What does it take to edit 4K

Good Morning;

Panasonic is about to offer the GH4 an affordabel 4K camera. I have a iMac 27" with the following specs.

Processor 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB
Software OS X 10.9.1 (13B42)

Would this computer using FCPX be adequate to edit 4K footage?

Enjoy
Kent

Hey Kent,

I have done this on a very similar machine, and yes it work perfectly as long as you have a decent Thunderbolt RAID attached to the iMac. As the GH4 records UHD @100 Mbps in IBP compression you need some decent throughput for your media.

Best wishes,

Ronny

And don't forget about working with 'Proxy'.

--ken

Hi Ken,

Are you recommending that all editing of 4K be done using Proxy?

Thanks

Kent

Hi Kent,

I'm suggesting that if you have a less powerful Mac (like a MacBook Air) or are dealing with very processor intensive video, that working in Proxy will make life a lot easier. Switching back and forth between Full quality video and Proxy is one click simple. Of course you have to create your Proxy files which does take time and some hard dive space.

--ken

Thanks, great advice.

Kent

Hi Ronny;

Thanks for the advice. I have 2, 3TB Lacie raid, thunderbolt drives.

Do you have an opinion about the GH4?

Again, thanks

Kent

You won't have any problems at all with that kind of setup.

I have no hands-on experience with the camera, but the comments really seem good.

Best wishes,

Ronny

So Ronny & Ken, what exactly is the workflow when dealing with these 4K files? Do you actually edit with them? Does Final Cut Pro X work with them natively? Or transcode to ProRes or proxy?

Finally, how do you deliver them as far as making DVDs for presentation, etc.? What type of file is exported out of the timeline? I know Youtube can present 4K. Don't you need a 4K monitor or projection system to even view them?

Lots of questions.

Thanks,
Phil

Hi Phil,

FCPX works natively with any 4K media, it's your system setup that will be the deciding factor if you will need to optimize or not. I have edited raw 4K Red files on a 2013 MBP with a Promise 6 Thunderbolt Raid. Many older MacPros will not even be able to play these files. Last night we edited raw 5K R3D footage with multiple effects on a new MacPro without even rendering. Playback was really smooth without any dropped frames. These new MPs really are a godsend for editing.

So yes, 4K can easily be edited in FCPX. If you are on a slower system creating optimized or proxy media will help a lot.

No you don't really need a 4K monitor or projection system, although I can assure you that it's a stunning experience to see all that detail pixel by pixel. You can view 4K on any decent monitor, your video hardware will properly scale it down to your viewing resolution. If you do want to use a true 4K monitor you absolutely will need the horsepower of a new MacPro.

Best wishes,

Ronny

Ronny,

I'm running a 27" iMac:
Processor 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 20 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1024 MB
Mavericks OS X 10.9.1 (13B42)

Can this setup with FCP X handle 4K? Will 4K play on my iMac monitor?
Currently, for media storage, I have 2 WD My Book external drives (1 TB, 3 TB, 6 TB) Firewire 800 Daisy-chained and backed up with 4 TB G-Drive. Are you saying that for 4K I would need bigger drives with a faster connection? I do have two Thunderbolt ports which I have yet to use because of budgetary reasons. How much space do these files take up? I understand they're pretty huge.
I'm still not clear on what I export from my timeline. How do I deliver? That is, what format do I give clients? Do I down convert to DVD as I did with HD?

Thanks,
Phil

Ronny,

I'm just getting started in FCP X. When I ingest the 4K files, does it ask me if I want to optimize or convert to Proxy? And what is the difference? Is that like transcoding to ProRes?

Thanks,
Phil

Yes, it does. But you also can create optimized and/or proxy media after you have imported the files. To do this you select the clips in your Browser, R-click them and choose "Transcode media".

When you create optimized media you create ProRes 422 files. Much easier to handle for your system than original MP4, AVCHD or whatnot camera files an without any quality loss.

When you create proxy files you create very light ProRes media without much quality loss. You work with these files in FCPX proxy mode, then you switch back to original/optimized media for exporting at the highest quality. This process is seamless and it's unique to FCPX.

Best wishes,

Ronny

There are no limitations to using effects on proxy media. Any effects, color corrections and transformations applied to the proxy media will be transferred over to the original footage.

The only thing that does not work in proxy mode is clips with transparency because proxy media don't have an alpha channel. This may change in the future.

You can create proxy media from synchronized clips just like you create proxy media from regular clips. R-click the synchronized clip in the browser and choose Transcode Media > Create proxy media.

Best wishes,

Ronny

@Ronny Thanks for the info. So green screen is not considered to have transparency?

Green screen footage is not transparent, it has a green background. You create the transparency by using the keyer to key out the green. You can use the keyer with proxy media just like you can do with original media.

If this is a delicate green screen shot that needs very accurate keying it is best to temporarily switch to original media to perform the keying and then back to proxy mode for any other editing. Seamless switching between proxy and original media is a powerful feature that only exists in FCP X.

Best wishes,

Ronny

Got it. Thanks a lot.

@Ronny Just out of curiosity, what kind of footage has a transparency?