VFX - Resolve Roundtrip

[Thanh Duy]

Currently i'm working on a project shot with Arriraw format, VFX was done in Prores 422 HQ,  but when i test a VFX shot with my locked color grade, the result is quite different, the contrasity is diffrent from what i've graded. Should i tell VFX Department deliver DPX for me instead of Prores 422?

[Tom Evans]

It will not solve the issue, just tell them it doesn't match and they will make it match. 

[Anton Meleshkevich]

Can VFX  department confirm, that source footage and vfx shot match 100% on their side?
You should compare files with and without vfx. Probably this isn't their fault. Maybe they received incorrectly encoded prores. For example Premeire Pro has some issues with video/full levels on DNxHR 444 import. Maybe somebody did something wrong  somewhere in the pipeline before VFX. Import a shot that VFX received for their work and import the shot with their work done and compare it.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Anton Meleshkevich

[Stefano Zordan]

Maybe the VFX artist worked without color management? I assume he's working on AE and he didn't select the right colorspace?

[Luca Di Gioacchino]

If you can provide more detail it would help.   What programs are you and the VFX team working in?  Normally VFX is always done in linear colour space.

 

[Rogério Moraes]

HI. Would like to know if you didi the pull off to the VFX (exported the shots to VFX work) from DaVinci. If so, did you exported already in Proress? And also if you're using some form of color management (RCM or ACES). 

TO explain.: I didi a job shot on ARRI (proress 4444XQ)  where we had to do a collect converting the "raw" midia to also proress 4444, but already trimmed down to the cut for me to work on the color. The VFX, in paralallel, worked on the proress from camera exported while I worked on the "converted" midia. The converted midia was exported to me without any color management, using only the " tag" from the timeiline colorspace while vfx exported to me  DPX files (wich dont carry this metadata tag). What we've learned is that (when working with RCM) davici does interpret this tag on the proress files. So, the converted midia was expoted to me with a tag as rec709, and the DPX had no such thing. And problems like you mention arose. My color did not match the VFX files because of this; Davinci was " interpreting": the footage based on the metadata tag on the proress, and we had to come with a workaround applying a LUT file to covert the DPX from VFX  from rec709 to P3 (my main mastering colorspace). I know this workflow is the opposite of what you have, but to pay attention that when Resolve exports proress files, it "really" interprets the tag on the proress . So there is kind of " colorspace conversion" when you do this, (exporting proress from DaVinci) when, i my opinion, there should be none. If the tag is difernt from the colorspace of the file you're working,, you will have mismatch problems.  Maybe the VFX file is tagged in this manner. But this only applies when you use some sort of Color Management. If you only use de " DaVinci YRGB colorspace, you should not have this problem. 

Hope i was clear enough....