What's the right setup for recording programming talks?

I do this all the time for local user groups and I'm yet to find a "plug and play/set and forget" solution. To do the recordings at a professional quality, you need some sort of skill and training, otherwise it will look amateur.

If all you want to record is the person talking, and not what's on their screen, it's relatively easy: buy a wireless lapel mic (the Samson Airline range is good) and plug it into a video camera of your choice that has audio input. Put that on a tripod and away you go. Then copy that on to a computer, trim the top and tail in something like iMovie, then export to YouTube or whatever format you like.

If you want to do multiple microphones for discussions, then you need to buy more than one mic (a couple of Sennheiser MD46 mics are great for this - one per person) and plug them into a mixer (Behringer mixers are fine and cost effective), then plug a recording device (such as a Zoom H4N) or the camera into the mixer's outputs (using the tape output, 2x RCA to 3.5mm for example).

When it gets tricky is if you want to record the presenter's slides/demos as well as them talking, in videos like so: https://vimeo.com/omtconf/videos/page:1/sort:alphabetical

That requires more than $1,000, plus a bit of A/V knowledge that's probably too long winded for this response. You also need to do some editing in post. It can be done live (using something like a Blackmagic ATEM switcher), but will cost even more and you'd need a bit more training than two minutes. Upside however, if being able to easily live stream it to the web, using that sort of setup, so people who can't make it can watch.

If you've got any specific questions, feel free to ask for more info :)


Two questions regarding setting up a podcast with Behringer 1202fx mixer and a dual channel compressor limiter gate

I have the 1204USB for a while a ended up throwing out the USB adapter and getting a Saffire PRO 24 Firewire interface. This mixer and the 1202 are great but if I had the chance I would have gotten the Mackie Onyx 1220i which has the Firewire built in.

However I did manage to make the mix minus work with this desk. You need to listen and monitor from the desk but record from the computer. Next you bring the audio back into the desk via the line out of the comp and into the 7/8 channel of the desk. Leave the POT panned down and listen to the the channel in PRE and make sure you live monitoring is also playing out the PRE to the headphones (PRE never goes out to main). Looking at the PDF for the deck: http://www.behringer.com/assets/1002FX_P0572_M_EN.pdf  I'm not sure if the 1202 has PRE setting but without it, you will not be able to do this.


How to enable multi-camera in Premiere *after* I've already made tons of cuts

Ryan, sorry, but I think it's basically too late. You can certainly turn on multicam editing mode now but Premiere is not going to recognize your existing edits. If you have more footage to edit you could use multicam mode for the remaining portion.


How to easily extract start/end times of several clips within a video?

As an initial approach, gnome-subtitles seems to be an interesting option.

sudo apt-get install gnome-subtitles

One can marking the beginning and end of each clip as one dialog entry in the subtitle file, which can be saved as srt and later transformed to be used with ffmpeg.


In final video how much is B Roll and how much is A Roll percentage wise

I agree with @MichaelLiebman 's comment, it depends ...

  My end product usually has about 30% of BRoll, I.E. every 7 or so seconds I'll add some BRoll.

It's possible to adjust your percentage 20-30% either way. The way you'd have 60% broll and still call it B-Roll is that the A-Roll had a lot of failed shots and it was broll that saved the day.

As a rule seven seconds is short and > than 20 but < than 40 is probably good, but even 7 can be long (parkour, skateboarding, etc.) and 40 short (rowing to the crab traps, driving over the Golden Gate); it depends.

So basically what does it depend upon (limiting it somewhat to the scope of your question):

Subject and pace of the story (laidback vs. jarring).
The need to switch. If you must show wide and close with fast pace you'll be flipping back and forth in less than 7 seconds (showing what someone is doing or offering how-to advice), if you're panning around someone's surroundings or showing the parts or usage of something you can run well beyond 40 seconds.
What you got. You either have to make an edit with the shots you have and try to cobble them into your storyline or you need to shoot some more footage (which often, but not always, involves going back out to the location).
Style. It's yours, make it your's and be proud; assuming it's reasonably good.

Look at what other people do, read up on the subject; but make your own style.

Videos are easier than written advice for this topic but here's a mix of both:

Nikon's "Shooting B-Roll Footage with a DSLR". In particular see near the end of the video included on that webpage how B-Roll saved Grandpa.

Look at this video on the Gear Dads YouTube channel: "How To Shoot B-Roll". See what and how to shoot, so you come home with useful material.

Speaking of YouTube, there's lots of professional advice, or simply work done by professionals (that isn't explained, but you can see how it's done). Erik has been a Producer for over 2 decades, here he is interviewing at a Trade Show: "CAME-TV Gimbals – Newsshooter at IBC 2017". Single camera, single person crew, and he edits it too. Not perfect, not bad. One man job.

Look and learn, practice makes perfect. There's also short courses at Colleges or offered by local talent that can provide individualized advice.

If you edit your question and put a link to an example of your work then fine tuned advice can be offered.


Avidemux - how to add my site's name to the beggining of the video

It is not easiest software for video composing, but you can find tutorial here, how to achieve what you want.

I advice you to use something with timeline like Windows Movie Maker or Lightworks. So you can see your changes on timeline.

I believe you also can use ffmpeg for that purpose, but it will be more complex.


avisynth(+) + avslib - cropping each frame with different values

FirstFrame      = 1
......
......
Raw = ImageReader("GOPR%04d.JPG", FirstFrame, LastFrame, FrameRate)

Probably the file GOPR0001.JPG doesn't exist in your current directory.

From AviSynth manual:

  The first file in the sequence, i.e., corresponding to 'start', MUST exist in order for clip parameters to be computed. Any missing files in the sequence are replaced with a blank frame.

For testing it directly in your script, temporary put Raw  __END__ at the end of the command, i. e.

Raw = ImageReader("GOPR%04d.JPG", FirstFrame, LastFrame, FrameRate)  Raw  __END__

and play back your script (.avs file). If you get the same error, non-existence of the file GOPR0001.JPG is your problem.


How can I apply the same keyframe pattern to multiple still images in Adobe Premiere?

Simply create your motion keyframes on your longest clip placed on your timeline (or use a dummy clip which exceeds your longest clip by a few frames or even a second in case you later add an even longer clip/image to the sequence).

Once you have added you "start" motion position, set the keyframe, then the "end" motion position (I am guessing you will be doing pushes and pulls).

Select the clip on the sequence. CTRL-C Copy.  Then use the C select tool (arrow) to lasso and select ALL the clips you want to apply the motion effect to.

Right mouse click the selected clips in the sequence, then click Paste Attributes.

This will paste the motion from your longest clip to all the clips; with the same relative speed. The keyframe for you "end" motion position on clips shorter than your "longest/dummy" clip will simply not be visible in the effects panel; because the keyframe will be out of range and past the tail of the clip.

However, the same speed motion will be applied.

If you are doing more than just a slow push or pull, or are dealing with various image sizes/aspect ratios; you may need to do a few "template moves" and apply the Paste Attribute command to the clips that require that specific move.

If you need to reset the motion; select the clips on the sequence; right mouse click; remove effects; click motion, click ok.

I would recommend also:

Run ALL your images through Image Processor using Adobe Bridge; and upres them larger than your sequence size. So if your working in a 1920x1080 workspace; use Tools; PhotoShop; Image Processor -> Resize Image (Then set a "SQUARE VALUE" of 2500 w by 2500 h).  This will box in all your images to meet either an X or Y value of 2500 px depending on the orientation of the image.

Do not use Scale to Frame Size- as you will lose image quality on any push ins past 100%. Upresing your images using Image Processor will import all your images into PPro, and they will be larger than your sequence; so you have pull room, and push room, to go in and out, without your images pixelating.

You may want to go higher than 2500 px. I'd recommend 2-3x your horizontal resolution. (So if 1080p, scale them all to roughly 5000/5000).  Photoshops resizing will provide much better results than PPro when moving/pushing in past 100% if your image doesnt meet your 1920 Width (if working in 1080).

Hope this solves it for you.


How do I open only one library in iMovie?

Find the Library in finder (e.g. ~/Movies), and double click it.

You can be sure that it's the only open Library by using the drop down menu in Projects:


Editing with music: what workflow produces the best results?

