MP4 workflow

[michaelcwelch]

Hello all,

I am noticing more and more experts are editing with mp4 files that always have the yellow render line above them. 

My workflow has always been to use Media Encoder to encode UHD prores files and HD proxies (from inside of Premiere). I put those mp4 files away as raw shooting files. This has consistently proven to be a bullet proof workflow, especially when you have clients who always wants to change stuff. Has something changed and am I just being the old dude stuck in his ways? Would love to get feedback from other people's workflows here. 

[R Neil Haugen]

mp4 ... typically, the long-GOP files ... are heavily dependent on the hardware bits on each computer. Some Intel CPUs have the "quicksync" function, and they can process H.264/long-GOP significantly better than the Intel CPUs without it. Newer quicksync capable Intel CPUs can do more versions of that format.

And most AMD CPUs, to my knowledge, are not great with H.264/5-long-GOP files. Although some GPUs apparently can offer some assistance.

So ... it's complicated, and it all depends.

Most colorists I know, who have machines vastly more massive than most of us editor types, still t-code or proxy nearly all H.264/5 media when working in Resolve. So ... pick your poison. Check your machine's ability with long-GOP files. And test.

[MyerPj]

I think your way is still the best way to go.

[michaelcwelch]

I understand what Neil is saying, when you are dealing with a lot of long footage and need to work fast, it would be understandable. My machine can handle the transcode, storage is cheap, and I do roundtrip everything through Resolve. 

Thank you MyerPJ for the confirmation. I just don't want to be the old guy that's stuck in his ways. 

[neil wilkes]

I would absolutely agree with you with one caveat -  I would maintain the source resolution, regardless of what it is. So if the source is 1920x1080, then my interim ProResHQ would be the same. If it were in SD then I would make an SD ProResHQ from that. If uprezzing is mandated by the client, I would use a dedicated tool for doing that - from an interim ProResHQ at the supplied resolution.

Why anybody work with an MP4 makes no sense to me at all.