When film is used as the capture medium, cinematographers take great care when handling source film footage. Developed in response to the move to digital capture by many cinematographers, CinemaDNG is a digital replacement for film negatives that helps cinematographers ensure that their digitally captured scenes retain their pristine quality so they can be used to deliver the film’s artistic vision. CinemaDNG is similar to the popular DNG format used for digital still photography but adds elements to specifically support digital cinema workflows.
The CinemaDNG format offers numerous benefits:
- In many digital cinematography workflows, captured content is processed by software and hardware in the camera before it is saved to a storage device—and assumptions made during this processing could irrevocably damage the original imagery. Cinema DNG avoids these problems by capturing raw digital data directly from the camera’s sensor, giving artists the power to make qualitative judgments after imagery has been saved to disk.
- RAW image workflows are popular with many cinema camera vendors, but the RAW file formats they use are usually proprietary. CinemaDNG offers camera and software vendors an open, standards-based RAW format that can be widely understood across workflows. There are no licensing fees for its use.
- CinemaDNG integrates easily into visual effects workflows. Because CinemaDNG data has not been processed into common, gamma-encoded RGB or YUV formats, digital values are still related to the colors and lighting present at the scene. (These values are typically encoded using a linear tone response). Because of this, files can be processed and saved into linear-light formats like OpenEXR.
- The CinemaDNG format is standards-based. The image encoding is based on the DNG specification, compliant with current DNG readers, and compatible with the TIFF6 and TIFF/EP specifications, using published TIFF6, TIFF/EP and DNG tags.
- For a high level of compatibility with existing tools, CinemaDNG images can be stored in a directory structure, in an MXF wrapper, or transformed between these wrapping formats.
- Camera sensor output can be stored directly into the CinemaDNG format with minimal in-camera pixel processing and no repackaging of the raw image data. For 16 or 32 bits, the byte ordering of the CinemaDNG data can be big-endian or little-endian as needed, to match the sensor output.
- The CinemaDNG format typically adds less than 1 KB overhead per image. CinemaDNG files typically require half the storage space of corresponding DPX files.
- There are no known intellectual property encumbrances or license requirements for CinemaDNG or its underlying formats DNG, TIFF, XMP, or MXF. SDKs are available from several parties for DNG, TIFF, XMP, and MXF.
Industry Support for CinemaDNG
A broad range of industry-leading companies are supportive of the CinemaDNG effort, including:
Get the CinemaDNG Importer, spec, docs, and sample files
Discuss CinemaDNG in the Labs forumsGetting Started
Follow these steps to get started with CinemaDNG:
- Download the CinemaDNG Specification and Workflow Document
- Download the CinemaDNG Importer
- Follow the installation and setup instructions in the release notes
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Ask questions and share your feedback in the CinemaDNG forum
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Community
Below you'll find references and links to help you participate in the CinemaDNG community.
Online Forum
Ask questions and discuss ideas with other CinemaDNG users in the Labs forums.
Please note that your submission of comments, ideas, feature requests and techniques on this and other Adobe maintained forums, as well as Adobe's right to use such materials, is governed by the Terms of Use.
Resources
If you want to learn more about releases on Labs as well as other Adobe technologies, visiting a user group or connecting with an Adobe Community Expert is a great place to start.
Product Details
Documentation
FAQ
- What is CinemaDNG?
- CinemaDNG is an origination and archiving file format that unifies proprietary raw digital cinema formats into a public standard. It enables the preservation of a pristine version of the original raw image and its associated metadata. As cinema production becomes completely digital, CinemaDNG fulfills the same role as the original film negative. Based on the successful DNG file format for still photography, CinemaDNG adds features for cinema-related workflows, as well as support for XMP metadata. You can learn more about the DNG format and XMP metadata on Adobe.com.
- What are the advantages of CinemaDNG for content producers?
- Proprietary raw file formats are specific to certain manufacturers or cameras. This presents workflow and interoperability roadblocks since content producers are limited to hardware and software solutions that support the format from their camera. By using the CinemaDNG format, content producers can simplify their workflows and ensure maximum compatibility. Content producers also bear the risk that particular raw formats will not be supported in the future. Business dynamics cause cameras to be discontinued and proprietary raw formats to be abandoned. Like the original film negative, CinemaDNG is designed to archive pristine data in a format that will be available to content producers for many years.
- What are the advantages of CinemaDNG for manufacturers?
- CinemaDNG removes barriers to new camera adoption since files from new models will be instantly supported by more applications. Manufacturers can reduce development costs by removing the need to develop proprietary formats and conversion utilities. CinemaDNG files may contain proprietary metadata which allows for product differentiation.
- What are RAW images files?
- A raw image is an unprocessed image taken from a digital camera's image sensor.
- What Adobe software works with CinemaDNG?
- A public beta of a plug-in to deliver CinemaDNG support for After Effects CS4 and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 is available for download now.
- How does CinemaDNG compare to DPX?
- The DPX file format is designed for workflows that originate on film. Its goal is to represent the characteristics of film and not to preserve raw data from digital cinema cameras. CinemaDNG, in contrast, is designed specifically for workflows using digital cinema cameras—where physical film is not used.
- Will the Adobe DNG converter work with CinemaDNG sequences?
- Yes, it does.
- What metadata is required for CinemaDNG?
- Same as for DNG.
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for the CinemaDNG Importer are:
- After Effects CS4, Premiere Pro CS4, or both on Mac OS and Windows.
- Same hardware requirements as that of After Effects CS4 or Premiere Pro CS4.
- Camera Raw 5.3 or later (a standalone installer is also available)
Release Notes
This release of the CinemaDNG Importer is prerelease software and is designed for evaluation purposes only. The software contained within each download is not final; but, many portions of the technology are fully implemented and ready for you to try and discuss.