Sooner or later you have to look at your video and make choices.  A term of the art is to "create video selects".  And the organizational technique used in Premiere Pro is called a "stacked timeline" or a "pancake timeline"(with more details explained here).  But to ease into these (and answer your question)...

You absolutely need to go through your footage to find the good stuff.  Don't think of it as "editing out the unusable parts", but rather "find, mark, and label the good parts".  Labeling is key because that's how you are going to find the good stuff later.  Mark in and out points to quickly get rid of useless "flying to" and "flying from" parts of your footage.

Quoting from 1, "By stacking 2 timelines on top of each other…an editor can now access an entire reel of selects in chronological order (or whatever order desired) and instantly drop them into the active timeline below. To accomplish this layout…first open both timelines by clicking on them in the Project Panel. Drag the Selects timeline tab and hover over the top quarter of the Master timeline. Once it turns a purple color, release the tab and you’re in Pancake Land! By not having to bounce between tabbed timelines and using copy/paste…the process of analyzing and deciding which shot makes it into the cut is streamlined and intuitive. You can playback the Selects timeline in the program panel or hit the “match frame” keyboard shortcut and play it back in the source panel. Then just insert edit or drag-and-drop the shots you want into the Main timeline. Another very nice feature of this edit workflow is that the shots you pull from the Selects (top) timeline remain in their original position and are duplicated into the Main (bottom) timeline."

Another thing to keep in mind is that the construction and ordering of the selects timeline is up to you.  You can order your footage chronologically, by subject, by altitude, whatever your labeling system and sorting system might be.  Make metadata work for you!

At this point you probably have an idea of what your true "hero" footage is, and how much time you can fill with the top 95% of your material.  (Or you have an idea how deeply you have to scrape the barrel to create a 2-3 minute video.)  This will give you an idea of to find the right matching music--both thematically and in length.  And it will give you an idea whether you are better off to start cutting the video to the audio, or vice-versa.

Usually the best results are those that make the best elements speak best, both by themselves and together in ensemble.  If something sticks out like a sore thumb, take it out.  If you realize there's a shot that would make the video complete and you don't have it, maybe (in your case) you can rig up the flycam and get it.  Most video editors don't have that luxury because the footage is a given and they cannot just ask for more.

As your video converges with the audio, you will get a sense of just how important it is to align visual and audio "beats".  Keep working until every visual moment is reinforced by the audio, and vice-versa.


A silhouette is often created by having a person with zero lighting on him/her, positioned in front of a brightly-lit background.  However, you'd need to do camera tests to confirm that the contrast is high enough so you don't see the person's face.

You can emphasize this in Adobe After Effects by creating an oval (face-shaped) mask that is black and partially/mostly opaque, with fuzzy edges.  Position this over the mystery person's face and animate it to follow their movements.

There are many other options for hiding a mystery person's face.

Have the person's back to the camera.
Only shoot the person from the shoulders down, so their face is not in the shot.
Only show the shadow of the person's face, on a flat surface that is lightly colored (white, yellow, etc.).
Similar to the previous idea, the mystery person could be behind a white sheet, with a bright light even farther behind the person, so a silhouette of the person appears on the white sheet. Make sure to reduce or eliminate light on the same side of the sheet as the camera; if there's too much, the shadow will be washed out.
Position the person behind a sheet of shower glass or something similar so they are visible but indistinguishable.
Just put a bag over their head.


Photoshop animation dropping frames at 12fps or as image sequence

Don't do the frame rate change in Photoshop.  Do it later on in AE.  Export all 30 frames from Photoshop, then import them into AE.  Make a new comp in AE, setting the new frame rate as 12fps in the comp settings.

Right click on your image sequence and choose "interpret footage as 12fps".


repeat crossfade in a sequence of images

There's always more than one way to do things in AE:

Method1

Import the drawings as separate source files, rather than as an image sequence (in the import dialog uncheck the image sequence checkbox). Once you've got all your images imported select them all and drag them into a new composition.

They will appear as a stack of layers with only the top layer visible, but don't fret. Next step is to trim them to the length you need. The easiest way to do this is to select them all and move the playhead to the last frame you want (frame 15 in your case) and hit alt/option] which is the shortcut for trimming the end of a layer.

Now right click one of the selected layers and from the contextual menu choose Keyframe Assistant > Sequence Layers…. To get a crossfade you need to check the overlap box, and use the Dissolve Front Layer transition (I have never been able to work out why you would ever use the Dissolve front and back layers option, because it means that halfway through both layers will be 50% transparent, meaning that the background will show through). You might have to go back and add extra frames to your layers to allow for the overlap, so if you want a 5 frame overlap on a 15 frame layer you'll need to make it 20 frames.

This is the built-in tool for doing exactly what you want to do.

Method 2

Do what you're doing, but make sure that frame blending is turned on for your image sequences. It's the little filmstrip icon in the switches column (you may have to hit f4 to toggle the visibility.

There are two values for frame blending, you want the first one, which is basically dissolving between frames — the second one does a kind of morph between successive frames which can do a good job in some circumstances, but can look very weird in others.

Now because frame blending is a bit computationally expensive, AE doesn't show it in the comp window by default. You'll have to turn it on to see it, and you do that by hitting the filmstrip button at the top of the layers area in your timeline:

Click it and it will go blue, and you'll see your frames blending.

Although this might be easier to set up, it does have the disadvantage that the frames are going to be constantly dissolving, with only one frame each where they are 100% from the individual drawing.


Audio Sync Issues on playback via thumb drive

The answer stems from the combination of the speed of the flash drive and the data rate of the video. The video and audio in most codec are decoded separately once streamed to the computer from the flash drive. Now when the flash drive can't keep up with the speed the video is supposed to be playing then the audio or the video get ahead because the flash drive cannot serve both at the same time. Time for a faster flash drive.


The gif format doesn’t work like this. You won’t be able to get an animation with this high a frame rate.

The good news is that many sites which claim to use GIFs actually use mp4 files. I don’t know your exact workflow, but you could  try making an mp4 at this frame rate and uploading it to one of the “GIF” sites.


How can i crop part of a video while recording from desktop in real time using ffmpeg?

Two ways:

#1 By specifying gdigrab options:

ffmpeg -f gdigrab -framerate 24 -video_size 960x540 -offset_x 240 -offset_y 450 -i desktop -preset ultrafast -pix_fmt yuv420p out.mp4

This captures a 960x540 video whose top-left corner is at (240,450) measured from the top-left corner of the display.

#2 By cropping it post-capture

ffmpeg -f gdigrab -framerate 24 -i desktop -vf crop=960:540:240:450 -preset ultrafast -pix_fmt yuv420p out.mp4

The former is preferable.


Can you use keyframes for motion blur in After Effects?

There’s a built-in “CC force motion blur” plugin you could add to your comp as an adjustment layer. If you use that instead of the system motion blur, I think you could keyframe it on or off, or just keyframe the adjustment layer on or off. Be warned it is slower to render than blurring the usual way.


How to add automatically a video ending?

Quicktime in Apple has a trim and drop edit function built into the player app.
You just copy your footage in the time line and drop it into the old footage in the right place. Pretty useful for a light edit.


I was recently editing a 5-camera short film with Premiere. Over 7 hrs worth of footage. Lots of going back and forth over the clips. Lots of trying different angles. All that over many weeks. Yet, we never got lost or confused about what was happening or where things were.

Create your multi-cam sequence.
Log all camera angles individually by using a lot of markers and/or extended markers. Label those markers clearly and consistently: mention the subject discussed and whatever interesting thing the interviewee does (facial expression, laughter, hand movement, etc.)
Maybe use a marker-color per subject-matter.
I would make sure to keep the original multi-cam sequence cuts-free. Just duplicate it as many times as you need to: that way you can always come back to it, a clean slate, if and when the cutting gets messy.
Edit the interview by copying and pasting bits that deal with similar issues to as many sequences as you have subject matters. Duplicate those initial "sub-sequences" and edit their duplicates down, as the director and you see fit.
Make sure that you name those "subject-sequences" clearly. Let's say one is about "Boats". Call the first one "151031_Boats_E01" for the date, the subject matter and the edit number. Then the duplicate would be called "151031_Boats_E02", etc. Duplication is you friend. Use bins, etc. I'm sure you have your workflow already anyway.

