IndieV
Resources For the Indie Film-maker
Batch Prores Encoding in Windows 7 with FFmpeg and AnotherGUI
May 9th
As previously mentioned in my last post, the free little program 5DtoRGB allows Windows users to encode their movie files to Prores format. Why would we want to do that if programs like Premiere CS6 can handle everything natively? Because we might want to finish our video project in a color grading program like Speedgrade or Davinci Resolve that natively supports Prores but not for instance, the MTS files out of a Sony FS100 or the MXF out of the Canon C300.
Premiere CS6 has a “send to speedgrade” feature that gets around this by converting the sequence into a DPX uncompressed image sequence. The problem with this is not everyone has the disk space and disk speed to be able to handle the Terabytes of DPX images. This is clearly a throwback to the era of high end film production where storage space and speed could be factored in to the big budgets of the production companies. Prores is a very good compromise in image quality and file size and is still a standard format used in many smaller post houses around the world.
If I knew a project was going to be finished in Speedgrade and it was longer than a couple of minutes long, I’d probably start out by converting all my source footage into Prores so when comes the time to export to Speedgrade or Resolve, I could just export an EDL or XML out of Premiere and have Speedgrade/Davinci work on the original Prores clips.
So back to 5DtoRGB, the only problem with this program is it only allows one video at a time to be encoded which could become a real timewasting problem if you’ve got a lot of videos clip to convert. I noticed 5DtoRGB uses an open source video encoding tool called FFmpeg to do it’s encoding. The only problem with FFmpeg is it was clearly designed by nerds and the only way to use it is to use the command line in windows and memorize all the different commands to make it work. Not something I want to invest my time in.
The solution is a GUI that plugs into FFmpeg to make everything from importing video to choosing a preset, a simple button click affair. The one GUI I’ve found that includes Prores presets is a GUI called AnotherGUI. All you have to do is download AnotherGUI, and the latest sourcecode of FFmpeg,
Open up AnotherGUI, a window will pop up telling you to point it to FFmpeg.exe
Select your Prores preset
Add your clips by clicking on Add Source(s). Hold shift or ctrl for multiple clips. Then hit GO
A bunch of command line windows pop up depending on how many clips you are doing to tell you it’s at work.
Don’t worry about all the RED error messages. It works. The great thing about this is its FAST. It will use every core and thread in your machine. The most important thing is the output Prores files have the full color range of the originals and so it doesn’t clip your superwhites which can be brought back in post.
Pro Res Encoding on Windows 7
May 8th
Have you ever had to deliver an apple Prores file when you’re a PC user? For some reason, Apple decided to make Prores encoding somewhat, a pain in the arse for Windows users. Probably something to do with pure hatin.
In the past, before I knew any better, I had to render out an uncompressed quicktime, copy that to a hard-disk, take that to my girlfriend’s Macbook, and then render out a Prores file. Did I mention that was a pain in my arse.
Little did I know a FREE little program had always had this prores encoder built in. Let me introduce 5DtoRGB. I had heard a lot about this program previously but thought nothing of it because I thought it was just for Mac users shooting on 5Ds and editing in FCP 7.
Does Apple know about this? Why is Prores not platform agnostic? It really is a great high quality codec that plays and edits well in Premiere. It also plays nicely with Speedgrade and Resolve. I wished that Adobe had bought out Cineform and made it more open like Avid DNXHD. Unfortunately DNXHD doesn’t play too well in Premiere.
Enough ranting, download it before Apple finds out
Adobe Premiere CS6 – OpenCL mercury support
May 8th
The new Premiere CS6 now boasts added OpenCL support for a select number of mobile AMD graphics cards:
Radeon HD6750M
Radeon HD6770M
Unfortunately OpenCL mercury support is only available on the Macbook Pro with the above mentioned cards. Total bummer for all those ATI AMD Radeon users out there.
There does appear to be a ray of light though. In the Premiere CS6 folder, there is a text file called “opencl_supported_cards.txt”.
