Working with Canon C500 RAW and the Convergent Design Gemini 4:4:4
With each new camera comes a slightly different workflow, and the situation is no different with the Canon C500. We already talked a bit about the interesting way in which Canon is producing a RAW image with that camera (aside from being completely uncompressed), but we didn't get into what you'll actually need to do in order to begin working with this footage. Click through to check out a great video from Andy Shipsides of AbelCine on importing footage that has been recorded with the Convergent Design Gemini 4:4:4.
First, if you haven't seen it, we've got a nice overview of the actual device itself using the Arri Alexa:
Here is Andy talking about the C500 RAW and the Gemini:
Each time you work with a new device there will always be considerations about the actual workflow you'll need to use to get your footage in working order. Unless you're recording to ProRes or DNxHD, most cameras have their own quirks about the way the footage needs to be ingested, but as we've seen lately, newer NLEs are actually getting better and better at natively supporting any codec out there, so that you can drop them right on a timeline. At the moment, the data rate for the Canon C500 RAW 4K mode is extremely high, so if you want to shoot RAW with that camera, you'll probably have to convert to some other format to actually be able to play it back (just like with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera).
You may have seen it already, but this was the very first film shot on the C500 recorded completely in RAW:
The Gemini 4:4:4 is currently the least expensive recorder right now capable of handling the C500 4K RAW (whether you're buying or renting the recorder), so for the time being, that's probably going to be the way most people get their uncompressed RAW from the camera.
What do you guys think? Are you planning on shooting RAW with the C500 for a future project?
