Considering I’ve been having to think about some of these very issues recently, this was a really succinct and well-said presentation on high resolution workflows. If you’re an editor or a shooter this may interest you more than most.
I recently landed on Magic Bullet’s Colorista II plugin for Final Cut Pro 7 as I endeavor to color grade a feature film. I’m using version 1.0.1. I had an issue where when I would adjust the Primary HSL parameter I would get “dead pixels,” so to speak.
It went from this:
To this:
By adjusting this:
I traced the issue back solely to Colorista and didn’t find much with an internet search, hence the blog post. Ultimately what I figured out to do to get rid of it was to double-click the corresponding color on the opposite wheel. So here I double-clicked on the red dot at the top of the wheel on the right and the dead pixels go away. They do not return as far as I’ve seen unless you make another adjustment. The dead pixel gunk will not go away simply by rebooting or restarting FCP. If you need to make another HSL adjustment you may have to use the secondary HSL that’s included towards the bottom of the plugin, in the Master section.
I would imagine this issue has been resolved in subsequent updates to the plugin, but someone else may be having this particular problem with 1.0.1.
I’ve always enjoyed correcting the images I capture. From day one, back in ’98, I was fascinated with the disparity between what my eye saw on set, what the camera actually captured, and how the image ended up looking once finished. I was most excited about the new color features in Final Cut Pro X. I know just enough now, after having “learned by eye” so to speak, to be really excited about the extra bit depth the new FCP has. Being able to push the colors and exposure around with more nuance and control is a much welcome aspect. I never wanted to learn the old Color program because it felt unfinished, cumbersome, and dated on arrival. Sad but true. Unfortunately, X is unfinished on arrival too.
I can’t update my Mac Pro tower to the new Lion OS yet because of Pro Tools not being ready, but I don’t think I’d update just yet anyway. If FCP were more complete, maybe, but as it stands I can’t disrupt my FCP 7 environment. I look forward to when I can switch to truly get more out of the 64-bit FCP X, as I’m already impressed with where it’s headed. It’s a truly nerdy thing when you apply a Gaussian blur for the first time in X and mutter to yourself, “That’s beautiful.” Truly nerdy, but also true. That blur was smooth, son. After you’ve been staring for a decade at the blur the old Final Cut has to offer, it’s hard not to want to drop that old girlfriend for the shiny young one. I digress.
So my first experience with FCP X was using it only as a color grading tool for a local spot I shot recently. I knew I was going to get experimental with the lighting a bit, so I was curious how X would handle it. I chose my shots in FCP 7 and exported them using ProRes 4:2:2. I imported that into X, chopped it up, and got to learning.
I’ve never had any official training with color correcting and grading, but have always experimented with it. I like the controls that X has. I love the video scopes; best looking around. Once you get the fundamentals it’s really fun to play around with. I hope they add the functionality to be able to adjust the settings of a Match Color operation, because it makes me not want to use it. Why limit my control over the image at that point? Odd.
Here’s the ad I put together quickly using FCP X for grading [NOTE: compressed with H.264]:
I look forward to spending more time grading in X, and even more forward to one day not having to leave the X environment.
ALSO, here’s a great VIDEO resource for anyone wanting to know more about color grading.
I was excited about Apple releasing Lion today. I always use my laptop as a testing ground before anything hits my tower. I was trying to be impressed with Lion [it was starting to work] when my video went haywire on my Intel Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro.
Hopefully I’ll be able to find out some info over the next day or so on how to fix it. I was very busy today and wasn’t finding any quick fixes. Restarting, power cycling, clearing RAM – nothing worked. The shot above is in safe mode. Changing the resolution and playing with video system prefs resulted in more interesting checkerboard patterns. Awesome.
UPDATE: I’m back up and running now. I basically had to run Disk Utility on the laptop from the Mac Pro tower. There were some errors. I had to recreate the partition after I slaved out the laptop over firewire and snagged my files. I still don’t use Time Machine yet. I did a clean install of Snow Leopard and then Lion. I’m working again for now, but Lion worked fine for a few hours before crapping out on me. At least it’s not seemingly a hardware issue.