Unfortunately I don’t have a Radeon card of any sort to test out whether adding my graphics card name to the list will enable the mercury engine (ala the CS5 simple hack). I guess we will have to wait for someone who has and see…
Update: Confirmation from one of the readers (Rebel Film) that it works with a Radeon 5770. Can anyone else confirm whether this enables the Mercury GPU engine for openCL cards?
Speedgrade CS6 – A play around
Apr 29th
Adobe have recently put their new CS6 product trial range on their servers. If you don’t know where to download it, check here. As with their previous releases, their trials offer a 30 day period of testing out the products with no limitations.
Aside from the exciting changes in Premiere and After Effects, the biggest news to me was the inclusion of Speedgrade into the production suite and their product lineup. This once $15000 dollar grading platform is now within the reach of pretty much anyone with Adobe’s new monthly subscription service.
After a quick crash course with the help of AdobeTV, I was competantly using the program to create some pretty good looking grades with very little time and effort. I tried it with some 7D footage as it doesn’t recognise my FS100 footage natively but to really see what it can do, I downloaded a couple of RED Epic camera RAW stills from Jarrad Land of Reduser fame here. These are by far the best looking free Red RAW files I’ve found on the internet and after playing with them, my lust for a RED camera is sky high.
Clean UI
Here are my likes:
- The layer based approach of adding primaries, secondaries and luts, etc. Being from an After effects and photoshop background, this seems alot more intuiative to me then a nodal based approach.
- The UI is very user friendly. I once downloaded the free Davinci resolve but being able to import a clip and grade wasn’t very straight forward so I uninstalled it. I understand the new Davinci 9 is more userfriendly. With Speedgrade, I can just browse folders and click a clip to instantly add it to the timeline. Adding masks, secondaries and more grading layers becomes 2nd nature.
- Has a mask tracker which works… just. It doesn’t appear to track scale, only shape. I’ve seen the Davinci tracker in use and it puts this to shame. A Mocha style planar tracker would be a killer inclusion into the next release.
- With a GTX 570, I get very acceptable results. Even though Adobe recommends only Quaddro cards, I still get acceptable playback on 7D files straight out of the camera.
I haven’t tried it with anything else except the Red stills but even with those 5k images, grading is very responsive.Tried it with R3d 4k clips (check below for download links). Plays back smoother than with the 1080p 7d footage! Doing grades and playing back in realtime is freakish with no render times. And thats off a single normal harddisk. I’m guessing the 7D h264 files take quite a bit more processing.
What I don’t like:
- It’s still very buggy and crashes alot. Thankfully it automatically saves every step you take so once you relaunch you should be able to continue on.
- Only one mask can be added per grade layer. Unless I’m doing it wrong, I can only seem to add one mask shape per grading layer. I can’t even seem to create two mask shape layers (say for the eyes) on one layer. It’s one shape or nothing.
- Adding more masks means adding more grading layers but to save my looks, it seems I can’t save the look of multiple grade layers.
- Crashes when I try to export a jpg sequence to output a still for the web.
- The only working render output I’ve found so far is TGA. Even TIF’s and PNG’s produce a weird black or unusuable image. Maybe this has to do with not having a Quaddro card?
- No curves! The color wheels are very easy to use and are quite effective but the lack of curves is a little puzzling for a grading platform.
- Doesn’t natively support files out of the FS100, or C300 plus many other’s I’m guessing. Files from these camera’s need to be transcoded to DNGs or a supported format. Native support of any video format ala Premiere pro would be most welcomed.
- No dynamic link with Premiere Pro. It does support an EDL workflow though which is a bit of extra work.
unfortunate frequent occurance
Here are a couple of quick stylistic grades I did on those RED stills using a few basic primaries and secondaries. (click to enlarge)
I guess a RED Scarlett X is on my wishlist but until then, the other much cheaper RAW camera that will come out soon will have to do.
