Andrew Somers
Forum Replies Created
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Is HDMI directly out, less compressed than h.264 via the CPU?
If so, what format is that, or, is it an iteration of h.264?
HDMI is always uncompressed – the question is, is there any interim compression between debayering stage and the HDMI output.
Nikon;s press release states:
“Uncompressed HDMI output: for those who need the purest video output for professional quality editing, the D4 offers the possibility to output the uncompressed live view to external recorders and monitors. The first time this has been possible in an SLR camera, data is output at 1080i (Full HD) at the designated image size and frame rate. Data output can be scaled down if necessary and is clean of the information overlay that can be simultaneously displayed on the camera’s TFT monitor.”
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Does anyone know for sure if the Nikon viewfinder still operates while you record using an HDMI cable plugged into the camera and record externally? The Canon 5D does not do this and I don’t know if there is a hack to get around this shortcoming.
If you mean the OPTICAL viewfinder then NO, the mirror must be up full time for video recording.
There is *no* way to “hack” this – the optical view system consists of the mirror that reflects the image into the pentaprism – but the mirror blocks the image sensor. Thus, the mirror must be UP, when means that the optical viewfinder will be black.
The D4 does have a full resolution HDMI output that can be sent to an external LCD viewfinder, and the D4’s LCD does operate continuously in live/HD mode.
The only video cameras that have optical viewfinders use rotating mirrored shutters, and are quite expensive (and rare) – such as the Arri D21 and Sony F65.
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You can do it simply with an expression – the expression below is placed in the POSITION field of the layer(s) you want to affect the position of, in each of the 250 comps:
comp(“MasterPosition”).layer(“PositionLayerA”).transform.position
Then you have one comp called MasterPosition, and a layer in that comp called PositionLayerA.
Now, when you move PositionLayerA in the MasterPosition comp, all layers with that expression in any other comp in the project will move to match.
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Yes, and this is where some planning ahead of time is important.
On the green screen you need to place tracking markers, to give a 3D tracking software something to definitively latch onto.
Then, after you shoot, you import the footage into the 3D tracking software (PFTrack, Syntheyes, BouJou, etc), and do a 3D track of the greenscreen environment.
From this tracking data, you will export a comp for After Effects, with a 3D camera, and null objects that represent the green screen background.
You then drop your foreground footage into this comp (keeping it 2D), and the background you will make as a 3D layer, and use the null objects as a reference for placement. The After Effects camera will then match the production camera, and the background (in 3D space) will appear to move with the production camera.
If you did NOT have tracking marks on the green screen of the footage you have now, there *may* be enough contrast near the edges that you *might* be able to get a track. but ideally, you want to put trackers in *first*.
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Just to add – I do see Fairlight CVIs on Ebay from time to time – though they are all in standard def.
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Yes, I remember the show – the video effect was done with a Fairlight CVI (Computer Video Instrument).
https://audiovisualizers.com/toolshak/vidsynth/fair_cvi/fair_cvi.htm
The actor, in heavy makeup (a latex mask) and with high contrast lighting would perform in front of a camera, and a CVI operator would introduce the stutter and other effects in real time.
Fairlight is more known as the company that invented the digital sampling keyboard, I used to work for them many years ago which is why I’m familiar with this bit of trivia.
Regarding makeup see also:
https://www.john-humphreys.com/page14/page3/page3.html
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I saw an interesting statement the other day that top flight glass was not necessary for good Dslr video because even at HD, video doesn’t use that much resolution and opposed to still pictures.
The author mentioned video “only” made use of about 2000k, though I don’t know what that means exactly.The author of that statement is wrong, and IMO he lacks an understanding of the benefits of “good” vs “cheap” glass. Hint: It’s not about resolution.
His statement regarding “2000k” is that in HD (and even at 2K) we are only using about 2 to 2.3 million pixels for the image. This *may* have an effect on the effective minimum circle of confusion relative to a still image – depending on the size of the still image – or it may not. The minimum circle of confusion is “more” related to enlargement size and viewing distance than sensor pixel density.
But more to the point: Feature films shot on 35mm film are typically scanned into a 2K DPX file – 2.3 megapixels. And that is projected onto a screen 40 feet wide. And do you see cheap lenses on a Panavision? No you see *really expensive* exotic high end glass !!! Glass made by Nikon, Zeiss or Leica.
But perhaps more to the point: image *sharpness* is not the most defining characteristic of *image fidelity*.
Think about how much time we often spend making an image LESS sharp – ProMist filters, hazers on set, etc. etc.
And THEN take a look at images that you love, that are full of depth and “intimate feeling” – and THEN notice that in fact, the *majority* of the image is out of focus. (In particular, the background.)
Look at the out of focus areas – are they smooth, with a creamy blur? Or is the blur have nasty “defined” edges and contrast? The quality of these out of focus areas is referred to as “bokeh”. The quality of the bokeh is one of the prime aspects of a quality lens. Personally, I never choose a lens for its “sharpness” (except when doing product shots) – for most subjects, I choose a lens based on its bokeh – in other words, I choose a lens first based on how the OUT OF FOCUS areas appear.
Related to boken is depth of field – and a *high end* lens is also often going to be “faster” meaning that you can open the aperture wider, resulting is narrower depth of field. This allows for more selective focusing to draw the viewer’s attention to a specific subject.
Another factor in lenses is the “diffraction limited resolution” which like circle of confusion is related to viewing size, and also to sensor (imaging area) size.
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/diffraction-photography.htm
You might be interested to know that as you increase the imaging area size, the circle of confusion increases in size, and so does the diffraction limited resolution, such that in fact, as you increase imaging area size, you can actually use a *LOWER* quality lens. Note that on large 4×5 view camera’s, the lens is quite simple, and not particularly fast – yet the image *quality* is astounding because of the very large imaging area.
As you reduce the imaging area size, then lens quality become increasingly important, as you are resolving light onto a much smaller area, and diffraction limited resolution plays a much more important role. And this is certainly the case with cheap HDV cameras with tiny 1/3″ sensors.
The nice thing about dSLRs (DX format) is that they have an imaging area very similar to 35mm motion picture film, and as such focal length and aperture choices will be virtually the same as when shooing with a 35mm motion picture camera.
The implication here too, then is that you would also want to be using *LENSES* that are of a similar quality. The *LENS* is the most important part of any camera system – Canon L series, Nikon pro lenses, etc. etc. are all still quite important when shooting HD on a dSLR.
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You need to select the eyedropper in the plug-in’s window before sampling the image.
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As far as I can tell, this is what you have to do. This is not an issue in CS3 or CS4, but it certainly is an issue in CS5.
Clearly an After Effects bug.
As for batch fixing this – I’m looking for a tool for that – Sebsky tools does not seem to be functioning with the latest versions of QT.