DaVinci and New Retina MBP…But…

First, I only use Apple computers.  I have worked professionally on PCs (Clipster) but on my builds I always use Apple products.  That may change if Apple insists on selling MBPs that are not upgradable.

Lately I have been using a Laptop I bought last year to run DaVinci at work.  I use it to test DPX files.  I could use a header reader but when DaVinci is free and all you need is a MBP with a dedicated graphics card and an SSD (an i7 Quad core is recommended) why not watch those VFX files work before you send them downstream?  Export an EDL from Avid MC and use it to import DPX files into DaVinci.

Vetting files you are sending upstream to Online/Color saves headaches later and that is worth spending some money.  I bought a refurbished 2011 15″ MBP with the i7 quad core processor and a 5400rpm hard drive (not to mention anti-glare) for a very reasonable $1500.  I upgraded it with a 240GB Mushkin SSD for $200.  I am not worried about the size or even the quality because I expect that soon I will be able to put a 1TB SSD in for less than 600.  But presently both 240GB and $200 are practical numbers.

I am running 6TB of 300MB/sec storage via a Lacie dual channel eSata hub via Thunderbolt.  This cost me less than $600.  That is to say, I have two 3TB Seagate 3.5″ HDs in eSata enclosures connected to the dual channel eSata hub from Lacie.

This workflow, which includes a DELL U2410, allows me to run DPX sequences in DaVinci and it all cost $3100 tax in.  Tough to beat that.  But if Apple does away with upgradable MBPs I will look at something running Windows more seriously.

Apple’s latest offering in the laptop line is not upgradable.  The MBP with Retina display is a wonderful computer.  But your RAM and hard drive are going to stay as they were when Apple configured the computer for you.  So when 64GB of RAM is a normal allotment for a MBP you will still be running 16GB.  When a 512GB SSD is the norm you will still have a 240GB SSD.  Those are not acceptable infringements on the useful lifespan of my computer.  Especially when I am expected to shell out $3500.

Adobe CS5, Avid MC6, RED footage and workstations that will run them…

This is just a short post.  It continues the work I have done on the lowest end builds for editing workstations.  The most exciting development in years has to be that the new Mac Mini Server running OS X.7.2 will run Avid MC6 and play and transcode RED footage.

I expected it would run CS5 and although I did not find it particularly ergonomic software (Premiere 5.x) I thought it had a lot of great features.  It was intent on allowing you to simply load your camera clips into the browser and avoid transcoding all together.  While this is a great feature I am not someone who wants to own the computer I use at work.  The tech for video editing changes too quickly for that expense to justify itself over the long run.  While you can extend the life of your tower with cards – that can cost you more money as well.  In the case of the RED Rocket another $5k.

So I focused on CS5 because I believed that you needed a discrete graphic card to run Avid’s MC6.  I wanted to run a new Mac Mini Server at home.  But I did go ahead and upgrade one of the drives to a Sata III 240GB SSD.  That and the quad core i7 were enough for me.  I figured that the next gen chips (Ivy Bridge) would be the threshold that might allow a Media Composer to run on one.  Or possibly that Apple would include a graphics card on a quad core Mini.

After losing interest in Premiere I found some time to muse on the recent release of MC6 from Avid.  Would it run on a Mini?  Would it be the one with the dual core (i5) and the graphics card?  Probably.  But I downloaded the demo and installed it and within an hour I had ordered a copy of MC6.

MC6 is the most elegant editing software that exists.  It will allow you to open and play files immediately or you can transcode to Avid’s fantastic DnX codec line.

I have been working with 422 Prores (HQ) and it is a fine codec but I do tire of working with an EOL (End Of Life) software.  FCP is still a software that will occasionally crash because it tries to do too much.  So at the price point of approx $1000 (ebay) you can get a commercial (upgradable) version of MC6.  You won’t get the extra software or a bunch of books but you will be up and running on the industry standard editing software in the time it takes to download the 3GB file.

I think Avid has made it’s MC line so much more competitive in the last 4-5 years.  The introduction of 64bit computers and a 64bit OS with SATA III capable systems available at low price points all combines to make the previously impossible easily attainable.

I found that I used 3/4s of my processor power to play AMA RED files and all of it to transcode (14m-1m) but I experienced no latency when playing the AMA RED file and used only 1/8th of my processor power to play the Dnx115 file.  Seems that dual channel stereoscopic editing on a Media Composer is not impossible on this build.

Enjoy!

