August 13th, 2011
Sorenson Squeeze – a well-known compressor/encoder, bundled as part of Avid Media Composer (MC) but also an independent product in its own right.
- Avid specify a specific version but also it is available from Sorenson itself in various updates.
- The MC 5.5.2 manifest specifies a specific version of Squeeze, namely 6.0.4.
- I choose instead Sorenson’s own update for Avid users, namely v6.5.
- The reasoning is below (under “More…”).
- Also activated the “free MP3 Codec” bundled with Squeeze.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Avid, Media Composer, Sorenson Squeeze, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
August 13th, 2011
MetaFuze’s primary, if not only purpose is to prep files for Media Composer use – an “outboard importer”. Though bundled with Media Composer, it is also available free, from www.avid.com/metafuze (which redirects to http://www.avid.com/US/industries/workflow/MetaFuze). That means for example that preprocessing work (e.g. generation of burnt-timecode proxies and online files) can be generated (e.g. in DNxHD from an arbitrary source) by anyone whether or not they have an Avid system (apart from this app, and the free Avid codecs. Potentially then a great option for breaking up work into collaborative / parallel workflows.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Avid, Cineform, collaboration, MetaFuze, transcode | 1 Comment »
August 13th, 2011
Avid MetaSync automates the inclusion of metadata (expressed in suitable XML formats) into Avid editing systems, including synchronisation with video and audio. The metadata can be anything from subtitles / closed captioning to synchronized entertainments such as lightshows or simulator rides. For closed captioning, it works particularly well with Final Draft and Evertz ProCap (both sold separately). Thinks: can it be made to work with CeltX or some home-grown VBA-based XML-generator from Access or Excel ?
- http://www.avid.com/us/partners/AvidMetaSync
- Avid MetaSync
- Avid MetaSync allows users to synchronize virtually any kind of metadata with video and audio content during the postproduction process. The MetaSync feature is now standard within Windows-based versions of Media Composer and NewsCutter products.
- Avid’s MetaSync technology enables postproduction professionals to tap into new revenue streams such as closed captioning, subtitle text insertion, digital rights management, and interactive TV content as well as “converging media” such as motion simulation rides, movie theatre effects, internet devices, and interactive toys. All of these applications can be made to react to triggers embedded within standard film, video and TV content.
- As long as a file type or process can be represented in the appropriate XML format, it can now be imported into Avid editing systems using the MetaSync feature and synchronized with video and audio. In the timeline, pointers to the original file can be positioned, trimmed and edited just like video and audio clips. The file can then be launched in its original format from directly within the Avid system to be viewed or updated, and any changes made are instantly reflected in the timeline and bin.
- Avid MetaSync Workflow
- In today’s typical scenario, one team will work on a show’s narrative content while a separate team works on the metadata elements of a program in a remote location, often at a different time altogether. Using the MetaSync feature, the Avid Editor, linked to a LAN or WAN, can edit metadata directly into the program while it’s under development. This allows the Editor to provide real-time feedback to the metadata content developers during the postproduction process.
- Using the MetaSync refresh capabilities, the Avid Editor can update the metadata content within a show as it’s being refined. This allows the Editor to suggest changes based on how well this data is working within the actual video and audio elements of the program. The end result is higher quality programming with metadata elements more finely integrated with standard video and audio content.
- http://www.camcorderinfo.co.uk/content/avid_metasync_automates_creation_04_18_03.htm?redirected=www.CamcorderInfo.com%2Fcontent%2Favid_metasync_automates_creation_04_18_03.htm
- The Avid MetaSync technology will work in conjunction with scriptwriting software provided by Final Draft, and ProCap authoring systems from Evertz, to create closed captioning and subtitling directly in the Avid timeline during the editing process. This practice will eliminate the separate step of incorporating this type of information into programs after finalized broadcast masters have been created.
- In their press release they say the captioning and subtitling creation process for editors using Avid systems, is a simple as, importing the script dialogue directly from Final Draft and aligning it with the appropriate video content on the Avid timeline. Once editing is complete, both the video and the captioning information are fed through the Evertz ProCap system and caption-encoder, which insert the captions and subtitles into the final broadcast format, according to industry standards and specifications.
- Governments worldwide are mandating the adoption of closed captioning, and broadcasters have been looking for easier ways to streamline what has traditionally been a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, said Ray Gilmartin, senior product marketing manager for Avid Technology. “Avid offers the perfect solution to meet their needs. Not only do MetaSync, Final Draft and Evertz ProCap make creating closed-captioning and subtitling almost effortless, but the process can now begin before the program is finished, saving producers valuable time as they strive to make tight broadcast deadlines.”
- Avid MetaSync comes standard with all current versions of the Symphony, Media Composer, Avid Xpress and NewsCutter, systems, as well as the new Media Composer Adrenaline, NewsCutter Adrenaline FX, Avid Xpress Pro and NewsCutter XP systems announced today. Final Draft and Evertz ProCap are sold separately and are expected to work with Avid MetaSync to create the automated closed captioning and subtitling workflow in the second quarter. For more information about Avid MetaSync or Avid’s other products and services, please visit www.avid.com.
Posted in Avid, Media Composer, MetaSync, Uncategorized, XML | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011
It’s listed on my Avid Downloads page, though I don’t know if I would be able to activate it, or whether it would be worth the trouble. It’s listed as Deko 2200. So I googled and YouTubed about… Impression: that version is very obsolete. It looks like it was originally developed by Pinnacle, who Avid bought-up.
Posted in Avid, Deko | 1 Comment »
August 12th, 2011
Updating Avid Media Composer (MC) to v5.5.2:
- I purchased an update from Avid Media Composer (MC) v5.0 to v5.5.
- Actually I purchased PhraseFind, with which the MC 5.5 upgrade was bundled for free.
- Following the purchase, I received an email with dowload links for PhraseFind and for MC 5.5.1.
- I subsequently became aware that MC 5.5.1 had been superseded by an update to MC 5.5.2.
- Two routes to this latest version were possible: update-patch or stanalone-install.
- Advice from a “guru” on an Avid forum confirmed my instince: go for the standalone install.
- I chose to follow that advice.
- I downloaded a combined installer forMC 5.5.2 and PhraseFind.
- Installation procedure:
- First I uninstalled all Avid-associated software and started from scratch.
- No need to deactivate before uninstall since I am using a dongle, not activation.
- Installed the new MC version (with PhraseFind) with no problems.
- Went about installing the Avid Production Suite applications, such as Boris, Sorenson Squeeze, Sonic DVD.
- See separate posts on each of these items.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Avid, Boris, Media Composer, Sorenson Squeeze, Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011
I am not the only one wondering, of the various kinds of de-interlacing tools/algorithms available, what are their relative advantages and indeed which one provides the greatest quality (or maybe quality/computation ratio) ? This subject has been raised repeatedly on the Sony Vegas forum. Most recently, the following have been of note:
Posted in AviSynth, deinterlacing, Sony Vegas | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011
In Avid Media Composer v5.5, the AMA plugins are no longer bundled (as they were with earlier versions). The reasoning for this is that these plugins are developed by respective device manufacturers, who are by this route free to bugfix/update their plugins independently of Avid MC releases. So I had a download-spree, from http://www.avid.com/US/products/Avid-Media-Access/plug-ins, chosing the following:
They are reasonably small, about 1MB for Windows and 10 MB for Mac (very general round figures).
Posted in Avid, Media Composer | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011
Previously I posted “Avid Media Composer: Offline-Online Basic Instructions”, at http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/315. But that approach seemed a little quirky, what with renaming Avid subfolders etc. By accident, while searching on Avid MC AMA-linking to Cineform-encoded video, I stumbled upon a forum discussion http://community.avid.com/forums/t/94905.aspx not only covering this but also how to go about (instead) using MXF ingest initially to small files (DNxHD 36) for cutting and subsequent re-ingest/replacement (DNxHD 128) for grading and final product etc. The advice given in the forum was that the AMA approach was faster but more fragile than the MXF approach. I guess the best of both worlds would be a workflow initially using AMA (eg for rush-edits) but then migrating to MXF for the full professional treatment.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Avid, Cineform, Media Composer | 1 Comment »
August 12th, 2011
Some software requires user-config to define whether OpenGL etc. are available. What has my MBP got in terms of graphic card, and what aspects of it are available under BootCamp>Windows? Below are some answers:
Posted in graphic card, MacBook Pro, test, Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011
Below is a list of are some video tutorials I found on the web, illustrating how to do titling in Avid Media Composer. There are several options (tools/plugins) in the Avid suite, from simple to more sophisticated (and complicated). Notably, the Marquee tool can automatically generate a set of lower thirds and text animations etc. in consistent style based on text in a simple text-file. Really useful for apportioning the work between different people or simply editing the text on say a mobile phone (maybe even with dictation app).
Posted in 3d animation, Avid, Text | No Comments »
August 12th, 2011
Avid downloads e.g. the Startup Project for Media Composer, Symphony, and NewsCutter. Useful when completing the installation of a download-order or when (with dongle in hand) installing on a “foreign” machine.
- http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=383115
- The Startup Project – including Media – can be downloaded from the Avid Video Download Center. Simply log-in to the Download Center and select your product (Media Composer, Symphony, or NewsCutter.) Select the version you are currently using (Media Composer 5.0, for example). You will then be presented with a download for the Startup Project (as well as downloads for the product installer, ReadMe, etc.)
- But you need a Download account first. This is separate from your standard Avid account, though once created, it can be linked to it.
- Downloads:
- Installation Guide for Avid Editing Applications
- What’s New in v5.5/9.5 Guide
- Avid Media Composer v5.5.2 ReadMe
- Avid Media Composer v5.5.2 PC Installer
- Avid Media Composer v5.5.2 Win Goodies
- Third-Party Plug-ins e.g. ???
- Demo versions of third-party applications.
- Avid Editor v5.5.X Win Startup Project
- Versioner 8/12/2011. Updates your dongle to run another version of Avid software.
Posted in Avid, Media Composer | No Comments »
August 11th, 2011
Discovered:
- Best quality level to use for grading is FilmScan1.
- The next one down, High, is only for final product, as intermediate totranscode from.
- The next level up, FilmScan2, is “overkill”.
- Tech Blog (many subjects)
- HDLink
- Firstlight
- Does more than I imagined!
- Has translation/projection adjustments (e.g. frame, zoom, pan)
- It has “looks” (via LUT’s) e.g. “Bleach Bypass”. Can scroll through them (e.g. via up/down arrow keys)
- Can be keyframed hence dynamically changing (e.g. a pan to follow a moving object or adjust level/hue as sun sinks).
- Can copy & paste attributes between different clips (select-all>Paste to make all clips have the same style)
- Can “branch” projects to provide a dropdown-selectable menu of alternative grades/looks.
- Great suggestions for incorporation in workflow:
- While one person is editing, another can be grading.
