Global controls for embedded CineForm RAW active metadata for playback/rendering using SetActiveMetadata 
CineForm RAW editing workflow for Premiere Pro
Create and Export 3D LUTs Using Premiere Pro (Windows) - Beta Release Build 161
CineForm RAW technology primer

Final Cut Pro plays and edits CineForm RAW MOV files while obeying the active metadata global controls defined in the SetActiveMetadata utility.  The SetActiveMetadata  utility runs externally to the calling application (Final Cut Pro, QuickTime Player, etc) which allows you to define the specific metadata that you want used for playback and rendering.  Read about global controls for active metadata in CineForm RAW files

CineForm RAW files are encapsulated in the same AVI or MOV wrappers that CineForm Intermediate (4:2:2) and CineForm 444 are wrapped in.  That means CineForm RAW files are compatible with virtually all Mac OS X (MOV) or Windows (AVI) applications with no conversion required.  Specifically as the subject of this Tech Note, CineForm RAW files can be moved directly onto the Final Cut Pro timeline just as any other CineForm file, and may coexist on the same timeline with other files. 

It is relevant to understand that RAW data from Bayer sensors (including CineForm RAW) is not directly compatible with traditional chroma formats of 4:2:2 (YPrPb) or 4:4:4 (RGB).  In fact, to convert RAW data into traditional chroma formats requires that a "demosaic" operation be performed, either in real-time for playback, or during a render. (You can read more about the technology of CineForm RAW in our Technology Primer).  When playing CineForm RAW files on a Final Cut Pro timeline, the CineForm RAW decoder performs a real-time demosaic after decoding the compressed file, the result being a traditional YPrPb or RGB presentation to the calling application.  In this way a CineForm RAW file "appears" to the calling application to be a traditional YPrPb or RGB file.

Choosing project settings for a CineForm RAW project is identical to choosing project settings for any Final Cut Pro project.  In this case the project the frame size is 2048x1152 at 24fps.  Notice that CineForm HD/2K/4K is selected as the Compressor Type.  It's worth mentioning that when you drag a CineForm RAW clip onto the timeline in FCP 6, it should automatically adjust the settings properly to the characteristics of the clip.

Depending on your workflow you will likely want to render to CineForm 444 from CineForm RAW source files.  This preserves maximum chroma resolution and bit depth from your CineForm RAW source.  The choice of CineForm 444 versus CineForm Intermediate (4:2:2) as the render-to choice is made in the Advanced tab.

What About 4K Material in Final Cut Pro?  Typically "4K" means 4096-wide rasters which is wider than supported by Final Cut.  However, FCP will support 4000-wide rasters.  For projects which can afford to crop 96 pixels horizontally, the 4000-wide project setting in Final Cut Pro works great with CineForm files.  To support 4000-wide online workflows within FCP, CineForm's Raw format converters include a crop feature to 4000-wide rasters  The crop includes a window placement feature allowing you to select from a far-left-most through far-right-most window placement (or arbitrary window placement in between) for the 4000-raster extraction.  Rendering from FCP to CineForm 444 files also works well at 4000-wide rasters.
 

NOTE: To register a .look file simply drag the file into the drop box located on the panel.  This will register the .look file.  If you do NOT register the .look file the CineForm RAW decoder will not know the .look file exists.

Managing Demosaic (DeBayer) Filters: Notice that there are two different DeBayer controls - one for 8-bit presentation and one for high precision (usually a render).

8-bit presentation: This selects the DeBayer algorithm to be used preview in QT Player, FCP, or other Mac applications.  During playback preview, the "Automatic" setting is equivalent to the Bilinear algorithm which uses relatively simple arithmetic, allowing for much higher framerate playback. We recommend either "Bilinear" or "Automatic" for 8-bit presentation.  NOTE: Most all applications use an 8-bit mode when playing material.  Higher-precision modes are reserved for renders.

High Precision (Rendering): For rendering operations, it is considered "high precision" when the calling application can request data from the CineForm decoder with bit depth greater than 8 bits, such as FCP or AE.  In these cases you will want to choose a high bit-depth destination codec too, such as 12-bit CineForm 444 or 10-bit CineForm Intermediate. In such cases you also want to ensure the highest possible quality for your render output, so you want to choose a higher quality DeBayer filter than the Bilinear algorithm used for preview. 

The difference in the various "CineForm Advanced ..." DeBayer algorithms is the amount of sharpening applied during the DeMosaic.  The Automatic setting is equivalent to the "CF Advanced Detail 1" algorithm which is a great blend of high quality demosaic plus a small amount of image sharpening.  We recommend that you experiment with different DeBayer settings (other than Bilinear) to choose your preferred amount of sharpening.

NOTE: We don't recommend rendering out of QT Player.  The reason is that QT Player is an 8-bit (only) application.  If you do choose to render from QT Player, make sure you change your 8-bit DeBayer algorithm to "CF Advanced 1" (or other) algorithm before you begin the render, otherwise it will use the Bilinear DeBayer which is not high enough quality for renders.

It is recommended that you launch the SetActiveMetadata utility and leave it active while editing in Final Cut Pro for reasons discussed in the next section.

The image on the lower left has White Balance only enabled using SetActiveMetadata.  This means the 3D LUT is not applied upon decode.  The image on the lower right has no active metadata applied upon decode, and the visual look represents the desaturated and non-white-balanced look typical of uncorrected RAW sensor data.

The flexibility of leaving open the SetActiveMetadata utility while editing in FCP is demonstrated by literally changing the parameters in the panel, then moving the FCP timeline puck.  The image will immediately change to reflect the selected active metadata.

Resulting color from renders also respects the settings from SetActiveMetadata.

Once you've optimized the Global and File Metadata parameters your editing experience with Cineform RAW should be almost identical to editing any other CineForm file.

Technique: You may find that while performing cuts on the timeline you want to turn all Active Metadata OFF using the SetActiveMetadata panel.  Applying active metadata during multistream editing requires additional CPU processing that you may prefer to use otherwise.  At the point during your post workflow that viewing clips with Active Metadata ON is beneficial, simply select ALL Active Metadata in the SetActiveMetadata panel.

Notes:

• Currently on the Mac you cannot change Active Metadata.  The parameters embedded in the file at record time are fixed.  This will change in the not-too-distant future so you will be able to choose different 3D LUTs and modify other active metadata parameters.

• Remember, CineForm RAW is an acquisition-only format, it is not a render-to format.  This means when you render from the Final Cut Pro timeline a demosaic will be performed using the CineForm demosaic algorithm.  When rendering Cineform RAW source data we generally recommend rendering to CineForm 444 (film and/or effects workflow) or CineForm Intermediate (broadcast / Blu-Ray workflow).  Render results will obey the chosen Active Metadata paremeters selected in the SetActiveMetadata utility.

• Ability to modify embedded active metadata

• Improved MacOS threading for higher performance

• Multi-monitor editing is currently not supported

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