Grading RED RAW Footage & Sample Workflows

[Brian Iannone]

My workflow:

Camera > import R3d > PREMIER > Magic Bullet Looks / AE for Color Correct > Render out of Premier.

No transcoding or proxy files. I don't use RCX except for previewing. I keep trying to integrate it into my workflow but it's just not plugging in nicely.

I am playing around with Resolve Lite.

I see. I think I may be a little confused about the purpose of REDCINE-X as I always thought that it was slightly 'necessary' to use in RED workflows. But, I can see now that many people don't use it at all. Can someone tell me what the primary use of REDCINE-X is?

[Kemalettin Sert]

just for checking footage and export..thats all

[Uli Plank]

REDCine-X can be used in many ways:

– You can use it to make offline clips for FCP / FCP-X (proxies are dead by now) and do a first light, so the editor sees what's in there.

– Or you can do a first-light and a rough cut to try things out and move that into an NLE.

– Or you can do a first-light and export DPX sequences or ProRes 4444 for final onlining if the users system isn't native to RC or you need to fit into an established workflow.

Plus, it's fun! But OTOH, you can definitely do RED without it.

[Marcos Montenegro]

A question regarding REDCine-X PRO:

When you work on the RED RAW file, and do some adjustments within REDCine-X PRO, do these adjustments make it into the exported file? Like the alchemy slider, which I love btw.
Or does it lose any gradings?

[Brian Iannone]

REDCine-X can be used in many ways:

– You can use it to make offline clips for FCP / FCP-X (proxies are dead by now) and do a first light, so the editor sees what's in there.

– Or you can do a first-light and a rough cut to try things out and move that into an NLE.

– Or you can do a first-light and export DPX sequences or ProRes 4444 for final onlining if the users system isn't native to RC or you need to fit into an established workflow.

Plus, it's fun! But OTOH, you can definitely do RED without it.

Okay, I see. Is it common to edit with the .r3d files in an NLE that natively supports REDCODE RAW (like Premiere) or do most people typically prefer to convert to something else like DPX or ProRes and edit with that?


Also, a few questions regarding REDCINE-X... 1. Is there a way to slightly 'grade' the .r3d file (i.e. increase saturation and contrast a bit) and save the changes to the same .r3d file (without exporting to a different format)? 2. When REDCINE-X PRO is out of beta, will it be a paid program? If so, do we have an estimate of what the price will be? And, 3. Where can I find a list of the differences between REDCINE-X and REDCINE-X PRO?

Thank you everyone very much for all the information. I'm very thankful for the replies and advice from all the users here. :-)

[John Galeano]

I have watched everything I could find on the net for Resolve (including all the links in this thread) and very few people mention classondemand.net's free training for Resolve Lite.

You have to sign up for an account and install Silverlight on your PC, but it is far and away the best free training available on-line right now. It's totally worth the 10 or so minutes to sign up and set up.

+1 This was great too. Easy to sign up, and very good basic tutorial!

[Meryem Ersoz]

I see. I think I may be a little confused about the purpose of REDCINE-X as I always thought that it was slightly 'necessary' to use in RED workflows. But, I can see now that many people don't use it at all. Can someone tell me what the primary use of REDCINE-X is?

it's an absolute essential tool for onset data management - less absolutely essential for editing these days, since we have several NLEs with native R3D and metadata support....but I still use it all the time, to check playback, make fine-tuned adjustments, etc

[Lliam Worthington]

Meryem, would you mind elaborating a little further on your on set use of Redcine? Would be very interested in hearing a little of your process.

Best Wishes

Lliam

[D Fuller]

[SIZE=2]

Okay, I see. Is it common to edit with the .r3d files in an NLE that natively supports REDCODE RAW (like Premiere) or do most people typically prefer to convert to something else like DPX or ProRes and edit with that?

All of these choices are common. It comes down to options. For an editor working on Avid, for example, it is still true that the system will be more responsive using media transcoded to DNxHD, so the editor can work faster. RCX does that transcode very well, and very easily. Premiere (on a properly configured system) handles R3Ds very well. but at this point it can't play Epic audio (I expect it can't play Scarlet audio either) so extracting the audio from the files falls to RCX. It's a very quick process. For FCP, transcoding to ProRes seems to be the best option.

A lot of the choice depends on what kind of work you do and what kind of workflow you use. The Avid editor I mentioned above can edit so fast I can't even tell what he's doing until he plays the result for me, so any slowdown of the system matters a great deal. If I were running the Avid, speed wouldn't be as much of a factor, and Avid's handling of R3Ds would be fine.

Also, a few questions regarding REDCINE-X... 1. Is there a way to slightly 'grade' the .r3d file (i.e. increase saturation and contrast a bit) and save the changes to the same .r3d file (without exporting to a different format)?

That's half the point of using RAW media - all the changes are metadata. You never change the R3D file in RCX. You are only changing the RMD (Red Meta Data) file. (There's a checkbox in RCX preferences that tells the program to save the RMD file automatically.) If you grade in RCX, then import into Premiere, Premiere will use the grade information in the RMD. If you go back to RCX and change the grade, Premiere can re-load the new metadata. The R3D is never touched.

2. When REDCINE-X PRO is out of beta, will it be a paid program? If so, do we have an estimate of what the price will be?

There is no indication in RED's history that it will be a paid program, but then again, "Everything in life changes..." so who knows?

And, 3. Where can I find a list of the differences between REDCINE-X and REDCINE-X PRO?"

Enough with the lists already! They are free! Download them and try them out. :-)

That said...

The three biggest differences in my mind are:

1. RCXPro has a very good stills workflow, with specific tools for stills. RCX does not.
2. RCX is more stable and faster for long renders than RCXPro. I find that RCXPro slows down on a long batch render.
3. RCXPro has the Alchemy tool set, RCX does not.

There are interface differences beyond those, of course, but you should just try them out and see what you like. They can both coexist on the same computer, so you don't have to choose only one. I typically grade to one light in RCXPro and render in RCX. But really, RCXPro is a more mature (2nd generation) user interface; RCX seems to be a more mature renderer.

[Brian Iannone]

Thank you very much for the reply David. That's very useful information. :-)

By the way, sorry about my late reply...