RAW to Prores workflow?

[moonshieldmedia]

Normally on a DSLR I would just convert my footage to prores with MPEG Streamclip and them edit in FCP.

Now I'm shooting on a Blackmagic Cinema Camera and I need to shoot some scenes in RAW. I was able to import all the DNG image files into Lightroom and convert them to .TIFF files (I was following a tutorial) but now I have no idea what to do next.

The project in Final Cut will be mostly prores footage with some of the RAW footage mixed in, which I want to convert before importing.

 

[jax_rox]

Any reason for shooting raw rather than ProRes? The difference is very minimal, aside from spatial resolution.

Try Adobe Media Encoder. Cineform also works really well. I'm not sure what Adobe's answer to RedCineX is, presumably Media Encoder. You have to interpret the raw footage to be able to convert it - you'd have to set the correct White Balance, ISO etc. and convert it, the debayer happening in the conversion.

Resolve should be able to do your conversion, you could technically do a 'one light transfer' in there as well.

Or, you could convert to Cineform and use first light.

If you're colour grading yourself, that's probably what I'd suggest doing, if not then I'd say convert in Resolve to whatever you need, do your cut, export an EDL or XML and take all the original files in to the colourist.

 

[Jeff Troiano]

Can I ask why you want to film in RAW, and convert to Prores? Is it for 12bit Raw files? Are you going to be manipulating the footage before converting (color correcting, day to night, something like that)? The BMD cinema camera can film in Prores, no need to film RAW and convert, unless there's a specific reason.

 

[moonshieldmedia]

For most of this film I will be shooting straight to Prores, but on the low light night scenes I want the maximum room to be able to bring it up in post so I'll be shooting RAW. Even if the difference is minimal.

I'll be doing a basic color correction in Lightroom, then converting to prores to match the rest of the film.

I don't even need to save the RAW files for the final grade, I don't mind grading in final cut with the prores versions.

I tried installing Resolve 9 which came with the BMC but my computer couldn't handle it, which is why I'm using Lightroom now.

 

[jax_rox]

Lightroom, AFAIK, is geared much more towards photography than video or cinema, so I couldn't tell you the best workflow, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it's use.

If you're shooting mostly in ProRes anyway, I don't see any reason to shoot raw for some shots, no matter how minimal light there is. You'd get more out of a single bump of the ISO than out of the difference between ProRes and raw; I assume you're shooting in ProRes log..?

Assuming you are shooting in log, and not Rec709, then shooting those scenes in ProRes is also going to allow you closer matching later, rather than attempting to do a basic CC in lightroom with raw files.

I'd also make the point that an experienced colourist will be able to make your film look 100x better shot in ProRes, than an inexperienced person shooting raw and grading in FCP (espsecially on those three way colour correctors).