That way, you should be able to get back to your edit and the various subject matters over the course of a few months without finding yourself lost.


FCPX - Large MXF being broken into smaller files

Turns out FCPX displays spanning files AS WELL as a single large file when importing MXF. See example image below.

The 1st file in the browser list is a single clip / full duration.

All subsequent files are chunks of the single larger file.


Yes, many big budget features are "still" shot all or partially on film.
Here's a list of a number of movies shot on film for 2014:

Reasons vary, but many consider film to have a particular reality or consider themselves purists and apprecate the sublties they believe analog film can offer.

Here is an interesting article on why Star Wars: Force Awakens was shot on film rather than digital:
http://petapixel.com/2015/12/16/star-wars-the-force-awakens-was-shot-on-film-and-kodak-may-be-profitable-in-2016/

And here is another:
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/home-cinema/high-definition/why-has-star-wars-turned-its-back-on-digital-film--1310861

IMAX cameras shoot on 70mm film. Since many big budget features end up shown in IMAX they use IMAX cameras for all or usually parts of the film. Certain scenes in Batman V Superman were filmed on IMAX "real film" cameras.
Reference here:
http://batman-news.com/2014/11/13/batman-v-superman-dawn-justice-will-shot-imax/

About IMAX cameras here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX


Canon T3i with Blackmagic Design Intensity to record plays?

The problem is that the HDMI output on your T3i is not clean.  You would still have all the UI from the camera interface placed on it.  Higher end cameras (like the 5D mark iii) and some other makes have a clean output option, but I don't believe the T3i does.

You can use the third party MagicLantern firmware to force the interface clean, but at that point you can also have it automatically start a second recording after the first ends and bypass the 30 minute limit altogether.

As far as sensor overheating, it really depends on the camera model and the temperature in the environment you are shooting and how fast it dissipates waste heat.  MagicLantern generally displays an indicator of the temperature of the sensor with some color coding as to how hot it actually is.  You could try using ML and see how your camera handles it, but it may very well run too hot when trying to do two hours at a time.  You won't know for sure until you try though.

As others have noted, ML may or may not void your warantee.  It technically isn't a full third party firmware, but rather just runs on top of the underlying OS that is built in, but it can tweak settings that aren't normally tweaked internally.  There are plenty of cases of people getting warranty replacements on cameras that had had ML installed, but you should be aware that it is not a completely risk free process and in rare cases ML has caused cameras to become unresponsive (or even brick in exceptionally rare cases).


Are you using OBS Studio? If yes, you should try OBS built-in convertor to mp4. Use File->Convert Recording.


Does transcoding always mean quality loss?

Generally, H.264 and H.265 (as well as others like VP9) are lossy codecs, at least in their default settings with most encoders. This means that whenever you re-encode from one to another (or even in the same codec), you throw away information.

Whether this information loss is visible or not depends on your source material and the chosen settings, of course.

To combat the loss of information, you often need to choose a higher bitrate than what your input is, or a higher constant-quality setting than the default of the respective encoders. There is no "general principle" here – it really depends on what the default bitrates or quality targets are for the encoders you're using.

  Can I transcode video from h.265 to h.264 without losing quality?

Yes, you can. There are two ways to do that, depending on how you define "losing quality":

You can enable a lossless mode for these codecs, at least with the x264, x265 or libvpx encoders. This will perform lossless transforms without quantization and disable color subsampling (i.e., 4:4:4 output). The output is mathematically lossless. If you do not have to use H.264 or H.265 specifically, other lossless codecs such as HuffYUV or FFV1 exist.
You can try to find the threshold where any (mathematical) quality loss is not visible anymore to human subjects, that is, within the range of a Just Noticeable Difference. This requires a bit of testing with different settings and repeated viewings. Some codecs are better at this, in terms of their default settings, like ProRes, DNxHD, etc.

For more info, read this: ffmpeg settings for converting still images to video for archival


Fair use of short clips from movie that I bought

IANAL, but I'd guess that if you have to circumvent any DRM just to copy clips of the movie (which you probably do), then it's probably not OK.  Try taking a screenshot of the movie playing in iTunes (ctrl-shift-3 or ctrl-shift-4 on mac).  If it shows up black on your desktop, or if you get an error message, then you probably don't have rights to share it.  But like I said, I'm just guessing.


How to deinterlace GRAY video and convert it to .avi?

ffmpeg -f rawvideo -pix_fmt gray -s:v 700x220 -i test1.bin -c:v rawvideo -pix_fmt gray -vf tinterlace,setpts=0.5*PTS out.avi

Do the trick for me.


Speeding up or slowing down a clip introduces metallic noise when adjusting for pitch

Most of the time you should not rely on the automatic Maintain Audio Pitch setting because it causes the audio to be distorted (both when speeding up and slowing down).

Instead, leave that checkbox unchecked, and add one of these filters instead:

Pitch Shifter (Obsolete)
AUPitch

And play around with the settings until it sounds better.

See SPEED UP Video with No Audio DISTORTION in Premiere Pro for more info.


How do you automatically add text from a file?

Dashware is an (free) app which does just this.

Telemetry Data Overlay on your Videos
Easily display GPS, vehicle, physiology, and environment data from
smartphones and dedicated loggers.

Besides CSV text files, it imports data from many formats. You don't have to render the final composited video from Dashware. You can export a synchronised chroma-key ready video of the overlay for import into your video editor.


Why do VHS tapes degrade in two different ways when copied?

This is a difficult question to accurately answer; because you haven't detailed out the exact setup of how the tapes are being duplicated.

First, VHS is an Analog format, and the video signal is typically output via a composite connection. Some higher end VHS consumer units did have component out, either by RGB or via S-Video Out. This connector would yield a higher quality transmission from your feed deck vs your record deck.

So signal loss plays a big factor, especially if the decks are connected via composite (co-axial) connection, as all color information, along with luminance information, is on the same channel.

Using S-Video at least separates out the Blue and Red Values; and pairs luminance with Green.

Quality of the decks comes into play. Are we talking consumer decks; or professional Sony Editing/Duplicating decks. In their hey-day, The Sony Editing Decks, which were the size of about 3 normal VCRs tall, and 1.5 times as wide; were highly accurate in terms of carriage speed for the tape. The highest end decks were nearly frame accurate. They allowed pre-roll, where the decks would back up the tape, get the tape up to speed, and then insert edit in the record at the correct designated frame.

Lastly; if the decks are not synced, there will be slippage regardless... It's analog not digital.

The only way to maintain that both decks sync frame for frame is via genlock. The unit most popular during the Pro-VHS days was called a "Kitchen Sync", it was basically a black burst generator that had a bunch of outputs that all of your decks (they made different size syncs); would connect to, and all the decks would keep in sync with the master clock.

Without that; it's impossible.

Finally; VHS over time stretches, becomes brittle, there's different quality tape, it's magnetic, so it's susceptible to loss of information based off magnetic contact.

Cheers!


Best Digital recorder for use as a ‘body pack’ + good field recorder?

The specific feature set will determine if it is appropriate for you application, though from my experience most of the high end field recorders are very good quality.

The Zoom series have a great (well deserved) reputation for being relatively easy to use, and being kind to your wallet.

If you wish to supply your own mic, you may wish to find one without inbuilt microphones as it may be cheaper.

If you do not want to supply your own mic, my experience has been that the inbuilt mics are adequate for recording dialogue, in say an interview.

If you're planning to record with the device on the talent (and want the recorder to be as discreet as possible), I would suggest investing in lapel mic (just the mic not the transmitter), and plug that into the field recorder to get the mic as close as possible.


How to handle video with different frame rates in Lightworks?

Looks like you will need to transcode all clips with frame rates not matching the project's frame rate:

  If the frame rate is of a clip is not compatible with your project, it
  displays in red.  You will be unable to import the clip into your
  project.  Clips with incompatible frame rates may be playable in a new
  project set to the  same frame rate as the clip.

(page 40; User Guide)

You can use ffmpeg, a command line tool, to transcode such clips with commands of the form

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 8 -r 25 -c:a copy -map 0 input25.mov

Edit: should make clear that 25 should be replaced with the framerate of the project. NTSC 30d i.e. 29.97 fps is denoted as 30000/1001 and 23.976 as 24000/1001.


