iPhone 12 HDR Video Support in PremierPro?

[EthanT9999]

Hello,

When I import videos from my iPhone 12 Pro to PremierPro, they look washed out, or overexposed.  As I understand things, this is becuase Dolby HDR is not supported.

Is there a work around I can use to get the color back in my videos?

Also, any idears when Aobe will eventually provide support for Dolby HDR?

[Ann Bens]

I have the 12 pro max. HDR Video looks fine. Not washed out at all in 14.7.

[Ann Bens]

Set color space to 2100HLG.

https://helpx.adobe.com/nl/premiere-pro/using/lumetri-hdr.html

[EthanT9999]

Thanks, just saw your suggestion.  Unfortunatley, I had already tried this and it doesn't appear to be working for me.

I'm not a professional video editor.  I'm just a guy out hiking who wants to share the experience via Vimeo.  So, I was really hoping to export to the H.264 Vimeo settings, but retain the beautiful color I see on the iPhone.

The MXF format one gets following the export options in the article does not appear to be supported on my PC.  

[EthanT9999]

On your iPhone under Settings->Camera->Record Video are you able to verify HDR Video option is selected, or On?

I also have 14.7 and all vidoes recorded NOT just ON 4K, but ALSO w/ HDR selected all appear washed out, not only in Premeir, but also Windows Media Player, etc.

[EthanT9999]

I just figured out one kind of workaround, although rathery hokey.

I load the video on my iPhone into iMovie.  From there, I make no edits but when I'm saving the new movie I can unselect the HDR option.  Then, transfer the new video from iPhone to my PC and load into Premier. 

Voila, beautiful color is back!

But, I have over 30 videos I would have to do this to.  There's got to be a better way .....   😞

[Alejandro797]

Can you resolved the problem? I have a iPhone 12 Pro Max, with the same problems

[Mark24073202xvbs]

No one can! I have to go back Final Cut Pro. What a wasted of money. 

[R Neil Haugen]

Actually, most people can. And have.

Yea, there are changes that have been confusing. So it takes a few minutes to puzzle out the new processes and behaviors.

Neil

[russs1073]

This is not a perfect get around by any stretch, however, I popped a black colour matt under my footage and then reduced the original footage opacity - I think EthanT9999 has a decent suggestion, although I'd taken  my footage off the phone and couldn't find a way to get it back on lol

[nomdeploom]

I just downloaded a bunch of video from an iPhone 12 Pro Max, and then spent all day trying to figure out why the video was so overexposed as to be unusable when imported to Premiere.  I tried every Codec in the system, and setting the working color space to Rec.2100 HLG as suggested in another thread.  It didn't work.  Can anybody tell me how to uninstall Premiere v22 and go back to something that works?

There is nothing more frustrating than "upgrading' to a new version, and finding that things you've always done don't work.  Things like importing video and expecting it to look like it does in its native format, for example.  What a disaster.

[SkyRoomStudio]

EXACTLY!  I am a professional Music & Video Producer and PROFESSOR who has been using Premiere since the early 1990's. I am under a deadline for a big project for a Sli Training movie,  and because of the quality and size of the camera, it was used EXTENSIVLY in the slopes. Now I have this BOGUS DISASTER. ADOBE should REFUND our monthly payments until it is resolve! Shame on ADOBE!

[nomdeploom]

DavidAMusial:

My files from the iPhone were 60fps 4K, with the HDR switch turned on (unfortunately, this might be the source of the entire problem).

It took the better part of a day in trial-and-error to come up with this; here is a workaround that might work for you:  
Set the sequence to: Editing Mode DNX 1080P

Display format 60fps Timecode

Working Color Space:  Rec 709

Preview file format: DNX 1080p60Codec:  DNxE

 (check) Composite in Linear Color.

Then, I created a preset with corrections to brightness, contrast, and color, to apply to every imported clip to the timeline:  These were arrived at by matching a scene in the timeline (not the source window, because that won't reflect the preset corrections) to an original clip shown on the same screen in Quicktime.  The corrections were substantial, e.g. brightness -40, contrast - 10, colors +110.  Your mileage may vary.

Then I rendered the sequence with the following settings as a final check so I could open the original and the rendered product in Quicktime to compare:

Format: Quicktime

Preset: Adobe Stock 4KDCI

Video Code: Apple Prores 422HQ

HDR Graphic: 300

Export Color Space: Rec 709.

Now, of course you may be exporting to some completely different format, but I *think* the important things here are the HDR Graphic setting of 300, and the Export Color Space.

I am anything but a pro, but I've been using Premiere for over a dozen years.  I can't explain why the above worked for me, or whether it will work for anyone else, but it's perhaps a framework to come up with your own workaround.

BTW, I had 4K video to start, but will end up with an HD end product, so I used Media Encoder to downsize all the video clips.  I found that doing that meant I had to redo the color corrections, as those I laboriously came up with when I was testing with the 4K clips no longer were applicable.  Again, I have no idea why.

