Exporting video bpc and general exporting query Canon R6

[Kayleigh5C0E]

I've been editing for years in Premiere Pro and not really worrying too much if I export in different settings to what I have shot in (except for making sure frame rates make sense, like shooting in 60fps and exporting at 30fps, etc). Anyway, I have been shooting with a DSLR previously a Canon 6D MII now R6 MII. I shot 4K 25fps, and need the edit for broadcast, at 1920 x 1080, 25 fps. It was easy enough exporting all that, but when it comes to bpc I have no idea if I must choose 8 bpc or 16 bpc ans i can't figure out what the original bpc of the footage was. Also, does it matter if I edited a timeline with a different preset and then changed it for exporting? eg editing in with a DSLr preset H.264 etc but then I export as Apple Pro Res? The reason I ask is because some of the things I have exported don't look as great once actually on a TV screen, and I am not sure why. I choose Maximum render,  max bit depth etc when exporting. 

[davidarbor]

Export at 8-bpc. Footage captured is usually either 8-bpc or 10-bpc. 16 would be for compositing or for an intermediate workflow, not for a delivery workflow. 

Yes, it's totally ok to use the DSLR preset and then export as ProRes. The DSLR preset is simply a sequence preset, but it does select a bunch of parameters that could affect your output (in a way that you already alluded to).

Can you be more specific about what doesn't look great once it's on a screen? Maximum Render Quality and Max Bit Depth are important settings and they have their place (which doesn't always need to be on), but I'm willing to bet those aren't causing the issues you're seeing.

[Kayleigh5C0E]

Thanks for your response. I previously found that the exported footage doesn't look as crisp and clear as it is when in my timeline. This was actually for a different edit, I shot at 1080 60fps and had to export a 25 fps for broadcast, maybe that's the issue? Also shot NTSC but the edit is for PAL, I am not sure how much that matters. It's fine now with the R6 shooting 4K, but more had issues with my old camera. 

[R Neil Haugen]

I rarely would disagree with David, the guy is freaking good. But Jarle Leirpoll did a whole bunch of testing a year or two back, which I then completely replicated, on the bpc thing.

And I would recommend people go to Jarle's website as he has some very useful information on this and other things there. This link will get you there ...

Jarle’s blog expansion of the pdf Multicam section: Premiere Pro Multicam

As in the past, it didn't make any difference which "bpc" setting you chose. Premiere always exported correct bits according to file and sequence settings. It doesn't always now. For most things where you have 10 bit or better files, especially to mov, like ProRes, it's wise to set the bpc setting to 16bpc. 

Jarle has a long page on his site discussing this.

Neil

[davidarbor]

All good points, Neil. I guess I made a huge assumption when the OP mentioned going to broadcast—I assumed that those systems typically would want an 8-bpc file, but what the heck do I know? I can't recall if the last broadcast spec sheet specified bit depth, but I'm guessing I delivered 8-bpc MXF.

[R Neil Haugen]

A number of streaming services prefer 10 bit if possible ... at least, I've been told that by several folks. Makes color work so much more ... capable, among other things.

Neil

[Warren Heaton · Accepted solution]

Transcode your camera originals to ProRes, easily done by enabling the Ingest Project Setting for it but it can also be done with Media Encoder (make sure it's an Ingest preset so that it maintains the audio channels).   For broadcast, probably ProRes422 HQ but ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 LT might be fine.  If you're not sure, check with whomever you're delivering the ProRes edited master to.  Delivery specs should be available.  For example, a CBS affiliate would likely want ProRes 422 HQ while local PBS should be fine with ProRes 422 LT. 

Set your Sequence Video Previews to Custom QuickTime and match the ProRes you chose for your transcoded camera orignals.  Premiere should be much more responsive while editing and you should see less of the yellow bar and red bar in the Time Ruler.  Export rough cuts to ProRes 422 Proxy (from ProRes Sequences, this will be fast) and export fine cuts at ProRes 422 Proxy or match the version of ProRes used for Sequence Video Previews (this will also be very fast).  Export ProRes for delivery at the same version of ProRes as the Sequecne Video Previews (again, this will be very fast).

By transcoding camera originals to ProRes you are taking advantage of Smart Rendering in Premiere Pro (everything is faster than if editing DSLR camera originals).  1080p ProRes requires about 1GB of storage space per mimute.  This may be larger than the camera originals, but it's part of why it's better for editing.

Enabling Max Render Quality can slow an export, but being all ProRes that should be minimal.  You want this enabled if footage has been scaled below 100% (usually for picture in picture) and for Accelerated Effects (for example, Ultra can look better if this is enabled).  

As far as bits per channel goes, if you've been rendering After Effects Comps in After Effects projects set to 16-bpc then set the Depth pop-up menu to 16-bpc.  If After Effects project are set to 8-bpc, this can be 8-bpc.  Either is fine for broadcast, but 16-bpc has smoother gradients.

When it comes to shooting video, for sync sound match the frame rate of your delivery (sounds like that's 25 fps).  Shoot MOS b-roll at double delivery frame rate (sounds like 50 fps) to allow for smooth slow motion should you opt to do so while editing.  Avoid frame rates that are not a multiple of the delivery frame rate (avoid shooting 60 fps for 25 fps delivery).

p25 is probably fine, but double-check the delivery specs.  It may require i25 in which case you should be shooting i25 (sometimes referred to as i50).

You didn't mention audio, but you'll likely need to conform audio stems in the ProRes file that you deliver.

[R Neil Haugen]

Thanks Warren ... excellent set of professional suggestions.

Neil