OpenCine

1 Feature Overview

There are several free and open raw-image processing tools for still images like: ufraw, darktable, RawTherapee, Rawstudio, digiKam and many more. While some of them offer batch processing capabilities none of these tools were designed for moving pictures. Processing DNG sequences is cumbersome and time consuming, CinemaDNG MXF files are not yet supported at all. This is where Open Cine should come in. It will be a raw processing tool designed from the ground up for moving images instead of still images.

Import Footage from Camera over network (FTP Transfer to backup location)
Import Footage from local drive
Preview Footage in real-time (GPU based raw debayering at full/reduced resolution [Reduced resolution equates to better playback performance])
View(all) / Edit(some) Metadata
Set IN/OUT points in footage
Apply color relevant RAW transformations (Whitebalance, Exposure, Curves, etc.)
Save/Load color transformation presets to/from File.
Adjustments are preserved in a XMP file that stays with the original unaltered footage.
Compare Color transformations (Presets A,B,C; split screen, etc.) of the same clip or of different clips
Live Histogram/Vectorscope
Batch Export RAW footage between IN/OUT to non destructive RAW conforming format (DNG, DPX, etc.)
Batch Export RAW footage between IN/OUT to destructive digital intermediate format (Quicktime Prores444, AVI DNxHD, Image Sequence, etc.)
Batch Export RAW footage between IN/OUT to destructive proxy format (Quicktime Prores422 (proxy), Quicktime/AVI MJPEG, etc.)

2 Typical Usage

Reviewing and Sorting Footage

Import DNG sequence that was shot with a raw camera (Apertus or other) into Open Cine
View footage in real-time
mark unneeded clips, rate good clips, write comments for each clip
later a filter can be used to hide all the bad/unneeded clips. Director could now review only the good ones and continue working with them.

Prepare Footage for Editing

Import DNG sequence that was shot with a raw camera (Apertus or other) into Open Cine
Sort through footage and select best clips (rating, marking), shorten to relevant parts in the clips by setting IN/OUT points
Apply color grading nodes to the raw footage (White-balance, Exposure correction, Tonal Curves, etc.)
Export Intermediate Clips in FullHD as Avid DNxHD or Apple ProRes for editing in another software

Prepare Footage for Finishing

An EDL/XML file of a complete edit contains the list of clips we need for finishing, import EDL/XML and link the clips to the raw footage (big win if we find a way to do this automatically)
Apply color grading nodes to the raw footage (White-balance, Exposure correction, Tonal Curves, etc.)
Export required clips as *.DPX or *.EXR image sequence (with full bitdepth) for finishing suite