UPDATE 2: Aaaaaaaaaannnd we’re back to checkerboards. Great.
UPDATE 3: Snow Leopard is back on. I’m going to wait until an update or a patch before trying Lion again. Bummer.
UPDATE 4: Snow Leopard crapped out with the same checkerboard glitch. Did the Lion install screw something up? Oddly, I got the computer to stop glitching by slaving it out over firewire, then rebooted fine. I instantly went to preferences and turned off any screen saver or power management features; trying to rule things out. A clean install of Snow Leopard with a new partition and transferring no data shouldn’t be doing this.
UPDATE 5: Snow Leopard did fine after I adjusted those preferences, so today I boldly upgraded to Lion again. It’s been working fine thus far; longer than before. So, if anyone is seeing these checkerboard graphical glitches then disable all the automatic energy savers and screensaver. I don’t care yet to find out which is actually the problem or if it’s both. Maybe once they release an update I’ll re-enable one and see. Fingers crossed…
*uncrosses fingers*
UPDATE 6: It finally crapped out on me using Safari and accessing a Flash video. I again reset the glitch by slaving it out over firewire to my tower by holding down ‘T’ while the laptop booted. For some reason that resets it. I think even without actually running the utility the glitch seems to go away and I can restart fine. I’ve ruled out the energy features and screensaver as a possible culprit though, I guess.
UPDATE 7: Baffling. Of course it did it again after resetting it, but this time when I went to reset with Disk Utility it didn’t work. I guess I need to find time to take it to an Apple Store. I’ve have a sad suspicion that Lion may have screwed my pooch.
UPDATE 8: I finally got a chance to take it to the Apple Store. They say it wasn’t Lion. They say I need a new graphics board. They say it will cost me around $300.
Before FCPX was released I was ridiculously giddy with anticipation. Those who truly know me know that “giddy” is rare and reserved for truly nerdy tech. Seriously, though, … I was giddy.
The initial video that surfaced about FCPX back in April was not meant for most of us. It was meant for the Supermeet crowd. Of course I watched it and was enthralled, but I never in these past couple months felt like I was being told what was going on. Information about the new software dried up. There was only speculation… and hacked screenshots on Twitter.
My frustration truly started when my entire day was filled with annoyance upon X hitting the app store. I click the app. It tells me my video card isn’t supported in my early 2008 Mac Pro tower [which I still unfortunately call my G5!]. My card didn’t support OpenCL. After numerous attempts to purchase a video card that day I settled on ordering one from the internet; that Apple didn’t recommend as an option until later. Thanks. Thanks for the information. Thanks for letting us know the details that impact our “sacred” work environments. How about a press release with spec requirements beforehand? After most of my day was taken up with phone calls, research, and ordering – I finally had the thought to try and buy it through my even OLDER laptop. It worked. The rest of the day was spent downloading all three apps. After that I simply copied the programs to a thumbdrive and dropped them on my G5 [!!Not actually a G5!!] and it worked… WITH the incompatible video card [ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT]. My point is this – why wouldn’t there simply be a warning? “You’re video card does not support OpenCL and therefore may not operate with or take full advantage of the software. You have been warned.”
I got the new card [GT 120] in my machine, but I’m not sure it was a necessary purchase quite yet. I won’t complain too much here because the new card will definitely help out my sacred work environment [FCP7] thanks to more video RAM. Lion will probably benefit from the card too, but it’s still frustrating nonetheless. After $400 I have to turn around and spend another $200 to run the software and my Cinema Displays? Fine. But let me know. What kind of abusive relationship is this? I’m about to use my “safe word,” Apple.