- Tip: store FirstLight projectsin DropBox folders, then everyonbe sees same instant-updates (e.g. extra alternative styles).
- http://community.avid.com/forums/t/98416.aspx
- Possible there exists a problem when used with Avid Media Composer 5.5.2 (at least).
- Conjecture: (if) First Light … is OpenGL accelerated when dealing with Cineform media (then) when it is handed to to other applications, the playback and processing of the LUT (metadata) is all CPU, thus causing a performance discrepency.
- Vimeo: Cineform Examples & Tutorials & Groups:
Posted in Cineform, DropBox, grading | No Comments »
August 11th, 2011
A year or two ago I did a web-survey of project planners, and I liked the sound of this one, it sounded more realistic to use than standard ones. So now I have time to “think” again, I registered for a 30-day trial.
Also as I guessed/hoped, there is an associated App for mobile phones:
Posted in tidy | No Comments »
August 11th, 2011
Updated to latest stable version,
- [gimp-2.6.11-i686-setup-1(2).exe]
- [gimp-help-2-2.6.0-en-setup.exe]
Also noted & installed GAP – Gimp Animation Package
Posted in Gimp | No Comments »
August 11th, 2011
AviSynth hasn’t changed in ages. However there is a Multi-Threaded version, which responds appropriately to the MT() filter.
- URL: http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/MT
- [MT_07.zip]
- Includes MT(), a Multi-Threading “Meta-Filter”
- Also includes associated MT-oriented version of AviSynth, v2.5.7.5.
Posted in AviSynth | No Comments »
August 11th, 2011
On MBP>BC>W7(64), installed VirtualDub’s latest version, v V1.9.11:
- As advised on the webpage, chose 32-bit rather than 64-bit variant as former gives greatest choice of plugins.
- Ran it and inspected/changed Preferences:
- Display:Unsure about this. Leave it alone for now.
- Render: Warn if no audio is written = YES
- Images: Default frame rate: [10.0000] = 25.0000
- Threading: [0] = 1 (1 means for video compressor use multithreading)
Also downloaded some plugins:
- [logo17.zip] & [logo17src.zip]
- Allows placement of DOG (e.g. Station ID) on screen.
- Includes example rotating globe: [earth.zip]
- [deflick13b1.zip]
- De-flickering e.g. projection screen at different frame rate.
- [smooth11.zip]
- Smoother / Deblocker, preserves (and maybe even accentuates) edges.
Posted in VirtualDub | No Comments »
August 10th, 2011
Prevoius post http://blog.davidesp.com/archives/214 said (quoted):
- High quality is for finished material (e.g. to be output to DVD/BluRay) …
- …but if further grading is a possibility then use Filmscan 1. Filmscan 2 is overkill.
- For extensive post, filmscan and 4:4:4 is probably a benefit. But note that 4:4:4:4 requires lots of power and raid arrays.
New, from http://techblog.cineform.com/?cat=100&paged=2
- For most workhorse acquisition, post, and rendering uses we recommend either High or Film Scan.
- By the way, the background on the naming of Film Scan is that this mode was designed to accurately reproduce the characteristic of film grain during film scanning.
- Certain applications dont exploit the temporal nature of the CineForm algorithm, and resulting YUV file sizes are approximately 25% larger than (otherwise). This doesnt impact visual quality, only compressed file size. These applications include Sony Vegas and Apple Final Cut Pro.
- Also for consideration: When selecting a higher quality setting (FS1 versus High for instance) the recorded files are larger (and) more CPU (is used) for real-time playback.
Posted in Cineform | No Comments »
August 10th, 2011
It is possible to export to [QuickTime>Neo] and then eve to AMA-link to it:
-
- http://techblog.cineform.com/?p=3137
- File->Export
- Select Send to QT Movie in the Export Setting dropdown at the
bottom of the export window.
- Select an output location and input output file name.
- Click Options to the right of the Export Setting dropdown
- In the Options window:
- Export As: QuickTime Movie
- Width x Height: match your source or input desired scale size
- Select 601/709″ if you have NOT selected Enable 4:4:4 encoding. If
you have, select RGB
- Display Aspect Ratio: Native Dimensions if you are not scaling,
desired output if you are.
- Click Format Options
- Sound: Checked, uncompressed, 48kHz, 16-bit, Stereo
- Click Settings
- Compression Type: CineForm HD/4K/3D
- Frame Rate: Current
- Depth: Millions of Colors+
- Quality (Set at user discretion, recommended High or Best)
- Quality Options: Enable 4:4:4 encoding and Interlaced video
source are options to use at your discretion
- Click OK as you navigate back to the original Export window, and click OK again to start your export.
- Upon completion, go back to your project bin, right-click and select Link to AMA File(s)
and
navigate to your new file.
However one person found that while the basic codec worked OK with Avid MC, the FirstLight LUT-altering aspect did not:
Posted in Avid, Cineform | No Comments »
August 9th, 2011
How to activate the PhraseFind plugin to Avid Media Composer:
I wish it could instead be tied to my Avid dongle…
Posted in Avid, Media Composer, PhraseFind | No Comments »
August 9th, 2011
My previous Avid MC version was able to AMA-link to XDCAM-EX files, straight away, i.e. straight after installing MC. However, having updated it to MC 5.5 (fresh install, not on top of older version) this no longer worked. Reason: the camera-specific AMA Plugins (e.g. for Sony XDCAM) are no longer bundled with MC, you have to download and install it separately.
- http://www.avid.com/US/products/Avid-Media-Access/plug-ins
- Starting with Media Composer 5.5, Symphony 5.5, and NewsCutter 9.5, youll need to download and install the AMA plug-ins you want separately from your editing software (these plug-ins are no longer included in the installer except for the QuickTime AMA plug-in). This enables Avid and third-party camera manufacturers to update plug-ins outside of a software release. (If youre using an older version of Avid editing software, some of these plug-ins may already be installed on your systemplease see the system requirements, below, for compatibility details.)
Downloads*
- Canon XF 300 AMA plug-in (download)
- Canon XF 305 AMA plug-in (download)
- Ikegami GFCAM AMA plug-in (download)
- MXF AMA plug-in (download)
- Panasonic P2 AMA plug-in (download)
- QuickTime AMA plug-in (installed with your software)
- RED AMA plug-in (download)
- Sony HDCAM SR Lite AMA plug-in (download)
- Sony XDCAM/XDCAM EX AMA plug-ins (download)
Posted in Avid, Sony EX XDCAM | No Comments »
August 8th, 2011
Paraphrasing http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/category/workflows/page/3/ as of 8 August 2011:
- Offline-online workflow
- You can either edit directly from as-recorded files or transcode them to Avid media for a smoother and faster editing experience. Here is a short step-by-step explanation of a Media Composer-based workflow.
- Step 1. Access/import recorded files via AMA (Avid Media Access).
- Camera clips will open inside Media Composer bins, complete with camera metadata.
- Step 2. In the case of Raw data, it is possible to change the levels/gamma/exposure/balance of the file by altering the camera raw data, then open the Source Settings for each clip and adjust the video.
- Step 3. Adjust the clip framing by opening the bin Reformat column and set the option for each clip (center cut, letterboxed, etc.).
- Remember that RED clips may have a 2:1 aspect ratio, but your Avid sequence will be either HD 16:9 or SD 16:9 / 4:3.
- Step 4. Set the Media Creation render tab to a video resolution of DNxHD36, and in the case of Raw data, with a Debayer quality of quarter.
- Since the objective is a good rough cut not finishing this quality settings is more than adequate for editing and screening your creative edits.
- Step 5. Transcode all source clips. This process runs at close to real-time on a fast machine. When transcoding is done, close all AMA bins and do not use them during the edit. Youll edit with the transcoded media only.
- Step 6. Edit as normal until you get an approved, locked picture.
- Step 7. Now its time to switch to finishing. Move or hide all Avid media (the transcoded DNxHD36 clips) by taking them out of the Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1 folder(s) on your media hard drive(s). You could also delete them, but its safer not to do that unless you really have to. Best to simply move them into a relabeled folder. Once youve done this, your edited sequence will appear with all media off-line.
- Step 8. Open the AMA bins (with the originally recorded files) and relink the edited sequence to the AMA clips. Make sure the Allow relinking of imported/AMA clips by Source File name is NOT checked in the Relink dialogue window. When relinking is completed, the sequence will be repopulated with AMA media, which will be the native, camera-recorded files.
- In the case of Raw data, if you want to change the raw color data at this point, you will need to change each source clip and then refresh the sequence to update the color for clips that appear within the timeline.
- Step 9. Change the Media Creation settings to a higher video resolution (such as DNxHD 175 X) and in the case of Raw data, a Debayer quality of full.
- Step 10. Consolidate/transcode your sequence.
- This will create new Avid media clips at full quality that are only the length of the clips as they appear in the cut, plus handles. Since a transcode using a full Debayer setting will be EXTREMELY SLOW, make sure you set very short handle lengths. (Note: If you have a Red Rocket card installed, Avid supports hardware-assisted rendering to accelerate the transcoding of RED media.)
- Step 11. Finish all effects and color grading within the NLE as you normally would.
Posted in Avid, transcode | 1 Comment »
August 8th, 2011
http://www.avid.com/static/resources/documents/solutions/Sony_XDCAM_AMA_Workflow_Guide.pdf
- This provides a great introduction to how/where one would use Consolidate/Transcode etc. in various contexts e.g. a News or a Documentary situation.
Posted in Avid | No Comments »
August 8th, 2011
Compression formats for Digital Intermediates when using Sony Vegas:
- http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=770173
- Cineform for highest quality (smart-renderable)
- Cineform (is great for transfer) between After Effects and Vegas.
- MXF for almost the same quality at a fraction of the size.
- MXF previews beautifully off small bus-powered USB 2 drives.
- Quicktime .mov with png compression for anything with a transparent alpha layer.
- Quicktime .mov with Avid DNxHD codec for Handbrake encoding intermediary and for working with the FCP world.
Details (again from the above link) about use of MXF:
- The big thing with MXF is to make sure that you use it interlaced even (if) you are using progressive footage. …set it using one of the interlaced templates but set the deinterlace method to none.
- The reason this is important is that Vegas will only smart-render .mxf footage flagged as interlaced. If you set the MXF render properties to progressive, it won’t smart-render. If you set the properties to interlaced and select either blend fields or interpolate, it will screw up resizes and renders to other formats.
- MXF with a smart-render is very cool. The format looks wonderful and no damage is done as you smart-render sections into a final piece.
- MXF without a smart-render isn’t really good enough. MXF will not hold up to successive rerenders like Cineform or a lossless codec.
