RAW Video

RAW video refers to footage captured directly from a digital cinema camera's image sensor with minimal in-camera processing — typically just bayer sensor data with metadata describing white balance, ISO and color matrix, but no debayering, color science, or gamma applied. Working with RAW gives post-production maximum flexibility: white balance, exposure (within sensor latitude), color matrix and noise reduction can all be reset or fine-tuned non-destructively in post. Major RAW formats include ARRIRAW (ARRI ALEXA, .ari files, uncompressed or partially compressed), RED REDCODE RAW (.r3d, wavelet-compressed at adjustable ratios 2:1 to 22:1), Blackmagic RAW (.braw, partially debayered), Apple ProRes RAW (.mov containing bayer data), Canon Cinema RAW Light (.crm), Sony X-OCN (sometimes counted as RAW-equivalent). RAW files are large: ARRIRAW 4.6K at 24 fps is around 1.7 GB/min, RED REDCODE 8K can exceed 4 GB/min depending on compression ratio. They require dedicated decoders integrated into DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer and Nuke. In a typical pipeline, RAW files are debayered to a high-quality mezzanine format (often ProRes 4444 XQ or DPX sequences) for editorial and VFX, with the original RAW kept for the final grade where the colorist accesses sensor-native data. RAW is not strictly a single specification — each manufacturer defines its own — which makes interchange challenging. The Cinema DNG open standard exists but adoption has been limited.