Throughout the day I scoured the net for info. I was disappointed at what I was hearing. As the programs slowly downloaded, my excitement to start editing with them slowed as well. My initial plan was to use the new FCP to convert a black and white feature, that was shot in color, back into color. I was very interested in getting the higher quality grading X offered. Then I learned that I couldn’t bring in my FCP7 sequences. I was deflated. Why would I learn that AFTER I already purchased it!?! I’ll tell you why [other than impatience]. Because Apple gave us no real information about the software before release. Mum was the word. So, that created expectations. Expectations that were dashed for many a folk. Hence the massive backlash. It’s completely understandable anger, although a lot of the talk has been too hyperbolic for me. It took time to find a measured and informed response to read on the subject.
At the time of this writing I’m deep into another project of mine, and I won’t get far into FCPX too soon because of it lacking features; preventing my motivation to learn it with haste. I’ll learn it soon enough. I’m actually quite fond of what I’ve seen, but it feels like a demo so far. Right now it’s for beta testers, but that will change sooner rather than later. I have no doubt that through updates we’ll get most of what we need in the coming year. This process of “re-enabling” the software, I hope, will happen even more quickly due to its currently exacerbated user base. There’s quite a bit at stake for Apple here. I don’t know exactly where the hubris from Apple on this occasion came from. They’ve crawled to a great height with FCP over the past decade in a tough industry that’s highly competitive. I’ve been with the software since 2000, and I don’t want to leave. I like my FCP, thank you. And I like where it’s headed too.
Apple has a ton going on right now. Releasing Lion, iOS5, and FCPX, and even talks of speeding up the product cycle of iPads and iPhones has got to be demanding of the company. There’s a lot going on. Hell, iCloud. Implementing that, especially after the MobileMe fiasco, has to deliver without fail. Reputation is at stake. All this to say, like a recently-battered wife, that I guess Apple’s vision was “iClouded.” They obviously weren’t thinking that they had to “sell” the Final Cut Pro software. It would sell itself, right? Hell, now you just CLICK A BUTTON and you’re on your way to having it. “It’s so easy to buy!” We’re a terribly spoiled generation, yeah? [I love it.] They obviously couldn’t see through the fog of war that is Amazon and Google and Android and [probably not anymore] RIM, and everyone else under the tech sun. They couldn’t have prognosticated this response from the Final Cut community? They thought that they could release this software with no warning of their floor plan. Right now FCPX is just a floor plan to a great looking house with only a dusty dirt road to a small, nearby town.
It’s too early to call, but I’ll gladly distract myself from FCPX
until I get over my pummeled “X-pectations.”
It’s become a public relations issue now. Good on the Conan team.
I’ve done quite a bit of audio work over the years on my Mac. From acquiring sound for movie projects to recording and mixing my own albums; I’ve had to learn a lot about sound. To add to that I’ve done quite a few “redubs” of popular movies to get more experience with foley and sound replacement. You have to be able to quickly find sfx, edit them, recreate by foley and/or outright “borrow” a snippet [if you're not making money off it of course]. Here are some quick suggestions:
1. FIND IT! A great resource that I’ve used over the years has been this one link, and I gladly share it: FreeSound.org. Chances are it may be here.
2. CONVERT IT! You will run across a relatively new format called FLAC [Free Lossless Audio Codec]. If there’s a high-quality WAV or AIFF I’ll go for that every time, but sometimes you can only get what you need in FLAC. So simply use a program called Tunesify. I renamed the app on my Mac to “Tunesify FLAC” so it would come up in Spotlight searches since I rarely use it.
3. SNAG IT! Sometimes there’s audio that wants to play “hard to get.” And sometimes you just need to capture the audio that’s simply coming out of your computer’s speakers. BUT, sometimes this is the only way to lift something! I suggest Audio Hijack Pro. There are some other programs at that link you may like or need, but I haven’t tested any of them except AHP.
4. CONTROL IT! Frequency is terribly important to understand if you’re going to be manipulating sounds. Whether it’s to make it sound like it’s coming from down a hall or coming through a wall, adjusting and cutting off frequencies is a must. A basic understanding of the spectrum and where sounds “live” within that spectrum will serve you well: Quick info on the BASICS.
