File sizes...looking for second opinion! at DVinfo.net

Neil Rostance · March 24th, 2010, 04:35 AM

Hello Everyone,

Shooting a bunch of interviews with 7D and converting to ProRes (standard, not HQ) for editing. I have converted around 200GB of H.264 material which has left me with a project size of over 450GB's of ProRes material.

I'm well versed in big file sizes working with HD before but i'm from the 720p crowd shooting with HDV. I could get a similar sized project folder to no more than 150gb usually.

Is it simply that 7D shoots bigger images, therefor bigger file size, or am I missing something in my workflow? Is ProRes my best option?

Look forward to your opinions/suggestions. Is this normal?

Neil

Liam Hall · March 24th, 2010, 04:50 AM

Hi Neil,

Yes, it's normal and yes, ProRes is a good option.

You are using more than twice the number of pixels shooting 1080 rather than 720, so immediately you're upping the data rate. Also, ProRes is a lossy codec, so it is pretty data hungry too compared to the heavily compressed HDV codecs.

One option is to do a cut using the original H264 media, then convert the edit to ProRes for grading and finishing. Though to be honest, hard drives are so cheap now I generally just convert the whole lot for editing, but only archive the H264.

Neil Rostance · March 24th, 2010, 10:19 AM

Thanks Liam,

I had an inkling it might be right. Was quite shocked to see a brand spanking new 1TB LaCie was now nearly half full from just one project.

Agreed with the cheapness of hard drives though, i may find myself buying a dedicated hard drive for each new client and just absorbing it into my rates. worth thinking about anyway.

Thanks for your advice anyway,

Neil

March 24th, 2010, 04:35 AM	#1
Neil Rostance Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Lace Market, Nottingham, UK Posts: 194	File sizes...looking for second opinion! Hello Everyone, Shooting a bunch of interviews with 7D and converting to ProRes (standard, not HQ) for editing. I have converted around 200GB of H.264 material which has left me with a project size of over 450GB's of ProRes material. I'm well versed in big file sizes working with HD before but i'm from the 720p crowd shooting with HDV. I could get a similar sized project folder to no more than 150gb usually. Is it simply that 7D shoots bigger images, therefor bigger file size, or am I missing something in my workflow? Is ProRes my best option? Look forward to your opinions/suggestions. Is this normal? Neil

March 24th, 2010, 04:50 AM	#2
Liam Hall Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London, England Posts: 969	Hi Neil, Yes, it's normal and yes, ProRes is a good option. You are using more than twice the number of pixels shooting 1080 rather than 720, so immediately you're upping the data rate. Also, ProRes is a lossy codec, so it is pretty data hungry too compared to the heavily compressed HDV codecs. One option is to do a cut using the original H264 media, then convert the edit to ProRes for grading and finishing. Though to be honest, hard drives are so cheap now I generally just convert the whole lot for editing, but only archive the H264. __________________ Writer-Director-DOP www.liamhall.net

March 24th, 2010, 10:19 AM	#3
Neil Rostance Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Lace Market, Nottingham, UK Posts: 194	Thanks Liam, I had an inkling it might be right. Was quite shocked to see a brand spanking new 1TB LaCie was now nearly half full from just one project. Agreed with the cheapness of hard drives though, i may find myself buying a dedicated hard drive for each new client and just absorbing it into my rates. worth thinking about anyway. Thanks for your advice anyway, Neil