C100 / Samurai Ninja / Media Composer 7 / Twixtor / resolve 10 Lite workflow

The following workflow describes the way I have been doing things. There may be more efficient ways to do them and please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Rhys Duncan C100 Steadicam Location shoot

The series I am currently working on is shot on a C100 recording internally and externally to a Samurai Ninja to DNxHD 120 MXF files, a Canon 5D mk2 and a GoPro mounted on a Phantom quad-copter.

The Samurai Ninja records to SSD, the rushes are then copied to an external hard drive for archives. In Media Composer the rushes are AMA linked then consolidated to an internal media drive. The 5D and GoPro rushes are AMA linked and transcoded to DNxHD 120 MXF files.

Media Composer 7 added the ability to consolidate/transcode in the background so this process doesn't hold up the editing process.

The Avid Media Files folders and project files are then manually backed up onto external drives using SyncToy 2. I currently have 11TB of internal media storage capacity.  The external backups are taken off-site with me every day (which makes cycling to work extra joyful!)

In this series the slo-mo effect is used a lot. In the last ep almost half of the 26 mins was slo-mo'd footage. For this I have used the twixtor plugin. I have found that it works well to varying degrees depending on the shots you are affecting.



Once the edit is complete an embedded AAF and QuickTime movie is sent to soundmix and I begin colour grading in Resolve. The unaffected footage can be exported/imported as an AAF. Twixtor'd footage and video mixtdowns need to be exported as a movie. I create a separate sequence for the twitor'd footage making sure any transitions are included in the length of each clip as there are no handles, remove gaps, and export (same as source) a movie. I export the rest of the sequence as an AAF linking video media only.

In Resolve I import the AAF. I have to do this twice to account for the two media drives. Upon the second import the AAF relinks to media from both drives. This seems to take much longer than it should and I have often wondered if I am missing something that could make this step faster. After grading I render the clips into a new Avid Media Files folder.  In MC I import the new AAF. This final step has not been without its problems in the past and I find that if I simplify the original sequence to only the clips I want to grade (no titles graphics etc) I get better results.

The slo-mos need to be added to the media pool and placed into a new timeline and edits inserted to separate the clips. Once graded I render the clips as single clips as DNxHD 120 MXF files to a folder. Then fast-import the files into MC and place them back into the sequence. To fast-import select the 'use the source file's resolution' option.

It's a bit fiddly but it will do for now.

One thing about Resolve Lite is beware of the using the blur where there is any camera movement and highlights as it may result in jittery motion. The full version has motion blur but I can't confirm it will solve this issue.

My next post post will be a quickie on subtitling.

DIY Build Editing & Colour Grading Suite

In November 2013 I began working on a series for Maori Television that has yet to be released. I am the sole editor / colorist for this 12 episode documentary series. I have completed 8 eps to date.

I'm cutting on Media Composer 7 and grading on Davinci Resolve 10 Lite. 

Hardware.  I started this series using my factory Dell XPS 8300 which performed well despite it's modest specs but strangely Dell computers aren't supported by Black Magic products. So even though Resolve worked ok on my Dell I wasn't able to connect a reference monitor via a Black Magic PCI card or USB hub.  This is a problem since monitoring is essential for colour-grading.  So I bit the bullet and upgraded my PC. I decided to do a DIY build. Why?  Because I thought it would be fun and it was. 

Black Magic have a list of certified motherboards so that was my starting point. I also found the videoguys guides very helpful.  These are the components I went for:

Asus Z87 Expert   

Intel i5 4573  (update: upgraded to i7 4773 K)

EVGA Geforce GTX760

2 X 8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws SDRAM  (update: added 2 X 8GB)

Kingston 250GB SSD

Western Digital 4TB HD

Corsair HX750 PSU

Cooler Master case

Windows 7 Home Premium OEM (update: replaced with Windows 7 Pro OEM)

The Asus Z87 has on-board thunderbolt which will be useful to my future storage solutions.
I went for the i5 at first to cut cost and upgraded when I could afford to.  My attempt to over-clock the cpu was pretty sad so I reverted to the default settings for stability. There are so many video cards on the market it was a nightmare choosing one but GTX760 has been working nicely so far.

