Avid and RED Post-Production Workflows Avid + RED Workflow

This presentation focuses on currently available tools + solutions from Avid and RED

2 Software Versions

• RED ONE camera firmware: Release Build v30.5.0 – MX Sensor • Avid Media Composer v.5.x / Avid Symphony v5.x • Avid FilmScribe (shipping with v5.x) • EDL Manager (shipping with v5.x) • Avid DS v10.3 • MetaFuze v2.1.1 • REDCINE-X build 348 (Mac and PC)

3 Editorial Workflows

• Create DNxHD dailies in 3rd party applications • Create DNxHD dailies via AMA transcode • Edit R3D files natively via AMA • A mix of all the above

• All workflows are valid and will be used depending on program type, turnaround time, number of dailies, offline/online considerations, conform process, deliverables, etc.

4 Workflows

• The No-brainer: – Transcode all R3D files into final resolution • 115, 175, 175x, Uncompressed, HD RGB 444 • Via REDCINE X or via AMA • Edit and finish in HD • The near no-brainer: • AMA native edit of R3D • Transcode timeline with handles • Finish in HD on same system • Offline/Online: – Transcode all R3D files to offline proxy (DNxHD 36) – Edit and deliver EDL, AAF,* AFE* • * There is a AAF tech note for AAF developers showing them where to find SOURCE FILE © Avid 2010 5 3rd Party Tools for Dailies

• Other applications still exist and may still be used, such as ClipFinder, REDrushes, 3CP, etc. – These applications use REDline which only leverages the QuickTime engine. – None of these applications will create native MXF Wrapped DNxHD. – They do create the same ALE as REDCINE X • QuickTime wrapped DNxHD can still be helpful for productions that insist on an SD workflow for offline. – Combined with MetaCheater for ALE conversion and REDCINE-X for QT wrapped JFIF • REDCINE and ROCKETCine X have been EOL’d by RED, our workflow support will only focus on REDCINE-X • REDCINE X build 348 does provide for new backend workflows via EDL

6 Tools for MXF/DNxHD Dailies Creation

REDCINE-X MetaFuze

Mac X (via VMWare)

PC X X

Direct ALE Creation X X

(RLX, RSX, RMD Full Color Manipulation X support) All DNxHD formats All DNxHD formats QT-wrapped Avid DNxHD Except 1080p/29.97, HD Except 1080p/29.97, RGB or interlace HD RGB or interlace

These tools cannot yet create Avid RGB 444 media AMT has just added RGB. RED needs to update REDCINE X 7 REDCINE-X

• Full control over all R3D parameters – MC source setting is only a subset of the controls • Creates native DNxHD, MXF, AAF and ALE with picture and sound • RED ROCKET Enabled – 1.1x real time transcoding to Avid DNxHD • Mac & PC • Supports stereo 3D workflows – Stereo workflows not yet supported in Media Composer until further testing • Supports Tangent WAVE and Euphonix MC Color hardware controls • Imports CMX 3600 and FCP XML for conform prep – CMX 3600 import supports Avid’s 16-character EDL • Constant state of change – updates every month or so • Free 8 REDCINE-X (things to watch out for)

• 1080p formats only – When using 720p/23.976, START timecode will be wrong because of 24<->30, 24<->25 tracking • Same for NTSC and PAL when 24fps variants are used – No 1080p/29.97 (Avid AMT needs to be updated) • Difference in sharpness and detail may result when transcoding with ROCKET card versus software only • Audio is 8 channels from BWF file– can be limiting when using external WAV files for syncing that have more tracks • Double system audio metadata is lost once synced (filename and timecode) – Better off importing BWF in Avid and use AutoSync (with new options in v5) • MXF/DNxHD metadata is limited to filename as TAPE and TOD timecode in START – Additional metadata is in ALE – extra step to merge • Metadata from REDCINE X is slightly different than via AMA

9 REDCINE-X

10 11 FULL RANGE

REDCINE X TRANSCODE

SMPTE CONSTRAIN

12 SMPTE Constrain

SMPTE Constrain

13 AMA is closest to FULL (no constrain applied)

R G

DIFFERENCES STILL EXIST

B 14 Audio Export Settings

• Supports up to 12 audio channels total – 4 from camera – 8 from external file (BWF) • Camera audio tracks are first followed by external audio tracks in exported file – Does support fewer channels such as 2+4 – Resulting file does not have metadata defining which tracks is from which source – Source BWF filename is not tracked

16 MetaFuze

• Avid MetaFuze is a transcode only engine for RED and other file based formats • Current version does support MX Sensor and new color science • Supports LUT and RED color files • Supports RED ROCKET card • Can be deployed (with some work) as a render farm • PC application (can be used via VMWare on Mac) – Performance is not as good when used via VMWare • Creates native MXF wrapped DNxHD • Creates ALE for additional metadata • Free

17 MetaFuze (cont’d)

• Does not allow tweaking of all parameters • Limited additional metadata (not all parameters as compared to REDCINE-X or AMA • Most users working with RED will most likely migrate to REDCINE-X on Windows • Facilities may still use MetaFuze in a render farm as it is lower cost to scaled compared to purchase price of ROCKET card. • Some facilities are also using MC5 as a dailies creation tool

