The Editblog

 

If you’ve read any of my RED posts recently then you know one of my biggest concerns with the workflow for post was that there really wasn’t a reliable option for going from an offline edit back to some kind of conform into RedCine to generate DPX sequences or even ProRes HQ files of just your edits… hence the terms REDache and RedCine-rebuild. One mention was of Ian Bloom, a frequent poster on Reduser.net and creator of the RedTrip script that attempted to give some kind of flexibilibty for conforming an edit from Final Cut Pro back to RedCine. Well the next generation in the confrom process has been released by Ian and it is Crimson. It was announced via a Reduser post! Here’s a few quotes direct from the Crimson website:

Crimson Workflowâ„¢ is a tool for transforming sequences created in popular Non-Linear Editing Software, such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Premiere. It allows proxies, and offline material to be replaced by higher quality material, by efficiently managing the use of two software products distributed by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, namely Redline and Redcine.

Crimson Workflowâ„¢ leverages many tools for troubleshooting less than perfect metadata and file structures giving the user tools to properly reconnect to original material. It also facilitates the use of Redcine after, rather than before editing a project.

The comment that it facilitates the use of Redcine after, rather than before editing a project is perfect as you do your edit with the proxies files or ProRs files you have created and then you only use RedCine to process and/or color grade the shots from your edit. This is how an offline to online process is supposed to work! Just take a look at the Redcine tab from the application’s window and you can see the possibility of properly conforming and edit from FCP (click on the image for a larger view):

Also of note is what to expect from the future of the software:

If you buy this software today, you can expect the following features to be enabled in the near future:

Loading and Saving Workflow Templates
Undo and Redo enabled
Support for AVID XML sequences
Support for Premiere XML sequences
Support for CMX 3600 EDLs
Blind Color Correction Tools Completed
Blind Framing Tools Completed
Support for GlueToolsâ„¢
Support for the application formerly known as RedTools
Proper handling of speed changes and reverse in XML sequences.
Trimmed R3D Intermediates (as soon as a tool is available)
Timecode and R3D Metadata awareness.
Python Scripting Enabled
If you buy a serial number today, you are buying incomplete software still in development. Updates listed above will be included with this serial number and bug fixes will be for life.

The software is available for $189.99 via download. The free version limits to the first 7 clips in a sequence. This is a new product and a work-in-progress so it looks like there are a few things missing, like a help menu, a nice icon for the dock as well as detailed instructions, but this is a tool we’ve been waiting for. A first step is a good step!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under Editing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.