Knut Erik Evensen - DCP FORMAT

UPDATE: In Easydcp 2.0 you can make DCPs from (Prores 422) Quicktime files. Prores 422 exported from Color do not get darker.

Tested a 25 SMPTE DCP made with Fraunhofer Easydcp Creator 1.3 beta on a Doremi DCP-2000 cinema server. It worked, I am not sure if all cinema servers support 25 fps SMPTE DCPs yet. I know the Doremi and Sony does. Update: Have also tested a 30 fps DCP on a Doremi DCP-2000. It also worked. But it may not work on all projectors. To convert the sound in a 29.97 (no inverse telecine) video file to 30 fps you could use the cinema tools tips from this post:
How to make dpx and wav files that can be converted to a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) with Fraunhofer EasyDCP Creator using Final Cut Studio 2 or 3

Links:

Fraunhofer Easydcp Creator

Final Cut Studio 3 with Apple Color and Soundtrack Pro (Discontinued in 2011)

Note: Check that the DPX sequence from Color matches your monitor. You may have to compensate that the picture gets darker.

Update: To export a DPX sequence from After Effects follow this step by step guide.
In Apple Color:

To export an image sequence from Apple Color you have to work with a supported file format like Prores 422 HQ.
MPEG Streamclip is a good tool to convert file formats like VOB, WMV, MPEG to Prores 422 HQ.
MPEG streamclip

MPEG streamclip can also do a quick deinterlacing if the clip is interlaced.
Alternative deinterlacers are:
Final Cut/Compressor, Color, Adobe After Effects.

Step 1.

Export a TIFF or DPX image sequence Hopefully from a 10 or 16-bit application like Apple Color or Adobe After Effects. Quicktime Pro 7 is as far I know not capable of more than 8 bit.
Note: Check that the DPX sequence from Color matches your monitor. You may have to compensate that the picture gets darker.

In Apple Color:
Import shot. I let Color match the timeline to the clip. This way the framerate will be the same as the clip.

Change the Project Settings
Render File type: DPX
Width and Height : All DCI digital cinemas have two presets:
Scope (2.39:1) = 2048 x 858 and
Flat (1.85:1) = 1998 x 1080. HD
(1.77:1) 1920 x 1080 will fit inside the Flat preset with perhaps some empty space on the sides.
I let Color scale my clip to the preset.

Broadcast Safe: If you turn this off you will see in the RGB parade scope if the material is graded with values above 100 and below 0. The material should be graded so black is not below 0 and white is not above 100. Everything below and above will be clipped. If you turn broadcast safe on everything will be forced inside the legal 0-100 values.

Choose a render folder with a lot of free space. Each frame is about 8 mb.

Sometimes you want to fix the geometry. Scope film inside an HD container (1920×800) will have to be zoomed and RED (2:1) material in 2048 x 1024 does not fit either of the presets.

Example: zooming in on a scope film inside an HD container. Choose 2048×858 in project setting and zoom in on the Geometry tab.
Remember to check that the project has the correct framerate.

Finally, you want to export the image sequence:
In the Render Queue. Click on the clip, click add selected, and start render. Then the start render button will turn into rendering,

Step 2.

Make the sound files

Drag the video file to a multitrack project in Apple Soundtrack Pro

Click on the sound to highlight it and export it (cmd + e)
Use these settings:
Exported Items: Selected
File Type: Wave File
Create multiple mono files
Bit depth: 24 bit
Sample Rate: 48 kHz

Watch out that you have not just selected a part of the sound.

Step 3

Make the DCP

Start Fraunhofer Easydcp 1.4

Choose a Project name
2K
uncheck “Use interop instead of SMPTE packing”
Choose framerate 25 fps
and Create

Add picture track

Choose the first DPX image from the Color render to select the image sequence

Add soundtrack

Use the sound files from Soundtrack Pro export

Drop the track files in the new reel window.

Give the project a name and double-click the perforation to the right of the name input field to edit the composition settings. Choose content type, eg. Feature or Trailer.
Choose an annotation text
Choose a Content title,

uncheck Options – Automatic pillarboxing -/letterboxing. If you have a valid resolution.

Check that the frame numbers match and click the Generate DCP button.

Sometimes the frame count is off, but this can be fixed with the offset option.

