KOMODO - Recommended R3D Workflow for Adobe Premiere Pro

Product Management

November 19, 2020 20:20

REDCODE RAW INTRODUCTION

REDCODE RAW is an innovative compressed RAW format that allows for ultimate creative flexibility with minimal data footprint. R3D’s are always smaller than their ProRes, DPX, or OpenEXR counterparts. However, with such flexibility can come perceived complexity, so it is recommended to follow these best practices if unfamiliar with RAW workflows.

PROPER IMPORT PROCEDURE

R3D clips are broken into 4GB portions during camera record. To assure that these portions are imported as a unified clip, import all R3D footage through the Media Browser in Adobe Premiere Pro. Navigating to the .RDM folder above all clips will index the entire card and allow for easy import. Assure that the Directory Viewer has RED selected for the easiest workflow. Footage can either be imported by option-clicking single or multiple selected clips then choosing Import or they can be ingested using Adobe Premiere Pro’s Ingest process.

RAW SETTINGS

How R3D clips are viewed by default in Adobe Premiere Pro is determined by how it was viewed in-camera during capture or later if modified in REDCINE-X and written to an .RMD sidecar file. To override these settings, each clip can be configured manually under the Master Effect Controls. If footage is going to be color graded in Adobe Premiere Pro, it is most common to work in a logarithmic space, and the displayed settings are recommended. If simply assembling a timeline, as the footage comes in by default will probably suffice.
For color grading, it is recommended to bypass the Output Transform settings by selecting REDWideGamutRGB and Log 3G10, so that color and tonal adjustments can be made on the logarithmic footage before the LUT. An example color workflow is shown below.

SAMPLE COLOR WORKFLOW

Step 1 - Create a 3D LUT

Generate a 3D LUT using the IPP2 LUT Generator found under the File menu in REDCINE-X PRO. For standard dynamic range delivery, use a LUT as configured below:

Step 2 - Apply as a Creative Look

Using Adobe’s Lumetri Color, apply the LUT generated from REDCINE-X PRO as a Creative Look. It is very important not to apply it as an Input LUT or else grading flexibility will be extremely limited.