1.5

Stage 8: Choosing How to Render the Final Graded Media
When working with native RED QuickTime media, the frame size of your final graded
media is determined by the Resolution Presets menu in the Project Settings tab of the
Setup room. For more information, see Resolution and Codec Settings.
The format you use to render your final graded media depends on whether you’re planning
on printing to film, or sending the program back to Final Cut Pro for output to video.
• If you’re rendering for film output: Change the Render File Type pop-up menu to DPX
or Cineon (depending on what the facility doing the film printing asks for), and choose
the appropriate 2K or 4K resolution from the Resolution Preset pop-up menu. If you
choose DPX, you also need to choose the appropriate Printing Density. For more
information, see Choosing Printing Density When Rendering DPX Media.
• If you’re rendering to send back to Final Cut Pro for video output: Keep the Render File
Type pop-up menu set to QuickTime and choose an appropriate mastering codec from
the QuickTime Export Codec pop-up menu. For more information, see Compatible
QuickTime Codecs for Output. Keep in mind that the RED QuickTime format is a
read-only format; you cannot master a program using this format.
Note: Rendering native RED QuickTime media is processor-intensive, and rendering times
can be long, especially at 4K resolutions.
Stage 9: Assembling the Final Image Sequence for Delivery, or Sending Back to
Final Cut Pro
The final stage of finishing your project depends, again, on whether you’re printing to
film, or outputting to video.
• If you’re rendering for film output: Once every single shot in your program has been
rendered, use the Gather Rendered Media command to consolidate all the frames that
have been rendered, eliminating handles, rendering dissolves, copying every frame
used by the program to a single directory, and renumbering each frame as a
contiguously numbered image sequence. Once this has been done, the rendered media
is ready for delivery to the film recording facility. For more information, see Gather
Rendered Media.
• If you’re rendering to send back to Final Cut Pro for video output: Simply send your project
back to Final Cut Pro after you finish rendering it. For more information, see Sending
Your Project Back to Final Cut Pro.
Editing and Finishing with RED QuickTime Media
The advantage of this workflow is that it skips the need for reconforming, giving you
access to high-quality image data when you grade in Color. Ingesting RED QuickTime
media is fast when compared to transcoding. This is a good workflow for projects such
as short-form and spots.
62 Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows