Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Software Frame Rate Conversion 23.976 to 25

There is a variety of ways to achieve frame rate conversion.  Using Hardware boxes like Terranex, Alchemist PhC, or... Software that's available to you.

And there are two ways to tackle it, you can either:

1) maintain the duration (= modify the number of frames) which has the effect that the footage will play at the same speed in the new 25 fps frame rate. This process is slower, takes more processing time,

or

2) reduce the duration (= maintain the same number of frames) which has the effect of speeding-up the footage in the new 25fps frame rate. This process is faster since no new frames are created.


Below are a few examples using different Software.  As a general rule, use the best settings possible and the best codec/export settings, knowing that highest quality equals longer render times. Run tests.


1) Maintain duration (plays at same speed) 

Compressor:
Use Apple Settings QT ProRes with pass through audio as a starting point.
Go to Inspector, Encoder, Video Format Select Frame Rate 25, make sure AR is correct. Verify your media source, check your Geometry tab, set Frame Size 1920x1080 and Pixel Aspect Square if necessary (Open Preview Window and look at the results)  Something is set wrong in the AR or Geometry if you are getting a squeezed or stretched image.
Go to Frame Control. turn Controls ON, select Rate Conversion: Best (You might see ghosting with the other settings, test on a short clip.)

After Effects:
import your footage, right-click / New comp from selection.
Go to: Composition / Settings, change Frame Rate to 25. Click OK.
In the Composition window, enable Frame Blending, set Layer / Frame Blending to Pixel Motion.
Optional: add Force Motion Blur to taste.

FCPX:
Import your footage.
File / New Project, set Frame Rate at 25
Drag your footage into the Project Timeline
Select the clip, Go to the Inspector /Video /Rate Conform, Select Frame Sampling = Optical Flow (best.)



2) Reduce duration (plays faster)

Cinema Tools
This one is probably the easiest of the bunch, but USE THIS ON A DUPLICATE FILE as it will modify the QT and not create a new one -- no rendering needed.  Open Clip, click Conform, Select Conform to 25, Click Conform. 

Compressor: 
Use Apple Settings QT ProRes with pass through audio as a starting point.
Go to Inspector, Encoder, Video Format Select Frame Rate 25, make sure AR is correct. Verify your media source, check you Geometry tab, set Frame Size 1920x1080 and Pixel Aspect Square if necessary (Open Preview Window and look at the results)  Something is set wrong in the AR or Geometry if you are getting a squeezed or stretched image.
Go to Frame Control. Click so Source Frames play at... Select 23.976 @ 25.

After Effects:
import your footage, right-click / interpret footage / Main
conform frame rate to 25, click OK, Export.

FCPX:
Import your footage.
File / New Project, set Frame Rate at 25
Drag your footage into the Project Timeline
Select the clip, Go to the Speed button, select Automatic Speed.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Our first DCP Digital Cinema Package... it's a success !

We got selected as one of the guest films for the Real Experimental Film Series at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills, and we needed a DCP, pronto!

I started researching DCPs a couple years back when I worked as a post-producer on an other indy feature, but the tests weren't conclusive, so I didn't get to make the actual DCP for it.

It was time to dive again into DCP waters. I tested a few new encoding apps, Wraptor for AME, DCP-o-matic, EasyDCP plug-in for Resolve.  But at the end of the day, I went back to FinalDCP. I retested the entire workflow, and talked to a couple of colleagues just to make sure I got everything right.

I elected to make a flat, Interop DCP and I set the Jpeg2000 bitrate at around 150Mbps. Since our master was HD, I selected to pad the image, without resizing.

I had previously prepped an LCR mix from the stereo mix stems, so I encoded in 5.1 with empty LFE, Ls, and Rs tracks.

It took 16 long hours to encode, but it went steadily. The software converted from the 23.976fps of the ProRes QT HD Master to the 24fps of the DCP  which probably added to the render time.  The conversion was perfect, no skipping frames or stuttering.

I QC the package on the computer using the DCP Player app, and all was fine! Image checked, sound checked.

I then formatted a WD portable drive to Linux Ext3, using an old MacBook with Ubuntu, and I copied the DCP from the Mac HFS drive to the Linux drive on the same MacBook.

The drive was sent to the theater for ingest. I got to check the film a couple days before the show... and the movie played beautifully! Yes!


On screening night the movie looked and sounded great on the big screen, with cast and crew and an audience, powerful stuff!  The director was thrilled, and so was I.

It's a success!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Mac Mini WiFi slows down with USB 3.0 HDs in close proximity (was: with too many USB attached)

--- Update 2/28/15:

The problem seems to be radio interference that USB 3.0 hard drives emit.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/usb-3.0-hard-drives-can-cause-wi-fi-interference

Indeed, I had my HDs real close, sometimes on top of the Mini.  Got myself a USB hub and put some space between HDs and the Mini, and the WIFI seems much more responsive now.


--- Old Post:
The Mac Mini's (2012) WiFi slows down considerably when too many USB peripherals are attached.

I had all 4 USB connectors populated when I started noticing real sluggishness.

Typically with Safari pages start to load, but get stuck in the middle and nothing happens. Progress is halted, pages stay blank.

I removed 2 out of 4 USB peripherals, and bam! All peppy was the Mini again.

Is too much USB power draw affecting WiFI?

Thursday, October 16, 2014

NLEs Timetable

Just for fun...


1989 Avid

1990 Lightworks

1991 Premiere 

1993 Media 100

1995 Casablanca (Macrosystem)

1999 Final Cut Pro

2000 Vegas (Sony 2000-2004?)

2003 Edius (Canopus)

2007 SpeedEdit (Newtek)

2011 FCPX



R.I.P.

1971 CMX 600
1984 EditDroid (Lucasfilm)
1995 DraCo
Renomee Plus (Macrosystems)
Pinnacle Studio
Ulead Video Studio (Corel)
Fina Cut Express
Avid Free DV
DPS Perception RT
Velocity HD


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_editing_software

FCPX (10.1.3) Adjustment Layer is de-activating Crossfade to Color transition

If I had an adjustment layer on top of a clip with a Crossfade to Color transition applied, the transition would be ignored.

This was a problem in early versions of FCPX, it has been fixed in FCPX 10.1.3

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

FCPX (10.1.3) Media Offline - (Opening a Library with Media that's been moved to a different HD)

When I complete a project, I move the entire folder from my working Raid drive to a set of backup drives.

Sometime I need to open the Library to check something, or re-export something, or to create a new cut from the old one.

If it's a small thing, I will not copy the whole folder back onto the working Raid, I just want to open it on the backup drive.

First I duplicate the Library, so to keep the old version as-is.

Then I open the duplicate, but when I do, the Media shows OFFLINE.

I need to Relink files to the actual location, i.e. the Media Folder (I have my media external) onto the backup drive:

- Select the Event containing the footage
- Go to: File / Relink Files
- Relink Missing, Locate All
- Select the first File in the list that match.

FCPX will check and recognize the candidates and ask you:

"Click Choose to verify matches for XXX of XXX files found."

Click Choose, and Bam! They're all relinked. Sweet.

Avid MC 8.1.0 and Canon C300 footage

In order to AMA Link Canon C300 footage, you need to install Canon's XF Plugin 64 for AMA (2.0.3 in my case I'm on MacOS 10.9.4)

Canon XF Plugin 64 for Avid Media Access 2.0.3 [Mac OS X]

Available here:
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/cinema_eos_cameras/eos_c300#DriversAndSoftware


It will appear as MVP_Canon X64 2.0 in the Console (AMA_ListPlugins)