Workflow Q's (.DNG, DPX, AE, Resolve)

Question

I've done two projects now in Premiere, and think it's a great piece of software.  However, I'm finding the finishing stage of the workflow to be super tedious and I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or if there is an easier way to go about it.
1. I work natively in Premiere with cinema .dng's. 2.5K resolution.
2. Edit, and use effects such as comp, stabilization, pan/tilt, blending modes etc.  Sometimes I use "Replace with After Effects Comp" (cinema .dngs don't currently work with this function, but supposedly it's being fixed)
3. Lock edit.  Prep sequence for Resolve - remove resizing, effects etc. in order to have all of the image in Resolve.  Output XML.
4. Color in Resolve.  Output 16-bit DPX at full resolution
5. XML does not support DPX, so I manually place footage into sequence.  This is doable for minute long videos, but for longer form content it doesn't seem ideal.  Conform 2.5K shots to 1920x1080, reapply affects etc.
6. Any shots that were sent to AE via 'replace function' I then separately output from Resolve and manually 'replace footage' in AE.
For step 5, it would be great to use the 'replace footage' option in Premiere but I can't as sometimes a single clip will be used multiple times throughout a sequence and Resolve outputs multiple clips for that one shot.
Obviously this would be easier if I used a compressed format id'd by XML, but I want to retain as much image quality as possible before the effects, panning, resizing etc. are rendered.
The stage going from Resolve back to Premiere (or any other software) is the part that is very time consuming, and sometimes not perfect.  I guess I'm looking for advice on how to make this process more manageable, or if this is simply the nature of the beast.
Also, is XML a static operation or will it be updated to support image sequences such as DPX and more effects.
Thanks!

Answer 1

the best way to get footage back into premiere is to have it replace the original footage in the sequence timeline. this is normally done with "make offline" and "relink". doing this transfers any effects and transitions to the new clips. the breakdown in this workflow is the relink in premiere. even with the update to the relink options adding the ignore file extension option in premiere, it doesn't automatically link others when relinking. when i use cinemadng's in premiere it uses the image sequence as part of the file name, this breaks any chance of an automatic relink.
the only easy option i know to get this relink to work is to use proxy files generated in resolve for the edit.  then after color grading render out individual clips again, just like when making the proxies. the difference is instead of using dpx, this requires using a format such as the quicktime uncompressed, cineform, or dnxhr that will be a single file.  then premiere will be able to relink to these color graded clips, and will keep all your effects in place. you can even swap out proxies for the color graded by renaming the folders they are in, instead of the relink option in premiere.  if you aren't satisfied with one of those codecs vs dpx, this wont be a solution. since its being rendered after the color grading, the quicktime uncompressed 10-bit might be good enough for you?  you can still render separately the AE clips in dpx or tiff if desired...   to use cineform in resolve i believe you have to purchase it, and adobe doesn't yet support dnxhr so thats not an option at this time.
another option, if you use the majority of you footage is to do primary correction in resolve first and export to dpx. then use the dpx to edit in premiere, do your AE comps, and speedgrade to polish off corrections and apply a grade. never to return to resolve... this will keep you from fighting premiere's relink with the resolve roundtrip. as neil points out, speedgrade with dynamic link saves much of the headaches. for the best performance, don't apply any effects until after done with speedgrade. speedgrade is a decent program, but if you are use to resolve you may find it lacking.