ARRIRAW (Legacy) Format Settings - Import

Important: These settings are used only when the software decodes media using the ARRIRAW 6 SDK. This includes content from older ARRI cameras such as the ARRI D21. These settings are also used for LogC3 clips from converted Flame projects, restored archives, or wired from a Flame Family product version 2023.1 or earlier. See How ARRIRAW 7 Handles LogC3 Content for more information.

To use the custom look contained in an ARRIRAW file:

  1. In the MediaHub, select the Format Specific Option tab.

  2. Display the ARRIRAW format options.

  3. Display the Colour settings.

  4. Set Colour Settings to User.

  5. Set Colour Space to one of the Video colour spaces (Video P3, Video ITU709). Being able to use look information requires that the Colour Space be set to a video colour space.

  6. Set ARRI Look to From File Header.

    ARRIRAW files are now displayed using their custom look.

To determine if an ARRIRAW file contains look information:

  1. Select the file.
  2. Open the Preview panel.
  3. Open the Metadata tab.
  4. Look for Look in header: None means there is no custom look in the file, anything else indicates a custom look is defined.

Metadata Settings

Clip Name box

Select how the clip is named when imported.

Options are:
Clip Name from File Name
Enter Clip Name (manual entry)

Clip Name field

Enter the name to use when importing the clip. Enabled if the Clip Name box is set to Enter Clip Name.

Tape Name box

Select an option to determine how the tape name is set when importing clips.

Select:To:

Enter Tape Name

Activate the Tape Name field where you enter the tape name. When selecting multiple files for import, this tape name is used for all imported files.

Tape Name from File Name

Use the name of the imported file as the tape name.

Tape Name from Directory

Determine the tape name from the detected directory structure. Use the Level field below to configure the relative path to the directory from which the tape name can be determined.

Tape Name from Header

Read the tape name from the header of the imported file.

Level field

Set from which directory the tape name is taken, relative to the location of the clip in the directory structure.

Although available for all types of files, the Level field is intended for directory structures output by film scanners. A typical image file directory structure looks like this: .///clip.######. In this case, selecting Levels Up 2 in the Level field identifies the directory that corresponds to the tape name (./). Enabled if Tape Name is set to Tape From Directory.

Tape Name field

Enter the name to use as the tape name when importing the clip. Enabled if the Tape Name is set to Enter Tape Name.

Orientation box

Flip (vertical) or flop (horizontal) the media when importing the clip. Camera uses the orientation defined on the camera during the shoot. Select Disable Flip to use the true orientation of the image, as it was shot.

Timecode box

Select which timecode to use, as ARRIRAW clips can have multiple timecodes. If the selected timecode is not available for the selected clip, the clip displays timecode 00:00:00.

Selection:ARRIRAW Definition
Clip CodeInternally generated timecode frame count increasing with each new take.
Edge CodeInternally generated timecode frame count increasing with each new media.
Record RunInternally generated record run timecode starting at a value defined by the user.
Free RunInternally generated free run timecode starting at a time defined by the user.
External LTCLongitudinal Time Code from an external sync.
External VITCVertically Integrated Time Code from an external sync.
Time of DayInternally generated free run timecode starting at time of day.
Master TCInternally generated timecode.
Important: The timecode of some ARRIRAW files was not correctly read in versions prior to Flame 2013 20th Anniversary Edition Extension 2 SP3 or Smoke 2013 Extension 1. Loading that material today shows the same visual results but with the source timecode is automatically updated. This ensures that both the ProRes and the ARRIRAW files have the same timecode, making it easier to offline in ProRes and relink to the ARRIRAW files.

Resolution Settings

Resolution box

Select the resolution of the imported clip. These are debayering resolutions, not resize operations.

Options are:

Debayer from 2868px button

Enable to match ProRes files. Applies only to 2K and Native 2.8K in processing version 4.