There are plenty of audio editors out there like Peak and Audacity. Some are free, some are not. Usually, I edit right in FCP or Logic or ProTools, but every once in a while you simply need a lean program like Peak to do something simple. It’s always good to have in your arsenal.
One suggestion that would cost you money, but may well be worth it, is purchasing pretty much any collection of Waves plugins for sweetening, limiting, and final mixing of your audio. Great plugins.
One last suggestion would be looking into a portable audio recorder, and I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the Zoom H4n Recorder [currently $300]. I’ve used it for recording acoustic demos to actual voice-over work on shoots. You will be impressed. Not being tied to anything and being able to snag a sound anywhere at 24-bit/96KHz in stereo is fantastic.
HAPPY HUNTING!
[Additional Information: Recording Vocals At Home]
I spend a lot of time editing. In fact, it’s where I spend most of my work time. I’ve been using Final Cut Pro since the year 2000. I’ve seen it grow bigger and bigger over the years. But, now with the soon to be released FCP X, I think I’ve not only seen a dramatic change in the user interface, but also a seemingly profound thought process behind those visual changes.
The program now looks like the guys that designed the interface for Logic got a hold of it. That’s not a bad thing. I always hated that I couldn’t change the background color of my timeline. I wanted a dark environment to work in so I could focus on the images. But, what pleased me was not only were they improving the software in areas that I’ve hoped they’d change for years, but I was shocked that they fixed issues that I thought I’d always be dealing with in some form as an editor. For instance, the timeline instantly renders in the background so you can continue working elsewhere. When I make small adjustments to a LiveType file in FCP, I then have to wait for it to render before I can continue working. This one change just saved me a ton of wasted time at the desk. Then you add to that the Color tools they’ve implemented. Color as a program was a bit unwieldy, and I was waiting until they put out a new version before I really dug in and learned it. Notice they didn’t update Color or LiveType much after their release. I think they moved on to Motion where LiveType was concerned, but I get the feeling like more of these programs will finally be FCP-inclusive. I really just want to stay in that editing environment as much as possible; Slight speculation on these inclusions, but here’s hoping.
It’s hard to even call it a timeline anymore because it’s more of a workspace, slightly like Shake in a way. The new timeline is “Magnetic,” meaning nothing ever comes out of sync, nothing gets chopped off by having another clip overlap it. Very sexy.
The automatic color correction is very cool. The auto audio clean on import may be fantastic, but I need to hear it in practice. This aspect definitely seems to borrow from what they’ve learned from Logic and Soundtrack Pro. I skipped truly learning Soundtrack Pro because I would always go with ProTools or Logic for external sweetening. Editing the audio on the timeline has also gotten easier, much easier. With sub-sample keyframing you can do exactly what you want with your audio, and the simple task of having a fade in or out just borrowed an excellent tool from the likes of ProTools and Logic. It’s as simple as click-drag. Super simple.
There’s just too many new, great features to get into but here’s a few: pitch-corrected audio skimming, built-in time remapping, resolution-independent playback up to 4K, assign searchable keywords to parts of clips, auto audio syncing [like built in PluralEyes], instant color-matching, and background transcoding. And it’s been quoted that what we saw in the video demo of the software was “nowhere near” the final version’s capabilities.
Video editing and graphics are super CPU intensive, so 64-bit software really is essential to having a friendly work environment. Being able to have so many aspects automated to your tastes, along with so many processes now in the background, it becomes the work environment that works with you and not intermittently against.
I’m curious to see this run on my two year old G5, but this surprisingly affordable software will make me want to upgrade my G5 for sure. FCP X can finally use more than 4 gigs or RAM. I’m hoping it can also import higher bit TIF images, as well. In June, for $300 and simply downloadable from the App Store, this update will deal quite a blow to competing software. This much power for that price is unheard of. We live in great times, my friends!
You add to all this, the new-to-market Thunderbolt spec and more support for external editing surfaces like the iPad, and the near future for editing is very bright indeed.
