Several different cameras used for same movie

[Celull0yd]

Folks,

I'm editing a movie in Premiere Pro and have a dilemma. Several (11 to be exact) different cameras were used to shoot...some shoot in RAW, some in LOG, but most of them shoot in REC.709 (or whatever it is that comes out of their camera). The resolutions vary from HD to 6k, even in the same scenes. And the frame rates run the gamut from 23.976 to 60 and almost everything in between.

I'd like to get some suggestions as to how to approach this from initial edit to color correcting/grading. Is it salvageable?

I think I've bitten off more than I can chew.

Thanks,

Lloyd

[R Neil Haugen]

That's actually pretty typical for documentary work. Except throw in some older stuff that's 4:3 and 16fps ... oh yea, fun stuff.

I would suggest the timeline should be in your delivery specs ... framesize/rate, progressive, DF/Non-DF, interlaced, whatever you need to deliver at. Probably with some HD you don't want to go bigger than 1920x1080. And Rec.709 for your sequence color space, as you can't really take Rec.709 clips 'up' to any HDR form well. But HDR can come 'down' to Rec.709 just fine.

Then there's the process of time conforming, and that's where you may need some expertise brought to bear. Some things can be done easily, but others require "cadence" shifts between pulldowns ... and that's way above my paygrade.

Check all clips for color space in the Project panel. Any that are not Rec.709, you will need to select in the Project panel ... do groups at a time too! ... and right-click/Modify/Interpret Footage, setting the Override-To option to Rec.709.

Neil

[Celull0yd]

R Neil,

Thanks for your suggestions. Most of them make sense to me 😉 but if I convert the RAW (BRAW) and LOG to Rec.709 prior to editing, how will I be able to color correct/grade after editing? I think I can handle everything except maybe the different frame rates. Unfortunately, because I'm editing in a 23.976 timeline, I notice that some of the clips run too slowly or too fast and the audio matches. I've read that I can change the speed to 80% or 120% and it will fix that, but I'm working off a 170-page script at this point, which is a lot of manipulation. I'm beginning to think it might be better to just reshoot the entire movie with my BMPCC 6k Pro and keep my sanity. 😉

[R Neil Haugen]

If the project goes to a colorist, they'll probably prefer the original media along with an XML or EDL file, and a flattened H.264 of the final sequence they can use to check the conform. Sizing/cuts & etc. So the color management in Premiere will have served to help you see the image at least decently while editing.

If you're going to correct in Premiere, this is still the route to go. As you must do proper CM for getting the media to the color space of the sequence before you 'get' to the Lumetri panel, or a Colorista panel, or whatever other plugin you might choose.

If there's BRAW, then I would definitely suggest getting the Autokroma plugin for that, far superior in reliability/options to the freebie BM plugin. And ... far better support. Like the Red and Arriraw, they all have panels that appear in the ECP's Source tab, when those clips are in a sequence.

And it's normally better to figure out a 'standard' setting for each of the RAW panels, applied to as many clips of that specific camera format as possible. Take a few 'hero' shots of each type, test settings to get something close to similar in general conversions. Makes grading the individual clips more consistent.

What's the deliverable specs? 23.976, or actual 24fps? Can be either of course. Getting 29.97 down correctly to 23.976 can sometimes be difficult, and actually Ae has better capabilities and options for "pull-down" than Premiere. I am not an expert on that but know it's pretty crucial to get those timing cadence things sorted BEFORE you've done much work. Or .. the pain can be massive.

Neil

[Celull0yd]

Thanks again. It looks like I'm going to age more than a few years doing this.

[YANNA26705213grl5]

in a nutshell....my opinion... from experience on film sets shooting for episodic tv and projection ( movie theatres ).

a page of shooting script is typically 1 minute per page ( if shooting script is written by pro writers).

that means you may have a 170 minute film approximately.

Shooting on set means using professional on set sound mixers with jammed digital slates, boom mics and lavs as needed.... no camera records sound on the set..it's seperate and sync later in post via slate.

The means if you want to slow down action with high frame rate ( 120fps for slow motion for example) the sound is still constant regarding the overall cadence ( like you could have a person walking slow motion in an airport but still hear the jets taking off with normal sound outside the terminal ). Slow motion is mostly used to emphasize specific moments ( on a 24 fps timeline )...like car crashes, explosions, etc.

Most all the shots are with the same camera brand and codec and color space... and most shots are a single camera on dolly...do wide master after blocking and lighting, then move in for coverage ( on correct axis ) for medium and close ups...with lighting tweaks to accomodate those shots..

This means, using a 180 degree shutter, shooting 24 fps, you got a exposure of 48th /sec...and F stop and ISO to deal with that fact of lighting.

This forum cannot possibly be a FILM SCHOOL so what my opinion represents is basically useless.  Most people ( including me ) cannot possibly afford producing a simple TV commercial, let alone a TV episode or feature film.

However, I do have a few lights and use a bmpcc 4k to stay busy after retiring from the film business as a grip, and use PPro and Resolve. The hardest thing for me is to just go out with a tripod and fluid head at the age of 71...as I am weaker and lazy in general.  But if you can tell a story god bless you, cause we can use some nice stories these days.

good luck and happy holidays

p.s. reshoot if you can and whittle down the script to bare essentials so you don't run out of storage space and start choking your computer.

[YANNA26705213grl5]

p.s.

just cause you can shoot 4k or 6k doesn't mean  you have to use that....if you deliver 1080 just shoot 4k ( gives you some room to essentially zoom in and reframe as needed in post )...

It's like, you fancy car can drive 300MPH.... but you don't have to USE IT unless you are on the autobahn and in a big hurry.... that will save you tons of storage space.... know what I mean ?

[Celull0yd]

YANNA,

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions on my post. No-budget movies (shorts and features) have been my hobby for a few decades (I'm in advertising/marketing for my full-time job), and I went to college for radio/TV/film, so I'm familiar with your explanation. I envy you that you were able to work in the field for so long.

One of my biggest stumbling blocks with the editing of this movie (which is a friend's movie...I came into the production at the tail end) is the script. The writer/director knows it's too long but she wants me to cut it to see what we have and then decide if it should be heavily editied, two parts, or a short series. That's a lot of work...

The other hurdle is going to be trying to color correct/grade all the footage from the different cameras. Plus I've already sorted all the footage and I have more than 5TBs of files...YIKES!

The good thing is that the company I work(ed) for was acquired last month by another company and they let everyone go, so I'll have nothing but time in a week.

Again, thanks for your input and Happy Holidays to you, too.

[YANNA26705213grl5]

a final farewell and good luck wish...

think of the upside of what you are doing... learning ( self teaching ) about the technology and also the aethetics of telling a story visually with sound... how cool is that ???