[elliot_scali]

Hey hey,

Thanks for providing the above.

The issue I have with that method is the size of the video is then locked to 1920 wide by 1080 tall and I need a 9:16 ratio for Instagram reels (vertical size).

Do you know how I keep your settings but with a vertical ratio?

[estebanlr]

Import footage into iMovie 10 (I'm using 10.3). Export as ProRes maximum quality file. Bring those clip(s) into Premiere - they look perfect. iMovie appears to render HDR into usable/normal ProRes footage.

[Hillary224131849jpr]

I'm so glad I'm not the only person having this problem. 

The iMovie tip WORKS! I've been working on this for 3 days and have been on the verge of tears. I shot beautifual video on my iPhone 13 Pro, I moved the footage to my new Macbook Pro and it looked great. But when it went to Premiere Pro, it turned it into crap. 

I hope there is an easier solution soon then turning off HDR off all my videos because I have 170 for just one project. 

[R Neil Haugen]

Shooting in HDR formats, unless you actually have need of HDR, is an issue for certain. So until you have a full setup including monitor for working in HDR, it's probably wiser/easier to make sure the phone is set to SDR/Rec.709.

Note, I work with a lot of pro colorists daily, most of whom have still not delivered one HDR job. And the vast majority of screens out there don't work well/properly if at all with HDR. It's coming, for certain ... but we're still on the 'bleeding edge' of it at this time.

There is an easy way to "fix" all of those clips in one action. In the project panel, select all the clips. Right-click/Modify/Interpret Footage, and use the Override option set to Rec.709.

That will get all of them working in a Rec.709/SDR timeline correctly.

I'm including links to two forum FAQs ... the first on the massive changes to color management/options/behaviors in Pr2022, and how to work within the new system, plus what's currently broken and awaiting fixing. The second is on the changes to monitoring in HDR workflows, if you do wish to work in HDR ... as the monitor settings/setup and use are also different from Pr2021.

Neil

FAQ:PremierePro 2022 Color Management for Log/RAW Media

How to Set Monitors for HDR work in Premiere Pro 2022?

[Hillary224131849jpr]

Thanks Neil! 

I actually tried that method where I changed the Override option set to Rec.709 and that didn't work. I tried so many things like also changing it to Rec.2020 and also going into the sequence settings. Nothing was bringing my video back to its original vibrant color. 

The only thing that worked was going in my camera, uploading the video to iMovie, and then turning the HDR off before exporting it. 

If this information helps, I would love some advice on how to fix this more efficiently. I shot my videos in Cinematic & HDR on my iPhone 13 Pro and they are in Dolby vision. The color profile of the video (according to my Macbook) is BT.2020 HLG (9-18-9).  The properties of the video (according to Premiere pro) has a Color Space: Rec. 2100 HLG .

Again, it's sad that I have all these great new devices and it's only seems to be more of nuisance than a reward. 

[estebanlr]

I'm not a colorist, but I've been a photographer for 30 years, and a videographer for 8 years. I do color correction in PP CC using Lumetri color. I know what looks good, and that is what's important to me.

If you import iPhone HDR footage into iMovie it's going to look real good. Export those clips at maximum quality Pro Res, and then import those clips into PP. They will look pretty much exactly like they looked in iMovie, and you can then polish them, if needed, in Lumetri.

This may not satisfy purists with calibrated screens etc - but for the vast majority of viewers is will look just fine.

Yes, this is inefficient, and the Pro Res files are HUGE. But it's a workflow for now that will give you nice looking videos.

I will try Rec.709 at some point. Importing iPhone HDR clips straight into PP required significant Lumetri correction. They look "ok" unless there are bright highlights, like sunlit clouds, which blow out with no detail.

I'm sure Adobe hates collaborating with Apple, and vice-versa. But iPhones are here to stay folks. And in most situations they produce beautiful video footage - footage that you just might not be able to get any other way at that moment.

[R Neil Haugen]

By "Adobe" I expect you mean here the Premiere Pro product team? If so, that they have a fairly close overall relationship with Apple, is probably a good statement. Most of the team are Mac users, and so more comfortable with the Mac OS than with Windows.

But, Apple being so noted for being ... Apple ... with all its quirks ... there are some issues that aren't as easily resolved, like the non-standard color management settings for SDR/Rec.709 video files in the ColorSync CM utility that ship on all Mac products. "It is what it is" ... seems to fit that. And is a different issue than this one.

That iMovie to ProRes workaround you discuss sounds like, in general, a good workaround. So many processes in video post are really workarounds. If it gets a better editing file, well, that's all to the good.

I've had a couple iPhone clips that people have sent me to work with and test for the new color changes in Pr2022. As I run Samsung phones personally. And after an Override to Rec.709 transform, I still had the full data available in Lumetri, so massaging the contrast distribution of values was the main thing needed to get it looking good.

I would assume from yours and the other's comments that iMovie provides a much prettier tranform process than Premiere's. From my experience, Premiere's override to Rec.709 is probably totally built to be a technically correct and even compression of data values.

Technically correct is useful for further working, of course. It's not necessarily ... pretty ... to start with. The iMovie transform is probably built around making Pretty a bigger part of the changes.

Neil

[R Neil Haugen]

I understand the frustration. However, technically, you can't use nor transmit those wonderful images (as viewed in your phone) in HDR because as I noted, most systems and screens can't display it correctly. Even if you could get that exact image into Premiere, and export it, most viewers could not possibly see the same image. Because ... as noted above.

You see the problem there? What use is capturing something if you can't produce media that others can actually see what you see? And yes, that is totally frustrating. But it's reality, and really, always has been in video post production.

The iMovie thing is a transform process to Rec.709 for export. Similar to the Override to Rec.709 option in Premiere Pro. The particular formula they use seems to fit your sensibilities well, which is fine.

The particular transform used in Premiere doesn't 'auto-do' what you want to the image values, but the data available should be the same. And the Color Workspace is where you'd perfect 'the look' you want in Premiere.

And of course you can find a group of settings in the Color Workspace with the Lumetri panel, that get the feel you want, save those as a Lumetri preset ... and then simply drag/drop that preset from the Effects panel onto a whole bin of clips in the Project panel, and apply it to all clips in one action.

Is it totally slick? No, not really, but it's workable. And for many things in video post, the Ideal we can imagine isn't possible, but there's a workable process to get as close as one can. So ... we always do what's possible.

Neil

[estebanlr]

Thanks, Neil. I appreciate your perspective and attention to details.

If iMove is converting (the Apple version of)HDR to Rec.709 I'll assume PP will do the same. Will try that tomorrow.

Photographers create an HDR image in Lightroom by combining 7+ frames into an image with full tonal range. It seems Apple has created a system to do that on the fly when shooting what they call HDR. 

Regardless, I think NLE software needs to find ways to accommodate that footage as it's here to stay.

Thank you again for the really great information!

[R Neil Haugen]

Thanks for the compliments, I do try to be as helpful ... and clear ... as I can. We're all trying to navigate some very strange waters here and now.

Pr2022 can use that clip as HDR, if you use it on a sequence with proper CM settings ... which would be HLG. And if you have the monitoring setup that Premiere can use at this time for HDR. And then use an HLG export preset.

The limitations here are that:

1) not that many screens can actually properly display HDR formats at this time and

2) your knowledge needs to be pretty solid in setting up your monitor and scopes to be able to know that what you're seeing has any relation to "reality" of file data. That what you export will get properly displayed as an appropriate HDR file outside of Premiere.

Finally, do you know what nits level you can view correctly on your monitor? HDR brightness is based on the nits you're working with. Are you going for 400 nits? 1,000 nits? What? Do you know how to work with that data? Because to correctly work with HDR, you do need to know at least a bit of that part of the process.

SDR/Rec.709 is a lot easier for most of us to work in still.

Neil

Neil

[R Neil Haugen]

And I should add that I do truly understand the want to work with the HDR formats. Because it really isn't the brightness that adds so much to the image, it's that massively larger color space/volume. That ... can be so entrancing!

The colorists I work with that do work with HDR ... and several of them were the people Dolby Laboratories hired to do the in-house training material on the Dolby site for pro colorists to work with DolbyVision in Resolve ... all seem to say that the biggest gains in HDR lie in two areas:

• A vastly deeper, richer colorfulness from darkest shadows up through specular highlights; and
• The ability to craft much deeper, richer shadow detail.

In general, they simply take most of the image data that would have had to top at say 90 nits to have any detail at all left in SDR ... to around 200 nits in HDR. So they spread the main data out between 0-200 nits rather than 0-100 nits. This opens up the deeper shadows to a ton more shading and nuancing. (And nearly everything above 200/220 nits is in the specular range. Brightness of a 'practical' lightbulb but with only color, no details.)

And the color ... oh my, the color box is SO much bigger! I've been told it's like having the "big" Crayola Crayons box with 16 colors in it, life is Good! ... and another kid comes in with a box with 128 colors in it.

Once you've seen the bigger color box, well ... the smaller one is just ... so ... limited, you know?

So yes, I get the frustrations at this time. But for practical reasons, HDR is still ... difficult.

Neil

[Hillary224131849jpr]

Really really appreciate your help @R Neil Haugen  and @estebanlr ! I'm very new on Premiere Pro so all of this insight is extremely helpful. 

For now on in my video shoots where I'm using my iPhone, I'll make sure to turn off HDR or export them without HDR as it seems more of a nuisance at this point. 

The iMovie trick is not ideal but it'll have to do for now. I guess the reason why the Res.709 or Res.2020 doesn't work is because of the HDR format.