Final Cut Ex

I am currently relaxing in Hawaii (location changed to avoid giving away secret surfing spot).  I recently finished my 2nd consecutive show on Clipster in a workflow designed for 3D.  It has been a long time since my last post.  It will likely be a long while before I post any specific details regarding what I am working on.  The projects are major motion pictures and the work flows are either interesting or bleeding edge.  I am in the thick of location based digital intermediate in a foreign country.  But it would be inappropriate to get specific.

What I have to write about is really a mix of related topics.  Tech for filmmaking has made some significant advances in the last couple years.  Before 3D made it’s comeback I had been intending to do a post on the appearance of DSLR’s in professional applications.  In the year that I researched that topic, and the year since, I continued to look at DSLR applications in the field.  I purchased a basic EOS camera (550D) and a nice lens (17-55mm 2.8 EFS).  Which I am using to gather surf footage (and Blue Bottle Jellyfish barbs).  I was sort of doing this as an excuse to demo FCP X which was really disappointing (see below).

DSLR filmmaking is now established on the fringe of professional production.   I don’t anticipate further penetration though.  It quietly became standard practice to use a DSLR on a some commercials.  Quietly because it was so cheap.   It is now also used as a tool by VFX depts on features to cover a large area for reference.  Sometimes the Editing dept will use one to film rehearsals or test shots.  These fringe pro applications are more the strong suit of this techology.

The full frame 5D mark 2 is the work horse and with good glass it is a powerful tool.  However the bottom line for pro work is that DSLRs are falling behind newer tools based on the same technology (Arri Alexa).  The problem is the necessity of DSLR’s to compress images.  The fact DSLRs  gather images at 8 bits creates more issues with what is actually gathered from the CMOS sensor.  These issues are to the point where it is not practical to use the camera for certain types of shots with fast movement.

But CMOS sensor technology was revolutionary.  We now also have the GoPro being used as a crash cam on some features.  Currently a variety of tools and accessories are available through small companies like Red Rock Micro, and many others, allowing regualr people to try their hand at moving picture storytelling.

Further to the above comment about FCP X I read an interesting article here that supports what I believe is a disappointing trend at Apple. 

My experience with FCP X was just my latest disappointment with Apple recently.

The failure of FCP X is a concern because of the way it has failed.  FCP X was built to work with DSLR devices.  H.264 is the standard format for DSLRs’ and, other than ProRes, it is one of the few formats Apple included.  So DSLR footage will edit natively in FCP X.  Also DSLRs don’t use tape nor are they embedded with timecode so EDL’s are not a native part of workflow.  It is a match made in heaven.

However, the Color integration is half considered add on to FCP X.  It is something that DSLR’s rely on now.  These tools are integral and Apple didn’t put their mind to it at all.

Without getting too technical the weakness of DSLR’s is the dark and the light losing detail because of compression.  The looks you can apply compesate for that but they leave the video in a state that has to be returned to a proper color space with a plug in or a color adjustment.  Neither of which are in the otherwise full toolset included in what Apple calls the Color board.

It is not so much professional as just good practice to use these tools and Apple didn’t see fit to allow a path to accomplish this for the product it made the software most compatible with. 

These problems give credence to the rumors of Randy U. (developer of FCP at Apple) being angry about the path FCP X development took leading up to the release.  What I heard was that his team lost resources (engineers) to the iOS wave of products.  Rumor has it that when they were in the middle of trying to develop and integrate the software to a 64bit standard and one interface instead of a suite of software people were moved to iOS apps.  Not just from FCP X but also from OS X.

I think this is indicative of recent changes at Apple.  More and more, when you open an Apple, you will see it includes consumer grade components (RAM, HD, SSD).  You used to get the best build with custom parts form respected companies.  Now you don’t always see much differnece between an Apple and a regular box.  I still don’t like the glossy monitors on the iMacs and MBP either.  When Apple do put the right components in they have done strange things like put limiters on what should be faster drive bay architecture (MBP 8,1 has Sata3 limited to Sata2).

We can only guess at why they do these things because one constant at Apple is the secrecy.  When everyone knows the iMacs and Laptops already have Thunderbolt ports it seems kind of ridiculous to be selling faster horses (Mac Pro) in front when everyone knows your building cars in the back (New Mac Pro’s with Thunderbolt).

The new strategy at Apple is in mobile devices and apps and royalties for apps and transactions on their devices.  They are going to be the Walmart of the internet.  