Input Container Mode box

Sets the media area to decode. Defaults to the file setting. Only relevant for ARRIRAW .mxf files recorded with an ALEXA Mini.

Aspect Ratio box

Set the frame aspect ratio used when importing clips, or select Ratio from File Header to read the ratio from each clip.

Aspect Ratio field

Enter the frame aspect ratio (Width:Height) to use when importing clips. Enabled when the Aspect Ratio box is set to Enter Aspect Ratio.

Cropping Aspect box

Select the frame aspect ratio used for cropping imported clips as part of the debayering process.

Anamorphotic Variant

Toggle to enable a different cropping offered by the debayering engine.

Debayering Settings

Note: Some combinations of options are not supported by the ARRIRAW engine. If you create such a combination, the Preview displays an error message.

Debayering Mode box

Select the ARRI debayer algorithm to use when importing files. HW (hardware) and SW (software) refer to the method ARRI cameras use when decoding RAW media. Note that there is no hardware debayering in Flame for ARRIRAW clips. All debayering is done in software for ARRIRAW material.

ADA stands for ARRI Debayer Algorithm.

Option:Description:
ADA-5 HWImproved image quality, sharper images, more details, less noise in red and blue channels, less aliasing and has a new regulation of parameters. Especially useful for VFX work when keying blue or green screens. Default setting.
ADA-5 SWEnhanced software debayering, based on ADA-5 HW.
ProxyA low quality debayering mode designed for performance over quality.

ADA-5 SW Red field

Set the sharpness of the ADA-5 SW Red channel. Only available when the Debayering Mode box is set to ADA-5 SW.

ADA-5 SW Green field

Set the sharpness of the ADA-5 SW Green channel. Only available when the Debayering Mode box is set to ADA-5 SW.

ADA-5 SW Blue field

Set the sharpness of the ADA-5 SW Blue channel. Only available when the Debayering Mode box is set to ADA-5 SW.

Sharpness field

Amplifies or attenuates the contrast of edges without changing fine details in the image.

Detail field

Works on fine details in the image. A negative value removes fine details, such as skin details. A positive value enhances fine details in the image, but increases the risks of a Moiré effect.

Decoder box

Use GPU ensures the debayering happens on the GPU. This is the option to use for best performance. Use CPU if GPU decoding causes issues such as image corruption.

Colour Settings

Note: When the MediaHub General colour management settings are in Auto Convert mode and the Input Colour Space is set to "From File or Rules", the Format Specific Colour Settings are ignored. The media will be decoded into ACES colour space and then convverted to the selected Working Space. Otherwise, make sure to set the tagging in General colour management settings to correspond to your colour settings below.
Note: Some combinations of Source Camera (under Processing) and Colour Space are not supported.

Colour Settings box

Select what colour information Flame uses when importing ARRIRAW clips.

Select:To import ARRIRAW clips using:
UserThe options you set in the Colour, Processing, and Image menus.
CameraThe look created on the ARRI camera and stored in the ARRIRAW file.

This option disables the Processing and Image menus, as well as the Colour Rendering box.

Save as User Settings button

Enable to make the Camera colour settings editable in the timeline FX Format Options.

Save as User Settings is implicitly enabled when Colour Settings is set to User.

Look Selection box

Select from where Flame reads the Look information, when available.

ALEXA allows for a look creation workflow. In this workflow, a look is created in the ARRI Look Creator application and is either embedded in the source files during the shoot, or saved to a look file. And Flame can read and use this look information.

When working with ARRI Look information, you must set the Colour Space to one of the Video combinations or Flame will display a checkerboard instead of ARRI media. This is due to the fact that ARRI Look Creator only works Video encoding.

Note: When used, the Look file must be placed in the folder containing the source material and named look.xml.
Select:To:
Do not apply LookNot apply any Look information.
From File HeaderApply Look information contained in the ARRIRAW file header.
From Look FileApply Look information contained in an XML Look file located in the same folder as the media to import.
Header or Look FileApply Look information from the header of the media to import. If none is present, use the information from an XML Look file located in the same folder as the file to import.
Look File or HeaderApply Look information from an XML Look file located in the same folder as the file to import. If none is present, use the information from the header of the file to import.