Is it possible to hook up a Component video cable (like those from the Wii) to an old TV that only has classic RCA?

You can get a component to composite video converter.  It takes in the 3 component video connectors and has both S-Video and RCA out.  It should work for your needs.


How to remove audio translations from the movie?

I want to cut an existing movie and want to remove all the language track from it.

ffmpeg -i  -c copy -an video_only.mp4

How do I remove all the soundtracks except the one I need?

ffmpeg -i  -c copy -map 0:a:1 specified.mp4
Reference: http://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Map


Use Dynamic Link. This feature has been introduced by Adobe speficically to make it easiert to work with Premiere Pro and After Effects in combination. With dynamic link, you can replace clips in Premiere Pro with After Effects compositions and have them updated in the Premiere Pro project whenever you make changes to the composition in After Effects. You can also import existing After Effects compositions from After Effects project files or create a new one from within Premiere Pro and use them as assets in your Premiere Pro project, in the same way you can work with media assets.

(Note: I'm assuming you have a Creative Cloud subscription. If you use older versions of the programs, dynamic link might not be available.)


Is the watermark a video or a still image? If it's a still you can usually just increase its duration.

Otherwise, copying and pasting is the best way to go about it. Copy and paste it 10 times, then select the 10 clips, copy and paste that 10 times, then select the 100 clips, copy and paste that etc. until you get the desired duration.


I've managed to achieve this using obs-websocket and simple/dirty python script.
The obs-websocket plugin can get/set the pattern used by OBS to save recording files.
Steps:
Install/configure obs-websocket plugin.
Then use obs-cli (https://github.com/leafac/obs-cli) or obswebsocket (https://pypi.org/project/obs-websocket-py/).
cli example (under Windows os, beware of double quotes):
obs-cli-win SetFilenameFormatting="{ ""filename-formatting"": ""TESTNAME %CCYY-%MM-%DD %hh-%mm-%ss"" }" && ^
obs-cli-win StartRecording && ^
obs-cli-win SetFilenameFormatting="{ ""filename-formatting"": ""%CCYY-%MM-%DD %hh-%mm-%ss"" }" && ^
obs-cli-win GetFilenameFormatting

python example:
client = obswebsocket.obsws("localhost", 4444, "")
client.connect()
print(client.call(obswebsocket.requests.GetFilenameFormatting()))
client.call(obswebsocket.requests.SetFilenameFormatting("TESTNAME" + " - %CCYY-%MM-%DD %hh-%mm-%ss"))
client.call(obswebsocket.requests.StartRecording())
print(client.call(obswebsocket.requests.GetFilenameFormatting()))
client.call(obswebsocket.requests.SetFilenameFormatting("%CCYY-%MM-%DD %hh-%mm-%ss"))
print(client.call(obswebsocket.requests.GetFilenameFormatting()))
client.disconnect()


Lag during clip playback in Premiere Pro CS5

Have you rendered the work area? Unrendered clips can lead to lag in the playback.

If you have rendered your clips the bar above your clips in the timeline should light up green instead of red or yellow (see picture below).

If the bar isn't green, go to Sequence->Render Entire Work Area.

Done!


Rendering video with pixel aspect ratio 0.9091 (in premiere CS5.5)

If you're exporting directly from Premiere, then select the MPEG2-DVD NTSC preset in File -> Export -> Media, as shown in this image.

Also, it looks like MP4Box will allow you to change the pixel aspect ratio flag in a .mp4 without re-encode.

FYI: 720x480 with PAR 0.9091 @ 29.97fps is the NTSC DV standard resulting in a 4:3 display aspect ratio. Similarly, 720x576 with PAR 1.0667* @ 25fps is the PAL DV standard.

*The actual PAR is supposed to be 59/54, but many apps use 16/15. See here if you're interested.


Oh, but you're very wrong that in 1994 CGI wasn't around. The very film you use as an example had a very extensive VFX and CGI credits list.

In 1993, Flame was already around being used on Silicon Graphics stations. It evolved into the software currently owned by Autodesk, and still one of the mostly used VFX suites in Hollywood productions.

One year before that, Jurassic Park was already in post production, with lots of CGI and software specially made for that film.

CGI has been around since the 70's


I think the simplest way to this is to use MP4Box.

./MP4Box -add file1.mp4 -cat file2.mp4 -cat file3.mp4 output.mp4


Syncing Multiple Audio Streams With One Video Stream (FFMPEG)

Just thought I'd let you guys know that I got this working.

I needed to use -framerate instead of -r to get it to duplicate dropped frames, the reason I wasn't using -framerate in the first place is because it would spam the message "past duration too large" and the video wouldn't play back after exiting the recording. I also used an audio filter to delay the other channels so they they would start at the the same time as the video. I had to use -af "adelay=200|200" instead of -filter_complex "[1:0] adelay=200|200 [1:0]" for some reason. Ended up being cleaner anyways and it worked but I don't understand why the -filter_complex wasn't working an the -af was. I went ahead and applied -vsync 1 and -async 1 but I'm not quite sure if that is default and therefore redundant. Lastly I used -preset llhp (low latency high performance) which seemed to decrease the amount of dropped frames. The result - everything stays in-sync even if I drop frames and all tracks "start" at the same time:

ffmpeg -guess_layout_max 0 -y -f dshow -video_size 3440x1440 -rtbufsize 2147.48M -pixel_format nv12 -framerate 200 ^
-i video="Video (00 Pro Capture HDMI 4K+)":audio="SPDIF/ADAT (1+2) (RME Fireface UC)" -map 0:0,0:1 -map 0:1 ^
-preset: llhp -codec:v h264_nvenc -pix_fmt nv12 -b:v 250M -maxrate:v 250M -minrate:v 250M -bufsize:v 250M -b:a 320k ^
-ac 2 -r 100 -async 1 -vsync 1 -segment_time 600 -segment_wrap 9 -f segment C:\Users\djcim\Videos\PC\PC%02d.mp4 ^
-guess_layout_max 0 -f dshow -rtbufsize 2000M -i audio="Analog (3+4) (RME Fireface UC)" -map 1:0 -b:a 320k -ac 2 ^
-af "adelay=200|200" -segment_time 600 -segment_wrap 9 -f segment C:\Users\djcim\Videos\PC\Voices\Theirs\TPC%02d.wav ^
-guess_layout_max 0 -f dshow -rtbufsize 2000M -i audio="Analog (5+6) (RME Fireface UC)" -map 2:0 -b:a 320k -ac 2 ^
-af "adelay=825|825" -segment_time 600 -segment_wrap 9 -f segment C:\Users\djcim\Videos\PC\Voices\Mine\MPC%02d.wav

I was able to get the rid of the "past duration too large" warning by increasing the input framerate to 200, I have absolutely no idea why this would fix that message. Put -r 100 on the output to make sure it came out as 100FPS which is what I actually wanted the framerate to be. I am confused as to why several parts work the way they do and can’t find answers but nonetheless it’s working.


Does oval-shaped bokeh indicates that the aspect ratio of the image was modified?

This is likely the result of using an anamorphic lens: http://www.red.com/learn/red-101/anamorphic-lenses

From the page:

Standard Bokeh

Anamorphic Bokeh


How can i receive video feed from my hardware video switcher to my pc live

You're doing it wrong.  Key from your effects source on to your live video with the switcher.  You will get much lower latency and better performance.  Alpha keying is ideal if your switcher supports it, but depending on what you are doing, luma keying (or less likely chroma keying) may also work.

There are a select few situations that may actually merit running the video through the computer as a filter, but they are pretty few and far between and most likely don't apply here.


FFMPEG No such File or Directory Problem

Instead of

-i "video.av"i

use

-i "video.avi"

or simply

-i video.avi


Simple way to downscale from 1080p@60 to 1080i@60

According to the specs on the Canon site your camera can record in 50i/p and 25p 1920x1080. Are you absolutely sure you can only get 60fps on the HDMI? Because that sounds rather weird that you get more FPS on the HDMI than the camera can actually record.

If you set the recording option to 25FPS normally on canon cameras the FPS should also apply to the HDMI output.


120fps 720p footage with real time playback on Ubuntu? + editing?

While it is true that 720p video only has about half the data of a 1080p feed, the other thing you have to realize is that when you push the system beyond it's limit, it may spend a lot of time trying to process frames that it doesn't finish in time.  Depending on how the player is configured, it may give up and try to catch up rather than finish rendering the frame and get further behind.

