FS5 and Premiere 4K sequence codec question

[Nigel Davey]

When you guys shoot on your FS5's in 4K/UHD (25P or 30P) and then you bring the footage into Premiere, what type of sequence settings/codec does Premiere automatically create when you drop it onto the timeline (ie 'new sequence from clip')?

I'm asking because on my system it generates a sequence with the 'Editing Mode/codec' shown as 'Blackmagic Uncompressed'. But I have a Blackmagic Intensity Pro 4K card in my system connected to a UHD/4K tv to watch 4K sequences in 4K. But I'm wondering what others get as Premiere's default sequence settings for FS5 4K when they don't have this hardware?

You see the 'Blackmagic Uncompressed' codec generates huge huge render files that fill up my media cache very quickly. So I want to look at other Premiere 4K codecs that hopefully won't. For example it seems 'Arri Cinema' will generate 1080 video previews whilst actually exporting in 4K.

Any thoughts/suggestions/advice gratefully received.

Keep in mind my 'main' workflow for FS5 4K footage is recropping interviews (using 'fit to frame' for 4K) on a 1080 timeline. However I am thinking of trying a couple of full 4K experimental projects, hence my enquiry above.

[Nigel Davey]

On a connected note what Premiere sequence codec do you folks get if you make a new sequence from either native FS5 25P or 50P XAVC HD footage?

For 25P I get 'ARRI CINEMA' and for 50P I get 'AVCHD 1080P square pixel'.

But here's the thing. After lots of testing today I found 50P clips will perform fine (as far as I can tell) on an ARRI CINEMA sequence. The bonus the ARRI CINEMA sequence has over an AVCHD 1080P square pixel one is it produces smaller render files which are then quicker to render if you have multiple effects/filters as well as having a shorter export time. The exported files are smaller also.

Now it's true there is a very slight difference in the final exported quality. But on my 40" HDTV you have to get very close to even begin to spot it as I toggled between the 2 files exported from either sequence. It would be impossible (IMHO) to spot the difference over standard Net delivery and viewing scenarios.

So I'm just wondering if there is any point letting Premiere generate an AVCHD 1080P square pixel sequence for 50P?

[Martyn Moore]

Looks like it's taken you nearly a year to get a response! Sorry Nigel but I've only just shot my first FS5 4K clips for a proper job.

I pulled them into PremPro through the media browser, importing the entire XDROOT folder.

Dragging a clip down to create a timeline chooses the DNxHR UHD settings.

I now want to use these clips in a 1080 production, cropping in on the speaker as described in your message. Can you explain the 'fit to frame' concept, please?

[Nigel Davey]

Hi Martyn. I don't stop by here too often these days, spending most of my time lurking on the FS5 board on DVXuser or the 2 main FS5 Facebook groups.

But here's an answer to your question. If you have a new sequence set up with 1080 dimensions when you drop a 4K clip onto it your clip will instantly blow up/crop in by 50%. Thus you'll see the centre 50% of your image in your Program monitor.

Premiere gives you two options to scale your clip back to 100% and make it fit the 1080 dimensions of your sequence. By right clicking on your clip the pop up menu will offer you (amongst others) 'Scale to Frame Size' and 'Set to Frame Size. Here's the difference between them:

Scale to Frame Size will effectively turn your 4K clip into a 1080 clip. In other words when it is sitting on your sequence Premiere will throw away a load of the 4K resolution/data to bring it down to 1080. Should you now try to scale in on your clip (via the 'Scale' option in the Video Effects window) the 4K resolution has gone and you'll get the normal lack of detail seen on scaled up/cropped 1080 clips. The upside of using this option is your CPU will process the clip faster since it's now a lot smaller being 1080.

On the other hand 'Set to Frame Size' forces your 4K clip to fit inside (ie scaled down) the 1080 dimensions of your sequence, but all of the 4K detail is still intact under the hood. In other words if you scale your clip up/crop in (by up-to 50%) the image will still appear as clear/sharp and artefact free as any of your other normal 1080 clips on your sequence.

Hope that helps.