Please select Into the mobile phone version | Continue to access the computer ver.
Color-grading CinemaDNG in Adobe Lightroom
3940 17 2017-5-26
Uploading and Loding Picture ...(0/1)
o(^-^)o
fans34c3bd8d
New
United States
Offline

I just recently got the X5R, and now I'm experimenting with my RAW video color-grading workflow.

For some reason I didn't have very good luck with Da Vinci Resolve, and so I started the painstaking task of color-grading my clips in Adobe Lightroom before importing them to Adobe Premiere as image sequences.

Although the process takes forever, time-wise, I doubt you will find movie software that gives you the amount of control that Lightroom gives you. I swear, you literally have like 90% more control over the image quality than you do in Premiere.

I have been waiting for a process that gives me the same capabilities that I have with still photography, and this is unquestionably it.

Hit me if you have questions.

2017-5-26
Use props
Matty457
lvl.1
Flight distance : 4860725 ft
  • >>>
Australia
Offline

Many times I've sworn I would do this but it seems extreme. What are the processing times like?
I process 1000frames at a time in LR for timelapse and that's a bit of a painful process.
I never did get a good result out of davinci either despite it being a great program.
2017-5-30
Use props
mixchief
First Officer
Flight distance : 182057 ft
  • >>>
United States
Offline

Thank you for this post, I've been editing my photography in LR for a few years now and have been desperately wanting to process videos the same way, I looked for content on you tube that addresses this issue, but nothing is out there. Why don't you make a video to share your work flow with LR I actually edit in FCPX but having the image edits and color grading in LR seems to be the absolute best way for me. Thanks again.
2018-2-6
Use props
mixchief
First Officer
Flight distance : 182057 ft
  • >>>
United States
Offline

Could you share your workflow, I'm actually on FCPX so it might not work for me, I can grade in LR alright, just haven't figured out how to get from LR to FCPX as a video file
2018-2-12
Use props
fans34c3bd8d
New
United States
Offline

it's been months since I did this - over half a year. i have to remember. so first, you have to realize that I originally shot my video in RAW format. Essentially, each video clip is a folder with DNG files inside. so for each clip, I would import the entire folder of DNG files into Lightroom, and I'd color-correct one frame, and then I'd apply that setting to the rest of the DNG files inside Lightroom. Then I'd export those DNGs as high-res JPGs to a new folder. Then In Adobe Premiere, I'd import each folder of JPGs as an IMAGE SEQUENCE, which Premiere would essentially treat as an individual  video clip.
this is my result:
2018-2-12
Use props
fans34c3bd8d
New
United States
Offline

as you can see, the dynamic range in each clip is beautiful - really wide latitude with vivid contrast. so much better than what you can get as an MOV file.
2018-2-12
Use props
Drone Cuiabá
First Officer
Flight distance : 13272894 ft
  • >>>
Brazil
Offline

I'm also finding better results (quality and speed) doing it this way. The LR is easy and rich in editing. I would like the LR tools in Premiere.

Try for example to reduce the noise of the video in Premiere. At LR it's easy!
2018-2-14
Use props
mixchief
First Officer
Flight distance : 182057 ft
  • >>>
United States
Offline

Drone Cuiabá Posted at 2018-2-14 08:50
I'm also finding better results (quality and speed) doing it this way. The LR is easy and rich in editing. I would like the LR tools in Premiere.

Try for example to reduce the noise of the video in Premiere. At LR it's easy!

I just recently saw a YT video that shows color grading of raw files in Premier and the interface seemed to be exactly as camera raw, which is essencially what LR is, Adobe Camera Raw, so I am imagining that Premier does have this capability, I might just take the plunge and do a premier trial and see if that is the case.
2018-2-14
Use props
mixchief
First Officer
Flight distance : 182057 ft
  • >>>
United States
Offline

fans34c3bd8d Posted at 2018-2-12 14:58
it's been months since I did this - over half a year. i have to remember. so first, you have to realize that I originally shot my video in RAW format. Essentially, each video clip is a folder with DNG files inside. so for each clip, I would import the entire folder of DNG files into Lightroom, and I'd color-correct one frame, and then I'd apply that setting to the rest of the DNG files inside Lightroom. Then I'd export those DNGs as high-res JPGs to a new folder. Then In Adobe Premiere, I'd import each folder of JPGs as an IMAGE SEQUENCE, which Premiere would essentially treat as an individual  video clip.
this is my result: https://vimeo.com/220985776

Forgive the inquisitive nature of this humble photographer, could you tell me two things, when you say high-res JPGs what exactly are you referring to, just export full size 100% quality JPGs,  or is there another setting, and when you import to Premier (have to find pout how to do it in FCPX) as an image sequence, is that a parameter you set when importing the files? Thank you for sharing the video, it looks absolutely perfect, exactly where I want to go with my footage.
2018-2-14
Use props
martinfueloep
First Officer
Flight distance : 1551401 ft
  • >>>
Austria
Offline

mixchief Posted at 2018-2-14 12:02
I just recently saw a YT video that shows color grading of raw files in Premier and the interface seemed to be exactly as camera raw, which is essencially what LR is, Adobe Camera Raw, so I am imagining that Premier does have this capability, I might just take the plunge and do a premier trial and see if that is the case.

