XML Import too dark

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RickGates

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XML Import too dark

PostFri Feb 05, 2016 4:36 pm

All,

Brand new Resolve user... exporting a Premiere sequence in Final Cut Pro XML format. Everything works beautifully, and I'm impressed with the capabilities of Resolve (vs. Speedgrade).

However, every clip in the imported sequence is shifted down in luma. Here's an example clip from the end of a fight sequence...

XML Import dark.JPG
XML Import dark.JPG (117.55 KiB) Viewed 3529 times


Note that when I raise the offset value to about 36, I get the following...

XML Import after raising Offset.JPG
XML Import after raising Offset.JPG (124.61 KiB) Viewed 3529 times


...which matches what I sent from Premiere. And the same shift to the dark end is happening on every clip in the sequence.

It seems likely that there is some problem with the Colorspace which in Resolve is set to Rec.709. I'm not very familiar with color spaces so I'm unsure how to proceed. The footage in the Premiere sequence is a .MOV file and was shot with a lower end Canon DSLR (T3i or 600D).

Any ideas? I really don't want to use Speedgrade if I can help it.

Thanks,

Rick
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Tom Early

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostFri Feb 05, 2016 5:30 pm

Project Settings/Color Management/Color Management Settings

untick 'use mac display color profile for viewers'.
MBP2021 M1 Max 64GB, macOS 14.4, Resolve Studio 18.6.6 build 7
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RickGates

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostFri Feb 05, 2016 10:11 pm

Darn, I don't have that option.

Project Settings.JPG
Project Settings.JPG (40.33 KiB) Viewed 3513 times


I just downloaded Resolve 2 days ago, and "About" tells me I'm on version 12.2.0.013.

Is there a switch I need to set to be able to see the "Use Mac Display color profile" checkbox?
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JPOwens

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostSat Feb 06, 2016 1:20 am

Tom Early wrote:untick 'use mac display color profile for viewers'.


Yes, there is that one, if you are using the UI for grade monitoring. And I don't know why you wouldn't have calibrated it and loaded the transform into the Output LUT configuration... but...

Premiere is also tough on choosing the correct video range for export -- either RGB "full scale"-- or Linear video if you were hoping for a Y'CbCr 709 round trip. Very often, for Premiere, you need to choose "full scale" for Premiere to correctly re-range the 0-100 video range on the return trip especially if there is an RGB-like source involved in the original edit.

jPo
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Tom Early

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostSat Feb 06, 2016 1:16 pm

my bad, I didn't look at the scope readouts. Though I think you can just select all the clips in the media page, right click and select Clip Attributes, and under the video tab/Levels select Data Levels.

Resolve works in full range, and will remap anything it thinks is in video range, according to what codec it is. Anything that is naturally full range such as a DPX sequence won't get remapped, whereas ProRes files will. It must be seeing your clips as video range and remapping them when they are already full range.
MBP2021 M1 Max 64GB, macOS 14.4, Resolve Studio 18.6.6 build 7
Output: UltraStudio 4K Mini, Desktop Video 12.7
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RickGates

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostSat Feb 06, 2016 4:29 pm

Thanks Tom, changing the data levels as you suggested did the trick.

Also, reading your and jPo's comments reminds me that I'm only taking my first few steps on this road.

Back to the books!

Thanks all,

Rick
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RickGates

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostThu Feb 11, 2016 7:52 pm

Many thanks to Tom Early & jPo for their help.

I made some grading changes, and am really loving Resolve. But after a couple of days it occurred to me that I should double check the other half of the round trip and see that things exported correctly so I could import in Premiere.

I rendered the individual clips and exported an XML. However, it'll probably come as no surprise that when I imported the XML in Premiere all the clips came in too dark again.

Is there something I need to do with Data Levels again before rendering and exporting the XML? Or is there something I need to do on my import into Premiere.

Thanks again for any perspective you can provide.
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Tom Early

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostFri Feb 12, 2016 12:31 pm

dunno about premiere round trip but on the deliver page under one of the 'more options' areas there's an option for selecting auto/video/data levels again, I guess you need to manually select data levels.

...though I am slightly wondering about the setup you have in Premiere and if it's what you really want for your delivery. Are you exporting from Resolve as ProRes? And if so, what if you take your earlier footage and bring it into Premiere as a new ProRes sequence?
MBP2021 M1 Max 64GB, macOS 14.4, Resolve Studio 18.6.6 build 7
Output: UltraStudio 4K Mini, Desktop Video 12.7
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RickGates

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostTue Feb 16, 2016 11:09 pm

Thanks Tom,

I appreciate the help from you and jPo. I'm a new director who's trying to grade his own stuff, and there's lots to learn. I still need to figure out what hardware to get for my home-built Windows box to work with a grading monitor.

As to the setup in Premiere you asked about, my sequences are just based on the H.264 .MOV files right out of the camera. I spent a lot of time cutting, doing dialog and sound editing, and finally hoped to round-trip to Resolve for the final grade.

I'm not sure how to export in Prores, and still keep my clips for processing in Resolve. What I'm doing in Premiere is simply exporting as Final Cut Pro XML, and then importing that XML file in Resolve.

I've tried all 3 settings for the Video/Data level switch (Auto/Video/Data) under Format in the Deliver tab. Auto and Video result in clips that look right when I just view them in Windows. Choosing Data actually generates a file that is too dark in Windows. And in all three cases, when I import the XML timeline from Resolve, the blacks are all crushed in Premiere.

I even tried doing a Soft Clip LUT with a minimum video level of 0 on my clips before rendering, but that too generated clips that were crushed. It seems that all the blacks beyond a certain level are getting crushed.

I don't know if this is a Premiere problem, a Resolve problem, or both. What I'll probably do next is try to come up with a new post that describes this input problem and see who answers. I'll probably put the same thing up on one of the Adobe forums.

Again, thanks for all your help.
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Uli Plank

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Re: XML Import too dark

PostWed Feb 17, 2016 2:54 am

I'd recommend to start a rough cut from your original footage either in Premiere or Resolve, whatever works best for you.

Then you bring that into Resolve and render everything out in an intermediate codec and never look back. In the case of Windows, I'd use DNxHD/HR. Render it with a first-light correction with handles, export to Premiere and happily edit along.

Finally, import all the renders into a new DR project, get the XML from Premiere in without importing the media and do your grades. That's the usual workflow for me and it definitely works.

You'll still need an I/O device and a calibrated monitor to know what you are doing.
No, an iGPU is not enough, and you can't use HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2 in the free version.

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