18 Common Considerations

• Both REDCINE-X and MetaFuze create TAPE MOB’s and use the filename as the TAPE source • Avid Media Composer v5 now has a “Source File” metadata source column that allows imports and AMA accessed essence to behave like TAPE without the need to add or modify sources. • Projects can have both TAPE and SOURCE FILE sources – Allows for file-based formats to behave like tape-based formats – Ability to add, modify, remove metadata on all metadata fields • EDL Manager with v5 has been updated to allow EDL creation from TAPE and SOURCE FILE and will look to TAPE first, then roll over to SOURCE FILE if needed. • Recommendation: Users should stick to one method as much as possible - either do everything AMA or do it via REDCINE-X

19 Differences Between AMA and REDCINE Metadata

20 EDL Manager

AMA, Transcode, REDCINE, MetaFuze

21 REDCINE-X-Avid-Apple Color Workflow Enhancements

• Additional metadata in ALE created with REDCINE X allows for Apple Color workflow • Camroll carries full filename: A001_C001_1234QZ • Labroll carries FCP style: A001C001 • EDL Manager creates CMX 3600 EDL with FCP style as source, and Labroll as comment as expected by Apple color. No need to preserve filename in Name column.

001 A001C001 C 13:00:00:00 13:00:12:03 01:00:00:00 01:00:12:03 * from source file A001_C001_1234QZ

22 Red with AMA Media Composer AMA & RED Workflows

• Avid Media Composer v5 now allows direct access to the R3D files with native editing – Link to single file or volume/directory of files • Minimum system configuration is dual quad processors on a 64bit system for single stream performance – Drive speed/access is also a big factor in performance, the faster the better • Support for all color metadata files (RSX, RLX, and RMD) • Supports MX sensor and new color science • Ability to tweak all parameters except for white balance, curve control, lift/gamma/gain and crop. • Most metadata is maintained and tracked in the bin • Changes to sources are managed on a per sequence basis via “sequence refresh” • Source Setting changes can be applied to multiple files at once • Duplicate clips can be created with different looks • “Apply” in source settings allows for changes to be seen on client monitor when source clip is loaded in source monitor • Aspect ratio is managed via Reformat column settings

24 RED AMA Functionality (cont.)

• Users cannot consolidate R3D files – Only the camera can create R3d files – Future version of SDK will allow trimming of R3D files • REDCINE X b320 allows for this • Users can transcode R3D files – Full quality R3D files are compute intensive to decode and are highly complex taking greater than real time for transcoding: • Ex: a 30 second clip can take 7 minutes to transcode at full debayer setting – New setting in the Media Creation tool on both the ‘Render’ and ‘Mixdown & Transcode’ tabs: R3D Source Quality (Debayer) – Setting allows the user to chose the debayer quality of the transcode or rendered file(s). • The lower the quality the faster the transcode. ½ Premium is fine for most HD work. • Play Performance

• Play Performance – There is no native application support to playback RED files - Very CPU intensive – The new plug-in architecture is called ‘Sample Provider Mode’ • The plug-in is responsible for decoding each frame and sending the editor an uncompressed frame for playback – User can choose different debayer levels for best playback performance – Smooth playback performance depends on speed and number of CPU’s and speed of drives – As a general guideline, even on the fastest CPU’s (Z800’s, 16 core Macs) running off of local storage, playback will most likely drop frames on anything above draft quality. • Draft quality changes based on original file size (see chart) • User might be able to play 2 streams in short timeframes (a dissolve) in draft mode without dropping when using 4K files. – Green/Green always selects the debayer quality that is larger and nearest the project/timeline resolution. For example, a 4K R3D file is ½ debayer when in green/green mode. ¼ debayer when in green/yellow, and 1/8 debayer when in yellow/yellow. – A 2K R3D file would be full debayer when in green/green mode. – 720p and SD timelines will have more performance (except timecodes will be wrong for 23.976/24 frame rates if lists are needed) © Avid 2010 26 Performance Settings

• Set render/transcode in Media Creation Settings • FULL enables Rocket Card if installed • FULL debayer uses full resolution of original file (4K if 4K etc. – Do not confuse with playback setting

25.5x slower 8.5x slower 13.4x slower 3.5x slower 3.5x slower

35x slower 8.5x slower 16.7x slower 3.5x slower 3.5x slower

Transcode times are compared to REDCINE X ROCKET card provides a 3x acceleration compared to software only

• PCIe x8 electrical • Install in x16 slot mechanical for power considerations

• Apple Mac Nehalem – Rocket Card: Slot 2 – Local Storage: in remaining x4 slot

• HP z800 – Rocket Card: Slot 5 – Shared Storage: Slot 4 (x8, x16) • Local storage on motherboard OR © Avid 2010 – Additional local storage: Slot 4 (x8, 16) 30 Transcode or Native RED AMA?

• Most customers want to know what the tipping point is when dealing with RED via AMA: • Play Performance. Program mainly straight cuts or heavy VFX? – Users may choose to transcode all dailies up front or transcode in REDCINE-X – User may start with native access then transcode sequence • Working with multicam? Transcode. • Working in a shared storage environment? Transcode. • Working with hundreds of hours of dailies? Transcode (100 hundred hours is over 10TB of storage. • Need to export AAF, or QT on a regular basis or at end of project only? – Users may choose to transcode all dailies up front or transcode in REDCINE-X – User may start with native access then transcode sequence

• When sending bin with sequence to another system, open sequence first before linking to R3D via AMA or all user entered metadata is lost (clip names, locators, etc.) – Or send entire project and AMA folders • Cannot relink sequence/sources if there is a mix of SOURCE FILE and TAPE for the source references – Ex: create dailies in REDCINE X then conform via AMA to original R3D – This will be addressed in a future release of Media Composer