In their dealings with patents they have attracted the attention of the regulatory bodies in the US government.  A bidding war with Google for Nortel patents and brisque legal dealing with Nokia, Samsung and a number of other competitors is causing quick and serious reactions in the technology field.  Apple has hit a home run and the ball is still travelling.

Recently they appeared to solidify their position as the leader in smart phones by granting legal ground to Nokia that will allow them to hobble the other major competitors by forcing them to also pay Nokia for those same patents.  Because Apple brought so many patents of their own to the table in these negotiations the fee they had to pay Nokia was relatively insignificant.  The competition will be paying a lot more the $360m per quarter that Apple is going to pay.

The Jobs home run with mobile devices is well deserved and befits his status as a visionary.  But the new corporate attitude is a change from the philosophy that once ruled a benevolent and forward thinking company.  Now they are a forward thinking company.

To me the best example of the paradigm that was the Apple philosophy was their work with Avid software engineers in the early 90’s.  That was and is a great App and Apple took it somewhere with wheels because that was how they rolled.  I loved that.  I understood where the secrecy was coming from then.  But the things that Apple was known for appear to be getting lost in the jungle that is the stock market at the close of Steve Jobs career.

Red Cam and Sony XD/EXCam HD Post Workflow

The early (March 2009) workflow for Red Camera benefits from transcoding the R3D picture files.  We converted them into an HD cutting format for online outside of FCS after picture lock.  The use of proxies avoids this extra step.   The use proxy files with Clipfinder software allows you to port shots to the other software in the FCS suite of software.  This is considered an ideal workflow.  It is still developing and the bulk of the tasks involved in the online process would be completed within FCS.  Also available from the use of proxies is DPX file export for VFX work (Glue Tools).  When this workflow was effected the use of proxies was considered unstable at later points in the post process.

At the outset of production the original R3D files were delivered to Post after wrap with only a small delay to back up the camera drive.  Regular portable hard drives were used in a rotation, we had 4 – 2Tb drives.  They were backed up via an iMac on set and again in post to an external drive.

We used internal Seagate drives on the Mac Pros.  3 – 1.5Tb to provide 4.1tb of RAID protected storage.  This is faster than most available external drive solutions and, of course, cheaper.  The Video monitoring is possible through a variety of inexpensive solutions including the MXO2 from Matrox.  However we had Kona hardware in place for this project so we used that.  As I mentioned earlier we did not use full res media after transcoding so the quality is only important to reference for quality control issues that would be checked against the R3D files as film would be checked at the lab.

To import the R3D files to FCS they were transcoded to an offline format with Red software.  This process took somewhere between a few hours and 7 hours depending on the amount of dailies and the computer.  The Harptertown Mac Pros were about 60% speed of the Nahalem.  Once the files were transcoded the .mov files were imported into FCP for editing.

The editing process was smooth and the online was handled out of house.  One side note worth mentioning.  The dailies were synced after transcoding on a 2.0 Mac Mini.  This was the model that came out in early 2009.  It was impressive to see the way the Mini crunched the data and pulled media off the FW800 connection.

In August 2009 I was hired by a reality TV show shot with 3 Sony XDCams and 2 EXCams.  The Cameras used were across the board for the XD line from the 700 down to the 400.  Included in the Camera package were both the old EX and the EX2.  The image quality for the XD line is gold standard in the broadcasting industry.  This rank is primarily reserved for the higher end models we used but the EX models were very good.  The media was processed via card readers with the software from Sony.  One handy feature of this software was that it generates proxy files for reference that are small enough to be able to store many hundreds of hours of dailies on a thumb drive.  The EX use the more universally acceptable SD cards that plug directly into the expansion slot of most Mac Laptops.  There is also a hard disk recording option that we used with the EX cameras.

We had a large amount of footage on this show with up to 9 hours of dailies and an average of over 6 hours each day for the three week shoot.  The two portable edit systems (one 2.2ghz MBP and one 2.5ghz MBP), each had one 8Tb Drobo and a 19″ LCD monitor using Matrox Video.  Although we had some error messages on one of the systems from the Matrox Video we believe it was related to the drive speed issue that resulted in the drive failure later in the show.  Outside of that the system worked fine from the start.

