HDR filming and editing

[AbrahamoLincolni]

With Youtube now supporting HDR videos and companies like Sony, LG, Samsung, Dell announcing HDR screens, can anyone tell me what I need in order to film and edit HDR video?

@AkiraDaarkst I'm sure you can tell me what I need to do.

[AkiraDaarkst]

12 hours ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

With Youtube now supporting HDR videos and companies like Sony, LG, Samsung, Dell announcing HDR screens, can anyone tell me what I need in order to film and edit HDR video?

@AkiraDaarkst I'm sure you can tell me what I need to do.

If you want to film and edit HDR, here's the bare minimum you will need.

• A camera that can record or send a video signal to an external recorder, 10-bit 4:2:2, at least.  Cinema RAW would be better, with 12-bit or above.
• The camera should be able to support various cine gamma profiles, like Canon C-log, Sony S-log, Panasonic V-log, etc. and be capable of a minimum 12-stops of dynamic range.
• If the camera can record 4K it would be better, in fact I recommend UHD the minimum.
• That's content acquisition side.  On the editing side:
  • A monitor that's true 10-bit at least, with at least a 12-bit LUT engine.  Higher bit dept Lut engine would be better.
  • A monitor that's rated to support  REC.2020, but if it supports AdobeRGB above 97% you can sort of get the feel of grading HDR video.
  • Software like DaVinci Resolve version 12.5.4 or the latest version of Premiere
  • A Quadro or Radeon Pro GPU to run that monitor because consumer GPUs do not support OpenGL 10-bit color or better.
  • CPU, Memory, storage, etc. configure it the way you want it.

These days, all the footage I capture with my video camera using cine log I grade in HDR because it's much faster and better to get a pleasing color grade.

[AbrahamoLincolni]

Thanks mate.  I guess I need to upgrade my editing machine with a Quadro GPU then.  Can my 5D III be used for HDR filming or what other camera would you recommend?  Also do you have an best practice tips for filming and editing?

[AkiraDaarkst]

You may be able to use your 5D mark III, it outputs uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 via HDMI right?  But it doesn't support Canon C-log.

 

I can go on about many things I do when filming and editing, they might be best practices for me but not for everyone.  The only things I can recommend are:

• Film in the highest bit rate codec supported by the camera.  Usually it's going to be Cinema RAW or an Intraframe version of the codec, which is going to be generally always better than Interframe compression.  Unfortunately the All-I codec in the 5D mark III doesn't have enough bit rate overhead to be truly better than the IPB version for internal recordings.
• Always set the exposure properly, try to avoid under exposing.  Overexposing a tiny bit (e.g. half a stop up to 2 stops) is not going to cause big problems (depending on the camera).
• Always duplicate your footage onto backup drives before editing.

[.spider.]

On 1/7/2017 at 1:42 AM, AkiraDaarkst said:

• •  
  • A monitor that's rated to support  REC.2020, but if it supports AdobeRGB above 97% you can sort of get the feel of grading HDR video.
  •  

You don't get any HDR capabilities from 97% AdobeRGB or ITU R.2020

 

What you need is ITU R.2100 and ITU R.1886

 

 

 

[AbrahamoLincolni]

2 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

You may be able to use your 5D mark III, it outputs uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 via HDMI right?  But it doesn't support Canon C-log.

 

I can go on about many things I do when filming and editing, they might be best practices for me but not for everyone.  The only things I can recommend are:

• Film in the highest bit rate codec supported by the camera.  Usually it's going to be Cinema RAW or an Intraframe version of the codec, which is going to be generally always better than Interframe compression.  Unfortunately the All-I codec in the 5D mark III doesn't have enough bit rate overhead to be truly better than the IPB version for internal recordings.
• Always set the exposure properly, try to avoid under exposing.  Overexposing a tiny bit (e.g. half a stop up to 2 stops) is not going to cause big problems (depending on the camera).
• Always duplicate your footage onto backup drives before editing.

The 5D III doesn't output 10-bit via HDMI, I thought it did but checked the firmware update notes.  Can I still film for HDR grading?  What other cameras would you recommend?

[AkiraDaarkst]

1 minute ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

The 5D III doesn't output 10-bit via HDMI, I thought it did but checked the firmware update notes.  Can I still film for HDR grading?  What other cameras would you recommend?

Oh that's too bad, you can try but it would be better to have a 10-bit minimum capable camera.  I know the Sony A6#00 Mirrorless cameras are not capable, not sure if the Panasonic G7 is either.  The GH4 and the new GH5 should be capable, also BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera and above are capable.  Take your pick and what's your budget?

[AbrahamoLincolni]

3 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

what's your budget?

That's a good question, I'm not sure which direction to take with video.  My work so far has only been still photography.

[AkiraDaarkst]

By the way, I forgot to mention another thing about color grading.  If you want to create a proper color grading suite, you need more than just a workstation with the proper GPU, software and monitor.  You also should have two additional displays.

• a true professional reference monitor 
• a good consumer display that supports the features you need, such as HDR capability.

Professional reference/production monitors like the Sony PVMA 250 will help you ensure that your videos frame rates, color data, and other settings are accurate while a consumer flat screen panel like a Samsung TV will give you an idea of what your final product will look like when other people watch it on their screens.

[AkiraDaarkst]

11 minutes ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

That's a good question, I'm not sure which direction to take with video.  My work so far has only been still photography.

Well let me know when you've figured this out.