Magic Lantern workflow question as of 03/2015 at DVinfo.net

Omar Nabulsi · March 10th, 2015, 09:24 AM

Hello community,

I had a question about the current Magic Lantern raw workflow as of 03/2015. I have looked this up online and spent quite a bit searching for answers, but as the hack is always changing, its hard to pinpoint what the current workflow is. My current understanding is that you shoot raw in either a .mlv or .raw file, and then you convert that file to something editable. My questions are as follows:

1). Upon converting the .mlv or .raw files, can you use rawmagic and/or son of a batch to do this?
2). After converting, do you have to convert straight to cinemaDNG, or can you convert straight to prores or DNxHD?
3). If you convert to cinemaDNG, is the cinemaDNG clip one file, or is each clip a single folder that contains a bunch of dng frame grabs that have to again be processed?
4). Is cinemaDNG essentialy the same thing as raw, and if so, is it OK to delete the .mlv and/or .raw originals to save space?
5). Are dropped frames still an issue when using a super fast 1066x card?

Sorry for the flurry of questions! I just want to make sure I know what I am getting my self into before making any purchasing decisions.

Thank you!
Omar

Dave Ande · March 17th, 2015, 05:53 PM

Omar,

I think I've answered the questions for you below. I started shooting Raw on my 5DM3 and EOSM this past summer. I really like what you can do with the files.

1). Upon converting the .mlv or .raw files, can you use rawmagic and/or son of a batch to do this?

You can use Raw Magic Lite to convert .raw files and Raw Magic will convert both .mlv and .raw files.

2). After converting, do you have to convert straight to cinemaDNG, or can you convert straight to prores or DNxHD?

When Raw Magic does the conversion, the files are converted as cinemaDNG

3). If you convert to cinemaDNG, is the cinemaDNG clip one file, or is each clip a single folder that contains a bunch of dng frame grabs that have to again be processed?

When I convert 1 clip, a folder is created with a bunch of DNG files. Each clip will have it’s own folder with DNG files. Once they are converted I will bring them into Davinci Resolve lite. The only other conversion will be when you go to export as a ProRes file, if you decide to roundtrip back and forth from Resolve to FCPx, or Resolve to Premier.

4). Is cinemaDNG essentialy the same thing as raw, and if so, is it OK to delete the .mlv and/or .raw originals to save space?

From what I’ve read, cinemaDNG files are raw. Please keep in mind that I am no expert, so if I’m wrong, someone out there please free to chime in. Depending on what I shoot, I don’t like to delete my mlv or .raw files just in case I need them in the future.

5). Are dropped frames still an issue when using a super fast 1066x card?

I think I had 1 drop frame issue when I was shooting my nephews wedding and the only reason was due to I ran out of memory on my Kumputer bay 64GB card.

I've provided two links to a comparison shot that I shot at my nephews wedding.

David A

Omar Nabulsi · March 17th, 2015, 05:55 PM

Thanks Dave! That helps a lot! Very much appreciate it.

March 10th, 2015, 09:24 AM	#1
Omar Nabulsi Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Chicago Posts: 74	Magic Lantern workflow question as of 03/2015 Hello community, I had a question about the current Magic Lantern raw workflow as of 03/2015. I have looked this up online and spent quite a bit searching for answers, but as the hack is always changing, its hard to pinpoint what the current workflow is. My current understanding is that you shoot raw in either a .mlv or .raw file, and then you convert that file to something editable. My questions are as follows: 1). Upon converting the .mlv or .raw files, can you use rawmagic and/or son of a batch to do this? 2). After converting, do you have to convert straight to cinemaDNG, or can you convert straight to prores or DNxHD? 3). If you convert to cinemaDNG, is the cinemaDNG clip one file, or is each clip a single folder that contains a bunch of dng frame grabs that have to again be processed? 4). Is cinemaDNG essentialy the same thing as raw, and if so, is it OK to delete the .mlv and/or .raw originals to save space? 5). Are dropped frames still an issue when using a super fast 1066x card? Sorry for the flurry of questions! I just want to make sure I know what I am getting my self into before making any purchasing decisions. Thank you! Omar

March 17th, 2015, 05:53 PM	#2
Dave Ande Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Tulsa Oklahoma Posts: 35	Re: Magic Lantern workflow question as of 03/2015 Omar, I think I've answered the questions for you below. I started shooting Raw on my 5DM3 and EOSM this past summer. I really like what you can do with the files. 1). Upon converting the .mlv or .raw files, can you use rawmagic and/or son of a batch to do this? You can use Raw Magic Lite to convert .raw files and Raw Magic will convert both .mlv and .raw files. 2). After converting, do you have to convert straight to cinemaDNG, or can you convert straight to prores or DNxHD? When Raw Magic does the conversion, the files are converted as cinemaDNG 3). If you convert to cinemaDNG, is the cinemaDNG clip one file, or is each clip a single folder that contains a bunch of dng frame grabs that have to again be processed? When I convert 1 clip, a folder is created with a bunch of DNG files. Each clip will have it’s own folder with DNG files. Once they are converted I will bring them into Davinci Resolve lite. The only other conversion will be when you go to export as a ProRes file, if you decide to roundtrip back and forth from Resolve to FCPx, or Resolve to Premier. 4). Is cinemaDNG essentialy the same thing as raw, and if so, is it OK to delete the .mlv and/or .raw originals to save space? From what I’ve read, cinemaDNG files are raw. Please keep in mind that I am no expert, so if I’m wrong, someone out there please free to chime in. Depending on what I shoot, I don’t like to delete my mlv or .raw files just in case I need them in the future. 5). Are dropped frames still an issue when using a super fast 1066x card? I think I had 1 drop frame issue when I was shooting my nephews wedding and the only reason was due to I ran out of memory on my Kumputer bay 64GB card. I've provided two links to a comparison shot that I shot at my nephews wedding. David A 5DM3 Raw clip comparison no color correction of my nephews wedding on Vimeo 5DM3 Raw CC clip comparison of my nephews wedding on Vimeo

March 17th, 2015, 05:55 PM	#3
Omar Nabulsi Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Chicago Posts: 74	Re: Magic Lantern workflow question as of 03/2015 Thanks Dave! That helps a lot! Very much appreciate it.