FFmpeg convert to HD video format that Adobe Premiere Pro will not crash on?

Question

My problem is somewhat similar to others asked on the site in recent years, but none of those solutions were quite right for my problem:

I have a series of frames from a video recorded at roughly 30 fps. I need to convert it (using FFmpeg or otherwise [if applicable]) to a video format that Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2017 won't crash on. I have tried FFmpeg (and its codecs: h264 and libx264) but both times it has crashed (with no error message that I can see).

For your information, it currently does not have an audio channel, but I can get that if it is needed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here is the general form of the cmd I am using:

ffmpeg -i input_%05d.tga -framerate 30 -codec:v h264  -b:v 4M -b:a 3M output.mp4

Answer 1

Proxies

Consider using proxies: especially if this is 4k or bigger. A proxy is a lower res stand-in for editing. Upon export the original, bigger, higher quality originals will be used to create the output. See Adobe Premiere Pro User Guide: Proxy Workflow for more info.

You can have Premiere create the proxies, or create them with ffmpeg and have Premiere use those as the proxies.

Lossless

If you don't want or need a proxy another option is to use an editor friendly, lossless intermediate file using a format such as Ut Video. This will avoid the unnecessary generation loss of using lossy H.264–although to be fair when given enough bits you may not notice a difference or care.

One downside is file size, but if it is going to be temporary it may be a moot point.

Premiere can both decode and encode Ut Video after you install it (you may have to restart Premiere).

Example command:

ffmpeg -framerate 30 -i input_%05d.tga -c:v utvideo output.avi