Because of this, as soon as you get behind, you may now end up finding it is much harder for it to catch up.  You also run in to problems with keeping the data flowing quickly enough since the level of compression sounds like it may be higher (harder to decode) and the CPU is so busy that it can't be working on moving data up to be ready to read.

You probably should do a transcode of the video to a lower framerate and work with the transcoded copy to make editing decisions and then swap in the high framerate video only at the end.  After all, the only difference 120fps video will make on final output is anywhere that you end up doing a slow motion effect since you aren't going to have any display (including your computer screen) that can actually load 120 frames per second in to the image buffer.  Even 240hz screens are not displaying that many frames from a source.


Batch splitting ProRes into equal-length segments

I would use ffmpeg. Just write a sript in any scripting language you prefer and tell ffmpeg to encode new files depending on the total duration of the source file and let it only encode a certain amount of time.
You can completely automate this sort of workflow with ffmpeg.


How can I mark or tag spots in a video clip during a live recording

The answer to this largely depends on your budget and use case. If you are a TV network, especially a sports-centric network, many media asset management (MAM) systems add the logging capability on top of their existing search, organization, and workflow pieces. For example, Dalet has Sports Logger.


There is no way to do this with WMM, it doesn't support video compositing.  Filelab Video Editor is a free, online program that can do this for you.


The tuned teeth (or lamellae) of the steel comb is typically set to a chromatic scale. To change the tuning would require adding or subtracting material to an individual tooth with some trial and error and a good ear. Changing the length would cancel the action of the pins on the revolving cylinder so that is not a good idea.

If you think the scale you have meets your tuning definition then it would be far easier to make a new scroll to change to the melodic and harmonic content you desire. If you are starting from scratch and have the tools you should make a system to be able to change the scrolls so you have a diversity of songs.

Here is a reference to tuning the reeds on a harmonica since this is adding and subtracting material related:

http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/mikesretuning.html

Information on how to tune lamellae as used in a Karimba:

http://www.nscottrobinson.com/mbiratunings.php

Here's a place where you can make your own music box tunes by using
punchable paper strip musical movement:

http://www.deanorgans.co.uk/order_musicalmovements_mbm30hp.htm

Math part:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuning_fork#Calculation_of_frequency

UPDATE:

I am not entirely certain that using tuning fork math is the right place for a series of metal bars as found in a music box comb so I have done some more searches and found a reference that covers much more here:

http://windworld.com/features/tools-resources/exmis-free-bar-length-calculator/


is there a way to manipulate (pad, slice) a computed PTS timestamp within ffmpeg / drawtext?

The FFMPEG does not support strtime %f option; therefore, the fractional second works with AVTB only. The parameter is
-filter_complex "drawtext=fontsize=90:x=20:y=20:text='pts=%{pts\:gmtime\:0\:%S %f} AVTB=%{eif\:trunc(t)\:d\:2}.%{eif\:(1M*t-1M*trunc(t))/10000\:d\:2}':box=1"

and the result is


Is the Canon 550d ideal for documentary video production?

Normally, it is advisable to go with a better lens even if that means a cheaper body (due to budget constraints), as lenses make much more a difference than most modern DSLRs.

Since you are going for primarily for video, you need to consider audio as well. There is no built-in microphone that is good enough for serious documentary, so you have two choices:

Buy a camera with a mini-jack so that you can plug in an external microphone.
Buy an external sound recording device and record sound separately. Merge the sound track from your recording with the video track using video editing software.

The second option is more flexible and also more costly. As usual, you need to spend enough on a sound recording to get something good. Don't both using you cellphone's sound-recording function ;)

There are very few DSLRs which will autofocus while recording video. It is often a concern for people buying cameras for home videos but for anything serious it does not matter.

If you do not go with one of the sound options above, then you will have to worry about the camera recording the sound of autofocus. On the cameras I tried (Nikon D3100 and A55), it will make your sound track annoying to your audience.

Even if you do use external audio, the contrast-detect autofocus system used by the D3100 causes the lens to move back and forth while focusing. This is easy to spot in videos and just does not look right. The Sony Alpha SLT-A55 and its sibling the A33 are the only cameras that use phase-detection during video recording and avoid this particular problem.

If possible for the subjects you are documenting, you should use Manual Focus while filming. This will let you decide precisely on what to focus, when to change focus and how slowly to do it. It will take lots of practice to get right, so try it on squirrels or whatever animal you have roaming around where you live.

If you are filming things that move a lot or live-events (in which case retakes are not possible), then you may decide to rely on autofocus. You will occasionally end up with shots that are partially out of focus since sometimes the camera simply goes after the wrong thing. You can edit such parts out and move any relevant audio.


VHS to digital, flickering, lack of video and good sound

If you are using old VHS player, then its head can be dirty

Also VHS cassettes' tape can be dirty, but how I understand you using new cassettes.

So, try to connect your VHS player to TV. If signal will be the same, you need to locate that thing:

And clean it and head (black thing on background to the left)

You can do it by yourself or maybe there still exist place in the world, where professionals can do it for you.


AFAICT, it should be --input-csp i400 --input-depth 10


convert horizontal side by side to vertically stacked 3D video

Just integrate all filtering into one command:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-filter_complex "[0:v]crop=in_w/2:in_h:0:0 [top]; \
[0:v]crop=in_w/2:in_h:in_w/2:0[bottom]; \
[top][bottom]vstack[outv]" \
-map "[outv]" -map 0:a -c:a copy output_3dv.mp4

Edit: this command below scales and pads the output to 2000x2000

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 \
-filter_complex "[0:v]crop=in_w/2:in_h:0:0 [top]; \
[0:v]crop=in_w/2:in_h:in_w/2:0[bottom]; \
[top][bottom]vstack,\
scale=iw*min(2000/iw\,2000/ih):ih*min(2000/iw\,2000/ih), \
pad=2000:2000:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2[outv]" \
-map "[outv]" -map 0:a -c:a copy output_3dv.mp4


What exactly am I hearing from my 5DMkII audio out jack?

You may be getting just a little bit of drive from the A/V Output connection.  The 5D Mark ii has no headphone connector.  All it has is a TRRS (tip, ring, ring, sleeve) connector that happens to be the same size as a headphone plug.  It is designed to feed an analog video feed out of the camera and in to a TV.

While there would be a drastic impedance difference, the part of the headphones that happened to connect to one of the audio channels may have been sufficient to minimally drive your headphones.  The other ear piece likely got connected to the video feed which wouldn't do much except perhaps produce noise, quite probably in-audibly.

I would avoid trying it as sending the wrong kind of signal through your headphones may potentially cause damage, though you could use the A/V cable to output the audio and then wire it up to a small headphone amplifier to monitor the audio output from the A/V cable safely.

More information about the 5D Mark ii's A/V output connector can be found on page 139 of the manual.


Clip that plays fine in WMP is cut off in Sony Vegas

This isn't a Vegas issue. The recording application has registered the video resolution as 1024x768 in the MP4 global header (../stsd/avc1) but the full 1080p stream is captured and stored.

Vegas is using the header metadata to crop the video stream at the stage of loading the file. So, any Vegas functions/plugins downstream to this stage don't, know of, or have access to the full image data.

However, the full resolution is correctly stored in the metadata (SPS) of the video stream itself. So remuxing the file with ffmpeg will resolve the issue as ffmpeg constructs a new global header, based on reading the stream metadata.

ffmpeg -i recorded.mp4 -c copy fixed.mp4

Get a FFmpeg Windows binary from https://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/


Removing frames from a video - how to make playback not pause during removed frames (i.e. assign new timestamps)

The easiest way is to retime remaining frames using setpts.
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "blackframe=amount=0:threshold=92, metadata=select:key='lavfi.blackframe.pblack':value=45:function=less,setpts=N/FR/TB" -vsync 0  outz.mp4


How do I make long videos using After Effects?

