[Jim Arco]

If you haven’t found another solution already, be sure to try Detail Preserving Upscale available in Photoshop CC and in the very latest release of After Effects CC.

Pretty impressive results and no added cost.

Jim

[Jim Arco]

I sometimes use Photoshop for video and I have used a few of the “blow up” utilities in the past. Generally, they are meant to enlarge the output (to the printer) and not necessarily to enlarge an output file. You may be able to get them to actually output a larger image, but I’m not sure. Most of them have some sort of demo to download and try.

Bear in mind that the algorithms they use to ensure quality will require significant computer time, especially if you’re processing a lengthy image sequence. You might want to get a feel for the quality and time involved by having PS up-scale an image sequence.

Another solution would be to use one of the “enlargers” for Premiere or After Effects. InstantHD comes to mid, but there are probably others.

However, I think you might be going about this in the wrong way. Uprezzing an image will certainly cause some quality degradation. Plus ANY sort of up-rezzing is going to be a bit of a compromise, especially regarding time versus quality. You’re likely to get much better quality outputting a larger sequence from your 3d program. And I doubt that you will save significant time with a workflow that involves outputting 720p, importing into PS, uprezzing, then saving the file.

Jim
Colorburst Video

[Jim Arco]

I’m with Joseph on this one.

Unless you already have some of the parts, or have a unique need not served by available vendors, or just want to learn how to do it… you’ll probably spend much more time and effort building one than ordering one. One limitation, for instance, green-screen fabric is highly color-saturated and not likely available in the crafts section of your local W-Mart. Plus, the one you buy will already have a carry case.

If you decide to go forward, check out dozens of ideas on the web by searching “DIY greenscreen.”

Jim

[Jim Arco]

The 5’x7′ pop-up green screen that I have uses spring steel, which is a highly tempered piece of metal that tends to return to the shape it was manufactured. It is about a 1/4-inch wide and maybe 1/16-inch thick.

You might be able to use spring-wire, which can be found in larger hardware stores (at least in the US.)

Jim

[Jim Arco]

Fat-fingered… actually 128, half of 256. I found it was needed to eliminate any luminance component.

the Background: Several years ago, I attended a seminar by Dan Margulis where he taught a process he called picture postcard workflow, centered around using Photoshop to greatly improve any still photo. Dan is one of the few pre-press experts, wrote the Professional Photoshop series of books and also a weighty tome on Lab color, considered by many to be the definitive work on Lab. Since that time, I’ve attended Dan’s other seminars and worked my way through his training series on the NAPP website.

One of the techniques he developed uses blending of channels from other color spaces to improve photo contrast and color. Using that technique, I was able to work minor miracles on a still-frame from footage provided for a current job. I could script the process to work through a frame at a time in Photoshop, but there is a lot of footage. So, right now I have been experimenting with ways to extend the tools to use with video. If I have any significant breakthroughs, I’ll provide updates here on the COW.

Jim
Jim

[Jim Arco]

Darby,

A levels adjustment layer with both output boxes set to 126 actually provides the solution in every scenario I’ve tried. Thanks for all your help.

Jim

BTW – I am working with some client video where they need contrast-enhancement using channels from different color spaces. Very interesting concept that I’ve used for stills, but never tried with video.

[Jim Arco]

Channel Mixer seems to only work for the current frame and is grayed out for smart objects.

But the “fill layer with 100% K set to the Linear Dodge” seems to work for CMYK.

How about a brainstorm for Lab color?

Jim

[Jim Arco]

Thanks, Darby for several solutions. I guess I wasn’t specific enough. I really want to be able to save an image sequence of a given channel in any color space… so maybe a sequence of the K channel from CMYK, for instance.

[Jim Arco]

Thanks for the response, but the world of Photoshop is not that easy. Turning on/off channels does not impact the output.

Jim

[Jim Arco]

Thanks Todd, for the tutorial.

The shot I need to fix is panning from right-to-left. A person is walking towards the left, getting closer to the camera until he nearly fills the frame, then continues as the camera follows him. Unfortunately, the “stop-jerk-resume” occurs when the person is closest to the camera and mostly fills the frame. That’s probably what is confusing the warp-stabilizer.

I can get a good track on various points in the background, but I don’t know how to use that information to smooth out the shot.

Jim