Scott Anderson
Forum Replies Created
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I know this is silly, but the other half of the equation for me is to also try “View>Refresh A/V Devices”. What this does, I believe, is re-poll the Firewire buss for compatible devices.
Often, FCP will not recognize a deck or monitor unless I “View>Refresh A/V Devices”, THEN “View>External Video>All Frames”.
I’m sure you’ve tried it already, but thought I’d throw that in.
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The problem, as I see it Chris, is that you may have a flicker coming from a ceiling fan light, but unless that’s the ONLY light in the shot, the other lights are either not flickering, or flicker at a different pace.
Even if you were able to correct the flicker by perfectly dimming the shot up and down every other frame (something you can do with the Flicker filter), the background would now be flickering.
Let’s say that the fan light is your key, but there’s fill light from outdoors bouncing onto the side of your subject’s face. You correct for the key light, but now your fill light flickers from the correction you added.
That’s why there’s not an easy fix, and perhaps no fix at all, depending on the shot.
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That $500 is not for the processor speed bump at all, but rather for the 500MB video card as opposed to the 256MB.
If, as you say, you use all of the FCS applications, you are paying the $500 to be able to use Motion and Color with some degree of usability. A 256MB card is just not enough to allow Motion and Color to shine. $500 well spent, IMO.
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Since you are looking for an alternative to iMovie, I’m assuming you want a low-cost, more consumer-oriented software. That is, something that is simpler to learn and to teach. I would agree with the suggestion of Adobe Premiere Elements, because some of the skills learned in Premiere Elements will transfer nicely to the full version of Premiere. Also be aware that Sony makes a “lite” version of Vegas, called Vegas Movie Studio+DVD, which also retails for around $90USD.
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Yes, the Macpro 2.66 Ghz would be a fine choice for both SD video now, and HD video in a year or three. In fact, if it’s only going to to be DV-based SD for awhile, the Mac Pro is even a bit of overkill. You can do DVCProHD with the Mac Pro, in software, with no hardware necessary.
If possible, I would look at this possible configuration: If it’s only Final Cut Pro that you’re running primarily, you might be able to get away with only 1GB of memory. If, however, you want to run a lot of Motion you’ll be happier with at least 2GB. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t offer a build-to-order option using 1GB RAM until you get over 4GB, and that’s adding over $1000 to the price – ouch! Just be aware that eventually you’ll want a lot of RAM, especially when you start working in HD.
I’d consider factoring the cost of an additional drive, either SATA inside the case and/or Firewire 800 drives outside the case. You can buy those 3rd party, though. You’ll be filling up that 250GB drive in no time, plus, it’s always a good idea to keep media drives and system drives mostly separate. I often build in the cost of an external enclosure and drive into a client’s proposal. That way, you have a built-in archive: when the project’s done – hand the drive to the client.
For video display, having a small, inexpensive DV deck or your camera to loop through firewire to an external monitor is all you really need, strictly speaking. Though you may have issues with firewire synch or output quality depending on the DV device. Even after all these years, video over firewire is still a bit of a finicky beast. Also, it’s not the best idea to add running hours to a DVD deck/camera if not needed. You could use a device like the $595 Blackmagic Decklink Pro or SP to have a reliable, flexible output to an analog monitor.
I think there are plenty of widescreen, DVI 3rd party monitors that pass muster, and offer better value for the dollar than the Apple ones. Look at the specs for the Apple cinema display you’d like, and try to match those specs with a 3rd party monitor. Of course, you wouldn’t have that cool silver finish that matches your Mac Pro so well…If image is a factor for you, maybe you have clients over, perhaps the premium is worth it.
…Just my 2 cents.
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tcw, it worked for me! See my original thread for the specifics (AE7, Intel iMac, 1.5GB, etc.), and many thanks to you.
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tcw, that’s it! You’re a lifesaver!
It must have been that stupid popwire plugin I downloaded. I don’t even remember why I downloaded it – must have been trying to enable wmv content on the web, or something.
I did a finder search for “popwire”, and trashed everything: the export and import codecs, a preference, and a user guide.pdf – poof – now After Effects starts like a charm! I was even able to re-enable the OpenGL3D.plugin that I renamed trying to get AE to launch.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! How I’ve missed After Effects. I haven’t pushed AE very far yet, but on a simple comp with just a few layers and transfer modes, it’s not too bad at all! I expected it to be really sluggish, as it’s running under Rosetta, but so far, it seems quite workable. I’ll reserve my judgement until I get into some really nasty 60-layer comp, but so far, so good.
At least living without AE these past few months has made me get off my duff and finally learn my way around Motion. But Motion doesn’t hold a candle to After Effects, IMO. In fact, Motion seems to be such a RAM hog, that even with 1.5GB of RAM, it’s a real dog. On a comp with just a few layers, AE7 even seems to be SNAPPIER than Motion!
Joy, oh joy! Thank you so very much. This is why I love the Cow.
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First off, After Effects is almost certainly a better tool for this than FCP. I say that because of AE’s very precise and controllable masking and tracking tools.
Second, forget about it seeming natural – it probably won’t happen. You’ll try and try, but the best you can hope for is that 90% of the audience won’t notice something is wacky. That’s your best case.
Here’s how I’d approach it. Flat brown is never flat brown – you’ll notice that as soon as you try pasting a brown spot over the shirt. Feathered or no, there are subtle gradations of color, there’s texture from the material, and there’s video grain in the clip.
I would look for an area of the shirt just above the offending logo, and look at cloning that section over it. In motion, this can be tricky, but it sometimes works. Duplicate your layer, then draw a mask on the top layer about 10-20% larger than the logo around the logo. Now move the mask up until it is on the nondescript area of the shirt. Then move the position of that layer down until it covers the logo. You’re basically duplicating the pixels from above the logo to cover it. You drew the mask slightly larger so that you can now feather the mask and see if it blends. The advantage to this method is that when the shirt moves, the texture of the cloned area moves with it. You may need to animate the mask as the logo moves around, and so some careful surgery when an arm passes in front. That means manually rotoscoping the matte to track around the arm. there is a bit of leeway there. You’ll notice that when one object passes in front of another, the eye will forgive a lot. you could get away with a really rough roto’d mask for the couple of frames it’ll take.
Another method is to use transfer modes and tracking points to animate a fake section of shirt. Make a still out of your footage, then crop out an appropriate size patch somewhat larger than the logo. Use AE’s motion tracker to track the logo, then apply those keyframes to your “patch”, so it moves with the logo. At this point, even if you feather it and add grain to try to match the footage, it will still look artificial. But, you can try to ease the effect by using transfer modes. Using the “color” transfer mode will at least insure that the logo is now brown, but you’ll probably still be able to see the outline. Duplicate your patch layer and use “luminance”. This will impart the shirt texture back to the patch. This may still end up looking like a fake, but at least it’s a fake that’s the same color and rough texture as the rest of the shirt.
That’s probably as close as you’ll get to making it unnoticable. Unfortunately it’s going to be a long, laborious process, and mostly a manual tweaking one. I hope you’re only covering a short group of soundbites, not a 20-minute interview. I hope it’s an interview in a controlled environment, and the talent doesn’t move much.
It may still be impossible to get a good match, in which case you may simply throw an adjustment layer on with a gaussian blur or mosaic filter, then animate the mask to cover the logo. Sometimes that’s the best you can do. Sometimes it’s easier to reshoot.