curves etc... ? Not poking just a q dude.

Everything splits -yes. Example that happenes in this current reconform...

Shots A - simple Gain ramp from 100 to 150 through the clip.

New EDL comes in and puts a cutaway in the middle of the shot, so it is now
A1 B A2

Clip A1 had the Gain ramp from 100 to 130. Clip A2 went from 130 to 150.

Lucas

[Sven Seynaeve]

Dear Luki, Do you know how much storage they needed exactly to finish these files?

[Lucas Wilson]

Dear Luki, Do you know how much storage they needed exactly to finish these files?

Hi Sven,

They are finishing with mostly R3D and some DPX that comes from VFX. The array they have is 8TB RAID 5.

Lucas
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ASSIMILATE, Inc.
LA, CA, USA

[Arnaud Paris]

We run a Scratch in Paris and we're doing finishing on a Red short film that was cut on Avid. We tried to explain to this short film producer the ease of the FCP workflow but the editor was an Avid only type of guy (which I totally respect).

After having done a few other Red projects edited on FCP I have to say that the ease of going back between FCP and Scratch is quite amazing as Lucas explained. The way Scratch 'autoreconforms' to the graded shots as new EDLs come in is probably the most amazing feature.

We can't wait for our next grading project coming next week to our Scratch from FCP. After this herculean Avid to Scratch adventure this will feel like a breeze of fresh air.

[Dexter Gregoire]

Just a thought. Are there any Scratch houses in Vancouver, BC (Canada)?

Just considering about doing all edits in FCP and taking it to the out house for a little conform and make-up. As always wondering about price.

[Lucas Wilson]

Just a thought. Are there any Scratch houses in Vancouver, BC (Canada)?

Just considering about doing all edits in FCP and taking it to the out house for a little conform and make-up. As always wondering about price.

Hey Dexter,

Rainmaker Animation recently bought several systems. I believe they will be fully online in April or May.

Lucas
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ASSIMILATE, Inc.
LA, CA, USA