Alexa picks ProRes and SxS workflow

Arri has chosen Apple's ProRes 422 (HQ) and ProRes 4444 codecs recording on to Sony's SxS cards as the primary workflow for its upcoming Alexa digital cinema camcorder. While it can also output uncompressed HD video and uncompressed Arriraw data, it believes that ProRes will offer the fastest possible workflow.

"It is a combination of the most popular and widely spread codec and probably the fastest recording medium at the moment," said Milan Krsljanin, Arri Media's business development manager. The ProRes XML files (including metadata) will be instantly available for use in Final Cut Pro, with no need to transcode – or any quality loss that might entail. "We wanted to get as fast to post as possible," and the introduction of 12-bit ProRes 4444 (at 330Mbps) in the current version of FCP made the choice "irresistible."

Read the rest of this in my piece for TVB Europe magazine.

For more on the Anonymous Red Mysterium X v Alexa test, mentioned at the end of the article, have a look at Marc Weigert's blog article.

Making the work flow: Four ways of getting video from the Alexa to your non-linear editor

By David Fox