Posted in Cineform, codec, DNxHD, Encoding, Final Cut, Formats, Handbrake, MXF, QuickTime, roundtrip, Sony Vegas, transcode | No Comments »
July 16th, 2011
Posted in Music | No Comments »
July 16th, 2011
Topics:
- How to choose an appropriate UPS
- What “Added-Value” features are contemporary
Google: [“uninterruptible power supply” uk]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 16th, 2011
Search: [smalltalk graphviz]
Posted in GraphViz, Smalltalk | No Comments »
July 16th, 2011
Posted in antivirus, Mac | No Comments »
July 16th, 2011
Links:
- http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=783982
- Question:
- FileMate SolidGO 3FMS4D48M-WR 48GB ExpressCard SSD; the drive works beautifully under OS X, but is not recognized at all by Windows 7 when it’s in the ExpressCard slot. In Device Manager, the yellow caution icon appears in front of the Standard ACHI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers. The drive does not show under Disk drives or in Disk Manager. The corresponding Device Status message is: “This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use (Code 12). If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system.”
- The drive is recognized as SATA under Mac OS X and also works fine in Windows when plugged into a USB port instead of the ExpressCard slot (at which point it is not treated as SATA, but USB).
- Responses:
- (For the newer (non-Intel) chipset) Apple’s BIOS emulation for Windows doesn’t support SATA, only ATA/133.
- Unfortunately for Unibody … with the Nvidia MCP79 chipset there hasn’t been a solution found yet – it’s discussed towards the end of the thread. … until they find a solution or Apple release what would be quite a simple EFI patch to enable it in the BIOS emulation we’re stuck with PATA and your SSD won’t work
Posted in MacBook Pro | No Comments »
July 16th, 2011
General & Surveys:
- Google: [storyboard lighting camera blocking animation software]
- Previzualization (general subject & software review)
- 3D Animation Software (general review)
- CeltX and StoryBoards
Specific Applications:
- MovieStorm
- (From Google: [storyboard lighting camera blocking] )
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moviestorm
- http://www.youtube.com/user/Moviestorm
- MovieStorm’s YouTube Channel – Instructional videos and demo productions
- http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/
- Virtual studio, cameras, blocking….
- Like a mini NLE: tracks, video, audio (library), used by some to produce films for YouTube.
- Mainly prefab hence easy to use (but therefore restricted) – though can expand on props.
- Modders Workshop (tool) allows creation of ‘props’ and a wizard allows the direct import of models from Google SketchUp version 6.
- FrameForge:
- http://www.frameforge3d.com/watch-demo/
- http://www.frameforge3d.com/Products/
- FrameForge Previz Studio comes in three versions: Core, Pro, and Stereographic 3D
- Create a virtual 3D set in your computer with the freedom to place any number of virtual cameras in any placement, angle or height desired. Each camera features full Pan/Tilt, Dolly, Zoom, Roll and Crane control with the options to limit focal length to a specific zoom range or set of prime lenses, limit minimum and maximum heights (due to equipment limitations or physical ceilings) to accurately portray the actual range of your equipment.
- FrameForge is not about your mastery of the pencil but more how you can explore and see what your actual equipment will see.
- Blender
- Virtual Light Lab
- DAZ 3D
Posted in 3d animation, Blender, Daz 3D, moviemaking, storyboard, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
July 16th, 2011
Storyboard Advice Links:
- From Google: [storyboard lighting camera blocking]
Posted in moviemaking, storyboard | No Comments »
July 15th, 2011
Slopegraph:
- Suppose you have a table of two columns) and that you want to show graphically how the (two) elements of each row correspond in terms of value. A Slopegraph is useful in this context.
- The originator, Edward Tufte (http://www.edwardtufte.com), says (http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0003nk&topic_id=1) Slopegraphs compare changes over time for a list of nouns located on an ordinal or interval scale. Basically: Any time youd use a line chart to show a progression of univariate data among multiple actors over time, you might have a good candidate for a slopegraph. But some people have found it useful beyond this context.
Links:
- First saw it here: http://alex4d.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/fpx-july-2011-price-changes/
- This is a great example of its usefulness: price-spread variation (y-axis) over time (x-axis)
- Originator of this type of graph: http://charliepark.org/slopegraphs/
- He has implemented it in various tools.
- An R-Function (sourcecode) to do it: https://github.com/bobthecat/codebox/blob/master/table.graph.r
- I tried it and it works.
- e.g. [ table.graph(data.frame( Week1=0:9, Week2=c(1,3,5,7,11,13,17,19,23,29)) ) ]
- OT: No idea if it can be conveniently done in Apple Mac’s Grapher, but here’s a link about that app: http://guides.macrumors.com/Grapher
Posted in data, graphs, R | No Comments »
July 15th, 2011
Backup & Restore via Disk Utility (DU) – on Mac OS install-disk – to a fresh hard-drive:
- Routine: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553
- Complication: Backed-up not the whole disk but aMac OS partition alongside a Boot Camp partition.
- DON’T: Naive use of Disk Utility (DU) to restore straight away the partition (as a sole partition) from backup doesn’t work – it won’t boot.
- You may see a grey Mac OS screen with “No Entry/Parking” sign, or error messages about ACPI drivers not present.
- Attempts to install (fresh or archive i.e. user file preserving mode) from install disk fail since disk is not bootable.
- Error message: “Mac OS cannot start up from this disk”
- DO: Try install fresh OS X from install-dvd, then use it to create Boot Camp partition (and presumably boot-selection menu) then restore (with erase) to the OS X partition (only). To save time (hopefully), didn’t actually install Windows.
- Both the fresh-install and the restoration of OS X took about an hour.
- Yes it worked! Booted into Mac OS just fine.
- Left it to “settle” a bit – e.g. until CPU level down around zero.
- Restart in Shift-Boot mode (to refresh OS’s tables etc.) and log-in as “DefaultEverything” (dummy user created as per advice – I think from Larry Jordan). Maybe should have done that the first time…
- Restarted in normal user account, again left awhile.
- Boot Camp Assistant:
- Create a partition (e.g. divide disks space equally between the two partitions)
- (takes a minute or two – progress bar is initially misleadingly stationary)
- Select [Quit and install later]
- All we wanted was the partition, to restore into.
- Started WinClone (App, started from MacOS)
- It appeared to first scan the backup then began to install it. Not quick, maybe an hour for each of these (two) tasks.
- Source partition was 232.57 GB – as compared to the destination partition of around 250 GB.
- Alt-Booted into W7 just fine.
- Being on the internet, it began downloading numerous system updates – furiously (like it was hard to web-browse even on another computer on the network.
- Correspondingly, on ShutDown, W7 installed numerous (61) updates. Took ages – so if ever repeating such a recovery, allow for this…
- Also on subsequent start-up, updating & registering stuff – took a few minutes – wish I’d run it straight (boot camp) not within Parallels. But it seemed “happy”.
- (to be continued…)
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in backup, Boot Camp, disk, Mac, MacBook Pro, Snow Leopard, Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 15th, 2011
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2506486?start=0&tstart=0
- Suppose you shot video on an iPhone and want to edit it in FCP:
- iPhone records to 720p24 h.264 with 44k aac audio+
- FCP can part-handle the H264 but not any kind of compressed audio.
- It will play H264 video but not any Real Time (RT) effects.
- Transcode it e.g. by using Compressor:
- Drag your video file into Compressor
- Under Settings type LT into the search box. The top hit should be for Apple ProRes 422 (LT). Select it.
- Duplicate it (since only a duplicate can be altered).
- Fix the audio:
- Select the duplicate in the top window and the inspector will light up.
- The first Inspector tab is for the Summary – we need to press the second one to get access to the encoders.
- On the Encoder tab, switch the audio from Pass-through to Enabled.
- Then, to its left, press the Audio: settings button.
- Change the Format to Linear PCM, Stereo (L R), 48kHz, sample size 16 bits. Press Okay.
- How to make a Droplet to do this conversion:
- In Compressor’s Settings window, Clear the Search field.
- Open the Custom Group (not essential)
- Select the iPhone to FCP (ProRes LT) and press the button at the top left of the Settings window that looks like a video file with a down arrow.
- Save the droplet to your desktop (say).
- Now you can drag your iPhone movies to the droplet (no need for Compressor to be open), it’ll throw up a dialog box, press submit and Compressor will transcode them to a ProRes format suitable for FCP.
Posted in Droplet, Final Cut, iPhone | No Comments »
June 12th, 2011
Posted in Final Cut | No Comments »
June 8th, 2011
(Retrospective-publish – got held-up in Drafts – hence earlier posts may possibly address this) (As I understand it…) Avid traditionally manages media files (ingested to its own media formats in its own [Avid MediaFiles] folders where they are identified by pesudo-random file-names) in a database-like manner, enabling media and projects to be “shovelled around like stuff” between actual storage disks etc. This is in contrast to (most? all?) other editing systems where the user must manage consistency of project-expected and actual file locations and names – though that “manual” task can be assisted by automatic search/relink tools (part of the editing system). In contrast, the new AMA feature allows Avid projects to link directly to “alien” (to Avid) media under the control (and naming etc.) of diverse systems, be they user work practices or media recording/management systems. The latter is certainly immediately convenient, but what about longer-term? Is the traditional Avid media management essentially eroded? Does it matter in practice? Do people in practice only use AMA for rushes or rush-jobs? Web-research this!
Posted in Avid | No Comments »
June 8th, 2011
- London Underground (“Tube”) http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/media/lufilmoffice
- Student/Non-professional permit:
- Crew max Five; Lightweight, handheld equipment only.
- Fee £40 (inc VAT) – Valid one month from issue
- “We generally need 2-3 weeks notice to process applications, but dependent on the request we can some times turn these around more quickly”
- Great video of film-making on the Tube, at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/media/lufilmoffice
- River Thames
- Filming and photography on the River Thames requires the prior written permission of the Port of London Authority, http://www.portoflondon.co.uk
- http://www.pla.co.uk/display_fixedpage.cfm/id/4051/site/pla
- The Port of London Authority (PLA) owns and operates Richmond Footbridge, Lock and Weir, situated between Teddington and Richmond, which offers a wonderful location for any type of film and television productions as well as still photography.
- permission to film on or by the Thames requires a filming license issued by the PLAs Corporate Affairs department.
- Location “scouting”: Some on-line film clips: http://www.pla.co.uk/films.cfm
- Buses
- http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/4933.aspx
- “We don’t usually allow filming on buses that are actually in service. However, outside peak commuter hours you can hire a bus that will look like the bus on the route you wish to film, complete with driver.”
- “In most cases you will need to give at least seven days’ notice.”
Posted in moviemaking, Uncategorized | No Comments »
June 8th, 2011
Avid’s AMA allows direct use of media files in proprietary formats such as XDCAM-EX (BPAV folders etc.) , no need to import, just link. However there are limitations, according to the Sony XDCAM and XDCAM EX AMA Plug-in Guide (as of 2011-06-08, relates to Media Composer 5.0):
- No automatic relinking:
- If the path to the AMA media changes (e.g. when files moved or a drive’s letter gets accidentally changed) then error message complains “Offline”.
- Windows UNC (Universal Naming Convention) paths are not supported with AMA media.
