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Prepping for Resolve - Premiere

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Overview

This guide will go over what you need to move from Premiere into Davinci Resolve. Prepping your timeline for color correction and delivering all the necessary assets to your colorist will ensure your workflow into Resolve is as painless as possible.  

Assets to deliver to Colorist

  • Original Media
  • XML from prepped timeline
  • ProRes QT movie for reference

Original Media

The media you give to your colorist should be the original media from the camera.  There are exceptions to this, but typically your original media will have more flexibility when color correcting than proxy media edited in Premiere.  When you prep your timeline, make sure that your sequence doesn’t have any titles or effects burned into the image.  Titles and effects should be added after color correction has happened.   

Preparing Your Timeline

Organizing your timeline

  1. Drop all your video down to V1.  Leaving various video tracks on your timeline can lead unnecessary work in Resolve. If you have superimpositions that need to require you keep a video track on V2, this is fine.  
    • V1 - Video files
    • V2 - Mattes and Effects
    • V3 - Titles

Please follow the industry standards listed below when preparing your timeline.

  1. FFOA (first frame of action) starts 01:00:00:00
  2. Start your timeline at time code 00:59:30:00 (hours:minutes:seconds:frames)
  3. Sync Reference (2 beep) is at 00:59:58:00 (this is a single frame of video and audio two seconds before the first frame of action)

Adjusting time code and adding Sync Reference

  1. Setting Start TC
  • Navigate to the timeline drop down menu and select  “Start Time.”
  • Change your 'Starting TC' to 00:59:30:00.  Click OK.

 

  • Choose the Track Select Forward tool (A) and select the first media file on your timeline.  This should select that clip and everything else to the right on your timeline.
  • Using the number pad on your keyboard, type “01:00:00:00”. This should snap your FFOA to 01:00:00:00.

 

At this point, your sequence should start at 00:59:30:00 with thirty seconds of black before your first frame of action beginning at one hour (01:00:00:00).

  1. Adding Sync Reference (2 beep)

SMPTE Bars and Tone:

  • Navigate to File>New> HD Bars and Tone.  This will bring up a window asking for the resolution and framerate of your timeline.  Make sure these settings are the same as your timeline and then click OK.  In the Project tab you should now see a new master clip titled “HD Bars and Tone.”
  • Double click or drag the file into the Source Window and set an In and Out point on the same frame.
  • Select your sequence and move your cursor to 00:59:58:00 (you can do this by entering this timecode in your number pad).
  • Overwrite the frame into your sequence. Do not insert.  Make sure to add a sync pop to every track of video and audio, not just V1 and A1.  

At this point, you should have one frame of SMPTE Bars and Tone at 00:59:58:00 with your FFOA starting 2 seconds after (01:00:00:00).

Exporting XML

  • Place IN and OUT marks on your sequence.
  • Navigate to File>Export>Final Cut Pro XML

Attach the extension “_FORCOLOR” to the end of your project name and click “Save.”

Exporting Quicktime

  • Right click on your sequence in your project window and select Export>Media.
  • Under Export Settings set the “Format” to Quicktime and the “Preset” to Apple ProRes 422.”
  • Set the destination by clicking on the blue link next to “Output Name.”  Add the extension “_FORREF.”
  • Make sure “Video and Audio”.

  • Attach the extension “_FORCOLOR” to your movie and click save.

 

 

 

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