Brendan Coots
Forum Replies Created
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I agree with David that possibly your biggest issue is using DV for everything. DV, as you know, is highly compressed, and then you are compressing it again to MPEG-2 which is heavily compressed. The end result isn’t going to look so hot when played back on any screen large enough for you to see the footage in detail.
So the issue probably isn’t the HD TV, but rather that it is showing your footage very large and revealing unflattering compression.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
As Ron pointed out, Craigslist is a HORRIBLE place to get business. It is the first stop for the grinders who hope to get everything done for free/dirt cheap, so this listing is no surprise at all.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
The easiest way (that I know of) is to format the drive as NTFS, leave it attached to the PC (set up as a shared drive), and use your network to transfer files from the Mac to the external drive.
Using this method drive formatting isn’t an issue, but it does rely on your machines being networked, preferably via gigabit ethernet if you are transferring large files.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
In professional compositing situations artists commonly duplicate the footage layer and use masks to break their greenscreen plate up into individual elements, so that they can use fine-tuned settings for specific needs. In this case, the head should probably get different Keylight settings since hair is much different than the edges created by clothing etc. It requires more work, but here’s the idea:
1. On your base footage layer, create a mask that separates the head. The mask will probably need to be animated to follow the character, but it should just be a loose “garbage” mask
2. Put the mask in “invert” mode, so that it only shows the body
3. Duplicate the layer. Uncheck “invert” on the mask for this layer so that it only shows the head of the actor. The two layers stacked should show the entire actor without mask seams
4. Tweak your Keylight settings on the head layer to taste
5. If you need to radically adjust the head’s key settings, the seam between the two layers may become obvious. You can get around this with a combination of mask feather/expansion settings on both masks so that the two layers softly overlap at the seam.
Most of the jaggies you’re seeing are probably a result of the inherent limitations in DV video. You can try DVMatte instead of Keylight, may work better since it’s specifically tuned for DV footage.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Agreed. For AE, the video card isn’t a real issue at all. You will run into video card issues if you try to install Final Cut Studio 2, however. It doesn’t seem to even run without a decent, non-integrated GPU.
Other than that, I’m sure the iMac would work great with AE CS3, just bear in mind that multicore features will be more limited.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Just two minor quibbles with this advice – NTSC is 29.97, not 30fps. There was a time when everyone knew you meant 29.97 when you say 30fps, but these days there are a million valid frame rates, including 30fps.
Also, exporting graphics from AE in the DV codec is not the greatest idea. You will crush your graphics horribly (immediately reducing them to 4:1:1 and 25Mbps) by doing this. If the edit is based on the DV codec then your editing app will output the graphics in this format along with everything else, but you always want to render uncompressed from AE (unless you are using a hardware card like Blackmagic).
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
The recommendation I have been seeing based on real-world tests is 2GB RAM per cpu core.
The problem with buying this much RAM is the lack of programs that can even take advantage of it. The list is fairly limited to 3D and other data-intense content creation apps. The upside (if you’re on a mac) is that companies like Other World Computing have Apple-certified RAM for almost 1/3 of the cost than Apple charges in their store. You could get 8GB RAM for around $650.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
The video you rendered out of AE is merely your source file. Your DVD authoring app will automatically convert that video into the MPEG2 format which will reduce its size substantially, while maintaining good quality.
In the end, that video will probably be 50-100MB on-disc after your app converts it.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
Great advice, especially the part about over-lighting. This causes desaturation in the backdrop color, and almost always creates hotspots that are a nightmare in post.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com -
The rosco paint is good, success with it usually comes down to what surface you apply it to and how it is applied. Obvious construction skills come into play here, like sanding/priming etc. and making sure that moisture does not accumulate and cause bubbling or rippling. Usually not much of an issue unless you live in a humid climate or rush the job.
The last thing I will add is that some GS backdrops are dyed sheet fabric or other thin materials. They can be had for fairly cheap, but are tough to work with. They wrinkle badly, do not give optimal (i.e. even) lighting coverage and are semi-transparent so the light is partially absorbed rather than strongly reflected, making it very hard to get a good saturated color out of it.
Brendan Coots
Splitvision Digital
http://www.splitvisiondigital.com