Apply Look LUT button

Enable to use the LUT stored within the Look information read by Flame from the location determined by the Look Selection box.

Colour Space box

Select one of the colour space and encoding combinations to apply to ARRIRAW clips.

When working with ARRI Look information, you must set the Colour Space to one of the Video combinations or Flame will display a checkerboard instead of ARRI media. This is due to the fact that ARRI Look Creator only works Video encoding.

Processing Settings

Processing Version box

Select the version of the ARRI colour science used to process the file, or use From File Header to have Flame read the version of the colour science from the header of the imported file.

Use From File Header unless you are trying to recreate a look based on a specific colour science.

Source Camera box

Select the camera that created the file, or have Flame read from the file header the camera used. Leave at Camera from File Header unless you are troubleshooting a file.

Image Settings

Exposure box

Select how exposure is set. Choose Exposure From File to use the camera settings.

ISO field

Select the ISO rating that is applied to the imported clips. Supported ALEXA values: 50 to 3200. Supported D-21 values: 50 to 500. Enabled when Exposure is Set ISO.

White Balance box

Select how the white balance is defined. Select White Balance From File to use the camera settings burned in the clip.

Note: To determine if white balance information is already present in a clip, look at White bal burnt in in the Metadata tab of the Previewer. If it displays true, there is white balance camera settings present in the clip and you can use the White Balance from File.

Kelvin field

Set the perceptual colour temperature of the imported file. In Kelvin. Possible ALEXA values: 2000 to 11000. Possible D-21 values: 3200 to 7000. Available if White Balance is set to Set Temperature.

Green/Magenta Tint field

Set the green/magenta tint balance: positive value for green tint, negative value for magenta tint. Available if White Balance is set to Set Temperature.

RGB Gain fields

Set the RGB gains of the imported clip. Only available if White Balance is set to Set RGB White Balance.

Getting the Right Resolution

The actual resolution of an ARRIRAW file is determined by the sensor mode used at the time of the shoot. Most ALEXA cameras can use different sensor modes, but since ALEXA sensors are mostly identical resolution-wise, ARRIRAW files always end up with one of the following resolution.

Sensor ModeNative Resolution
16:9 HD2880x1620
16:9 2K2868x1612
4:32880x2160
Open Gate3414x2198

Now, ARRIRAW files being RAW files, one cannot just import the files in Flame. They need to be processed by ARRI's algorithms. This process, called debayering, allows you to re-interpret the file. This can be done using ARRI's ARRIRAW Converter 3.0 (ARC), or directly in Flame. Flame uses the algorithms provided by ARRI to debayer ARRIRAW files, with debayering options named similar to the ones found in ARC. This ensures that in Flame you see ARRIRAW media as it was intended to be seen.

But the number of available options can make it hard to get the right resolution. Use the tables in the following sections to get the resolution you need. But before proceeding, make sure to reset the following options.

In the ARRIRAW Debayering menu:

This ensures that Flame displays a resolution that matches the sensor mode used and makes it easier to find the right information in the tables below.

Note: The following information is correct for ALEXA footage. For D20/D21, some of these resolutions might not be available, in which case an error message is displayed in the Previewer's Clip Info tab.

Native 2880 x 1620 Resolution (16:9 HD Sensor Mode)

Native 2868 x 1612 Resolution (16:9 2K Sensor Mode)

The following resolutions and settings are essentially used when conforming ARRIRAW media to a sequence layed down using ALEXA ProRes 2K media.

Native 2880 x 2160 Resolution (4:3 Sensor Mode)

Native 3414 x 2198 Resolution (Open Gate Sensor Mode)

Parent page: MediaHub Reference: Browsing for Files