- To link AMA media, map it to the drive.
- The Dynamic Relink option is not supported with AMA clips.
- Avid does not support MultiCamera editing with AMA clips.
- When the AMA setting is activated (default), the traditional import options [File > Import P2 (and Import XDCAM Proxy)] do not appear in the File menu. Deactivate the AMA setting and restart Avid to display those option.
- But only AMA mode preserves the XDCAM metadata e.g. from camera settings and (presumably) any user/clip/log information entered via Sony’s Clip Browser.
- You should not mix workflows. Either use the AMA method or use the traditional import/batch import method.
- Some suggested workflows:
- The following gives a great practical guide, based on a range of shoot-types (news, doc etc) and also explains aboutRELINKing from AMA to media that has been copied to Avid storage.
Posted in Avid, Media Composer, Uncategorized | No Comments »
May 31st, 2011
http://www.sefan.org.uk/Regular_Listings.html
Posted in folk, Music | No Comments »
May 29th, 2011
To see the effects of interlacing/combing and compare the results of different deinterlacing methods:
- Insert a clip (e.g. 1080p50) to the timelineLeave clip’s properties unchanged (eg UFF).
- Set Project Properties to same as the clip – except make the project Progressive.
- Set Project Deinterlace method to None.
- Set Preview to Good/Full.
- Find a moment on the timeline where there is a good degree of motion (fast but remaining in-frame and not too blurred).
If Preview Scaling is Off then combing should be revealed in principle but may be hard to make out in practice – too fine a detail (1 pixel wide).Easiest workaround:
- Set Preview Scaling to On then reduce the Preview pane size to not-quite half-size.
- The “not-quiteness” (difference from exactly half-size) then generates a “Moire pattern” magnification of the combing – much easier to spot.
Now you can experiment with different types of deinterlacing – bearing in mind you are looking at something derived from the combing as opposed to the combing itself. To clarify the -actual- combing, one can deploy Windows’ Accessibility-Magnifier – more realistic than the above though less convenient – as follows:
- In Windows 7, do Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Start Magnifier.
- Best magnifier view-mode is a (rectangular) “Lens” (only available if Aero is enabled). Default zoom level is (1:1) i.e no zoom.
- The easiest way to change zoom level is Cmd+ and Cmd-, where Cmd is the Windows button on a PC or Command/Apple/CurlySquare button on a Mac (accessing Windows e.g. locally via Boot Camp or Virtual Machine).
- Can change lens size via Ctrl-Alt-R then (with -no- mouse-buttons held) drag it.
- Exit magnifier by Cmd-Esc.
- Sadly no way to simply toggle On/Off, but in W7 you can pin it to the task-bar.
- If magnifier control window gets buried by another window then it is still accessible as a permanently-on-top magnifying-glass icon.
Posted in deinterlacing, Sony Vegas, Windows 7 | No Comments »
May 26th, 2011
Some SharePoint (2010) training material (free):
Some non-free material:
Posted in SharePoint, tidy | No Comments »
May 25th, 2011
DNxHD update http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=758767
- Previously applications utilizing the DNxHD codec on Westmere MacPro 12 core systems would crash. This has been fixed.
- You can encode 720p50 DV100 in the DV100 QuickTime codec
Download from:
Posted in DNxHD | No Comments »
May 23rd, 2011
Here, I set up a home network. <<Actually this happened about a year ago but only just publishing it now>>. Already I have a small bunch of machines (of various ages) linked either physically (ethernet cable) or wirelessly (WiFi) to a WiFi router-modem onto ADSL. Currently these machines simply use that arrangeent for their own individual internet access. What I want to do is enable some resource-sharing, in particular onto a WiFi hub to be connected to a printer and a hard disk, but also to allow (temporary) access between machines for occasional ad hoc file transfers.
- First, ensure all PCs have easily identifiable names and belong to the same Workgroup (the typical method is to leave this at default i.e. “WORKGROUP” but note that XP’s Network Wizard defaults instead to “MSHOME”).
- For XP:
- From [http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Add-a-device-or-computer-to-a-network]
- Log on to the computer as an administrator.
- Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
- Click the Computer Name tab, and then click Change.
- If the workgroup name is not WORKGROUP, change the name to WORKGROUP, and then click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel to close the Computer Name Changes dialog box.
- If you have to change the workgroup name, you will be prompted to restart your computer.
- Next, established whether TCP/IP communication was working OK:
- Gathered a small bunch of computers together for testing.
- From CMD, obtain IP numbers of each computer.
- From each computer, try pinging each of the others.
- Initially had some problems here:
- None of the Windows computers were pingable from any other computer, but that the non-work Windows computers could ping the MacBook Pro.
- The work Windows computer was unable to ping anything.
- On the other hand, they could all ping certain external internet sites e.g. www.grc.com. Some others, such as CNN, reject pings (as possible attacks).
- The problem was in the Firewalls.
- Initially tried the crude solution of disabling the software firewalls.
- Still protected by router firewall. A grc.com test showed all was still well.
- Nevertheless, looked for a more finely-tuned solution…
- Old Compaq: Disabled Windows Firewall. Now it was pingable. Re-Enabled Windows Firewall. It was still pingable. Maybe I succeede in unblocking something?
- Newer desktop with Kapersky: [Firewall > Filtration System > Zones > Settings]
- Now the pings worked OK.
- On PCs, in Windows Explorer, check out My Network Places to see if the other machine showed up.
- Desktop: My Network Places > SharedDocs on OldCompaq
- OldCompaq: My Network Places > Entire Network > Microsoft Windows Network > Workgroup
- It could see itself and the other machine.
- However the other machine required a password. What password?
- Solution: re-run the Network Wizard on the Desktop, this time (unlike before), enable File & Printer Sharing. Now it worked fine.
- Also the PCs were visible on a Mac.
- Now to make the Mac share to the PCs:
- Enable Windows Sharing on macintosh.
- http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6127492.html
- Finally, looking at Windows 7 as a Virtual Machine under Parallels 5 on a Mac:
- Its default WorkGroup name is WORKGROUP, hence it sees the other machines OK. And it can access their shared folders. But those machines cannot see its files. Solving this problem does not seem so trivial, so I will work on it later and post its solution separately.
Posted in Networking, Setup, Uncategorized | No Comments »
May 23rd, 2011
- DNxHD 440 is the 1080p 59.97 version of DNxHD
Posted in DNxHD | No Comments »
May 21st, 2011
BBC R&D have determined the resolution levels people can typically perceive at the most common viewing distance, just under 9 feet.
Some examples I draw from this:
- For my 24 inch (diagonal) editing monitor viewed at 2 feet (my typical distance), this is equivalent to a screen of (9/2)*24= 84 inches (diagonal) at the study’s typical viewing distance. Based on this, their results imply that I can resolve in excess of full HD (1920×1080).
- Though a typical TV viewer might not sit at this distance, someone watching on a laptop or tablet etc. might well do.
- An elderly person I know sits at “about ten feet” from a 50 inch (diagonal) HD screen (a Panasonic 3D TV). They notice little difference between SD and HD. BBC results suggest they should be able to perceive up to 1280×720.
- In addition to the possible ageing issue (deteriorating vision), I wonder if their TV incorporates any clever scaling algorithm to produce an image that is HD-smooth if not HD-detailed. In principle algorithms can infer greater resolution from consideration of sets of frames, so detail-enhancement is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Posted in Formats | No Comments »
May 12th, 2011
Doing maintenance updates & calibration on a HP DreamColor LP2480zx. Renowned great display – once it’s up and running… Not user-friendly to me though (and from forums I am not the only one), having spent hours on attempts to upgrade its firmware and perform calibration using the Advanced Profiling Solution (APS). Finally got it to work -by upgrading to a non-latest version of firmware and associated calibrator (APS) etc, – but unable to update further than this (firmware updater failed to recognize monitor USB, despite connection as earlier and reboots etc.). And it was a real pain (many hours) to get just that far. The working-fix was simply to keep trying different USB ports to find one that one worked (with this system – they all worked fine on other kinds of device). Without understanding what’s going on, it feels like there are some flaky issues around the driver for the USB-based connection to the DreamColor (when updating firmware or calibrating). However, at least having got that far, I was glad it (DreamColor system) wasn’t broken and even worked. And the colours certainly looked better by eye. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in DreamColor | No Comments »
May 11th, 2011
Posted in Avid, Mac, Windows | No Comments »
May 10th, 2011
Posted in Avid | No Comments »
May 9th, 2011
Neo HD and Neo 4K are now one and the same product: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=761965 – read down the post, it gets mentioned.
Posted in Cineform, codec | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
Suppose I import (or whatever) media to one drive but subsequently want it on another drive. For example maybe I forgot to alter the project settings or simply got hold of a better storage device. How do I move (migrate) the media to the other drive in a way that the project depending on these media can still function?
Posted in Avid | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
- Avid Media Composer … Getting Started Guide for Video Editing (2000)
- Sony XDCAM HD & XDCAM EX Workflows in Avid Media Composer
Posted in Avid | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
Posted in Avid, Windows 7 | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
- http://www.avid.com/static/resources/common/documents/mxf.pdf?featureID=997&marketID=1
- My Interpretation:
- OMF is Avid’s ancient container-format, now superseded by MXF.
- MXF is container format, it can contain both media and metadata.
- AAF is a metadata representation that can be used within MXF.
- Furthermore, the AAF metadata in an MXF file can be mapped into an AAF file [.aaf].
- AAF defines arrangements of pieces of media and also effects. I guess it’s kind-of like a timeline then (?)
- For XDCAM-EX, does the AAF Export process essentially make [.aaf] files that glue together the (content of the) [.mp4] files recorded by the camera?
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
How to ingest XDCAM-EX. The following methods exist:
- Quick:
- But this leaves it long-GOP and it remains outside AVid’s managed media database.
- Avid AMA link to XDCAM-EX’s BPAV folder.
- Avid: File > Link to AMA Volume (e.g. folder containing BPAV folder)
- Robust (or not?):
- But this leaves it long-GOP and loses some metadata ?
- http://dylanreeve.com/videotv/2009/xdcam-ex-workflow-in-avid.html
- Basically if you import clips this way you are absolutely locked in to those specific media files. No backup will allow a recovery or relink, short of storing the actual files (exactly) as they are created in the Avid MediaFiles directory.
- The easiest way to avoid this problem is actually to use the older process:
- Using Clip Browsers MXF for NLE export setting.
- This will create OP-1A MXF files that you can then import into Media Composer
- (the Avid will rewrap them as OP-Atom and relocate them to its media directory).
- It is a slower process, but as its a standard import process all the necessary Metadata will be stored with the clips to allow a Batch Import later.
- Rewrap to AAF (the “newr process”
- http://dylanreeve.com/videotv/2009/xdcam-ex-workflow-in-avid.html
- Essentially this method unwraps the MP4 XDCAM-EX files and re-wraps them as MXF Op-Atom (Avids mediafile container) and places those files directly into one of Avids media directories (such as F:\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\2) and then creates an AAF file that contains a clip describing that shot (basically the easiest way to get the shots into a bin).