More R3D red raw sample files to flex your grading muscles below:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?68671-First-Scarlet-shoot-grabs-and-R3D-files
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?40943-Red-MX-r3d-Files-for-Download
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?42130-M-X-REEL-R3D-s
http://rojolooks.com/R3DFILES.html
Edit: Just realised I haven’t calibrated by monitor in 4 months and the settings have drifted FAR off. This is a good reminder for me to do it at least once a month.
DIY repairs with the Miller DS-10 head (Broken tilt knob)
Mar 7th
Don’t you just love baggage handlers? Here’s what happened to the tilt knob on my Miller DS-10 head on a flight to a remote oil & gas construction site.
What was extra bad was that it happened on the way there and the tilt on the head was locked. The knob broke off flush with the side of the head and there was no way for me to release the tilt. The head was also locked in an uptilt position which meant panning was impossible. This meant that the tripod was as good as useless but lucky I had my Sony 18-200mm lens with image stabilizer and my Zacuto EVF with my FS100. I was able to get some relatively stable shots holding the camera like a Medium format camera whilst using the Zacuto EVF (mounted on the hotshoe) as an extra stabilizing contact point. I still needed to add extra stabilizing in post to get usable shots.
I wasn’t feeling like spending around 1k on a new DS-10 head so I figured it would just be a case of removing the broken screw and replacing it with some spare parts from Miller.
After some slow customer service via email, I was sent the replacement tilt knob ($23 inc shipping) and went about figuring out how to extract the broken screw bit.
After some googling I figured I needed:
- Drill bit – I needed to drill a pilot hole into the screw for the…
- Screw extractor
– A reverse drill bit like thing that you hammer into the pilot hole and then unscrew out. As you unscrew, the screw extractor bites into the screw and then, well it unscrews it out.
- A tap wrench
– to use with the screw extractor. I tried my hands, and I tried pliers but a tap wrench is just about the only suitable tool to grip the screw extractor.
Screw Extractor set
Here's me extracting the screw
So I guess if this happens in the future, it’s really no big drama and is quite an easy and cheap repair. I think if Miller actually got back to me in a timely manner about how much it would cost to send the head in and for them to repair it, it would have costed a lot more than the $50 or so I spent on the parts. Plus I’ve now got the tools in my toolbox for any similar mishaps that may come later on.
Lessons Learnt? The tilt knob on the Miller DS heads are hollow and seem to be a weak point in the design. Customer service from Miller could be A LOT more responsive. Sure it’s not one of their premium massive super expensive heads but I still use this stuff for a living and I expect a response in less than 3 days. Getting a response within 24 hours seems to be too difficult for the one guy who seems to be working the tripod service line. I think my next tripod will be something else…
CMR Blackbird with the FS100
Mar 7th
I’ve recently aquired the Blackbird stabilizer from Camera Motion Research to be used with my FS100. Here’s a brief overview of my thoughts on the purchase.
- Despite it being a larger camera, the Blackbird suits the FS100 quite well. I just strip the camera down to just the body and the lens and use a couple of weights either side..
- This thing is as easy as it gets to balance. After having tried and failed to balance glidecams in the past, the Blackbird can literally be set up, first time in under 15 minutes. Now it takes me less than 5 minutes to get it balanced.
- It’s not as tiring as I thought it would be. With the glidecam, the center of balance is in front of the wrist so there is added strain. With the Blackbird, it’s directly above the handle and so there is less strain and fatigue on the wrists. So instead of tiring in 5 minutes, I could go for around 15.
So far I’m quite happy with the purchase and have found the learning process of getting a smooth “flight” a little challenging. As with most stabilizer’s, the quality of the shot is in the operator and a few tips from the included DVD have gone a long way. Such as using lots of steps and bending your knees while you walk or run. Sure I look like a bit of a dork but the results are worthwhile.
The only thing I regret is not getting the kit that comes with the resting stand so I can put the whole thing down to rest my wrist. The next step is to get a Steadicam merlin vest (which is compatible) to go with the Blackbird for that extra axis of stability and to help save my wrists.
