RED Suggested Workflow

Its a simple workflow for editing Red camera shot material in FCP and grading-finishing in Apple Color. Or using Apple Color to make DPX or CIN files for finishing on other systems like Smoke/eQ or whatever your budget can allow for.

For this you need the following:

An Apple FCP 6 system with the entire Final Cut Studio installed.
The system needs to be an Intel Mac - MacPro or iMac, or MacBook Pro
The latest version of Red software - Redrushes, RedAlert, RedCine (all of which can be found on www.Red.com)
All correctly installed. A free software called Clipfinder.

You start by making Quicktimes of the Red files using RedRushes or Clipfinder itself.
You can make Quicktimes of any resolution even 720p and set the resolution to Quarter.
These settings can give you even real-time exports out of a new MacPro.

These Quicktimes will carry timecode from the R3D. Provide you set it that way.
You then edit them in FCP, and export an XML out of FCP

Run Clipfinder and point it to where the Red files are located.
Clipfinder makes a new XML now referring to the R3D files. Actually referring to the _H files which are 2048×1152.

You then send this sequence to Color, and in Color you can grade as long as you want and as much as you want.  You can later come back to FCP for further editing if need be.  For advanced users working on Resolve eQ, smoke/Flame Lustre  you can export DPX or CIN from Color, set the handles as you wish and take the DPX to the other systems.

Some things to be careful of since R3D footage is still basically in BETA stages!

The XML that Clipfinder makes after re-linking to _H files, creates a sequence in FCP that has the same name as the original sequence. So quickly rename it to avoid confusion.
DPX files out of Color work fine in Shake, Resolve and iQ/eQ. But some versions of smoke/flame/lustre can’t open them. For these systems better to use Cineon.
Color does only a half-res De-Bayer so if your needs are 4k and or full-res De-Bayer film then this workflow may not be for you.
If the Red files are on a FAT32 or other non-Mac drive, Clipfinder may not work for making a new XML. Copy files to a MacOSX HFS drive and it will work fine. If you have any problems please post any of your queries here and we will be sure to help you out!