- ClipBrowser Help
- [Export Avid AAF] converts to the following two file formats (AAF containing pointer(s) to MXF containing media).
- AAF file: Use to load clips into Avid editing system.
- The extension is AAF, and the output destination is the media or folder specified in the Export dialog.
- AAF files produced by the conversion can be registered in your Avid editing system project by dragging from Windows Explorer to a bin in the project.
- MXF OPAtom file:
- The extension is mxf
- The output destination is the media or folder specified in the Conversion tab of the User Configuration dialog.
- Normally this is the media folder of your Avid editing system project.
- http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/assets/files/micro/xdcamex/downloads/Media_Composer_XDCAM_Workflow_v9_6.pdf (2009 article recommended on CreativeCow in 2010)
- ClipBrowser: File > Export > Avid AAF
- But first must define the Avid project’s media location?
- [Avid MediaFiles/MXF/nn] where nn is an integer ?
- e.g. [F:\Avid MediaFiles\MXF\2].
- Luxury ?:
- Convert to DNxHD
- http://community.avid.com/forums/p/75837/552748.aspx
- If you do not have a Nitris DX system then you will have to transcode the material to DNXHD after import. I find that doing a rough cut in Native XDCAM will reduce the amount of material (and therefore time) that I have to transcode for final effects and finishing.
- Clip Browser … not needed now that AMA is working great.
- Use AMA to link to the clips/volume.
- Take a look and edit instantly onto a sequence,
- …or use the consolidate command to copy the clips at the native resolution into the AvidMediaFiles folder (aka Managed Media).
- …or use the transcode command to import the clips at an AVID DNxHD resolution of your choosing.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in AAF, Avid, MXF, Sony EX XDCAM, XDCAM EX | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
Issues:
- In this blog, I never moved beyond novice newbie level of WordPress use. I’m using the WordPress service that comes as part of OneAndOne’s hosting. I edit via their web-based editor, which I now realise is a widely used one, called TinyMCE. That editor is frustrating to use, not only because it is fragile and clunky but in particular if I try to break text into paragraphs then it removes the break, producing a single block of text. Surely there is a better way, but I have little time to invest in looking into this.
- The main workaround I have been using is to employ bullet-point lists. Each paragraph goes under its own bullet-point. The result doesn’t look too great but at least it’s better than monolithic blocks of text.
But there are other ways.
The simplest, I just discovered right now (by making a fortunate mistake) is to click the Indent button, even when there are no bullet points. This seems to put the text into a paragraph-respecting mode.
I wish I had found this a long time ago! Though it’s still a bit clunky/fragile, e.g. how come this very line didn’t get spaced only one line below the previous paragraph…
There is also another approach:
Can I upgrade the version of WordPress on my OneAndOne package?
Posted in blog, Uncategorized, Wordpress | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
- I installed Avid on a MacBook Pro where system drive had both a HFS+ partition (for Mac OS) and a NTFS partition (for Windows 7). Also it had MacDrive installed, making the HFS+ partition accessible (read & write) to Windows. Avid was first installed to just Windows.
- By default, Avid’s Media Creation settings had selected some items selected to the NTFS partition but others selected to the HFS+ partition. As a result, both partitions acquired a [Avid MediaFiles] folder at root level.
- I understand (from www) that to prevent Avid from creating a [Avid MediaFiles] folder on a given device, one can pre-emptively create a file of the same name there.
- In addition, Avid’s Media Creation settings have options such as Filter Out System Drive and Filter Out Launch Drive. Also Filter Network Drives Based on Resolution.
- Latter confused me at first, i.e. what kind of resolution? The Capture setting (tab) has a selection item for Video Resolution, the choices being DVCPro HD MXF or HD 720P MXF. Surprises me that only these specific options should be given. Not sure what to make of it…
- Having not noticed the Media Creation Settings, immediately after installation I made a quick test project using QuickTime [.mov] files containing AVCHD from a Canon EOS 500D camera.
- I simply dragged the files from Windows Explorer (on the camera) to an Avid bin.
- Not sure what that counts as doing, I guess it’s another way of initiating an “Import”.
- Could I instead have accessed the original (camera) format files via AMA?
- The result was the HFS+ partition’s [Avid MediaFiles] folder contained [MXF] folder containing [1] folder containing a bunch of [.mxf] files, having names such as [EOS_0297.JPG13037404DB57E6B.mxf]. Also the database files [msmFMID.pmr] abd [msmMMOB.mdb]. The [.mxf] files were not recognized by either GSpot or VLC Player.
Posted in Avid | No Comments »
May 8th, 2011
Avid TransferManager – questions:
- What is it, what is it useful for?
- How avoid startup message?
- The TransferManager server name is not set. Please set the TMClient.ini parameters in the Transfer settings
Answers
- Is e.g. for uploading to a Playback Server
- If annoying, can remove programs TM-server and TM-client (in Windows: Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs)
- But then how get them back again if required? Maybe best to leave in-place…
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Avid | 1 Comment »
May 7th, 2011
Experiences:
- Googled for instructions: http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/223/7928
- Noted the display must be the only one connected.
- I assume then this precludes the use of a laptop (whose screen cannot be disconnected).
- Also must be connected by USB
- Display was indeed connected by correct USB (to underside of monitor)
- Tried it from a Mac Pro > Boot Camp > Windows XP Pro (32)
- Failed – no USB connection recognized.
- I assume then it needs to be run from an actual PC (Desktop).
- In which case will have to arrange one…
- But then googled on [dreamcolor firmware update mac]
- Found some people who had succeeded with updating it from a Mac > BootCamp > Windows
- Found someone with problems with DreamColor used with a Mac
- Sounds like it’s important the Mac runs Snow Leopard, not Leopard, in order to avoid the issue where Apple Color uses gamma 2.2 whereas other apps (e.g. Final Cut etc.) use that older OS’s default gamma of 1.8.]
- Thinks: Maybe it’s the USB lead that’s the problem?
- DreamColor Developer’s white paper on using the monitor with a Mac
Posted in DreamColor | No Comments »
May 3rd, 2011
Experiences:
- Mac Pro (2009) running Boot Camp / Windows XP, DreamColor connected by single DisplayPort.
- Install software from CD, system reboots.
- Plug-in the i1 “showerhead” device to USB on Mac Pro
- Device not recognised.
- Search for driver. Found. Installed.
- Reboot (just in case…)
- Run the DreamColor application (from Start/Programs)
- Select the monitor
- Says “ensure USB is connected between the display and the computer”
- There is. But it complains: “Please verify that a USB cable is connected between the HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional LCD Display and your computer, then try again”.
- Tried various ports and reboots -no difference.
Google Search [dreamcolor forum]:
- http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&swItem=vc-82505-1&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
- NOTE: To calibrate an HP DreamColor LP2480zx Monitor, the USB cable must be connected from the monitor to the computer.
- The DisplayPort interface is supported for HP DreamColor LP2480zx Monitors only (the video card must support DisplayPort).
- NOTE: To calibrate an HP DreamColor LP2480zx Monitor using DisplayPort on a Microsoft Windows based system, the following two requirements must be met:
- 1. HP DreamColor LP2480zx Monitor firmware version TR:137, SL:071, BL:167, or later, is required.
- 2. Systems with NVIDIA Quadro Graphics must use NVIDIA Quadro Driver version 191.66 or later.
- http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/223/7928
- The most useful white paper for broadcast methodology seems to be the one titled: “Using the HP DreamColor LP2480zx Monitor for Professional Video Applications”
- “I believe that the APS color calibration profile is only used when connected via DVI and the Dreamcolor is functioning as a second (or third) computer monitor. As far as I know, as long as your Blackmagic HD is feeding the proper, progressive, RGB signal to the monitor, and your monitor is in the proper color space preset, you will have a correctly calibrated picture. The ICC color profile only comes into effect when the Dreamcolor is connected as a computer display.”
- http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Monitors-and-video/LP2480zx-Dreamcolor-calibration/td-p/172104
- http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01695201/c01695201.pdf
- http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/223/7928
- Calibrating the Dreamcolor attached to a 2010 MacPro,
- To follow up on my posts about problems calibrating the Dreamcolor attached to a 2010 MacPro, I finally got it working properly last weekend. I was inspired by finding a new version of the Advanced Profiling Solution on X-Rite’s website, version 1.1.0.1 dated 06 Dec 2010. Upon installation, it was having the same problem, complaining that the monitor was not connected to the USB port. I did a “Reset to Factory Settings” in the Dreamcolor’s menus. After that, the monitor was recognized, and the calibration would start. However, it hung up after turning the monitor down to a very dark setting. I checked HP’s website, and saw that a newer firmware is available: TR137.SL071.BL167 Rev. A 3 Feb 2010. Using Bootcamp, I booted to Windows7 and successfully updated the firmware. I then shutdown the computer, and turned off the monitor using the rocker switch on the back (next to the USB port). Booting into Snow Leopard, I was able to run the full calibration of the Dreamcolor.
- I hope this helps anyone else who is stuck like I was. I advise:
- Update to the latest monitor firmware.
- Reset to factory defaults.
- Turn off the power using the rocker switch.
- Get the latest APS from X-Rite.
- How to update LP2480zx firmware
- Check the current firmware versions
- On the monitor, press any menu button
- Select Open OSD
- Select Information
- Look at Version
- The original firmware version is TR: 107 SL: 054.
- Remember, (firmware update of monitor) needs to be done from a Windows computer.
- To install the firmware:
- Connect the display to the Windows computer that you’re updating from. DVI or VGA connection is likely to be the most reliable for the firmware update (DisplayPort or HDMI may not work so smoothly).
- Connect the USB cable (provided in the LP2480zx box) from the computer to the LP2480zxs upstream connector (near the where the power cable connects on the underside of the display).
- Power-cycle the display by switching off the hard power switch (right next to the USB cable) on the underside of the display, and then on again after, say, 10 seconds.
- Open the firmware updater installer (the sp.exe file), and follow instructions. This installs the firmware updater.
- Run the firmware updater: Start Menu -> All Programs -> HP -> HP DA Firmware Updater -> HP DA Firmware Updater (or look for the icon on your desktop). Follow instructions.
- You should see the monitor go black, with a flashing green power LED. The LED flashes slowly for the upload phase, and faster for the flash update phase. The monitor will go through this process three times, once for each firmware module being updated.
- When done, the monitor should return to normal display, and you can verify that the revisions have been updated (see above for how to do that). If, however, it remains black for more than 10 minutes, or if the monitor is dark and the power light is glowing amber, you can power-cycle it with the hard power switch to restore normal operation, and try again.
- Follow the steps listed earlier to use the OSD to verify that the firmware has indeed been updated to TR133:SL063:BL167 (or whatever is the latest).