FURTHER READING: MacRumors, Apple Insider
[UPDATE] Just found out my graphics card doesn’t support the required OpenCL. After researching all morning I finally order a GT 120 for my Quad-Core Xeon (2008) Mac Pro. I also had to order a Mini Display Adapter to run my other Cinema Display from this card. My fingers are crossed that this works. Overnighted it. I can’t even download FCPX until I get the card in. I’ll update tomorrow hopefully.
[UPDATE] I was able to purchase all three apps on my laptop. I then copied the new FCPX to my Mac Pro tower with a thumbdrive and the program seemed to work fine – even though it said my ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card wouldn’t handle it earlier today. Hmmmmm.
[UPDATE] FCPX released with missing features, cold quiet from Apple on concerns, and no serious effort to get the software into full working order anytime soon. I was very let down here, and the software may be great in 5 years, but for now we’re considering other options for editing. What happened Apple?
So, this isn’t audio or video related, but I thought this would be a nice option in your system prefs. I just got back from the Grand Canyon and promptly made my desktop reflect the grandeur. I don’t normally assign my wallpapers with “busy” pictures like this, but I really dig the picture and so prompted…
This is my desktop currently.
I think it’d be nice to have a “Focus” ticker-box option in your Desktop Background settings for dynamically softening the background image based on the percentage of the screen being covered by windows. The more windows, the softer the background becomes – all in real-time.
Certain backgrounds can sometimes distract you from what you’re trying to view. Maybe adding the secondary option to have the background not only soften, but also darken as well would be a great feature.
Mac OS X already has an impressive amount of customizability and an eye for pleasing aesthetics, and this would only add to the experience. I haven’t seen a OS do this, and it seems perfect for OS X.
Now that there are so many cores on these new processors, and in conjunction with Mac’s new 64-bit OS, Core Animation, & OpenCL it should be viable. I’m not a programmer, so all I’ll do here for a few minutes is dream about blurry desktops that know when to get out of the way.
Can editing in Final Cut Pro be done using H.264 encoded video? Yeah. Is it a great experience? Uh, no.
I’ve had projects handed to me that were shot using DSLRs, so it came complete with tons of H.264 footage. I’ve purposefully ingested the H.264 footage on a couple simpler projects to see if there really was a difference between staying native and converting to a codec that Final Cut can edit easily. The codec of choice out there for good reason is Pro Res.
I would treat any serious project with a massive transcode of all the H.264 footage to Pro Res because it will save you some issues in FCP. I noticed that editing 1080p H.264 video resulted in the canvas not updating the image when I moved the playhead back and forth. I would have to hit “play” to get it to change. This is intermittent for me. Also, it seems to take a little longer to render for some reason. Just me? H.264 just doesn’t “feel” like a stable editing codec. This is amplified by using a lot of filters on the footage, and I usually have at least three or four filters per clip on average. It all starts adding up with layers.
With the HVX200a there’s a transcoding process too, where you have to Log & Capture. Transcoding H.264 to Pro Res isn’t really that much different. This process of “pre-editing” the footage you decide to put in the sandbox can actually make the rest of the process that much more clear. Transcoding can take a bit of time, but it can also be done by batch exporting all the clips through Final Cut. Just import ‘em in the browser, select ‘em, right-click, and Batch Export. Bam! This won’t hurt, but it WILL take awhile to convert. Now go run all your errands!
So the H4N recorder from Zoom is a great addition to my gear. I use it for recording demos of songs, capturing high quality foley sounds in the field, to capturing audio for DSLR shoots. It’s a great bit of gear. My only true complaint about the piece is that when you are using two different inputs, such as a boom and a lav mic, you couldn’t adjust the recording volume individually. You can adjust in post, but recording levels for a boom and for a lav mic can be quite different. I thought it was an odd way to cripple the device. I actually just mentioned this on a shoot this week and how I thought they could update the firmware eventually to allow for this.
Well, that day has come. I check today and they’ve updated exactly that about six days ago. Awesome. I had to wait about half a year, but at least they updated it. I could have use this function just the other day.
Here’s the free update link for owners: http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/download/software/h4n.php
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