The editing process was simple.  Media files were copied from external drives to the first workstation’s Drobo and then imported into FCP for binning.  The system I created for our two workstations involved making the bins after import into the master project on the first workstation.  The bins were copied to a transfer project stored on the same Drobo we stored the master files.  Then the 2nd edit workstation Drobo was connected to the 1st via USB.  The master files and the transfer project were then copied onto the 2nd edit station Drobo in the same file structure used on the 1st Drobo.  Once copied the 2nd edit station Drobo was reconnected to the 2nd edit station MBP.  The transfer project was opened and FCP bins were copied into the 2nd edit workstation FCP master project.  The bins opened easily and the files worked in mirror to the ones on the 1st edit workstation.  Edits were exchanged from one machine to the other without issue.

Outside of the drive problems the post process was seamless.  We were up and running by the end of the first day.  The move home to the Mac Pros was slowed down only by the aforementioned drive failure.  Overall it was a very smooth experience.

In conclusion, the price, features and developing power of the Red Camera give it a unique advantage over competition in the area of digital features.  However it has not yet achieved a broadcast standard.  The Sony digital film cameras (not discussed here) are pricier but the EX is a very good value.  The Panavision Genesis Camera has a fantastic look but is costly to work with.  I worked with the Genesis on ‘Scary Movie 4’ with and although there are some issues with the blacks in certain low light situations during the editing process, the image recovers its level at color correction.  However, all things considered, if Red can jump to a 6k image and refine the use of proxies in the post process it should advance to dominate the field.

The XD is a dedicated broadcast workhorse.  It will be superior to the Red for things like News, Sports and Documentary subjects from a broadcast perspective.  Partly because so much of financing a project has to do with reliability and standards certifications.  But the Red must make the use of proxies stable to take advantage of software like Clipfinder to smooth the post process and allow much of online to be completed in FCS.  Financing for the above mentioned genres is much easier with the Sony XD line.

It should be mentioned that the raw footage out of the RED Cam can benefit from some color work as it is somewhat dark and a bit washed out.  Scratch by Assimilate has made a good product that some VFX houses use for this purpose already.  It is not practical to add this step for post so what you see is what you get.  But the final product is not compromised.

Finally, the study of digital film cameras and their impact on film making cannot be discussed in a vacuum.  The fact is film is captured in a completely different process and has its own look.  The use of chips provides many cost saving options and workflow efficiencies that make digital film appealing to Filmmakers.  However, in my opinion the look of film is still superior to digital capture because of the use of flat chips.  In the future maybe digital film capture devices will find a way to deal with infinite subjects like skies and monochromatic geometric shapes that travel from FG to BG in wide shots.

Review of Apple’s HD Codec Prores 422 (HQ) in practice.

Over the past few months I have completed work on three broadcast movies shot in a variety of formats (Red, Genesis and Film camera’s were used).  The editing was completed on Harpertown 8-core Mac Pros with Kona/AJA video and Final Cut Studio 2.

The greatest immediate benefit of Prores is the drives you can use to playback HD images.  This is outlined in the Prores white paper.  The prohibitive cost of drives which playback HD has been eliminated.  Prores 422 (HQ) will playback from regular internal drives.

This is HD but there is compression.  So before assuming Prores is more than just a dressed up offline it had to pass QC with broadcasters.  That process requires certain products and services to achieve but you don’t have to go back to camera masters for an online.  These shows have passed QC in the Prores codec.  So now you can make your feature film and Post it on the computer you bought at the drug store!

The possibility exists that builders can also work around expensive video cards that provide the feed to the client monitor.  However the cards (or the IO/HD) often provide support with multi-stream, effects laden workflows and relief from the amount of rendering required.  Generally, there is more rendering needed on the AJA IO/HD box fed through FW800 than there is on the Kona 3 via a video card.

Having passed QC and gone to air it is safe to say that you can edit in HD from 4Tb of storage that costs you $700.  This is about 10% of what you might expect to pay for HD capable drives.  Prores 422 (HQ) files also played from fw 800 drives but writing files to the drives was less reliable.  In the end fw800 drives were effective as a home for media managed projects.  The portability is certainly a benefit with multiple shows on multiple workstations.

There were some crashes when moving or altering large sequences with significant data processing.  However it was a marked improvement over my experience working with FCP 5.x and full res HD from tape.

The near future holds new releases from Apple to include FCS3 and Snow Leopard which should improve the editing process when posting with this codec.  With the price point of FCS2 and the associated hardware it is now under $10,000 to set up an HD workstation.  1 Mac Pro + FCS2.

Welcome to the Cutting Room

Here you will find information related to filmmaking with an accent on emerging technologies and workflows.