Posted in DreamColor | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2011
There is a free yadif (superior interpolation-based deinterlacer) plugin for Sony Vegas 10: http://www.yohng.com/software/yadifvegas.html and http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/24/923607. As I understand it, yadif is an advanced deinterlacer like in Handbrake, superior to Interpolate and Blend. There’s a beautiful graphical description of how it works at https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/yadif.
Posted in deinterlacing, Sony Vegas | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2011
From [ http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=761070 ] referring to [ http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=140233&page=3 ]. Does low-pass filter “automatically” during resizing to reduce twitter/shimmer/aliasing etc.
- source=AviSource(“d:\fs.avi”).ColorYUV(levels=”TV->PC”).AssumeTFF #Expands levels if frameserved in YUY2
- IResize(source,720,480)
- function IResize(clip Clip, int NewWidth, int NewHeight) {
- Clip
- SeparateFields()
- Shift=(GetParity() ? -0.25 : 0.25) * (Height()/Float(NewHeight/2)-1.0)
- E = SelectEven().Spline36resize(NewWidth, NewHeight/2, 0, Shift)
- O = SelectOdd( ).Spline36resize(NewWidth, NewHeight/2, 0, -Shift)
- Ec = SelectEven().Spline36Resize(NewWidth, NewHeight/2, 0, 2*Shift)
- Oc = SelectOdd( ).Spline36Resize(NewWidth, NewHeight/2, 0, -2*shift)
- Interleave(E, O)
- IsYV12() ? MergeChroma(Interleave(Ec, Oc)) : Last
- Weave()
- }
Spline36Resize can be replaced by another resizer if you wish.
Posted in AviSynth, deinterlacing, resizing | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2011
http://update.services.openoffice.org/ooo/index.html
- Releases
- Get Started
- If you are new to OpenOffice.org, you might be looking for user guides, FAQs, HowTos, application guides, and training. To find information about OpenOffice.org documentation, go to: http://documentation.openoffice.org/
- Do More
- Experience new functionality and adjust OpenOffice.org to your needs. Maximize your productivity with the help of extensions which add functionality, slight tweaks to the user interface, or entirely new features to the OpenOffice.org productivity suite. Go to http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/ for a complete list of available extensions.
- Get Help
- If you cannot get your questions answered through the documentation and the Online Help provided with OpenOffice.org, the Support area provides a number of links to free and commercial support offerings: http://support.openoffice.org/
Posted in office suites, OpenOffice | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2011
What if one wants to encode a non-supported format in DNxHD? For example double-framerate HD at 1080p 50 fps? I typically produce such material by double-framerate deinterlacing from HD footage. Some cameras are also starting to appear that record directly at 1080p 60 fps. DNxHD config panel doesn’t give options for this – but there appears to be a workaround:
- <<Because there was not a 59.94 fps Progressive option in the DNxHD config, I thought it was not allowed. I chose the 1080p 25fps option in the DNxHD config & 59.94 fps in the “Quicktime 7” panel – and it worked like a champ! All the way thru a HandBrake Render @ 59.94 fps.>
- I have not yet confirmed this by experiment.
Posted in DNxHD, Formats | No Comments »
May 2nd, 2011
- H264 Encoder Tips:
- Some recommend the use of Handbrake (free encoder) over that in Sony Vegas 9 and earlier.
- Sony Vegas 10 uses an updated version of the MainConcept encoder (for H264 etc.) than Vegas 9 etc.
- I don’t know how this compares to Handbrake.
- Levels: Studio/Broadcast, 0-235.
- Any levels outside this range will be preserved by the encode/decode but will get clipped at 16=black and 235=white.
- Levels within the range will play back in Vimeo at 0-255 RGB on computer display.
- But what of gamma/colorspace? 601 or 709 or what?
- Framerate:
- 30fps (as in USA) or 25fps (as in Europe etc.).
- For nicer motion, might be worth mo-comp retiming 25 fps to 30 fps?
- Resolution:
- 640×480 for standard definition
- 4:3 video, 853×480 for widescreen DV
- 1280×720 or 1920×1080 for high definition.
- Pixel Aspect:
- Square, i.e. 1:1″ or “1.00”
- Interlacing:
- Encoding
- MP4-(H264+AAC). Other formats also possible but this one is probably the most popular.
- H264:
- Use 2000 kbits/sec for standard definition 4:3 video, 3000 kbits/sec for widescreen DV, or 5000 kbits/sec for high definition footage.
- Profile = Main ?
- Reference frames = 2 (default)
- Each macroblock (or part of it?) can be predicted from a different reference frame. Result can be higher quality but increased encoding time – since each Ref. Frame implies its own motion estimation. A default of 2 or 3 is about right. Higher values tend only to be helpful for animations. Values above 5 rarely help.
- Deblocking filter = Yes ?
- AAC: 320 kbps / 44.1 kHz
- http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=745821
- If you give them non-streaming source, the upload servers must do an extra preliminary pass to find the metadata, taking up more time and resources than is necessary. This has a cumulative effect on overall server response.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Formats, levels, Vimeo, YouTube | No Comments »
May 1st, 2011
Higher-quality encoding for MPEG-2 and H264 than available in Sony Vegas, also with better deinterlacing (yadif) and resizing (lanczos3).Guide: https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/HandBrakeGuide Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in deinterlacing, Encoding, Handbrake | No Comments »
May 1st, 2011
Summary:
- Cineform copes nicely with non-standard formats but DNxHD does not.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Cineform, DNxHD, Sony Vegas | No Comments »
May 1st, 2011
Summary of my conclusions from my own limited experiments based around Sony Vegas (9.0e 64-bit):
- For HD 1080-50i, in its corresponding mode, DNxHD works as well as or better than Cineform.
- However for non-standard formats (like Vimeo SD-Wide 853×480), DNxHD does not work well while Cineform does.
- Confirmed by separate experiment, reported separately.
- For my experiments (Sony Vegas 9.0e-64) the following DNxHD settings made no difference:
- LevelSpace: RGB/709
- Quality: 50% (default) or 100%
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Cineform, DNxHD, Formats, Sony Vegas | No Comments »
May 1st, 2011
http://recursostic.educacion.es/bancoimagenes/web/
- Educational bank of images, sounds and videos (Spanish)
Posted in media collections | No Comments »
April 28th, 2011
- http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=760878
- Choosing interpolate or blend has nothing to do with this particular process, you shouldn’t see any difference, but you do need to select one method or the other. The only point at which is make a difference is when you’re deinterlacing AND not changing the frame size. Then the deinterlace method WILL make a big difference. 99.9% of the time, I will use interpolate as blend will cause “halos” on the edges of moving objects.
- 99.9% of the time, I will use interpolate as blend will cause “halos” on the edges of moving objects.
Posted in deinterlacing, Sony Vegas | No Comments »
April 22nd, 2011
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=757879
- For TV adverts, how to maintain legal audio loudness.
- Can use NuGen’s Audio VisLM, then (for US ?), level audio files using ATSC/A85 preset.
- Compact version, as of 2011-04-22, costs $186
- They say:
- True cross-platform, multi-format loudness meteringThe most fundamental question in audio production, how loud is it? Simple and yet elusive, with loudness inconsistency and incompatibilities present every day in broadcasts across the world.With detailed, objective loudness measurement, history and logging facilities, VisLM provides a simple, ITU, ATSC and EBU standard compliant* way to measure, compare and contrast loudness during production, broadcast and post production, on the fly or for entire sections of audio.VisLM introduces several essential parameters for audio measurement.* True-Peak level metering (inter-sample accurate level monitoring)* Loudness Range (to help decide if and how much dynamic compression to apply)* Momentary ‘instantaneous loudness’ for mixing by ear* Short term loudness (3 second time window)* Program Loudness (long term integrated loudness measurement)
Posted in audio | No Comments »
April 20th, 2011
You register and get 2GB free storage area, visible in Windows Explorer as “dropbox”, alongside the existing “downloads”. There, you can drag files (from elsewhere) to some place such as the eisting Public folder or you can create a new folder and make it personal or sharable. If you make it sharable, you get prompted for an email address of the sharer. Dropbox then auto-sends an email to that address. The email includes a probably-unique secure (https) link (incorporating a big pseudorandom number) for them to click on. OK so it’s not just public. Great!
Posted in DropBox, file mgt | No Comments »
April 15th, 2011
http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/91722
- << Avatar was cut on Avid Media Composer systems running software version 2.8.4. >>
- << Even with the help of stalwart first assistant Jason Gaudio, the editing team did not want to risk upgrading their NLE software in mid-project despite the fact that Media Composers have been able to playback 3D sequences directly from the timeline ever since version 3.5. >>
- << So when they wanted to view the 48 terabytes of footage on their Avid Isis storage system holding both left and right eye tracks, they had to run both dailies footage and cut sequences through a QuVIS Acuity 3D playback platform. >>
Posted in Avid, Media Composer, moviemaking, NLE | No Comments »
April 15th, 2011
Sony Vegas: Guidelines for Fast Preview Speed (from Sony Vegas forum, http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=758370)
- Match project properties exactly to your source footage. Use the “match” feature to do this. Failure to have these settings correct is the biggest reason for slow timeline playback.
- Don’t use higher preview resolution than necessary. Use Auto instead of Full, and use “preview” or “good” instead of “best,” especially when smooth timeline performance is more important than being able to see every last detail.
- Turn off “scale video to fit preview window.” This doesn’t make a huge difference, but it helps.
- Make your preview window smaller.
- Set “Deinterlace Method” in “Project Properties” to “Interpolate” instead of “Blend”.
- Try setting “Thumbnails to show in video events” in “Video” preferences to “None”, especially for multicam projects.
Posted in Sony Vegas | No Comments »
April 14th, 2011
For Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 (and probably earlier – though unknown to me) you can SaveAs to image files, e.g. .png, useful for incorporating in a video (say). But in some cases the resulting image seems blurry as compared to the original. This is because the default SaveAs image resolution is only 96dpi (dots per inch). One can increase this to 300 dpi by making a simple registry modification:
Posted in PowerPoint | No Comments »
April 14th, 2011
DaVinci Resolve Lite – free:
The full version has 3D tracking “Power Windows”, so you don’t have to manually generate and track masks. It is said by some to be runnable on linux.
Posted in grading | 1 Comment »
April 13th, 2011
Final Cut Pro X (ten) – FCPX. Wannit now!!!
- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383503,00.asp
- NAB 2011 (April): Final Cut Pro SuperMeet Presentation on FCPX:
Posted in FCPX, Final Cut, NLE | No Comments »
April 10th, 2011
My girlfriend is considering buying a 1930’s house. It has evidence of dampness and cracks inside, against the outer and southern wall. A surveyor mentioned it had cavity wall insulation but did not associate this with the dampness or cracks. But I remember stories from decades ago where lacking-in-thought installations offering reduced heating bills etc. resulted in just these kinds of effect, by bridging of the wall-cavity. Furthermore, in this part of the world, the southern direction is where the rain mostly blows from. I’m no expert, but remember my parents’ repeated warnings about this issue – from their absorption of newspaper & TV coverage over several decades. So time for a bit of Googling. Best sites I found:
Conclusions:
- Potential Problems:
- Cavity wall insulation risks internal dampness and accelerated corrosion of ferrous wall-ties (the latter e.g. by condensation). Not a certainty, but certainly a risk,the “success rate” would be interesting, but for a specific case, it is more about proper pre-installation inspection for suitability.
- Increased the risk of damp to the property could in turn cause internal decorative spoiling, plaster damage, fungal decay to structural and joinery timbers and also accelerate the risk of corrosion to the metal wall ties.
- Another problem is insulation sinking under its own weight. Over time, the fibre can compact and settle in the cavity, leaving cold areas at the top of the house, ripe for mould growth. Insiders say this is often due to insufficient fibre being used – a common problem with contractors employed on bulk contracts claiming the government subsidy.
- Foam insulation can sometimes lead to cracking damage – usually to internal wall surfaces – following foam cavity wall insulation which might possibly be due to the expansive force of the foam as it cures.
- The Failure Physics / Mechanism:
- Internal wall dampness can arise where rain blown by wind hits external walls then the cavity insulation forms a bridge to the internal wall. This can happen even when the cavity material is itself water-resistant (presumably because of surface tension and capillary action etc.).
- If the installation is less than perfect, leaving unfilled air pockets – these could leave ‘cold spots’ on the inside walls which attract condensation. Another problem concerns wall-tie corrosion; cavity insulation makes the outer brick leaf colder, and therefore wetter, which can accelerate rusting of the wall ties.
- Aside from the damaging consequences of dampness, cavity wall insulation can sometimes actually lose building heat. Blown mineral-wool fibre has to become only slightly damp (around one per cent by volume) to lose all of its insulation properties. Any damper than this, and it will actually start to draw more heat out of the house than if the insulation were absent.
- Potential Misdiagnosis:
- It feels like there is some blind-spot, if not denial, to this long-standing issue.
- There is a tendency to assume damp-course issues, even when they are not relevant.
- Another reported misdiagnosis is roof problems, the cost of (potentially pointless) fixing of which can be thousands of pounds.
- Materials & Installation:
- Various kinds of material can be used, the cheapest and most popular being blown “wool”, others being fibre, bonded polystyrene beads and foam. Choice of material does not guarantee freedom from dampness risk.
- In new buildings, usually the insulation is fixed only to the inner leaf, leaving a narrow cavity to intercept any rainwater that penetrates the outer brick leaf. This insulation material is usually in the form of rigid foam boards, which are intrinsically waterproof, or semi-rigid mineral-wool or glassfibre “batts” (vertically-aligned grain).
- Some properties are not suitable for cavity insulation. Pre-installation inspection should include checks via a boroscope. Even large cavities do not give freedom from risk.
- Installations should be backed by a 25 year C.I.G.A. guarantee. In any case, assuming that the company responsible for the original installation is still trading, then these costs may well be their responsibility.
- Removal:
- Removal under guarantee does not necessarily take place instantaneously…
- Removal plus damage repair (internal plaster etc. and/or ties) can cost around one to four thousand pounds. Removal difficulty/cost depends on the material, and can leave “permanent scars” on the building exterior.
- All cavity insulation can be removed. Mineral fibres and polystyrene granules can be blown or vacuumed out, whilst solid foam insulation must be manually broken up and scraped out.
- An alternative to “filler” types of cavity wall insulation: Celotex. This is a type of insulation board that can be attached to inner or outer walls, external to the cavity. Guides: http://www.insulation4you.co.uk/celotex_installation_guides.html
Posted in building, house | No Comments »
March 21st, 2011
Suppose you have a drawing that is so large or wide (like a strip) that you’d prefer to have it printed onto several sheets that can be tessellated (e.g. sellotaped together) afterwards for viewing. One way is to import the image (e.g. .png) into Visio 2003. It even provides a useful small margin of overlap. In that case the steps that worked for me are:
- Open Visio 2003
- (Haven’t tried other versions)
- Blank drawing
- (No need to size or orientate)
- File > Open
- (The .png file or whatever)
- File > Print
- File > Page Setup
- Print Setup
- Paper size (e.g. A3 or A4)
- Landscape (say)
- Fit to n pages across by m pages down
- Page Size
- Size to fit drawing contents
- File > Print…
Posted in GraphViz, printer | No Comments »
March 20th, 2011
Performance results for deinterlacing by TDeint plugin within AviSynth (2.5.8 32bit single-thread). Other versions of AviSynth exist, including 64bit multithread, though not all plugins are compatible with these.
- SD 720×576 50i → 720×576 25p, duration 14.5 minutes.
Posted in AviSynth, deinterlacing | No Comments »
March 20th, 2011
They all work fine. Initially there were some teething problems, due to a bad installation of AviSynth, though that cause was not immediately apparent (meaning I spent hours experimenting and Googling before the moment of that realisation…). Versions installed:
- AviSynth 2.5.8 rev. 2
- AvsP 2.0.2
- Avs2Avi (Created 6 July 2004, size on disk 84 KB)
The main symptom of the teething problems: An AviSynth [.avs] script ran OK inside AvsP, to save to an AVI file, but before the dialog could ask me what codec, it failed with error message saying it could not open the source (.avs) file. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in AviSynth, MacBook Pro, Windows 7 | 1 Comment »
March 20th, 2011
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/final-cut-suite/125182-how-update-your-os-apps-properly-save-your-system.html
Posted in backup, Mac | No Comments »
March 19th, 2011
svchost Viewer – sounds good, not tried it or recommending it, just noting it for possible future investigation.
- http://svchostviewer.codeplex.com
- A program to see what all those svchost.exe are running
- Ever wondered what all those svchost.exe processes are running ?? Well here is an app
to tell you. It gives you some basic information like the Name and description.
- No installation required.
- Only requirement is that you have .net installed (ver 2.0 or newer).
- Work in Windows XP (sp2) and Vista and Windows 7.
- Coded in C#
Posted in util, Windows | No Comments »
March 19th, 2011
http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1092244
- DON’T:
- Don’t edit HD footage on a SD timeline.
- Pasting into an SD timeline is the worst thing you can do. FCP is terrible at conversion of HD to SD. At the very least send your HD Quicktime movie of the timeline to Compressor and have Compressor make the conversion.
- A much MUCH better way would be to invest in something like an AJA Kona board which does full broadcast conversions in realtime.
- Don’t ever down-convert HD to SD before encoding to MPEG2. It’s not only completely unnecessary waste of your time, it’s an unnecessary re-compression step that will make your DVD hideous.
- Don’t “Export using Compressor” directly from the timeline.
- you can keep editing in FCP while Compressor encodes
- Compressor is faster when working from a single file, because it avoids the look ahead clip by clip encoding features of VBR encoding that pretty much creates more problems than it solves.
- DO:
- File > Export > Quicktime Movie.
- Leave it set to “Current Settings”
- You can export a Reference movie if you’d like, meaning leave “Make Self Contained Movie” UNchecked.
- Take that Quicktime movie into Compressor.
- Choose the DVD Compression of your choice, such as DVD 90 Minutes High Quality.
- Compressor will create a Standard Definition 16:9 MPEG-2.
- Also select the Dolby Digital Audio to create the AC-3 audio file.
- Launch DVD Studio Pro and bring the MPEG-2 and AC-3 into your project.
- Now create a DVD!
- DVD Studio Pro will create a DVD in 16:9 widescreen format that will automatically play Letterboxed on a 4:3 TV and full screen on a 16:9 widescreen.
Posted in Compressor, DVD, Final Cut | No Comments »
March 7th, 2011
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?239950-KiPro-mini
- <<32Gb CF card that is approved will …yield 18-24mins.>>
- Surely depends on bitrate
- <<be sure to review the “approved CF Card list”>>
http://neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com/
- Recording durations:
<<
32 Gb CF card
– 88 mins of ProRes Proxy
– 40 mins of ProRes LT
– 28 mins of ProRes
– 19 mins of ProRes HQ
>>
- Whereas for KiPro (bigger):
<<
500 Gb hard disk
– 1384 mins of ProRes Proxy – 23 hrs
– 637 mins of ProRes LT – 10 hrs 37 mins
– 450 mins of ProRes – 7 hrs 30 mins
– 300 mins of ProRes HQ – 5 hrs
>>
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/aja-io-ki-pro/484627-ki-pro-mini-specification-request-3.html
- <<1080i 25 or 720p 50 Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) = 36 minutes, approximately 56.36GB>>
- <<1080i 25 or 720p 50 Apple ProRes 422 = 54 minutes, approximately 56.67GB>>
http://www.aja.com/pdf/KiProMini_qualifiedCF_cards.pdf
- Largest is SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash 64GB
Posted in KiPro, ProRes, Uncategorized | No Comments »
March 5th, 2011
Although Avid Media Composer (MC) itself has no native Secondary Color Correction, that functionality can be achieved via plug-ins such as Boris (e.g. BCC Colors & Blurs) or Spectra Mate.
Posted in Avid, Boris, grading, Media Composer | No Comments »
March 1st, 2011
A physical DVD could be played but not copied, despite attempts on multiple computers (each with own drive). The main VOB file was corrupted. The disk appeared to the eye to be in good condition. Wanted to copy a repaired version of that file, maybe with gaps or truncations, whatever could be salvaged. Workaround was to do a ‘dd’. That’s a unix command to “convert and copy a file”. Mac OS X is based on a variant of unix, so chose to execute it from there. The successful command was as follows:
- dd if=/Volumes/’DVD VR’/VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_1.VOB of=tmp/vts_01_1.vob conv=noerror
Prior to this, naively-and-unsuccessfully tried Windows 7 PowerShell (PS) ‘cp’ command with ‘-Force’ option, but that was “barking up the wrong tree”. An alternative suggestion, not attempted, was to use a streaming video processor such as VirtualDub. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in backup, DVD, file mgt, Mac, unix, VirtualDub | No Comments »
February 21st, 2011
In principle, increasing the gamma primarily has the effect of boosting the mids. But that simple explanation does not cover everything:
- My experiences:
- In cameras, selecting different gamma curves also affects the general levels, typically reducing them (not simply boosting the mids).
- Doubtless because in a camera, the “focus” is on extending the latitude of the overall recording, to avoid blown-out highlights, as opposed to increasing the brightness of scene shadows etc.
- In Sony XDCAM EX, the precise behaviour of the gamma has been empirically determined.
- In Sony Vegas (version 9 at least), the 8-bits levels-space used is 0..255, as opposed to the broadcast-legal range of 16..235 adopted by most other Non Linear Editor (NLE) applications. Thus, the lowest level generated by a typical camera, namely 16, constitutes a “mid” and as such does indeed get boosted by Vegas’s own Gamma effect.
