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soniameg
Participant
May 12, 2017
Answered

Help with Stop Motion Workflow

  • May 12, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 5353 views

I have searched the forums for a good stop motion workflow, but still have some questions hoping to get some help.

I've shot a stop motion project on a 5DMKII, all images are raw .cr2 files. I want to be able to bring in sequences and edit in Premiere Pro, once I have picture lock I want to send a high quality file to my colorist so that he can achieve the final look using resolve.

I shot raw because I want to maintain flexibility while editing and doing color, but I do not want to do any initial color correction while importing the files.

So far this is the workflow I have:

1- Import the raw files to AE to create sequences

2- Export sequences from AE to .mov files to start editing in Premiere -

  QUESTIONS:

  -What codec should I use for this export to maintain the flexibility of the raw images?

- Aside from the codec, are there any specific settings I should use to export the sequence to have a high bit rate file.

3- Export the picture lock to a ProRes 444 for color correction in Resolve

Any suggestions to this workflow would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer foughtthelaw

    In general I try to keep the whole project workflow to as few generations of encoding as possible. When we do stop-motion our workflow process is as follows:

    • Shoot using a 5d (we use mk3's) and DragonFrame as our capture tool. This lets us separate shots into folders. it also saves jpg proxy jpg files and raw images direct from the camera.
    • use the jpg proxies to create ProRes LT edit proxies, convert the Raw to DNG
    • edit with the proxies, then re-link to the raw files when the edit is locked.
    • color is done in the editor's choice app. Lumetri is the default when we're rushed. Some use LR Timelapse in Lightroom for their color, I prefer Resolve.
    • Render final colored shots as ProRes 4444 and re-link in Premier for final online.

    2 replies

    foughtthelaw
    foughtthelawCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    May 12, 2017

    In general I try to keep the whole project workflow to as few generations of encoding as possible. When we do stop-motion our workflow process is as follows:

    • Shoot using a 5d (we use mk3's) and DragonFrame as our capture tool. This lets us separate shots into folders. it also saves jpg proxy jpg files and raw images direct from the camera.
    • use the jpg proxies to create ProRes LT edit proxies, convert the Raw to DNG
    • edit with the proxies, then re-link to the raw files when the edit is locked.
    • color is done in the editor's choice app. Lumetri is the default when we're rushed. Some use LR Timelapse in Lightroom for their color, I prefer Resolve.
    • Render final colored shots as ProRes 4444 and re-link in Premier for final online.
      S
      soniamegAuthor
      Participant
      May 12, 2017

      foughtthelaw​ thank you so much for your answer! I totally agree with you, that is the workflow I was looking for. I have a few questions If you don't mind providing some guidance.

      I shot using DragonFrame, so I do have jpeg proxies.

      "use the jpg proxies to create ProRes LT edit proxies" - Should I do this in AE, Pr, or it doesn't matter.

      "convert the Raw to DNG" Do you mean converting the raw .cr2 files to DNG files? do you do this in AE, Pr, Ps or Camera Raw?

      "edit with the proxies, then re-link to the raw files when the edit is locked." If I create ProRes LT using the Jpegs and edit on those in Pr, then how do I exactly relink the media to the raw files?

      My colorist is using Resolve, so once I have the locked edit, do I just export a ProRes 4444 for him to color?

        foughtthelaw
        foughtthelaw
        Inspiring
        May 12, 2017

        I convert to ProRes LT using Media Encoder. It's pretty simple to make a ProResLT preset in there.

        raw to DNG can be done a few ways but I tend to use this: Digital Negative (DNG), Adobe DNG Converter | Adobe Photoshop CC

        there may be more official/prefered methods for re-linking media but typically what I do is as follows

        • make sure the proxies and the raw are in a similar folder structure and named almost the same.
        • export an fcpxml from Premier
        • search for the part of the file path that contains the proxies and replace it with the path to the raw.
        • re-import that back into premier, typically something breaks but it's now looking for the raw media.
        • relink the raw media and use the new raw timeline to export an xml or edl to resolve.

        you should be able to work in resolve with the DNG files as is so no need to render to prores. I'd ask your colors what they prefer first though.

          Mylenium
          Mylenium
          Legend
          May 12, 2017

          You could try DNG sequences of float TIFFs, but generally Raw-CoDecs are a capture-only thing. That's the whole point, after all - they are raw sensor data. That being said, I don't see how it would be relevant for editing. Your deliverables will end up in another format, anyway, and there's no harm in using proxy/ intermediate workflows and replace footage in the project, via AAF or traditional EDLs. Maybe you are overthinking that, even more so since you are going to need some baseline develop/ color correction settings one way or the other to have a reference. You can't just had off stuff to other co-workers without giving them an idea of what you expect the colors to be by ways of a Lumetri preset, LUT, color profile or a "neutral" reference clip/ image. latest when you start working on effects this will become critical. I think you have a flaw in your thinking there.

          Mylenium

          S
          soniamegAuthor
          Participant
          May 12, 2017

          Thanks Mylenium​ for your answer, It's probably my lack of experience with a stop motion workflow... but I'm a bit confused about the workflow you are suggesting. Do you mind explaining it in steps? 

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