There is no way to "bypass" long render times. After-Effects needs to calculate where every pixel has to be and then pack all this information into a container such as .mov or .mp4. However, you can speed up render time by enabling hardware-acceleration in the settings of After-Effects. You can also increase the amount of RAM allocated to After-Effects. Lastly, make sure you render the file in a reasonable resolution (1920x1080 is good enough for most cases) with a reasonable framerate (for a podcast you can probably get away with 24 frames per second, depending on how responsive the audio-spectrum is probably even 20.)
That said, on your hardware, 2 hours of rendering for an effect like that over 30 minutes is not unreasonable and perfectly normal. Try out the optimization I suggested above and see if you can speed up the process a bit.


FFMPEG - Creating script to convert a video into audio file (or anything related really) + diverses questions

-vn + -c:v libx264 Does not make any sense.
This is saying "Don't encode video, but use libx264 to encode no video."

You also can not set a bitrate for wav because it's a noncompressed format.

So your command becomes:

ffmpeg -i name.mov -vn -ar 48000 -ac 2 name.wav


zooming animation is not smooth in Premiere CS6

Turns out that one should use the Motion effect and not the Transform effect for zooming in Premiere, even though they have exactly the same Position and Scale controls!

Here is the result with the Motion effect

p.s. The Anti-Flicker filter I discovered under the Motion effect was left to the default of 0, so that was not needed.

p.p.s. I also found this discussion of a similar issue


You could try it with a device like that one. It takes the responsibility on the HDCP-negotiation for you, what should be what you are looking for.


after effects how to Zoom-in but keep same size (zooming and cropping)

There are a couple of ways to achieve this:

Use a track matte. Create a layer with the desired size / shape and put it above the zooming layer. You can use masks to create any shape you want, or use an image that has an alpha channel, or even just a copy of the original layer without the animated scale. On the zooming layer go to the Tack matte / mode panel (you may have to hit f4 to toggle between switches and modes), and choose Alpha Matte "layer name". This will turn off visibility for the top layer, and apply its transparency to the layer below.

Use a layer with the stencil alpha transfer mode above your original layer. This does a similar thing to a track matte, but it's not just for one layer, it's for every layer below the matte layer. And the visibility for the matte layer has to be on for it to work.
Use a preComp. Pre-comping replaces the original layer (or layers) with a composition containing just that layer(s). So you want to pre-comp the layer with the animated Scale property – select it and hit shift-cmd/ctrl-c or choose Layer>Pre-Compose from the menu. In the dialogue that appears choose move all attributes into the new composition. Now you can add a mask to the pre-comp to crop off the scaled edges of the layer. A pre-comp is similar to what you'd get if you rendered the layer as a movie and then brought that back into your comp (but with a few advantages). As the pre-comp is not zooming, just its contents, the mask will crop the edges as the contents get bigger.


ffmpeg: can I crop using vf while also using filter_complex at the same time?

Use this:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4  -filter_complex \
"[0:v]crop='if(gte(iw,ih),ih,iw):if(gte(ih,iw),iw,ih)',scale=720x720,split=3[1v][2v][3v]; \
 [1v]trim=0:4.95,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[v1]; \
 [2v]trim=4.95:6.75,setpts=(PTS-STARTPTS)/0.1[v2]; \
 [3v]trim=6.75:8,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[v3]; \
 [v1][v2][v3]concat=n=3:v=1:a=0[out]" \
-map [out] -an -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -level 4.1 \
-preset superfast -crf 20 -r 30 output.mp4


How to remove an object (Tooth) in After Effects

Unfortunately, the only answer is rotoscoping.  You have to remove the tooth from each frame manually.  Rotoscoping tools will help give a closer starting point, but that kind of object removal where both the object and the background behind it are changing and moving is nearly impossible to do without manual effort.

Note, if everything in the mouth behind the teeth is black or basically the same color, then you have a lot more options as Brett outlined in his answer.  I was assuming that there was more detail in the mouth based on your description that would require background painting, but if you can avoid background painting for the mouth, then rotoscoping isn't needed.


I'm trying to add guitar tabs to a music video, do you know any software to do it?

Try to break your task into elementary blocks. If you can't solve the problem, break it into even smaller blocks.

Tabs? If which format? Maybe in form of MIDI files? Or even text on papers? Or in some form of txt files? It is a very important question. In some cases you must convert your tabs from one format to another.

What do you want add to the video? You can add only sequences of images or sounds, not "guitar tabs". You need draw some images first. For example, images with the fretboard and white circles on it.

If I had such a task, I would first convert the tabs into a form convenient for me. Then I would write a simple program that would draw pictures. This can be a C program, a Python script, or a script for 3ds max. Then I can use ffmpeg to assemble such images. And, as final task, I will use some software like Premiere or Final Cut to compose and sync my images with video.


What kind of laptop should I be using: Alienware or Macbook Pro?

If you plan on using Premiere, Adobe recommends 16GB of RAM and a minimum of 8GB. They minimum RAM for After Effects is less, but there are some other equally important things to consider. I'd also recommend spending as much as you can on as much SSD storage as you can afford.

Check the specs of the software you want to use for editing - particularly the minimum RAM and the kind of Graphics processor (GPU). If you want to use DaVinci Resolve for editing (it is FREE) and color correcting - you'll want all the RAM you can get.

If you are comfortable with the hardware, I'd recommend a Dell or HP laptop as you will likely find more affordable options for RAM, GPU and SSD than what Apple offers. I don't know much about gaming, but I understand Windows solutions are what the kids dig. FWIW I am plugging along on an 11" mid-2012 i7 AirBook and it does alright with an external monitor out the Thunderport. I edit with Resolve, iMovie, & LightWorks and move pixels about with ffmpeg. Nothing fancy or long-form, but I'd much prefer a 15" screen.


Timelapse Countdown Timer in After Effects

You will have to do it with expressions, unfortunantly it is the only outside of possibly finding a 3rd Party plugin...

This is a good start, http://www.motionscript.com/design-guide/up-down-clock.html


There is a mirror for the plugin used below:

http://gral.y0.pl/~fcchandler/

And an alternative plugin based on ffmpeg :

http://code.google.com/p/ffinputdriver/downloads/list


By how much can video and audio be out of sync?

There are, in fact, several standards on audio/video or lip sync. The problem is, they can't all agree on what the acceptable error is. What is well understood is that if the audio lags the video it is less noticeable, because that is natural. Something that is further away will be seen before it is heard. In the list below, a negative number is the audio lagging the video and positive is the audio leading the video.

ATSC IS-191: -45ms to 15ms
EBU R37-2007: -60ms to 40ms
ITU BT.1359-1: -125ms to 45ms
ITU BR.265-9: -22ms to 22ms

ITU BT.1359 was based off studies done with average viewers, but relied on significantly older technology. The ATSC and EBU recommendations rely on expert opinions. The methodologies don't give you a hint at which one is right. I've worked at facilities that used -2 frames to 1 frame (roughly -33ms to 16ms at 60fps) as an easy to remember guideline with very few viewer complaints about lip sync.
Even with the disagreement, 0.1s (100ms) of error will almost always be noticeable, unfortunately.


How to find/detect the real video resolution?

If you satisfy with your video outputting on a 1080p device, the original video aspect ratio has to be 16:9; therefore, the original video has no choice to be 480p, 720p, or 1080p. The next step is the transformation, there are plenty of filters you can choose to determine it is 480p; on the other hand, choosing transforming to 720p or no transformation, stay in 1080p, depends on contours detection on white background.
As you mentioned ffmpeg and opencv, you should find such APIs easily.


D7000 HD video format - can each frame contain metadata?

No. Standard video formats do not work like that and the D7000 is no exception to this.  Conceivably it can be done but I am sure it is not on anyone's priority list. I worked for 9 years on video processing and rendering software and there are more important problems to solve. Indexing and managing that data would also become a problem. When working on functions that process video from a series of still images, it makes it vastly simpler to assume the metadata of the first frame applies to all subsequent ones.

Obviously I understand why it would be desirable but this is the same on all cameras. GPS is another perfect example. On cameras with built-in GPS, only the location of at the time video recording starts is recorded while you may be shooting from a moving vehicle and cover some ground while recording.