Videos and pics to come soon.
Premiere Pro CS5.5 workarounds
Feb 24th
Having used PPro CS5.5 for quite a few months now (on pc), I’ve noticed a few things regarding stability, especially when using the Cuda hardware mercury engine.
Problem
When I render out the timeline (by pressing enter), I sometimes come across an error pop-up with something along the lines of, “Error compiling movie”. Not only does the render stop dead in its tracks, once the error has come up for a certain area of the timeline, it will continue to pop-up repeatably.
Solution
The first thing I do in this situation is to empty the temp folder. Go to the windows start button and in the search bar on the bottom, type in %temp% to open the temp folder. Then select everything and delete. Skip the files that are currently in use.
If that doesnt’t work then go to projects settings and turn the mercury engine from hardware to software. I’m using a GTX285 which is on the supported card list BTW.
Problem
Rendering out a movie file out of Premiere with Adobe Media Encoder, the render would sometimes, (or everytime I use h264), just stop and not render any further. AME would still be responsive except for the fact that the render progress would just get stuck and not progress. This has frustratingly caused me countless hours of figuring out the solution. Turns out it is as simple as turning off the Cuda mercury hardware engine before exporting out to render.
The strange thing is on my partner’s editing station, we are using a “hacked” GTX 560 and that apears to have far less issues with stability. It still has rendering issues but about half as much as on my system with a certified card.
This just shows to me that the Cuda mercury hardware engine still has a bit of maturing to go through before it can be relied on for a solid input to output workflow. Adobe have done an awesome job in implementing this feature but from what I understand, the coding is complex and the bug fixes are not easy to do and implement.
Hopefully CS6 will bring these fixes along with ATI gpu support.
Update 7/3/12: I’ve since upgraded my graphics card to a GTX 570 and so far so good. None of the problems I’ve experienced with the GTX 280. It seems CS5.5′s compatibility with the older cards is not so good in this instance.
Adorama Zacuto Z-finder jnr special – $100 off
Nov 10th
Just a heads up that Adorama have a special discount going on with the Z-finder jnr viewfinder.
The regular price here is $251.75 but with the following coupon code: S0830111 the price should drop to $151.75
The deal expires on the 12/31/2011
Red steals the spotlight from Canon’s “Historic” launch
Nov 4th
Canon releases what appears to be their biggest mistake ever, a 4k sensor camera that only outputs 1080p in standard framerates and 720p at 60p. Here’s some of their C300 specs:
IMAGING SENSOR
Effective Pixe ls: 3840 x 2160 pixels; Approx. 8.29 megapixels
Total Pixels: 4206 x 2340 pixels; Approx. 9.84 mega pixels
Sensor Type: CMOS (single-panel), equivalent to Super 35mm
Sensor Size: 24.6 x 13.8 mm effective screen size (6.4 x 6.4 ~m pixel pitch)
Scanning System: Progressive
Number of Sensors: 1
Filter: RGB Primary Color Filter (Bayer Array)
FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE
Playba ck: Index Displays: Index Display, Normal, “OK Mark” Index,
“Check Mark” Index, “Shot Mark” Index, Expand Index, Photo Index
Clip Playback: Forward Search (xS, xlS, x60), Reverse Search (xS,
xll, x60), Forward frame Advance, Reverse Frame Advance, Record
Review, Clip Jump (Forward and Backward), Skip Playback