When I wanted to upgrade the RAM I found out the hard way that Win 7 Home Premium only supports up to 16GB of RAM. What's more OEM versions can't be re-sold as they will not work on any other PC's. So I had to buy Windows Pro and let the Home Premium gather dust on the shelf.

I purchased an ex-demo Sony PVMA250 25" OLED from protel and yes the pictures are glorious!

To connect my monitor I purchased a Black Magic DeckLink Mini Monitor PCIe ($202 + GST).

The card is great BUT the audio is embedded in the video which means either playback the audio via the monitor or get an audio extractor to extract the audio from the HDMI signal. There are a variety of these on Ebay but I went for this unit from Jaycar Electronics ($99.90 + GST). Black Magic also sell products that are more expensive.

I have noticed a slight hum coming though but have yet to isolate it's source so will say no more. Sadly Media Composer and Resolve aren't so good at sharing so I have to close one of them to monitor the other which is a small pain. Otherwise my system is running sweet!

I will discuss the various workflow issues in my next post.

Camera Test - 5D Mk3 Raw

I have just completed my first experiment with the 5D Mk3 + Magic Lantern RAW + Transcend 64 GB 1000x + Davinci Resolve 10 Lite...



Firstly, I'm pretty stoked about the huge improvement in image quality, not in the least because it was free. To put things in perspective this firmware has allowed 5D users to do things that only very expensive cameras do, such as the Canon 1D-C, Red Epic, Arri Alexa - that is, shoot/record in RAW. Black Magic continue to challenge the big brands with their competitively priced camera range, but they utilize a much smaller sensor than that of the 5D. The ML firmware has certainly super-charged these little units meaning the 5D (mk3) once again punches well above it's weight.

Check a single frame of raw footage and a 100% crop of that same image...

Clarity and Sharpness remain since by-passing the compression of the standard H.264 codec.

NZ is famous for the harshness of our sun and filming in the middle of the day it's hard to avoid extreme contrasts in light. Frequently skies blow out or shadows lose all detail. The image below was also taken from the RAW footage. I exposed for the highlights thus crushing the blacks. When 'developing' the raw file I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty detail retrievable in the shadows.

Workflow. Here comes the negative of working in RAW. The Raw files are many times larger than consumer codecs such as H.264 so you need bigger cards, greater storage and faster chips to deal with them. Larger file sizes takes us back to the days of offline/online editing when the computers weren't fast enough to handle the full resolution images. I'm sure raw movie files won't be an issue for pc's of the future but for now at least the process must be broken down into a number of steps. For this test I did the following:
    1. Renamed files using Actions app.
    2. converted RAW files to DNG's using RAW2CDNG app.
    3. Imported files into Davinci Resolve.
    4. Exported files as MXF files and an AAF to Avid MC.
    5. Edited movie in Avid.
    6. Exported AAF from Avid to Resolve.
    7. Graded footage. in Resolve
    8. Exported AAF to Avid.
    9. Exported final movie.
I am still ironing out the wrinkles in my workflow. i.e. problems round-tripping AAF's to and from Avid and Resolve. The annoying teething problems will disappear once a solid workflow is established. 

Davinci Resolve. Resolve is quite different in its layout to other programs I've worked with so it took me a while to get my head around it. Upgrading from version 9 to 10 also set me back a bit. BTW You have to upgrade to version 10 to be able to work in the BMFilm color space. I have only scratched the surface with this software and look forward to learning all the quick keys etc to get some good flow going.

Magic Lantern Firmware. To be honest I haven't fully investigated the functionality of this firmware except for the RAW aspect but overall it has been very stable without freezing once. I like how the firmware sits on the SD card and isn't permanently installed on the camera. The RAW module needs to be activated each time the camera restarts so set your automatic shut down to 5 or 8 minutes. I forgot to activate the RAW a few times and just shot H.264 and had no idea until afterwards. Playback of recorded RAW files is limited to the last file recorded. There was no message to say the card was full it just keep trying to record again but would stop and say skipped frame at...

Transcend 64GB 1000x. These cards are awesome. I had no problems at all and they performed as they should. Being in NZ Komputerbay was not an option so these were the next best thing and probably better.