Does 4K impact quality when filming in low light? (other parameters being equal)

There are three key factors in your cameras low light performace:
1. Lens (Aperture)
The lower your f-stop, the more light gets through to the sensor, you will also have a very shallow (narrow) Depth of Field. Often this is a requirement at night, since cutting off most of your light is generally a bad idea. When looking at any camera, see what lenses are available to suit your needs.
2. "Pixel" Size
Each little diode on your sensor collects light, the size of each diode directly effects low-light performance. There are two significant factors in the size of diode: sensor size and resolution. If you have 1920 pixels across your sensor and your sensor is an inch wide each diode will be about 1/1920 of an inch across if you sensor is 3840 pixels across your diode will be about 1/3840 of an inch across, much much smaller, and therefor able to collect less light.
3. Sensitivity
The sensitivity of a sensor can be controlled with ISO. The max ISO is very important for low light capture. Some excellent cameras in other regards have very low max ISO's, and are therefor unable to shoot in low light. Some cameras have very high max ISO's, and are designed for low light. Such cameras are the Canon C-Hundreds series, and the spectacular Sony A7s. The A7s has a relatively low resolution sensor and very high resolution.
The simple answer is yes, 4K will negatively effect low light performance, but most cameras already have a 4k-sized sensor that they simply fail to utilize (the canon 6D suffers equally from small diode size as the A7s for example). In your case, no 4K will have no effect, but if you're going to get a 4K camera for low light, buy the A7s and an external recorder. Out of it you will get 4K raw. For about $3k. It will put your 6D's performance to shame. Some people have lit A7s shots with moonlight/an iphone. Gulp.. did you see that last one, it out did the C300..... :O!
PS:
I first mentioned lenses for a reason. The sony A7s takes Sony E mount lenses. In my opinion they are some of the worst selection of lenses on the market. (Some are good glass, but there are no versatile zooms). Be wary of the lenses, they are half the key to getting your night shot. Also you HD will look amazing with a good lens, they've shot Hollywood features in HD (like Scorsese's Hugo), utilizing the power of $30k lenses.


capture RTSP stream from IP camera ffmpeg

I got it working with the following command, finally. I missed out using rtsp_transport.

ffmpeg -rtsp_transport tcp -i rtsp://xx:yy@192.168.1.ee:fd/tcp/av0_0 -f image2 -vf fps=fps=1 hello/img%03d.png


Software for detecting Photosensitive Epilepsy content

Some Broadcasters require a Harding Test which is patented and proprietary, it creates a Certificate; thus getting someone to accept liability isn't going to be free.
You can find a number of places online that will test a video file (or Game, Poster, Art, etc.) but those aren't free, the Harding website has authenticated tests and support.
Free software claiming to perform the same checks (so when you submit your work, it won't be rejected) is available from the University of Maryland in the form of PEAT, their Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool.

Note: Restrictions on use
The Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT) was developed to provide a free resource for Web designers and computer software developers. Use of PEAT to assess material commercially produced for television broadcast, film, home entertainment, or gaming industries is prohibited. For broadcast, film, home entertainment, and gaming applications, the Harding FPA software should be employed.

To get the real thing, a Certificate, you'll need to pay. To get software that claims to do the same thing without accepting liability or providing the authentic Certificate is possible, I found that source with less than 10 min. of searching.


I have personal experience with tethered shooting for different purposes, and I have absolutely NOTHING to say to dissuade you.

Having said that, there are some things about which you need to be cautious. I don't know what your end result is going to be. Is this going to be a webcast? or are you trying to save some post-production time on a movie for distribution? That makes a huge difference in what you need to watch out for. Without that, the best I can do are some very broad generalities.

First, prosumer cameras take up a lot of bandwidth. Do some tests to make sure your hard drive spins fast enough to capture the data coming down the wire. I had to upgrade to a 10k RPM hard drive for a stright-to-disc project once. Use lower quality cameras for less bandwidth, but few of those have HDMI.

Second, depending on what you're doing for VisFX, coupled with the complexity of the image you're using, you'll want to make sure that your processor is fast enough to render everything on the fly. That's a total crapshoot...but VisFX on a relatively static talking head will take less processing overhead than VisFX on a scene with fifteen people all moving in front of the camera.

Third, if you're webcasting, see my bandwidth comment above. You've got similar issues on the output side, and you'll need to render your output to be small enough to be web-friendly. Uncompressed AVI to compressed QuickTime, Flash Video, Windows Media, etc. takes time and processing power. If this is the plan, you may wish to consider a dedicated machine that transcodes for web in realtime. The ones I've used are dedicated machines, I'm not sure if they'd play nicely with your system.

You have a lot of variables at play here. Before you invest in the gear, I would recommend borrowing and renting what you can, and testing the bejeebers out of the system to make sure it's doing what you need. If something doesn't work, figure out that smaller piece of the process, then move on. I can guarantee that by doing it and asking questions along the way, you'll lern more about doing this than you ever wanted to.

But I'm definitely NOT dissuading you. Be excited about your journey into new technological realms, and go for it!

Good luck!


Can I add motion blur to make animation less jerky?

I can't test the ffmpeg method below now but it notionally does what you ask:

Let's say your source is 25 fps.

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf minterpolate=50,tblend=all_mode=average,framestep=2 out.mp4


Need ideas for simple closed circuit tv for church overflow room

If you want to remotely control the pan, tilt, and zoom of the camera, you want to look for a "PTZ" camera. You will not find one under $500 with a controller.

A cheap camcorder with a wall mount and a long HDMI cable is your cheapest option.

If your budget was closer to $2,000 you'd be able to get everything on your list.


You can use FFmpeg, a free command-line tool, to do this.

Basic command is

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "drawtext=fontfile=font.ttf:
                        fontsize=45:fontcolor=white:
                        box=1:boxcolor=black@0.4:
                        text='Time\: %{pts\:gmtime\:1466507118}'" output.mp4

(this should be in one line)

The value you need to change is 1466507118. This is the Unix epoch time representation of your intended date and time.


A prism would separate the light into a spectrum, which probably isn't what you want. If the window isn't visible in your shot, you could use what's sometimes called a silk, which is more often made of muslin or other semi-translucent material.


Is MP4 a valid or common container for ProRes?

No, officially, ProRes is not a registered codec for the ISOBMFF family, of which MP4 is a member.


I didn't find a way of selecting a range of clips but the main problem is solved by the spacer tool which can be invoked by pressing M. One then grabs the left end of the clip to the right of a gap and drags it to the left until the gab is closed. By doing so, all clips to the right are automatically moved to the left as well.

When browsing through the different tools, I incorrectly assumed the spacer tool to be a restricted version of the selection tool because of its mouse pointer symbol: I assumed one could use it to expand clips to the left or to the right like with the selection tool (but not select clips).


Should I be concerned about overheating when doing long render tasks?

First answer to "My question is if this heavy workload will decrease the life of my computer."

Simply YES,
BUT any  work on a computer will decrease its life, but it does depend on the work being done and how intense it is, but on the other hand, computers are designed to work in different ways and workloads. Desktop Workstations like the HPs and Mac Pros are designed to run massive tasks and just chug away at the data, which is why you will see the pros using them in the big studios as they power they offer is fantastic. They can have 12 cores, tons of Ram, brilliant GPUs etc which a tablet cannot.

Now you can still get high powered desktops from the likes of home builds and retailers which will handle data happily and run all the time.

Tablets (including the Surface) are really designed to be a portable solution that is not a laptop and even though they have loads of power and do the job they are not really designed to sit and chug away at data for hours on end as the little fans and main boards are so close together and the heat that is generated can affect the components over time.

If it was me in this situation I would do my work on the Surface but I would have a desktop (HP, Mac Pro, home-build, etc) to send the work to render on over night and or all day and having the ability to upgrade or add in new GPU's more Ram multiple processors/cores will cut down render times about also increase your work as you can render on the desktop and still produce more work on the tablet.

Other option is sending the files to something like and online render farm to render them out and send back the finished product but this is a bit of a more expensive option specially if it is just smaller project and not rendering films like Pixar's Cars or Disney's Moana.

Obviously this all involves spending more money and have extra kit but it might prolong the life of the tablet and cut down render times etc.

Now this is all great in saying this but putting things into practice can take a long time to work out a good flow, I'm still improving my flows daily while I'm working.


To extract frame # x through y, use

ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf select='between(n\,x\,y)' -vsync 0 frames%d.png


How to create a good short video with limited supplies and time

Start by throwing all the technical questions out the window. ALL of them. Don't ask about what cameras to use, which software works, or techniques. Change your mindset and think about your story.