Playback Functions: In ter-media Copy (Single Clip, All Clips, Last Clip);
Clip Delete (Single Clip, All Clips, Last Clip)
Still Image Playback: index, single playback, erasure, protect
Slow and Fast Motion Recording:
50 Mbps ·1920 x 1080 (Playback Rate: 29.97p/23.98p/24.00p)
Record Rate: 1· 30 (Playback Rate: 50i/25p) Record Rate: 1· 25
so Mbps · 1280 x 720 (Playback Rate: 59.94p/29.97p/23 .98p/24.00p)
Record Rate: 1·60 (Playback Rate: lOp/lip) Record Rate: 1·10
35 Mbps ·1920 x 1080 (Playback Rate: 29.97p/ 23.98p/ 24.00p)
Record Rate: 1· 30 (Playback Rate: SOi/2 Sp) Record Rate: 1· 2 5
35 Mbps · 1280 x 720 (Playback Rate: 59.94p/29.97p/23.98p/24.00p)
Record Rate: 1·60(Piayback Rate: 50p/ 25p) Record Rate: 1·50
25 Mbps ·1440 x 1080 (Playback Ra te: 29.97p/23.98p) Record
Rate: 1·30
Special Recording Function s: Relay Recording*; Double-Slot
Recording”; Copying between Media
• Not available during Slow Motion 50 Mbps recording
“Not available in combination with Slow and fast motion recording
Photo Recording: Available; Images captured to SD Card (1920 x 1080)
Waveform Monitor: Available
Vectorscope: Available
Exposure I Focus Aids: Peaking (2 types), Zebra Pattern’, Magnify,
Edge Monitor Focus Assist, Black and White Mode
• Can be output via the SDI or HDMI Jack (HD Only)
Interval Record: Available; Interval can be set in 25levels ranging
from 1 second to 10 minutes. (1s/2s/3s/4s/ls/6s/7s/8s/9s/10s/11s/
20s/ 30s/ 40s/ 50s/ 1 m/ 2 m/ 3 m/ 4m/ lm/ 6m/7m/8m/9m/1 Om)
NTSC 59.94i/29.97p/23 .98p/24.00p: Selectable between 1, 3, 6, 9 ~ames
NTSC 59.94p: Selectable between 2, 6, 12 frames
PAL 50i /25p/ 50p: Selectable between 2, 6, 12 frames
Frame Record:
NTSC 59.94i/23.98p/24.00p: Selectable between 1, 3, 6, 9 frames
NTSC 59.94p: Selectable between 2, 6, 12 frames
PAL 50i/2Sp/50p: Selectable between 2, 6, 12 frames
Pre-Record: Yes, 3 seconds cache (Audio and Video)
Scan Reverse: When using a Depth of Reid Converter or other lens adapters
it flips or reverses the image automatically so it is recorded correctly.
Time Code: Drop Frame’(DF) and Non-Drop Frame (NDF)
‘Drop Frame works with NTSC models only and is not available in 24P
Time Code Modes: Regen, Record Run , Free Run and External Source
Drop Frame and Non Drop Frame available
Dynamic Range: up to 800% with Canon Log Gamma and ISO 850
(+2.5dB) and above
‘ ISO 850 or above – gain 2.5dB or above
Imaging Processor: DIGIC DV Ill
Retail price was announced as around $20k but that includes Canon cinema lenses or a lens of some sort.
Despite not having a 4k Raw image that everyone was expecting you can’t argue with the picture quality. Here’s Vincent LAforet’s film shot with the C300 and Canon new cinema lenses.
Red on the other hand announces the new Scarlet specs as follows:
Super35 sensor: (Binned Epic sensors put to a better use)
5K: 12fps HDRx: 6fps
4K: 1-25FPS
4K QuadHD: 30fps
3K: 48FPS
2K: 60FPS
Base INCLUDES: Brain, Side SSD
Includes aluminum Canon mount
for under $14k
Words from Jim Jannard from Red:
FAQs
The Bomb Squad will be buried for the next week or so… so please expect delays. We would encourage you to read the FAQs (we will update) and try and resist the temptation to call in unless you have a question that we can’t answer here.
When will Scarlet-X begin shipping?
Dec 1st, 2011 for Scarlet with aluminum mount. Orders for Scarlet with a Ti PL mount will ship November 17th. Add $1500.
Are there any considerations or discounted packages for RED ONE owners on Scarlet-X?
No. RED ONE owners have special consideration for EPIC upgrades only.
