Indigo - GH2 footage and DaVinci Resolve workflow

[Stanley Hsu]

https://vimeo.com/72163697

 

I've been learning DaVinci Resolve to add to my video workflow. This is the first project that I graded with it. The footage was shot with the GH2 (Driftwood Cluster_v7), Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 and Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 Series E.

 

Program used: Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve

 

There are many ways to do this. I figured out this workflow by reading the manual PDF and some tutorial videos. It works for me so far.

 

1. edit using MTS (from the GH2) in Premiere Pro (sequence01) 

2. lock the edit

3. transcode used clips with 5DtoRGB to MOV (ProRes422(HQ), ITU-R BT.709, Full Range) for Resolve to grade (I tried to export XML from PP with MTS in timeline, then Resolve kept asking about missing video files. Looks like Resolve doesn't recognize MTS)

4. bring the transcoded MOV to PP and replace the edited MTS in timeline (sequence02).

5. export XML from PP

6. in Resolve, add the transcoded MOV to Media Pool

7. import the XML, uncheck "automatically add clips to media pool"

8. grade (time consuming)

9. export graded clips to ProRes422(HQ) MOV with unique names

10. go back to PP, import the graded MOV and replace the clips in the previous timeline (sequence03)

11. Retouch skin in some clips with AE, using the graded MOV

12. create motion titles

13. in PP, add extra adjustment and add titles made in AE. 

14. I actually go back and forth between PP, AE and Resolve a few times to adjust the skin tone for consistency. But the way I set up files let PP and AE relink the clips automatically, which is nice. 

15. fine-tune music

16. export the final movie in PP

 

It's really time consuming, but it worked for me. Again, this is my first attempt to incorporate DaVinci Resolve to my workflow. If there are only a few clips, I can grade first and edit. But a shoot like this has like 50+ clips, I have to edit first to know which ones to grade, therefore a workflow like this.

 

I wanted to share my steps and to see if there's any suggestions to improve the process.

 

P.S. The famous stair-step gradient in GH2 is something I have no idea how to fix.

 

Thanks for reading.