No more Pink Cdngs!? PProCC > SGradeCC roundtrip

[timbytheriver]

While we await Adobe's own official patch for the pink-cast cdngs in PPro (and/or green-cast in Speedgrade) I'd like to share my own workaround.

I understand that PPro and Speedgrade are probably doing something funky together under the hood (shedding some bits somewhere?) but I think I can live with this for now, and the quality of the raw file seems to hold together to export.

You can see the before and after of my PPro > SGrade here:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21590714/Lum_off.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21590714/Lum_on.jpg

The whole flow is this:

1) Export the MLraw Cdngs from either RawMagic (Mac) http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=6218.0
or chmee's newest Raw2Cdng (Win) http://www.phreekz.de/wordpress/2013/06/magiclantern-raw2cdng-cinema-dng/
2) Import files into PPro. They'll all look pink! (yuk)

** Here's where I stumbled on what eventually 'fixed the pink' for me**

3) Add a 'Lumetri' effect in PPro (Effects > Color Correction > Lumetri) It will prompt you to open a LUT/Look file. I experimented with a whole bunch until I came on one that ships with Speedgrade. It's called 'Canon 5D - SL - PROFILE.cube' *

4) Load this LUT onto a clip(s) and it will immediately flatten and de-pink the clip(s).
5) Now send the project directly to Speedgrade (DirectLink)
6) Project will open in Speedgrade with the LUT in place.
7) Add Primary correction layer(s) and correct for Lift, Gamma, Gain, Saturation etc.
Send the project back to PPro...
9) The clip should hold the correction in place.
10) Continue editing and going back and forth between PPro > SGrade
11) Do your final export / render from PPro.

NB If you want to toggle the correction on/off in PPro, simply select the clip on the timeline > Effects > toggle the Lumetri fx on or off.

For me the benefit of using the PPro/Speedgrade workflow is that even a modestly specced machine can playback Cdngs in realtime Full HD, unlike Resolve (sophisticated though it is), which needs an impressive Mac and a bunch of RAIDs to make it behave properly.

I'd be interested to hear whether anyone else has success with this workflow; or whether I've simply dreamt it all!

Good luck! And thanks Magic Lantern, RawMagic, @chmee, and err... Adobe!

timbytheriver

* On Mac this can be copied from Applications/SpeedgradeCC/Speedgrade.app [Show Package Contents] Contents/MacOS/Lumetri/LUTs/ to say Desktop for loading.

Canon 5DMk2
ML raw build 10.9.13

[arrinkiiii]

Thanks for the workflow. Hope have Premiere cc in January/14 

[Malex]

I will try this tomorrow and let you know if it works.

[Malex]

Chmee's newest Raw2Cdng 1.4.6 crash after it made the .dng, is it normal? Or it's a bug?

4) Load this LUT onto a clip(s) and it will immediately flatten and de-pink the clip(s).

My clip gets flatten a bit but it's still pink, and I can't get rid of it in speedgrade
Can you send a .look file of what you did to get rid of it please?

Your footage was .RAW or MLV?

[timbytheriver]

chmee's app has crashed before; but it's working for me now thanks to his latest fixes. I've had the best results with either 12b or 16b linear. Try turning the Unique ID checkbox off also (if you don't need it).

I guess there are so many variables between each person's image files it's hard to troubleshoot this, but if it helps:

– Mine were shot in standard ML.raw

– You can download my .look file I created in Speedgrade.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21590714/MLraw_PP-SG_PrimaryCC.zip

I hope it helps!

timbytheriver

[timbytheriver]

**UPDATE**

Not sure that exporting the .look file from Speedgrade works as intended for some reason. :?

What does work for me (as a shortcut) is saving the entire ColourCorrection roundtrip as a 'Preset' file back in PPro.

Here's my preset if you want to try it.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21590714/MLraw_DePink-FirstCC.prfpset.zip

PS It even works if you add it as an Adjustment Layer over multiple clips on the PPro Timeline.

[johnha]

While we await Adobe's own official patch for the pink-cast cdngs in PPro (and/or green-cast in Speedgrade) I'd like to share my own workaround.

3) Add a 'Lumetri' effect in PPro (Effects > Color Correction > Lumetri) It will prompt you to open a LUT/Look file. I experimented with a whole bunch until I came on one that ships with Speedgrade. It's called 'Canon 5D - SL - PROFILE.cube' *

* On Mac this can be copied from Applications/SpeedgradeCC/Speedgrade.app [Show Package Contents] Contents/MacOS/Lumetri/LUTs/ to say Desktop for loading.

Thanks for this! But on my installation, I don't have the 'Canon 5D - SL - PROFILE.cube' file. I'm on OSX Speedgrade CC. Very weird.

Is there any chance you could share your 'Canon 5D - SL - PROFILE.cube' file via dropbox?

Thank you!
-John

[timbytheriver]

@johnha Here it is. Weird that it's not in your install. But nothing surprises me anymore about CC at present ...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21590714/CANON%205D%20-%20SL%20-%20PROFILE.cube.zip

Let me know how you get on. I'm beginning to think that my 'fix' is a just a weird glitch in reverse!

[johnha]

Tim, thank you for the file! I shot a quick low light test (ISO6400 with +2.0 stop push in ACR) and it looks like your preset works better than the Canon 5D cube file. But of course I had to try out both because of my curiosity.

I've done all my camera raw adjustments in Lightroom and saved the settings into the DNGs. When I process the files in After Effects, it honors the ACR adjustments and everything is fine. But when I import into Premiere Pro, I still get the pink frame issue.

Darnit. I wish there were a good way to solve this, but I guess I'm going to still have to use After Effects to render out intermediate files to cut in Premiere. On my big computer I can use Resolve, but I also like to cut on an older Macbook pro and Resolve does not like that machine...

Thank you again for sharing your preset!

[timbytheriver]

@johnha

You're welcome! I too have found that the preset is more effective. The .cube provides a first step to more extensive grading.

*Why* it works, I don't know; and that frustrates the hell out of me! 

cheers!