Premiere Pro Clipping on Export - Help!

[Official_Recap]

I have been exploring moving over to Creative Suite from FCS and have enjoyed it a lot so far. However, I am running into some very odd highlight clipping on export now. I am exporting to move into color correction and grading in other programs (which is a whole fiasco for another time...)

I have been working in a native AVCHD timeline and export to Prores full quality (running through compressor later for upload, etc.). The shots look fine within Premiere Pro, but as soon as I export, it looks like all highlights that are clipping become black.. Additionally, I exported just one clip with the same settings as a test and it went away randomly.... I'm not sure if I am just missing some setting within PP that enables/disables this, or there is some sort of work around?

Here is a screenshot of the full sequence exported (left) and just the clip exported (right). They both were exported using the same settings (Apple Prores 422, highest quality, gamma correction turned off)

View attachment 495773

Additionally, when I bring the exported sequence into color correction, it looks like all of the levels have been brought into broadcast safe margins. This is the exact opposite of what I am looking for, as I would like to manually adjust those levels. If anyone has any insight on that front, it would be incredibly helpful.

If anyone has any ideas or experience with the issue, please shed some light. I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks for your time and hopefully some help!

Chase

 

[Holte]

I ran into the black clipping issue a few months ago, and was able to eliminate it by turning off "use maximum render quality" and "render at maximum bit depth" in the export settings box. Use maximum render quality only helps preserve quality while scaling frame resolution during export, and Render at maximum bit depth only applies to 32 bit effects (and presumably you're not scaling or exporting with any effects for color, so you don't need either of these options).

I have a couple questions about the color legalization shift. What program are you coloring in? Are you seeing the shift if you re-import the ProRes file back into Premiere or is it only showing up in your color application? I'd try exporting a DPX sequence as a test to compare the exports.

 

[Official_Recap]

Perfect! That sounds like exactly what the issue would be. I'll give it a shot.

As for CC, I have brought the content into both Apple Color and DaVinci Resolve Lite and experienced the same levels in both. I have not tried re-importing into Premiere yet because I couldn't even begin to correct anything..

I have tried various formats/routes. This has been part of a much larger logistical nightmare for me with trying to come up with an efficient and effective workflow of color correcting/grading out of Premiere Pro. I have exported DPX files via the "send to speedgrade" command in PP and then import the directory into Apple Color. I have also exported a TIFF sequence to import to Color. Both have yielded the same results. I have not tried importing the full Prores file because I am trying very hard not to have to recut my sequence just for coloring the shots...

I might try re-exporting the DPX or TIFF sequences when I get a break from my project today. Maybe I missed a checkbox.

I also might grab some screenshots of the WFM in Premiere vs Color to show the difference. I just need to get some time, hopefully later today or tonight.

Thanks so much for the help!

 

[Holte]

That's very strange. I just tried to recreate your broadcast safe clamping problem by exporting color bars out of Premiere as ProRes and DPX and sending them to Resolve, it's working fine for me. I assume you're grading with the "Unscaled full range data" option turned on, right?

One thing you might want to try is to Dynamic Link your Premiere sequence to After Effects, and do an export out of AE. Or just export an XML out of Premiere and use it to conform your sequence directly in Resolve and color the raw footage (that's my usual Premiere to CC workflow, but I know Resolve doesn't love AVCHD footage, so it might not work perfectly for you). I guess the equivalent process would be exporting an EDL and opening it in Apple Color, but I've never actually tried this workflow in Apple Color.

As for avoiding having to recut a flattened ProRes during CC, you can import an EDL to notch your sequence in both Resolve and Color. It's a little complicated in Resolve, but in Color you just check the "Use as cut list" check box when importing the EDL.