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mvw33
Participating Frequently
May 11, 2016
Answered

Best workflow for Sony A7sii and GH4 - Pro Res or DNxHD?

  • May 11, 2016
  • 3 replies
  • 11327 views

Hi All

I am filming a 90 minute documentary on a Sony A7sii as Cam 1 and a Panasonic GH4 as camera 2. 23.97fps at 3840 x 2160. We need to have 4k options for future usage. We will most likely be using a certain amount of purchased stock footage as well. I am trying to work out what is going to be the best workflow with final export in mind. I need to export final film either in Apple Pro Res or DNxHD - and I'm trying to figure which is going to be best from beginning to end.

I will be transcoding all footage to match in order to make the workflow on timeline as fluid and as least taxing on the processor as possible as well as insure best final render possible. I have found that editing in the native file formats (4k) of each camera - even when setting/scaling to frame size - is very heavy on processor and it staggers in scrubbing or playback. So should I choose pro res HQ or to DNxHD.

Also - based on that, which sequence settings should I use? Creating a sequence from clip with a Pro Res clip premiere gives me Arri Cinema preset. Seems to playback and scrub effortlessly on timeline.

Thanks in advance!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer R Neil Haugen

Thanks Martin. So that's 2 votes for DNX.  I'm one of those people who needs to know why though!

Why is DNX better now than Pro Res? Pro Res seems to be a much more universal format. Is DNX simply more energy efficient on the timeline or is the format just more stable altogether? I think both have equal picture quality.


ProRes "was" The Standard in Apple-world, so became very common. DNxHD/R/HQ options have really become as good or better for most uses, it's just newer. On my PC, DNxHD cuts almost as quickly as Cineform, and just a bit quicker than ProRes. They're sorta close ... and the one guarantee is your mileage WILL vary!

So do a couple quick tests. A couple hours spent transcoding into two or three choices, then making identical projects applying the same effects (while noting playback operation), then exporting out and timing the exports will give you an answer for you.

Neil

3 replies

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MartinFrench001
Participant
May 12, 2016

don't think of one as being better than the other they are just different. if your handing the finished film to a Windows user then DNX is going to be more compatible since ProRes codecs are only available through an unsupported Quicktime installer that Apple no longer cares about...

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    May 12, 2016

    "ProRes codecs are only available through an unsupported Quicktime installer that Apple no longer cares about..."

    Unfortunately, so true.

    Something those on the Mac side of things should consider in the long-run ... the current CEO of Apple has stated publicly that he has no idea why anyone would buy a desktop computer anymore. Apple is all about "devices" these days. The days of Apple supporting the hard-core graphics professional community are long-gone.

    Mac or PC, we're all just users. No one is in any special club anymore. Look how little thought went into El Capitan as far as how it would work with video media & application prior to release. Clearly that wasn't that major a concern. Sad ... but true.

    Neil

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    M
    mvw33Author
    Participating Frequently
    May 12, 2016

    Thanks Neil

    I will be utilising DNxHR for my workflow format! Considering the footage we will be working with - this makes most sense! Thanks to everyone for the help on this discussion!

    Baie dankie julle!!!

      E
      excited_Genie16B8
      Legend
      May 11, 2016

      My choice would be for DNxHR.

        M
        mvw33Author
        Participating Frequently
        May 11, 2016

        Thanks Jim - reasons for that?

        A colleague just mentioned to me that colour grading mxf files is quite tricky as they have a different colour  setup. Correct?

        M
        MartinFrench001
        Participant
        May 11, 2016

        Edit using DNX all the time now (having used ProRes for years) and in Resolve there is no difference when grading the footage as long as your footage is good. 10bit is 10bit in DNX or ProRes and both work equally well.

          M
          mvw33Author
          Participating Frequently
          May 11, 2016

          Oh and BTW I am working on an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

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