I'm about to start editing a project shot on red cam.  I'm following the steps laid out in http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/currentissue/9261.html.  I'm having trouble with the step where I create a quicktime (ref) in red alert and then batch import it into my media composer 2.8.3 after using metacheater to create an ale file.  Do I need a red cam codec for quicktime (I'm running QT 7.3.1)  The clip is just black after I import it.  I'm just stuck on this step.  I've tried using Red Cine to create a quicktime but that doesn't work either.  Any suggestions?  Thanks in advance.

Steve

LEt me get Bob Russo in here to answer  this definitively. Be right Back.

You will need the RED codec without question. That's the only way to play the QuickTime Referance files. If they can play in QuickTime player, you have the codec installed.

Take a look at this white paper also:

<http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/currentissue/9261.html>

thanks guys, was a simple codec problem.  One more quick thing- In that studio daily guide it says to create a qt ref from the r3d file- each folder though contains qt refs (f,h,m,p) along with the r3d which I've brought into the metacheater (the high version) and dumped out an ale file.  Is it a problem skipping that whole red alert step?  It just seems faster this way.

Having many problems importing audio.  I get an error importing quicktime audio so only the video gets imported.  I heard it could have something to do with the fact that the red cam takes in audio at 32 bit while the avid doesn't do more than 24.  Is there a solution to this?  I'm stumped.

The Audio is 24 bit but padded to 32 bit for some reason.

Convert the files with quicktime or compressor to 24 bit aif and import them into Avid.

Then use AutoSync.

I just completed a 48hour film on RED with Avid. Audio was the trickiest part, I had to create a Compressor droplet that would convert the audio from the RED QT files into AIF files that Avid would read.

For the QT files for Metacheater, I have a simple shell script that uses REDline to create new proxy files for import all in one directory in the resolution I want.

Surprised you had enough time left over after getting the RED footage in that you could still edit! 

Could you post that shell script?  That might come in handy for others.  It's annoying that the RED keeps each shot in a seperate folder, yet to import a bunch in MC, you'd like to have them all in the same place.

Isn't all of this about to change next month as well?  I watched them use some type of RED software on MC 3.0 at the Avid event that was able to reference the proxy files and import right into Avid (I thought).  The Avid tech said June.

On the system we used the import time on the proxies to DV50 resolution (had to deliver on a DV tape, so HD wasn't going to benefit us) the import time was rought 2:1 so for the roughly 2 hours of footage we shot, the import time was 4 hours, over two imports (each about two hours) - and the one at 3am on Sunday was great as it gave me and the other editor some time to nap.

The script I use is very simple:

----START make-qt.sh ----

#!/bin/tcsh

find "$1" -name "*_001.R3D" -print -exec /usr/sbin/REDline -i "{}" -w10 --useMeta --QTsize 2 --QTdir . \;

---- END ----

So I create a directory call 'RED QT' or something, change to that directory (in the terminal) and then run the command:

mac-pro:/Volumes/Media/RED QT user$ ~/make-qt.sh /Volumes/RedMedia

In that case the shell script is in the user home directory. The drive with all my RED media is called 'RedMedia' and the drive I am on is 'Media' and I will be putting the files in the 'RED QT' directory.

These files will not have audio on them. Only other thing to look at is the QTsize argument, which decides what proxy size you will be outputting. In this case 2 is Half (or 1024 from a 2K file, 2048 from a 4K)

When you guys are importing, after going through meta cheater, are you importing the H (high) qt ref or the F (full) qt ref.  Since I couldn't bring in the full version (it's all green) I'm bringing in the high which I figured was a high enough resolution but when I bring it in hd 1.1 10 bit it seem kind of compressed.  Am I just missing an codec in avid that would allow me to import the full version?

Importing is one thing. How do you guys get out again? Let's say if you want to cc the original footage on a DaVinci?

also, has anyone on this thread gone to "online", say on a DS or a box like that?  I have a Red gig coming up later this summer which will either go MC>>DS or FCP>>Smoke.  I really don't want to go FCP on this one so I am hoping that an MC offline and an HD finish in DS will be feasible.  Any tips and info appreciated as I am starting a notebook on this workflow

sw

Does anyone know what the resolution of the High(H) qt ref is and if it's possible to import the Full (F) qt ref?

smanfredo:

thanks guys, was a simple codec problem.  One more quick thing- In that studio daily guide it says to create a qt ref from the r3d file- each folder though contains qt refs (f,h,m,p) along with the r3d which I've brought into the metacheater (the high version) and dumped out an ale file.  Is it a problem skipping that whole red alert step?  It just seems faster this way.

Hey

I was thinking the same thing. I seem to be able to import the qt refs through metacheater. Do I need to use the red alert step? I can't actually seem to get red alert to export Qt refs? Also I'm quite new to AVID and don;t seem to have the option of import as DNxHD 36? Do I need to download a codec for this option or is it related to skipping the red alert step?

Thanks

Fiona