We Are Marshall

Sponsors

Inovativ Carts on a Game of Thrones Promo

Blackmagic Camera Post Workflow

Like 29 Tw eet 20 6 7

By Derek Johnson
(Assistant to Shane Hurlbut, ASC)

In our second post on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, we are going to look at some workflow options for getting both the
CinemaDNG and ProRes files out of the camera and into the NLE of your choice. Keep in mind there are many factors that dictate how
you will approach post workflow – storage space requirements, speed, hardware, software, quality and final delivery – just to name a
few. (Here is a link to our first post on the camera.)

A Bit about ProRes and DNG files:

The advantage of working with ProRes files is that you can get going right out of the box. The files are easy to work with, no transcoding
necessary, and at 10 bits, the file size is smaller to deal with. This format does not have to be color graded (the camera applies a burned
in LUT), but you can adjust it with limited range. Once you have your media, import it directly into your editing application and go.
Round tripping is not necessary.

One of the big deals with BMCC is that it comes bundled with DaVinci Resolve and that gives you an immediate way to work with
RAW files. In most cases, you will not be able to edit natively in RAW format.

The 12 bit uncompressed RAW opens the door to freedom and creativity with color grading. The dynamic range is outstanding. If you
have never worked with RAW format, this camera offers a great opportunity for testing the waters. However, one caveat to this format
is storage space – it needs A LOT.

Workflow for Blackmagic Cinema DNG files:

Here are the basic steps for round tripping from DaVinci Resolve to FCP7 and Premiere Pro CS6 (steps are same for both):

Open DaVinci Resolve and start a new project.

Import CinemaDNG files into DaVinci Resolve.

Choose Conform to see timeline. (You may choose to do a basic color correction at this point.)
Click the Delivery Tab and select the Use the Easy Set Up option and export to Final Cut Pro. This also works for Premiere Pro CS6.

Render out your media. You will be making low-resolution proxies that your NLE can manage.
New Proxy file for editing. (Each clip in your timeline will export as an individual proxy file.)

Related Posts:
Blackmagic Design
Announced at NAB 2012, the Blackm
Cinema Camera includes two models:
Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT an
Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF mod
Collaborative Workflow Event in L
When Neil Smith, the founder and ow
Hollywood DI , asked us to participat
Open House event on October 20th i
You can now import the proxy files into your NLE of choice. For this example, we will use Premiere Pro CS6 and Final Cut Pro 7.

In your NLE, create a new project and import your files. Make your edits in the timeline and save project.

In Premiere ProCS6, export as Final Cut Pro XML. In Final Cut Pro 7, export as XML.

Back in DaVinci Resolve, use the Conform Panel to import the XML file.
Make sure you deselect “Automatically import source clips into media pool.” This is what will relink your original CinemaDNG files.

Your edit is now relinked to the original CinemaDNG files for final grading and delivery.

To include After Effects in the above workflow, one option is to work with those shots that need effects separately. Export those clips to
AE and do the necessary work. Then export the final composition as a standalone clip. When you import it back into Premiere Pro or
FCP, you can replace the old clip with the new one.

Using DaVinci Resolve:

DaVinci Resolve comes with a configuration guide. You will need a high performance graphic processor and other requirements to get
the most out of this software. Part of what makes this camera and software package so exciting is that you have the option to shoot for
cinema and export for cinema.

Other Options:
Other alternatives are to open the CinemaDNG files as an image sequence in Adobe After Effects. Make your adjustments and then
render it out as a movie. In Photoshop, open one image. Then make your adjustments recording a Photoshop Action and apply those
adjustments to the rest of the images in that sequence. Here is a link – http://adobe.ly/OmYthD – to instructions on how to record an
action in PS. You can then Export via Media Encoder as DPX, H.264 or Quicktime. In Premiere Pro, you could also assemble
converted DNG files (as TIFF or JPG) and finish your edit there.

Adobe CinemaDNG Converter:

Adobe has a free download to convert your DNG files so they are accessible to process in a variety of software. (This may be more
useful to photographers.) Camera manufacturers use different RAW formats, which can make it challenging to open the files.

You can find more information and download the converter here: http://adobe.com/dng.

Tags: Blackmagic Cinema Camera, spon-bmcc, Workflow

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 17th, 2013 at 10:01 am and is filed under Production, Workflow. You can follow any responses to
this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Blackmagic Camera Post Workflow”

1. Kahleem Poole-Tejada says:

April 17, 2013 at 10:55 am

Best. Post. Evar. A lot of people are having a hard time using BMCC’s raw workflow and others are using their own recipes. I
definitely love this one the most really. Huge kudos for posting this, guys!

Reply

2. Jesus Hidrogo says:

April 17, 2013 at 11:11 am

Great stuff as always shane.. I been reading your blog and viewing you’re frames.. You are such a big help. Hopefully one day I
can work with you, or have you shoot something I wrote..

-A very much thank you.

Reply

3. Robert Rogoz says:

April 17, 2013 at 11:36 am

Legacy FCP is no longer supported by Apple. Why spend time and resource on something that is no longer supported. FCPX is
a current platform supported by Apple.

Reply

4. Rob says:
April 17, 2013 at 11:37 am

What about converting a RAW DNG sequence to Cineform AVI’s? That’s what I’ve been doing with great results.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)