UPDATE: In Easydcp 2.0 you can make DCPs from (Prores 422) Quicktime files. .

Example:

Convert a short film in 1920×1080 16/9 25fps 10 bit Rec. 709 ProRes 422 (or 4444) with 5.1 sound to a standard DCP (DCI, 24 fps XYZ colorspace, 2.6 gamma, 5.1 sound) .

Note: Check that the DPX sequence from Color matches your monitor. You may have to compensate that the picture gets darker.

Update: To export a DPX sequence from After Effects follow this step by step guide.

Use Cinema Tools to convert to 24 fps

• Make a copy of the ProRes file (or just rename it ….24 fps.mov) and open it in Cinema Tools
• Meny: Clip – Open
• Meny: Clip – Conform: 24 fps

Video

Open the 24 fps conformed Cinema Tools Prores file in Apple Color to export a DPX sequence

• Import the 24 fps conformed prores file
• Go to setup tab- Project settings
• Change Render Dir to where you want to render
• Resolution Presets: 1920 x 1080 (or 1998 x 1080)
• Render File Type: DPX
• Printing Density: Linear (0 Black – 1023 White)
• Go to “Render Queue” Tab
• Click “Add selected” button
• Click “Render” button

Sound

Open the 24 fps conformed Cinema Tools prores file in Soundtrack Pro to export wav files (without pitch shift)
Update:Another option is to use Wave Agent and Audacity to do this

• In Soundtrack Pro: Drag the Prores file from browser to a Video track in a Multitrack Project.
• Select Audio Track
• Export
• All Tracks, Wave, multiple mono, 24 bits, 48 khz

These files can now be used to make a DCP with Fraunhofer EasyDCP Creator. Choose the first image in the DPX sequence to make the picture part. Compare the frame count with the sound part, they should be the same.

Link to Fraunhofer EasyDCP Creator (mac/pc)

To ingest a DCP on Doremi and Sony Cinema Server you can use a NTFS disk.

Update: Or you could copy the DCP to a linux ext3 harddrive

Fraunhofer EasyDCP assumes the DPX files are in the REC.709 2.2 gamma. You should check how it looks in a cinema and adjust your settings or make a 3D LUT.

Other stuff



Updated : This step is no longer necessary. Easydcp 1.2.0 support dpx sequences from Color and 16 bit tiff sequences.Convert DPX (changes endian type and dpx version)

Install Macports http://www.macports.org/

• Open Terminal
• Install ImageMagic with this command
  sudo port install ImageMagick
• Go to directory with DPX sequence eg.
  cd /Volumes/RAID/dpx/short1/1
• convert dpx with this command


find . -iname "*dpx" | while read f;do mogrify -verbose -depth 10 -format dpx "$f";done


Or try this: (thanks Eirik Schwenke. see comments for more info).


find . -iname "*.dpx" -exec mogrify -verbose -depth 10 -format dpx "{}" \;


Using Soundtrack Pro with pitch shift

Stretch the sound from 25 fps to 24 fps.
24 fps at 48 khz is 2000 samples per frame.
25 fps at 48 khz is 1920 samples per frame.
23,97 fps at 48 khz is 2002 samples per frame.
Example:
50000 samples 25 fps / 1920 = 26,041666 frames
26,041666 frames x 2000 = 52083,3333 samples 24 fps

• Use Process – timestretch to new samplerate.
• Save as Wave, 24 bit 48 khz. This works best if the 5.1 mix uses the center channel only, otherwise phase sync could be lost. Time stretch works best on the source audio files.

Notes on time stretch/pitch shift:

To keep phase sync on a 5.1 mix or music mixed in stereo try Prosoniq TimeFactory 2. Quote from their website: “Version 2 supports all popular file formats and offers 5.1, 6.1 and even N.1 surround processing in perfect phase sync – converting between different frame rates for film and TV has never been easier!”

The pitch change is: 0.706724268642822855 semitones

In Timefactory you can use the original sound from the 25 fps file and convert between 25 fps to 24 fps to get the correct pitch shift. You can also keep the formant with the natural setting. To get a good result on more difficult mixes I recommend using a professional.

It’s easier to do a pitch change when going from 24 fps to 25 fps.

If the 24 fps mix is the most important, most of the sound mix could be done in 24 fps natively. Then change the pitch to do the 25 fps mix.