DJI Inspire 2 & Zenmuse X5S Camera are Designed to Ease Post-Production

The Inspire 2 workflow can save you time and money in post-production.

 [Editor's Note: This 4-part series, introducing you to the flexibility and workflow of the Inspire 2, is sponsored by DJI.]

When we introduced you to the Zenmuse X5S camera, we made mention of certain features of the camera that are designed to help speed and improve your post production workflow. Here, we’re going to take a closer look at some of those features. 

Simultaneous proxy files

As you know, the Zenmuse X5S is a camera capable of recording at resolutions up to 5.2K, and while that’s great for image quality, footage at that resolution can be quite cumbersome to work with, especially when trying to quickly scrub through shots and produce dailies. As Ferdinand Wolf describes in this video, DJI has solved this problem by allowing the X5S to record 1080p proxy files to the internal SD card while simultaneously recording the 5.2K footage to the built-in SSD in the Inspire 2 in a variety of professional formats like ProRes and Cinema DNG.

Coloring

Coloring is another area of post-production that has been greatly enhanced with the Zenmuse X5S. Because the camera is capable of recording RAW video, tons of color information is retained making it easier to rescue shadows and highlights and to fine-tune your finished piece to look and feel exactly the way you want it to. 

Compatibility with DIT Software

Another big time-saving improvement is that you no longer need to export your DNG sequence from Cinelight, which means that you can directly ingest, preview, and back up your footage using your favorite offloading software like ShotPut Pro, reducing a step between shooting and viewing your footage.

Shot consistency

Another feature that we touched on in the previous post was that, in addition to using the Inspire 2 as an aerial camera, you could use it as a backup gimbal for walk-and-talks and indoor shots. The reason that’s important in post is that it becomes much easier to create consistent looks throughout your film when all the scenes are shot with the same camera—translating into considerable time and cost savings over the course of your production. Of course, this shouldn't be considered as a replacement for a proper gimbal like DJI's Ronin, but it could be a handy backup option in a pinch.

In all, the Inspire 2 and Zenmuse X5S camera are true Hollywood-grade production tools that are designed with filmmakers in mind. They are small, easy to deploy, and extremely cost effective and can help you save time, money and improve the quality of your next project.