How can you offer Scarlet-X at this price when EPIC is so much more?
Data rates and processing power. ASICs that weren’t fast enough for EPIC… just became a gold mine for Scarlet.This, and board component reduction, allows us to lower the data rate throughput and significantly reduce our costs over volume.
Why can’t I shoot 24fps 4K HDRx?
Data rates and processing power. *We are working on a future version of HDRx with modified compression to enable this possibility. It will be a firmware upgrade and free.
Can Scarlet-X be upgraded to the new Dragon sensor when it is released?
Yes. However the upgrade will be more expensive than upgrading an EPIC due to the necessity to change several primary boards. There will still be data rate limitations to Scarlet after the upgrade as compared with EPIC.
When will the Dragon sensor upgrade be available?
2nd half of 2012.
Will I be able to get RED Armor extended warranty for SCARLET-X?
Yes, RED Armor will be available for SCARLET-X for $1500.
Will firmware upgrades be free for Scarlet-X as they are for EPIC?
Yes.
Does Scarlet have the same native dynamic range as EPIC?
Yes.
Will all features be enabled in Scarlet-X when it ships?
No. We will continue to add features as time goes on, some of which were never expected. Scarlet-X feature additions and improvements will happen simultaneously with EPIC.
Will there be a different REDCINE-X Professional for Scarlet?
No. REDCINE-X Professional works both EPIC and Scarlet-X files seemlessly.
Will all EPIC Modules work on Scarlet-X?
Yes.
Are there any modules that are specifically for Scarlet-X?
No. EPIC and Scarlet share exactly the same accessories.
Since Scarlet-X has a lower data rate, does it burn less power and have greater battery life?
Yes. More than slight and less than a lot.
Does Scarlet-X have the same user-interface as EPIC?
Yes. They are brother and sister.
Is the side SSD module on Scarlet the same as the one on Epic?
Yes.
Will the Ti PL Mount and Ti Canon Mount work on Scarlet?
Yes. All mounts for EPIC work with Scarlet. Everything in the EPIC/Scarlet system is interchangeable.
Can I upgrade to the Ti Canon mount or Ti PL mount instead of buying the Aluminum Canon mount?
Yes. You just pay the difference in price. And it will not hold up your order. Actually, it will ship 1st because we have a supply of Ti PL mounts.
Will anything be is short supply when I order my Scarlet?
Yes. Side Handles, REDmote and EVF. Any delay in Scarlet is most likely to be caused by the Canon aluminum mount.
When will you get production of all parts up to reasonable levels?
February. We have spent a ton of energy to get out of back order status. The team has targeted February as the “end of pain” month.
How much does Scarlet weigh?
Exactly the same as EPIC.
Will Scarlet have Playback enabled?
Yes. Playback is being released before shipping.
Jim
So basically it’s the Epic-s that use to be a Scarlet returning as a Scarlet. A 5k still camera that shoots 12fps and can also shoot 4k movies for under $14k! Same DR as the Epic but limited to 50MB/s data-rate. What else needs to be said.
I think all FS100 and AF100 owners out there have breathed a sigh of relief. Me personally will be saving my dollars for the Scarlet. Hopefully production keeps up with demand which Jim from Red thinks they will have nailed down by Feb of next year.
B&H announces Massive price drop on Sandisk cards!
Nov 2nd
Looks like Sandisk have taken a cue from Transcend and have made all their CF and SD cards more realistically priced to what the actual components cost. No more high priced marketing bullcrap, which is a welcome surprise from this premium CF and SD card brand.
For a taste of the savings:
Sandisk 32GB CF extreme 60MB/s are now only $79.95
Sandisk 32GB CF Extreme Pro 90MB/s are now only $99.95
Sandisk 32GB SD Class 10 30MB/s are now only $51.95
For the full list of Sandisk card pricing click here.
At those prices I hope Transcend have a similar story to announce as their low-cost/high-quality appeal has gone from a 10 to a 1.
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