3 Replies Latest reply: Aug 28, 2012 9:05 AM by Mylenium RSS

    Mac to Pc (and back) best workflow

    andy-mario Community Member
    andy-mario Aug 28, 2012 7:29 AM

      Hi,

      I'm planning to switch to a pc workstation due to the lack of upgrades by Apple to their pro line.

      Thanks to some suggestions here on the forums I understood which are the better components to run CS6 on windows.

       

      I don't have recent experience with windows (last time I had a pc was like 12 years ago), so this is my question: which is the better workflow doing post-production on a PC and then sending back to edit suite on a Mac?


      In my specific case, most of the time I work with an editor that uses Premiere (and FCP7 for older projects) on a Mac and we have a full ProRes422 workflow from start to finish. We found it good for size/performance/quality and we can stick to a single codec (without rendering) until we're done. Usually he delivers all the clips for post production in prores422. Then, from After Effects (actually I'm on a Mac Pro), I render out png or tiff sequences for graphic/titles (usually with alpha) and prores422 for graded/composited shots.

       

      I think on a PC I can keep working with image sequences for motion graphic or titles, but which format should I export when it comes to video (graded/composited shots)?

      If I understood what I read around, I can import prores in windows but not encode it out.

       

      Do you work with both Mac and Pc for production? If so, which is your workflow from edit to post/finishing between the two "worlds"?

       

      Thanks

        • 1. Re: Mac to Pc (and back) best workflow
          Mylenium CommunityMVP
          Mylenium Aug 28, 2012 7:36 AM (in response to andy-mario)

          We've abandoned Macs long ago (well, when Avid gave them the boot to be precise), but at least I can talk about file formats from past experience a bit. The only critical issue I see is potential Gamma and color profile issues, so you may need to unify that between your Mac and PC. Still, even then QT on PC is different from Mac. There I would avoid Quicktime where possible. At best I'd use the PNG or Animation CoDecs, but PNG kinda sucks on PC. If you use LUTs and color profiles, TIFF sequences may be more efficient - they can embed color profiles and guaranty consistent handling on both ends, if you use CM. Otehr formats supporting profiels are of course PSDs and JPEGs. PNG is so-so. It's okay as long as you only use it on PC or Mac, but as soon as you hop platforms, it will show color shifts, depending on where it's used. It should be okay and consistent inside Adobe apps, though.

           

          Mylenium

          • 2. Re: Mac to Pc (and back) best workflow
            andy-mario Community Member
            andy-mario Aug 28, 2012 8:03 AM (in response to Mylenium)

            Thanks Mylenium for the useful info.

            And what about DPX...could be an alternative?


            Usually we do something like this (simplified idea): premiere -> after effects -> premiere  -> speedgrade -> premiere, all on macs, mostly all prores/tiffs, comes out without big color shifts.
            The AE and SG part (by our plans in the near future) will be on PC.


            So, you're telling me I can keep consistent colors between platforms if I stay "all Adobe" and using Adobe's color management (same profile in both systems until final export)?

            I hope color management in video is not complicated as in Desktop publishing world

            • 3. Re: Mac to Pc (and back) best workflow
              Mylenium CommunityMVP
              Mylenium Aug 28, 2012 9:05 AM (in response to andy-mario)

              Can't say much about DPX files, since our internal workflow is not based on any of that. CM should not be anywhere near as complicated. The most critical issue really being the Gamma values in conventional formats. As far as profiles are concerned, it usually is sufficient to either not use any profiles at all or simply tag everything with sRGB, depending on how e.g. your Photoshop is set up. The video programs will default to sRGB, anyway and on a calibrated monitor the color should be consistent across the board.

               

              Mylenium