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Participant
August 24, 2023
Question

.MXF proxies loading with incorrect colors

  • August 24, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 255 views

So, I'm shooting with an R5 C and I've opted to record proxies in camera because, for some reason, Media Encoder hangs the whole system when trying to create proxies for more than one file (13900KS, RTX 4090, 128GB total system memory installed, Windows 11 Pro, apparently my computer isn't quite powerful enough to render out proxies if other posts I'm reading are to be believed). Premiere 23.6(?—the recent update) for what it's worth.

 

Anyway, more to the point, I am recording MXF proxies because the audio channels on the MP4 proxies don't match up with what's recorded in the CRM files and there's no workaround that I can find to force Premiere to just attach the damned things (aside from copying the audio out of the CRM files with ffmpeg and mapping them correctly on re-wrapped MP4s, but ffmpeg complains when you try to add more than 2 mono or 1 stereo audio streams to MP4 files even on the latest build—no idea how Canon managed to make it work on HEVC clips, but that's a different and only tangentially relevant discussion to have with my former computer science professor.. I record audio externally with synced timecodes anyway so I really don't care if none of the channels exist in either file, I just need them to match so Premiere will shut up and just attach the proxies).

 

When attaching the MXF files, I've noticed in the timeline that when I switch between proxy and full res, the colors and levels are WILDLY different. Now, comparing between the MXF files (in MPC set to interpret the footage as faithfully as possible) and what Canon's raw developer reckons the raw files look like, colors and levels match. Comparing the MPC playback to Premiere's reckoning of what the raw files look like (after it takes its sweet time to load the preview), colors and levels match. Messing with MPC to get it to look like what you get when applying one of Canon's CLog3 LUTs, THEN Premiere's interpretation of the *proxy* matches (and basically looks nothing like the untouched raw file). As such, I can only assume a LUT is automatically being applied to the proxy file I'm trying to attach. This is kind of a massive pain when trying to grade.

 

Is there a way to disable this or am I just kinda boned here?

 

No relevant options exist in Interpret Media, Source Settings is grayed out on CRM files (with or without attached proxies).. I'm still digging through the preferences to find SOMETHING, but at this point I'm not holding my breath.

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2 replies

R Neil Haugen
Legend
August 25, 2023

The Canon log 3 seems to be a problem yet for a number of users. Any way you could post a link to a clip in it that others of us could test working with?

 

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
Participant
August 25, 2023

I'll upload the media I'm testing with to Google Drive. Basic idea is to import the CRM and attach the MXF as a proxy.

 

If it behaves the same for you as it is for me, you'll note that it looks like a raw file when viewing the original (which is what I want), but when you toggle proxy view on, it will look like it's been automagically graded correctly to look like NTSC video (which is what I don't want, not automatically anyway—that makes the proxy not match the raw file).

 

I should mention I don't even have the option to override project colorspace (or even to mess with colors at all in "interpret media"). It's not grayed out or anything, that option isn't even there. Not sure if that was a previous option or when they removed that.


It'll be a little bit before I can upload everything though (my home ISP has a harsh data cap on their gigabit plan, but work has "the good internet" as it were).

 

I did end up buying a copy of DaVinci Resolve Studio last night out of frustration as well, it doesn't auto grade the proxies at all (correctly or otherwise—which is a good thing). It can if you tell it to, but you gotta tell it to do that. Not sure why Adobe can't take a note (or, better, several entire pages) from BlackMagic Design's proverbial book on the matter, but it'd be a lot cooler of they could.

R Neil Haugen
Legend
August 25, 2023

Would be good to get @Fergus H in on this too ...

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
R Neil Haugen
Legend
August 24, 2023

So what's the color space of the original media? And are they one of the Canon log forms?

 

And ... what of the mxf proxy files?

 

I'm asking as I've noted there are some other users posting recently with Canon log form issues in Premiere's color management. Some cannot get the Canon log3 recognized, only 2. A couple have had the CM in the Modify/Interpret Footage grayed out with Canon log files.

 

You might also download the Public Beta, already in the 24.x cycle, as there's some new CM stuff there that might work better. For instance, all color managment in the beta is in the Lumetri panel's new "Settings" tab.

 

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...
Participant
August 25, 2023

The CRMs are recorded with "Canon Log 3" set on the camera, but color profiles don't seem to affect how the raws look when recorded.

 

The camera is set to match the MXFs to the selected profile (Canon Log 3 in this case—again, they match when viewed externally).

 

Now, importing MP4 proxies independently works fine (they match the raws), but I can't attach those because Premiere is a butt and needs the audio in the file to match.