Lenses.  I used two main lenses for this test - canon 50mm f1.4, canon 135mm f2.0 L. Your lens choices are going to influence the look of your movie no matter what camera of what format you shoot in. The last lens I bought was the Canon 24-105mm f4 L which was sufficient when I was shooting H.624. The heavily compressed images were not inspiring me to invest in better glass. Now that I can see real clarity and greater detail I am once again seriously contemplating that perfect prime lens.

ND Filters. One thing I disregarded completely for this test was the shutter speed. Although I have ND filters I wanted to keep the test as simple as possible. As a result the shutter speed often rose towards the upper limit of 4000 meaning movement looked less filmic and more hip hop music video. For any serious work I would probably go for a matte box and some quality ND's.

RAW with Canon 5D mk3

There have been exciting developments in the DSLR world, particularly for owners of the Canon 5D mk3, thanks to the amazing work of the Magic Lantern team. They have brought 1920x1080 RAW capabilities to our mk 3's free of cost. This is a big deal as it really improves the image quality of our videos. Meanwhile Black Magic Design have also  been offering their colour grading software Davinci Resolve for free for some time now. The combination of these tools is powerful indeed. There is plenty of information out there to help you get going with a raw workflow. I am not hugely technical but eventually managed to work it out from online info. And Now i am RAW ready! Here's a few pix of my set-up.

Here is my set up.

Davinci Resolve Lite 10 (free download). I'm still getting my head around Resolve but I can already see the potential power of it.

Euphonix MC Color controller compatible with Resolve, Avid MC and more. Not essential but after using one you will struggle to go without.

Canon 5D mk3 with Varavon LCD viewfinder

Screen grab of Magic Lantern firmware RAW video page. The firmware is copied to the SD card so it runs in conjunction with the standard canon firmware. I haven't had any freezes nor over-heating.

But you will need a couple of these - 1000x CF cards. 128GB will store 23 mins of RAW footage. I got mine from B&H for US$169 each. So far my only expense.

I will shoot some test footage this weekend so stay tuned!

"Kia ora, Molweni" NZTV Awards 2012

"Kia ora, Molweni" was nominated in the category of Te Mangai Paho Best Maori Language Programme for the 2012 New Zealand Television Awards. Unfortunately we didn't take out the award which went to "Whare Taonga" produced by Scottie productions but it was fun night and a least some recognition of our efforts. He mihi nui ki nga tangata katoa i whakapou kaha kia tutuki pai ai nga mahi o te whakaaturanga nei, ka mau te wehi!

instagram

The irony of blogging is that the busier I get and the more things I have to blog about the less blogging actually gets done. Since acquiring an iphone in September I have taken a liking to intagram - an app that allows you to take photos, give them a one-step grade and share it with your friends and family via facebook and the like. some of my favorite photos include:

The instantaneous nature of these photos does give something extra to the viewer. it's not hard to see why this technology is catching on - its faster more convenient than an email, less intrusive than a phone call, and more descriptive than a text message. I wonder how long it will be before DSLR's will be able to run such apps.

Poetry in motion

I recently shot a bunch of poetry readings to be exhibited at the Auckland Museum as part of the Urban Life program. The exhibition opens on the 3rd of November. See the Auckland Museum website for details. Here are a few screen grabs from my Premiere project.

for this shoot I got to try out a couple of new additions to my kit. - LED 600 Variable Colour Balance Light. I used this for my key light. I like that it is light-wieght and it doesn't get hot... ever. It has a dimmer and variable colour temperature. I picked mine up from Photoshack for NZD $599 but they are currently on sale for $475. - Light Stand / Boom Arm. This vital tool allows you to position you mic perfectly and keep it there. I picked mine up from photoshack for NZD $70 and well worth every penny. Blacks were used for the backdrop. In addition to the LED 600, two Dedo were used as back and fill lights. I shot with my 5D mk3 with canon 50mm 1.4 lens mounted on an offset shoulder rig and follow focus. I added a light grade in premiere by doubling the video layer, desaturating and sharpening the bottom layer while blurring and changing the opacity mode to overlay on the top layer. The third new addition was a SanDisk Ultra 32gb SD card I bought at PB Technologies for NZD $68. That is mcuh cheaper than the CF cards without any loss in image quality. Although the ingest did seem a bit slow.