RECOMMENDED RED DATA PIPELINE
The best data workfl ow for RED cameras is a two-step offline/online process.
Offline
Currently, Final Cut Pro on the latest Macs can edit RED footage natively but the data rate is quite high, so to keep editorial storage overheads down, or for projects that require real-time effects, transcoding the RED files to Apple ProRes QuickTimes is recommended.
For AVID edit systems, the RED files will need to be transcoded. MPC Data Lab can provide editors with AVID project fi les with the media encoded directly to native AVID .mxf files, enabling editors to plug a drive straight into their AVID and start editing immediately. As a cheaper option the RED files can be converted to QuickTime media which the AVID can then import (this is an approximately real-time operation whereas the .mxf option is comparatively instant).
Online
Once the media has been edited, we will then need to do high quality online conversions. We take the Edit Decision List (EDL) from the edit system to perform the raw conversions on just the footage used in the edit. The RAW footage is converted at full quality and full resolution and then rescaled to 2K dpx files which then fit in with the rest of our non-linear digital workflow.