Hi mixchief!
Permiere does not have any tool that comes close to Adobe Camera Raw. What is in Premiere Pro is the so called "Lumetri color panel", which looks similar to ACR, but it is not working as good as ACR.

My workflow is the following: Import the DNG-Folders as image sequences to Premiere. Cut a raw edit without color grading. Then I replace the clip in the Premiere-sequence with an After Effects composition. This opens After Effects and imports the DNGs to After Effects. Then I use ACR  to grade one single frame of each DNG-folder and save the settings as an XML-file. After that I import the XML-settings for each DNG-clip to After Effects and render the graded clip to ProRes or Cineform.
That takes quite long with my old (but fully specd) Mac Pro. Then I replace the After Effects compositions in the Premiere timeline with the ProRes or Cineform files.
From now on my Mac plays the timeline fluently, I can make fine adjustments, add effects etc.
2018-2-14
Use props
martinfueloep
First Officer
Flight distance : 1551401 ft
  • >>>
Austria
Offline

There is just one rule, that ist really important when you grade your DNGs with ACR: do not touch the "contrast"-settings! If you do, you will get footage that is flickering in the shadows.
2018-2-14
Use props
fansa345b667
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Can I ask what transfer speed you get when copying .dng files off the SSD?
I cant get above 3mb/s, but there's no way I just got this drone to not use the full range of RAW files.
2018-2-14
Use props
martinfueloep
First Officer
Flight distance : 1551401 ft
  • >>>
Austria
Offline

Getting the footage from the Cine-SSD via CineLight (I am working with Macs) is not really fast, I never have measured the speed. For me it is a great chance to take a coffee break...
;)
2018-2-14
Use props
fansa345b667
lvl.1
United States
Offline

Well if it only takes as long as a coffee break then something is very wrong with ours. I am on windows and get around 2mb/s when trying to transfer .dng. There is no plugin / software to manage it, it shows up in windows like an external drive.
I am getting estimations of 1-2 hours for a single 30 second shot, it is completley unusable.
2018-2-14
Use props
martinfueloep
First Officer
Flight distance : 1551401 ft
  • >>>
Austria
Offline

fansa345b667 Posted at 2018-2-14 14:29
Well if it only takes as long as a coffee break then something is very wrong with ours. I am on windows and get around 2mb/s when trying to transfer .dng. There is no plugin / software to manage it, it shows up in windows like an external drive.
I am getting estimations of 1-2 hours for a single 30 second shot, it is completley unusable.

Oh, that's long! Sounds like the CineSSD-Reader is connected to a USB 2.0?
2018-2-14
Use props
mixchief
First Officer
Flight distance : 182057 ft
  • >>>
United States
Offline

fansa345b667 Posted at 2018-2-14 14:29
Well if it only takes as long as a coffee break then something is very wrong with ours. I am on windows and get around 2mb/s when trying to transfer .dng. There is no plugin / software to manage it, it shows up in windows like an external drive.
I am getting estimations of 1-2 hours for a single 30 second shot, it is completley unusable.

Yeah, that's just not right, I'm on a 2015 iMac 5K and a 10 minute clip exported in maybe 15 minutes, 20 on the outside and I was up and loaded in Resolve.
2018-2-14
Use props
flighttime1
Captain
Flight distance : 906352 ft
United States
Offline

A big 'you are correct sir' to martinfueloep for his warning, although I've found any major corrections in ACR will give you a flickering beast. The choice I've made is importing my raw files directly into After Effects. That automatically opens ACR where you can make your initial corrections. If your opening file isn't representative of the rest of your clip, there's an easy method to deal with that. make a copy of a file that has the scene you want to make your basic correction. Correct that in ACR and save the correction as a preset or xmp file. You can also just take the xmp file that would automatically be created, move it into your main folder and rename it to match the first file. Here's the trick I think most miss because it's hidden. You can actually go back and change that initial file correction. If you right click on the imported file in 'projects' you can click on 'Interpret Footage' and then, totally making no sense, 'More Options' in the new window. That will bring you back to ACR where you can tone down those corrections to get rid of the flickering or any other corrections you wish to make. I always save the AE project and then import into Premiere for final output. I make further grading corrections, beyond ACR, in AE and never Premiere. Having tried many different alternatives, that's what works best for me with maximum freedom and minimum hassle.
2018-2-14
Use props
Paul Suthard
lvl.4
Flight distance : 116634 ft
United States
Offline

But has anyone resolved how to get the DNG sequence into FCPX like mixchief is asking? Since Adobe won't recognize ProRes RAW, I'm using FCPX.
2018-8-18
Use props
Advanced
You need to log in before you can reply Login | Register now

Credit Rules