MLV post processing within Adobe Creative Cloud (Windows) - Doubts and questions

[melimelo]

First, I am no tech expert in any form, therefore my apologies in advance if my questions are just too simple or even pointless...

I've read many many threads on thisd topic but still have sooooo many doubts. As for anyone my objectives with MLV post processing are 2, quality and speed.

My workflow now is as follows:

1. Convert .mlv (shot with 5d Mark II) to raw + wav with MLV browser
2. Convert raw to cinema dng with raw2cdng
3. Open image sequence in After Effects, adjusted and coloured with Camera Raw, and create comps straight from those sequences
4. Open PPro and import comps from After Effects through Dynamic Link
5. Edit in PPro and export

Doubts and questions:

1. I am using CDNG instead of directly DNG because I've realised that if I need to render in Premiere for easier editing, CDNG sequences are 2-3x faster (10x length of clip vs 20-25x with DNG). Is this because Premiere natively supports CDNG?
2. Do I lose any quality while importing the AE comps into PPro thru the dynamic link the way I do it?
3. Editing in Premiere without rendering is a bit of a pain, but at 1/4 resolution and with no added effects, I can sort of do very simple stuff (my PC has an 8 core  4770K overclocked at 4.6Mhz + 32Gb RAM and a decent Nvidia Geforce GTX 770). But if I need to do any fancier edit or add any effect, then rendering is required, and it takes what in my opinion is way too long (at least 10x the length of the sequence). Anything I am missing to speed this up? Anything similar to those proxies that I have read that can be created with Resolve (which I have never used)?
4. For coloouring and other adjustments I just use ACR....am I missing some big quality improvement by not trying to use SpeedGrade or Resolve? What improvements over ACR?
5. In summary, am I doing anything right or should I just change all my workflow? Is it real that plug-in I have read in one thread that will allow to natively import and edit and export MLVs into Ppro for $100?

Thanks for your help!!!!

[Midphase]

It's become more and more apparent to me in recent months that the back-end for ML raw is simply not up to where I was hoping it'd be by now. Not being a programmer, but having the willingness to spend money for the right app doesn't do much to solve the problem.

The main issue as far as I can see is that we don't have an optimal .mlv-to-CDNG solution quite yet, and Premiere Pro's tantalizing initial step toward importing CDNG leaves a lot to be desired (pink cast, no access to ACR). Meanwhile we don't even have a sturdy and user friendly (ideally cross-platform) app to convert .mlv to CDNG and ProRes or DNxHD easily and quickly.

So where does this leave us? Well, IMHO the best solution is and still remains Blackmagic Resolve as an intermediate conversion app, and for some the final stop in the process (assuming they are ok with Resolve's editing capabilities).

That would require one to use MLV Mystic to go from .mlv to DNG:  http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=10466.0

And then open the resulting DNG files into Resolve, edit, color grade, output.

That's a two step process, it's fast and relatively pain free.

If you're not willing to edit in Resolve, then the extra step would be to output to ProRes or DNxHD from Resolve and edit in PP or FCP, then either stay in that format from that point to finish, or go back to Resolve using XML to import your edit and reconnect to the DNG files.

As far as your question regarding color grading in ACR...well, one major issue that I can think of is that if you're trying to match various shots in your edit, that would be challenging. ACR is primarily designed for still photography, it's really not a replacement for a proper grading app such as Resolve or Speedgrade.