So it seems that there are many workflows that people use, some straightforward some complex, this discussion is to help newbies understand the point of Prores and its uses.
For the purposes of keeping things simple, we will from the beginning exclude Prores 4444 because for 90% of users here it will be overkill, also Prores (LT) will be ignored because right now we are trying to keep things simple.
so that leaves us with:
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ): This codec preserves visual quality at the same high level as Apple ProRes 4444, but for 4:2:2 image sources. With widespread adoption across the video post-production industry, Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) offers visually lossless preservation of the highest-quality professional HD video that a (single-link) HD-SDI signal can carry. This codec supports full-width, 4:2:2 video sources at 10-bit pixel depths, while remaining visually lossless through many generations of decoding and reencoding. The target data rate of Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) is approximately 220 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps.
Apple ProRes 422: This codec offers nearly all the benefits of Apple ProRes 422 (HQ), but at 66 percent of the data rate for even better multistream, real-time editing performance.
Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy): This codec is intended for use in offline workflows that require low data rates but full-resolution video. The target data rate is roughly 30 percent of the data rate of Apple ProRes 422.
So where do we start?
well firstly unless you understand why you need to use 422 (HQ) then you neednt bother, this is for keeping things simple however it will be covered at a later date so we will keep it here.
secondly, 422 proxy is not considered a deliverable format... it is mainly for offline editing !
so whats the point in it all?
ok well h.246 is a distribution format - so you want to show it on the web for example
h.246 is not designed for editing.. yes its native in adobe (apparently) but still not designed as an editing codec
so lets begin with scenario A (more to be added later):
Scenario A - no colour correcting/grading in fcpx
shoot 30 second clip > transfer to mac > open up fcpx > create a timeline matching your clips FPS > create new event > import media > choose clip and click on create proxy > leave for mac to render > you now have a proxy version (422 proxy) and still keep the native h.246
but wait theres more.. you need to click on the apple sign while fcpx is still open then select preferences.. click on the playback option, make sure playback:use proxy is selected, now your mac should have smooth editing performance, but you will notice that the image quality is shite, thats because if you look above "The target data rate is roughly 30 percent of the data rate of Apple ProRes 422"
*please note that selecting optimise media will create a 422 version of your h.246 file and as such will almost triple in size and i dont understand the point of optimised media at this point as i only use fcpx for cutting*
so I use FCPX mainly for cutting and lining up the clips to create my scene using proxy (via preferences playback options) then i would select the preferences select optimised or original media then select higher quality, the reason why i select this before exporting is because (unless apple have changed it) that when the playback using proxy is selected, it will export using the proxy files which you dont want unless you want to show someone a digital version of vomit.
i would then export to 422 - now heres why, you are telling final cut to export to final cut 422 which is then opening up the colour space, now im kind of tricking you when i say this because the colour space isnt increased.. its increasing the amount i can work with before it gets f'd up
to be continued i need to sleep - feel free to comment and correct me if im wrong or you want to add in info.
For the purposes of keeping things simple, we will from the beginning exclude Prores 4444 because for 90% of users here it will be overkill, also Prores (LT) will be ignored because right now we are trying to keep things simple.
so that leaves us with:
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ): This codec preserves visual quality at the same high level as Apple ProRes 4444, but for 4:2:2 image sources. With widespread adoption across the video post-production industry, Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) offers visually lossless preservation of the highest-quality professional HD video that a (single-link) HD-SDI signal can carry. This codec supports full-width, 4:2:2 video sources at 10-bit pixel depths, while remaining visually lossless through many generations of decoding and reencoding. The target data rate of Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) is approximately 220 Mbps at 1920 x 1080 and 29.97 fps.
Apple ProRes 422: This codec offers nearly all the benefits of Apple ProRes 422 (HQ), but at 66 percent of the data rate for even better multistream, real-time editing performance.
Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy): This codec is intended for use in offline workflows that require low data rates but full-resolution video. The target data rate is roughly 30 percent of the data rate of Apple ProRes 422.
So where do we start?
well firstly unless you understand why you need to use 422 (HQ) then you neednt bother, this is for keeping things simple however it will be covered at a later date so we will keep it here.
secondly, 422 proxy is not considered a deliverable format... it is mainly for offline editing !
so whats the point in it all?
ok well h.246 is a distribution format - so you want to show it on the web for example
h.246 is not designed for editing.. yes its native in adobe (apparently) but still not designed as an editing codec
so lets begin with scenario A (more to be added later):
Scenario A - no colour correcting/grading in fcpx
shoot 30 second clip > transfer to mac > open up fcpx > create a timeline matching your clips FPS > create new event > import media > choose clip and click on create proxy > leave for mac to render > you now have a proxy version (422 proxy) and still keep the native h.246
but wait theres more.. you need to click on the apple sign while fcpx is still open then select preferences.. click on the playback option, make sure playback:use proxy is selected, now your mac should have smooth editing performance, but you will notice that the image quality is shite, thats because if you look above "The target data rate is roughly 30 percent of the data rate of Apple ProRes 422"
*please note that selecting optimise media will create a 422 version of your h.246 file and as such will almost triple in size and i dont understand the point of optimised media at this point as i only use fcpx for cutting*
so I use FCPX mainly for cutting and lining up the clips to create my scene using proxy (via preferences playback options) then i would select the preferences select optimised or original media then select higher quality, the reason why i select this before exporting is because (unless apple have changed it) that when the playback using proxy is selected, it will export using the proxy files which you dont want unless you want to show someone a digital version of vomit.
i would then export to 422 - now heres why, you are telling final cut to export to final cut 422 which is then opening up the colour space, now im kind of tricking you when i say this because the colour space isnt increased.. its increasing the amount i can work with before it gets f'd up
to be continued i need to sleep - feel free to comment and correct me if im wrong or you want to add in info.