- A workaround might be, in Vegas, to apply Media FX to expand the levels range of the footage to 0..255, do all editing at that range then for the final delivery render, compress (linearly) down to 16..235.
In a linear space, a typical camera response curve is an S-curve where the bottom curve of the “S” is relatively short and the top curve of the “S” is long and drawn-out. So the camera is sensitive to low-light and then saturates early-on in high light. Presumably, if all we did was to alter gamma, then the bottom-part of the “S” would shorten (the response would “pick-up” earlier) and the top part of the S-curve would draw-out even more to the left, becoming even longer, tending to saturate earlier-on (with respect to light levels). However in practice a typical camera will at the same time reduce levels prior to the gamma curve. ???GET FORUM OPINIONS ON XDCAM EX DATA FLOW???. The overall result is a reduced gradient. This essentially extends the levels-range recorded while at the same time reduces the contrast range, giving a washed-out appearance. Meanwhile, in log-space, which is meaningful because that’s how the eye perceives brightness, the overall effect of such gamma is to make the (log) curve more linear. Presumably then the ultimate gamma curve would be logarithmic. I found something called S-log, which sounds a bit like that, at http://www.xdcam-user.com/tag/s-log/:
- <<Its Sony’s version of shooting RAW>>
- <<S-Log isn’t a very aggressive log curve. … most colorists just work with it as is without applying a LUT … (which can be done) with levels and gamma filters in any NLE. A true Log encoded file, like a log DPX, or LogC from an Alexa is a bit more extreme and you’re probably better off finding a LUT to decode.>>
- << if/when you shoot S-Log 8-bit, and you need to make it look normal or high-contrast … Then you’d be in trouble stretching that flat 8-bit image out.>>
Then at http://www.xdcam-user.com/?s=s-log
- <<the uncorrected image is so flat and washed out that it can make judging the optimum exposure difficult and crews using S-Log will often use traditional light meters to set the exposure rather than a monitor or rely on zebras and known references such as grey cards. For on set monitoring with S-Log you need to apply a LUT (look Up Table) to the cameras output. A LUT is in effect a reverse gamma curve that cancels out the S-Log curve so that the image you see on the monitor is closer to a standard gamma image or your desired final pictures. The problem with this though is that the monitor is now no longer showing the full contrast range being captured and recorded so accurate exposure assessment can be tricky as you may want to bias your exposure range towards light or dark depending on how you will grade the final production. >>
- <<In addition because you absolutely must adjust the image in post production quite heavily to get an acceptable and pleasing image it is vital that the recording method is up to the job. Highly compressed 8 bit codecs are not good enough for S-Log. Thats why S-Log is normally recorded using 10 bit 4:4:4 with very low compression ratios. Any compression artefacts can become exaggerated when the image is manipulated and pushed and pulled in the grade to give a pleasing image. You could use 4:2:2 10 bit at a push, but the chroma sub sampling may lead to banding in highly saturated areas, really Hypergammas and Cinegammas are better suited to 4:2:2 and S-Log is best reserved for 4:4:4.4. >>
http://www.abelcine.com/articles/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=574:an-introduction-to-log-and-its-uses&catid=52:digital-cinema&Itemid=100003
- << The LOG mode … captures what the camera is capable of discerning. Because the maximum range of sensor data is being recorded at all times, there is more range to create the desired look in post. In a REC709 video gamma (in contrast), an image may have a bright light source overexpose to white and dark shadow areas record as black. The same image recorded in LOG may have considerable detail on both ends of the exposure range, which in later color correction can be exploited, if so desired. >>
- << When footage is transferred with video gamma, it is meant for display (perhaps with minor adjustment applied later). When footage is transferred using the LOG CINEON curve, no artistic interpretation of the footage happens during the transfer the goal is to preserve the full range of possibilities for later adjustment. This footage will look very flat and dull when displayed directly on a monitor. >>
- << Most Digital Cinema cameras have a mode of recording or transcoding to a LOG curve. For example, Sony has S-Log (in the F35, F23, SRW-9000 and the PMW-F3), ARRI has LOG-C, RED has REDLOG, and Panasonic has FILMREC (which, while not technically a LOG curve, serves the same purpose). >>
http://www.xdcam-user.com/2011/01/when-should-i-use-a-cinegamma-or-hypergamma
- << In a perfect world you would control your lighting so that you could use standard gamma 3 (ITU 709 standard HD gamma) with no knee. Everything would be linear and nothing blown out. This would equate to a roughly 7 stop range. This nice linear signal would grade very well and give you a fantastic result. Careful use of graduated filters or studio lighting might still allow you to do this, but the real world is rarely restricted to a 7 stop brightness range. So we must use the knee or Cinegamma to prevent our highlights from looking ugly. >>
- << If you are committed to a workflow that will include grading, then Cinegammas are best. If you use them be very careful with your exposure, you dont want to overexpose, especially where faces are involved. getting the exposure just right with cinegammas is harder than with standard gammas. If anything err on the side of caution and come down 1/2 a stop. >>
- << If your workflow might not include grading then stick to the standard gammas. They are a little more tolerant of slight over exposure because skin and foliage wont get compressed until it gets up to the 80% mark (depending on your knee setting). Plus the image looks nicer straight out of the camera as the cameras gamma should be a close match to the monitors gamma. >>
- http://www.xdcam-user.com/2010/03/brewing-up-a-scene-file-gamma-and-knee/
- Great practical advice including the need to avoid fleshtones getting into the flesh region of the response curve
Misc:
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February 20th, 2011
To obtain/maintain/increase/verify an intuitive feel and hence greater confidence for the appropriate use of gamma in camera settings, I did some thinking & research. The basic idea is as follows:
- A typical consumer camcorder produces crisp images
- “Film Look” use of a professional camera may employ non-standard gamma settings in the camera settings.
- The straight results of this are images of “washed-out” appearance. To obtain a pleasing result requires grading (levels & gamma, saturation, color curves etc.). Example: http://reduser.net/forum/showpost.php?p=687243
Regarding the second, more professional approach:
- The immediate result is “scary” because it looks washed-out
- The goal is not to produce an immediately-pleasing image but to capture “as much information as possible” (an often-quoted phrase) from a scene, with the intention and indeed requirement for grading. One has to see it “through the eyes of a grader”. A naive person (e.g. a newbie or a client) will of course not immediately see it that way.
- Example references to this:
- http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?232389-The-Red-quot-LOOK-quot
- <<The RED RAW look, the washed out, flat, low contrast, incredibly versatile form in which the footage originates … screams possibility in our faces. Low contrast can, to the DP, imply power … being precious with the RED footage, and trying hard to save every bit of detail we started with.>>
- <<I can see how the washed out look can become something in and of itself, and have people like it, and others not.>>
- What does this mean? In general, possibly:
- The complete levels and color space of that scene, un-clipped (clipping destroys information).
- Any subtle light/shade within shadows of the scene.
- Questionable aspects:
- Grading takes time (bad for quick-turnaround jobs) and if written to intermediate files (e.g. prior to editing) then it can also eat disk space.
- There is a trade-off between generality and specificness.
- Capturing maximum information provides the grader with greatest freedom.
- On the other hand if it is known in advance that crushed shadows are required, e.g. to obtain silhouettes / film noir effects, then it is a waste of effort / bits if not counter-productive to boost them in the camera.
- The degree to which grading can be applied in practice depends on the levels and color space resolution of the camera.
- Prosumer cameras such as Z1 or XDCAM-EX record to 8-bit levels resolution. And then only a sub-part of that levels-space (typically 16..255 or 16..235, depending on camera and settings).
- For cameras whose sensors work at greater resolution (and can output this information) there is the option to record to external devices at that greater resolution (e.g. 10 bits 4:2:2).
- While it is possible to apply effects like levels, gamma or color-curves (S-curves) to “professional” washed-out imagery, beyond a certain degree, the image will appear ragged or flesh-tones will appear sunburn etc., as the gaps between successive values of the bit-space get stretched too big. One can actually see the gaps (between striations) in a Waveform Monitor (applied to the result of grading).
- In that case we have in fact lost information, defeating the original goal…
- If the results of grading are pretty-much identical (or, from the previous point, possibly inferior) to what would have been obtained in-camera using a more standard setting, then what was the point?
- Reassessment:
- Due to the trade-off issues, the real goal should be to record the maximum relevant information. In other words, to be a little bit specialised.
- This is the logic behind employing physical filters on a camera, such as grad filters (“sunglasses” e.g. for the upper – sky – part of the image).
- Even on feature movie sets I have come across formal instructions for film cameras to be deliberately “pushed a stop or two”. Committing at record-time to something that could, presumably, have been achieved equally-well in post, which itself can be done almost immediately based on HD footage recorded simultaneously from HD cameras attached to the main camera. I have seen directors receive rushes and quick cuts from such cameras within seconds…
- The degree of commitment/specialization may depend on the type or uncertainty of the scene and on the consequence of making a mistake. Feature films are very planned and their shooting is very iterative. On the other hand there can be one-offs such as special-effects or VIP moments. At the other extreme may be live events where anything can happen – subjects, lighting, over-bright/over-dark etc.
- The missing factors in the “maximum information” principle are then:
- Relevance – what kinds of information are relevant?
- Resolution limitations.
- If we only have 8 bits, then what is the practical limit of grading?
- Conversely, if we need to maintain maximum latitude etc., when do we need more than 8 bits (in practice mostly 10 bits)?
Posted in gamma, grading, Uncategorized | No Comments »
February 19th, 2011
http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/318730-Finalizing-a-DVD
- <<Windows Vista and 7 use UDF 2.01 which isn’t compatible with DVD-Video which uses UDF 1.02.>>
- <<Use ImgBurn and your burning problems will go away, now if you have authoring problems that’s a different story.>>
- Indeed I tried that and it worked!
Posted in DVD | No Comments »
January 13th, 2011
The consensus is that for work-alone people, the most suitable apps are:
- Daz 3D (free)
- Seems like it focuses on use of prefab(-ricated) objects and scenery more than sculpting and extruding etc. Just my initial impression, could be wrong.
- Carrara (~$150)
- “really noob-friendly interface”
- But no dynamic materials, hence for example you can’t drape cloth.
- Blender (free)
- Rich in features but confusing to a newbie, easier to move onto once Carrara has been mastered. Changes its interface every year…
- “quite a few studios are using Blender alongside their existing workflow”
But for people in industry, who have to collaborate, these are only useful for learning the general principles. Instead they use Maya
Posted in 3d animation, Blender, Carrara, cgi, Daz 3D, Maya | No Comments »
January 8th, 2011
Doesn’t work for me, so searched around the forums. Some relevant links:
Posted in MacBook Pro | No Comments »
January 8th, 2011
Posted in cgi, lighting | No Comments »
January 8th, 2011
Posted in Mercalli, moviemaking | No Comments »