A second method involves the RED application REDrushes. REDrushes is installed when you install the REDAlert program for grading and working with single shots. REDrushes uses a RED utility that is installed with REDAlert to batch render new QuickTimes from the original .R3D files. REDrushes is very nice in that it allows direct encoding from the raw .R3D files and as well as a lot of control over the import parameters. The Render tab allows different debayer quality in the trans-coding (beware that a full debayer takes a lot longer that quarter), the output format and codec, the ability to apply a look file and (very important) which of RED’s two different timecode tracks to use:
You can also custom crop the footage and scale it to 1080 HD and downward in the Resize tab:
The Output tab provides output formats (QuickTime, DPX or TIFF sequences), output codecs, the ability to add Burn-In timecode and the output path where the new files are saved:
It’s also multicore aware so it will use your 8-core Mac Pro’s processors to their fullest extent. Once you have your settings and have added your files to process via the Add Clips… button it’s a press of the start button and away it goes. The control that REDrushes provides is one of the best options presented here and would be the best solution except for one big annoyance, it seems to crash a lot. I’ve used different versions on two different machines and have had mixed results lately with REDRushes stability. Maybe I am holding my head wrong. An informal discussion on reduser.net reveals mixed results with REDrushes. Comments like “My experience - only crashes when/if close to running out of HD space” and “I get best results on an 8-core system by doing 4 clips at once and setting the cores per clip at 2 and then walking away. Or if I’m going to continue working on the machine, do 3 clips at once and leave the # of cores at auto” helps hint at how to keep REDrushes running smoothly. Of course only doing 4 clips at once totally defeats the purpose of batch rendering as you can’t place a whole shoot into the application and allow it to render overnight. I hope that RED continues to improve the stability of REDRushes as it is a RED editor’s best friend ... when it’s behaving.
Good point Bill.
Seems FCP generates some kind of internal metadata that says to open the Log and Transfer tool for a batch re-import if you use L&T;as opposed to creating offline ProRes files in something like Clipfinder. It’s a real shame that that is the case.
But there are may options for grading RED besides Color! And that’s part of the point of the article….
Posted by Scott Simmons on 02/12 at 12:39 PM
Great write up. I was hoping to hear a little more about how to go back to the original r3d files for onlining using the options other than FCP Log and Transfer.
In the beginning of the article you stated the question; why shoot on Red if you’re not going to go back to the original data? Well, I agree, but can you point us in a direction to get a clear workflow? Which programs keep the metadata when transcoding? Which programs can pull just the frames used in an edit and give us high quality output, etc.?
Thanks
Posted by lmerino on 02/14 at 05:03 PM
Unfortunately as Bill stated the RED white paper of re-batch transfering of ProRes to native RED quicktimes doesn’t work unless you use Log and Transfer. If you check out Clipfinder linked above, there are some options there. It seems that software is constantly being updated so check it often. Crimson Workflow is another applications that can help in this respect. Also check out software called Monkey Extract from Rubber Monkey. (this is a great idea for another article btw)
At our shop we have a Quantel eQ that takes an offline list and conforms from the .R3D files. Assimilate Scratch does the same thing. At this point in time an online option like that is one of the best routes as they work solidly and very well. Of course not as many people have an eQ or Scratch as have Apple Color. But until Apple gets their workflow bulletproof there will be some hoops to jump through for this type of offline/online workflow.
Posted by Scott Simmons on 02/14 at 06:09 PM
Sorry to use the comments section for a question, but it’s very quick 
Does the EDL you put into your eQ box basically contain the TOD timecode from the transcoded quicktime edit (timecode which I assume was brought over when transcoding the original footage using RedRushes or other)? Then, that timecode just matches the timecode on the original .R3D files?
Posted by lmerino on 02/14 at 06:27 PM
It’s the perfect place to ask a question!
The shoots usually use time-of-day code on shoot that’s what we use through the edit. And EDL from Avid or an AAF (via Automatic Duck) from FCP to the eQ uses TOD code. But the eQ allows you to choose which timecode track to use for a particular conform. It’s very flexible and works well.
Posted by Scott Simmons on 02/14 at 06:44 PM
We cut on Avid, and I think that’s what has been failing us. We have tried following several documents for the Avid workflow, keeping metadata intact and so forth, and so far the results have not been pleasant. I think what adds to the problem is that our production machines are all Windows based, and most tools are for the Mac. RedCine, which seems to be the only Windows tool for transcoding media, is… well, we have raised our fists in anger more than once against that program.
Fortunately, this is all internal work for now as we try to understand the test the workflow… so we have time.
What has been your best workflow for getting media into Avid while keeping all timecode, etc.?
Posted by lmerino on 02/14 at 06:50 PM
<What has been your best workflow for getting media into Avid while keeping all timecode, etc.?>
MetaCheater. It has worked very well. It creates a batch list with all metadata intact. I believe that REDRushes does the same now with the metadata but I can make MetaCheater do it’s thing so quickly that I still use itI I don’t know if it’s avail on PC or not. One solution would be to have a Mac to transcode your DNxHD media that could then be brought into a PC Avid.
Posted by Scott Simmons on 02/14 at 07:08 PM
I’ve transcoded 2k Pro Res clips for offline editing. Is it possible to conform these to 4k pro pres (referencing the r3d files) to bring into after After Effects for compositing? Thank you!
Posted by winnith on 08/28 at 12:22 PM
winnith, you can’t conform to 4K in FCP as it doesn’t handle that rez. My guess would be using something like Automatic Duck get get to AE and then using Adobe’s native R3D support to work at 4K. I don’t use AE very much so my knowledge is limited.
Posted by Scott Simmons on 08/30 at 07:39 AM
Might you make the video tutorial on red footage and final cut pro?
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