ACADEMY LARRY JORDAN
HDR HEADLINES FINAL CUT PRO CHANGES We take a look at the new conventional editing tools in FCP X, including those for High Dynamic Range
1 While VR might be cutting edge, it’s HDR that is truly exciting because it can enhance even high-definition projects in ways that consumers can easily see and will be willing to pay money for. In other words, not only can HDR take us boldly into the new world of UHD, it can also be retro-fitted into existing projects without the need for new hardware or high- performance systems. Just to sound a note of caution, however, I should point out the projects that will convert the best into HDR will have media shot using 10-bit codecs or greater. HDR has three components: frame sizes larger than HD (‘More pixels’), increased colour saturation also called ‘wide colour gamut’ media (‘Richer pixels’) and brighter greyscale levels (‘Brighter pixels’). Final Cut has supported large frame sizes for several versions, but with the 10.3 update Apple added the ability to create projects supporting wide colour gamut. With 10.4, Apple has integrated HDR much more deeply into the application. It’s now possible to choose between two different HDR colour spaces: Rec. 2020 PQ and
2 One of the big benefits of HDR is that pixels are brighter. Really brighter. While the Rec. 2020 spec calls for pixels up to 10,000 nits in brightness, by way of contrast conventional HD video only allows pixels up to 100 nits in value. The problem is that the video scopes in FCP X don’t default to showing HDR values. In fact, the Waveform Monitor just plain doesn’t. So, if you need to measure HDR greyscale values, you have to change the scopes to either RGB Parade or, my preference, RGB Overlay. Notice in the screen shot, left, I’m using the RGB Overlay scope to display greyscale values up to 10,000 nits. As a note, though the Rec. 2020 spec says that greyscale values can reach 10,000 nits, there isn’t an affordable monitor on the planet that displays images that bright; most range from 400 to 1000 nits. So, again, FCP X is ready for the future, even if today’s technology isn’t quite there yet. Also, in order to create an HDR image, we need to shoot video with at least 10-bit depth, since 8-bit video doesn’t have the necessary data to create an HDR image, even if the frame size is 4K or larger. Bit-depth is dependent upon codec, with ProRes, RAW, RED and Log-C formats preferred. The good news for both VR and HDR is that the process of importing and reviewing media, as well as editing and trimming, is the same as with standard media. There’s nothing new we need to learn to edit these images since HDR is created in the colour grade, not the editing. Also new with the 10.4 update and High Sierra is support for HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding), also called ‘H.265’. This new codec is designed to provide smaller files with the same quality when compared to H.264. Currently, while HEVC is supported on any system that can run Apple’s latest High Sierra operating system, it only makes sense to use this on Macs shipped in 2015 or later. The reason is that newer systems include a hardware acceleration chip that speeds up the encoding of 8-bit HEVC video.
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Rec. 2020 HLG. PQ provides more options after output, but HLG is preferred by broadcasters because it’s more compatible with their existing SDR systems. Both libraries and projects can now be configured to support wide colour gamut media, while HDR and SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) media can be combined in the same project. You can now convert SDR to HDR or HDR to SDR. However, while converting SDR to HDR is similar to up-sizing SD to HD video and is entirely possible, you should be aware there isn’t the inherent quality in an SD video to make it look like HD after conversion.
ABOVE This RGB Overlay scope is
being used to display greyscale values up to 10,000 nits.
BELOW HDR is fully embedded in 10.4, with additional rendering choices of Rec. 2020 PQ and Rec. 2020 HLG.
“Also newwith the 10.4 update is support for HEVC”
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2018
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