What is it that you're going to tell us about? Find a story that's based on solid collective-consciousness archetypes (read Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey"; free, libraries). The reason that we still have The Odyssey & Shakespeare regarded as classics (and not Pauly Shore films) is that they play into the stories that run through our common experiences as humans. Life, death, money, power...BIG topics. But whatever you find for inspiration, work on your STORY first.

Note that I didn't say "Script". For me, a script implies dialog. Story...not so much. Film is a visual medium. How can you communicate your story in pictures only? Pretend sound doesn't exist. VISUALS only. How will you tell your story? Show, don't tell.

Once you have a SOLID, VISUAL story...that's when you inventory what you have. Resources, locations, people, equipment. For a cell phone camera, if you can't light it really well from a budget perspective, that means the you shoot using what Edison used in the early days of film. The sun. Your entire story takes place outside. Shoot in shade so there's not a ton of harsh shadows.

Try to create a soundscape that AUGMENTS the story instead of telling it. Narration is evil. Avoid it at all costs. If you need narration, go back to step one. How will you tell your story with solid visuals?

Hell, a silent film just got a bunch of Oscar cred. Kick-butt sound that's not dialog will HELP your film, not tell the story. Record your dialog in edit, in a quiet room, direct into the computer. Google ADR and Foley to get some ideas.

Also, prepare for a slow process. In filmmaking, there's good, fast and cheap. Problme is, you can only pick two.

Best of Luck!


You're going to need to do a little experimentation to find out what works best for you, but here are a few things to consider:

First, the minimum amount of light you need depends on the performance of your camera and lens.  Stanley Kubrick shot parts of Barry Lyndon in candle light, but he used a f0.7 Zeiss prime which was built for NASA and customized to his specification.

Second, light falls off as a function of an inverse square.  So it really matters how close you can get your light to your talent.  A light that's 22 feet from its subject will appear twice as bright when placed 16 feet from the subject.  This doubling occurs at distance intervals which you'll be familiar with as a photographer:  22, 16, 11, 8, 5.6, 4, 2.8, 2, 1.4, 1.

Of course, you probably don't want to put a 1K HMI right next to your subject because he or she might melt or catch fire.  This brings me to my third point:

Not all lights are created equal.  Day by day, more efficient lights are available for film and video.  LEDs, fluorescents, and plasma now come in a variety of form factors.  These efficient lights are particularly useful because they can be placed close to your talent, without generating too much heat.  However, if you choose one of these kinds of lights, be sure to evaluate its color accuracy (color rendition index or CRI).  Tungsten lights output full-spectrum, 100 CRI.  Cheap fluorescents are notorious for having a greenish tinge.  The problem with poor color accuracy is that it's nearly impossible to fix.  A simple white balance won't work.

Lastly, since you're talking about shooting interviews, you probably want your key light to be soft, so that it's more flattering.  LED panels or Kinos are great soft light sources, but the price you pay is versatility.  A hard source can be made soft (through diffusion or reflection), but a soft light can't be made hard.

Personally, if all I were looking for was a key light for a medium to close-up shot in an interview situation, I'd be prepared to spend around $1500 on a 2bank Kino fixture, bulbs, mount, extension cord, ballast, and c-stand.  [edit] But now that I re-read your question and see that you're talking about lighting 5-6 people, I'd probably expect to spend closer to $4000.  We just spent $6k on lights, giving us the capacity to strike 22 4'bulbs at once.  I think this would be slight overkill for your situation.

A more objective answer might be that, according to Wikipedia, 1000 lux is typical for studio lighting.  ARRI has a handy calculator to give you an idea of what you need to get your scene to this level.


Motion graphics is a form of 2d or 3d animation based around moving graphics.  It can include such things as moving titles, animated presentations and graphs, animated background (motion backs), whiteboard animations, animated product demonstrations and more.

It can range in complexity from relatively simple (such as basic moving titles) to extremely advanced multi-layered projects laid out in 3d using numerous interacting objects.  Software such as Adobe After Effects and Apple Motion are often used for producing motion graphics.  It is also possible to produce some motion graphics in Adobe Flash, though it is more designed for pure 2D animations.  At the time of this writing, there wasn't much in the way of good open-source motion graphic software.

Motion graphics can be deceptive in the apparent simplicity when well done.  If you have no experience in the field, you should be prepared to encounter a lot of issues and challenges when trying to make a really good looking motion graphic.  It takes animation, graphic design and editing skills to produce a very high quality motion graphic and the tools themselves are complex beasts that can take a while just to learn the tool-set.

If you are looking for a professional looking motion graphic on a quick time table and you have no experience in the field, your best bet is likely to hire an experienced professional to do the work for you.  If you are looking to do it for your own purposes, it is an interesting field, but be sure not to set your bar too high.  Start simple and learn from there.  It is a field that can take months to years to get good in.


Power for lav mic plugged into a Zoom H5?

You will need an electret power supply that accepts phantom power and then will hook it up via a standard XLR cable to the H5.  If you have the bare wire version, you will also need a connector to put on the bare wire so that it can tie in to the electret power supply.  You will also need to make sure that +48v phantom power is turned on on the H5.  (Alternately you could use a battery powered electret power supply, but I'd recommend sticking to using phantom since it is available.)


If the audio differs by the video at a constant offset, you can just unlink them in Premiere and then move the audio in the correct segment.

If the audio differs at a variable offset, then process the audio with adobe audition or something similar and make it match the video.


FFMpeg: scale and then overlay keeping overlay aspect ratio

Ended up solving it through scale2ref:
ffmpeg -y -i video.mov -i watermark.png -filter_complex "[0:v]scale=-1:1280:flags=lanczos[bg];[1:v][bg]scale2ref=(250/180)*$ih/8/sar:$ih/8[wm][base];[base][wm]overlay=(main_w-overlay_w)/2:(main_h-overlay_h)-overlay_h" -crf 0 -preset ultrafast -c:v mpeg4 -qscale:v 10 -c:a: copy out.mp4`

Where 250 is the width of the overlay in pixels, and 180 its height.
This outputs a video of N:1280, with an overlay of 250x180 at the bottom-center of it.


Who should buy a Weighted Gimbal Stabilizer

The Glidecam HD2000 is a weighted gimbal stabilizer.  It uses inertia of a counter weight and a balanced gimbal to prevent rapid changes in orientation and to an extent position of a camera.  They are used for stabilizing footage when you need more stabilization than optical image stabilization can provide but less than a steadicam or gyroscope rig provides (or the cost or size of a steadicam or gyroscope unit is prohibitive).

Unlike optical image stabilization, a weighted gimbal rig requires a fair bit of practice to master the use of as well as careful configuration and balancing to prevent the system from drifting.  A handle is attached to a near frictionless gimbal at the center of gravity so that the handle can move without the camera moving significantly.  It requires careful handling and manipulation to control the camera's angle while also requiring quite a bit of strength to hold the handle at the appropriate angle.

The main pro is that it provides far more stabilization than optical image stabilization, is relatively compact, light (roughly 50% heavier, though if you use monitors and such that can be used as counterweight ) and low cost (compared to more advanced stabilization systems.)

The main con is that it still adds quite a bit of weight to the camera rig.  They are difficult to use well and require careful movement and handling to get good results.  They also require far more physical exertion because of how you have to hold them (hard on your wrists.)  They also do not provide nearly the stabilization of more advanced systems such as a steadicam rig (chest support plus weighted gimbal) or a gyro-stabilized system (with high speed gyroscopes actually actively countering changes in orientation).


Show cams of the multicam sequence simultaneously in Adobe Premiere

You don't say what video editing software you are using, but assuming it's either Adobe's Premiere Pro, Davinci Resolve, or FinalCut Pro X, the general answer is the same.  Multicam is a convenience for you as an editor to use a special viewer in your NLE to view (and cut) multiple camera angles at the same time.  To output two cameras simultaneously, you need to have two video layers visible at the same time, one for each angle.  If you zoom and pan one video layer so that it occupies the left side of your output and you zoom and pan the other video layer so that it occupies the right side of your output, you can show two cameras at the same time.

Another way to show two video camera views at the same time is picture-in-picture.  In this case, one layer can be full-sized and a second layer, placed on top, can be zoomed and panned to wherever you want the picture-in-picture image to be (usually lower right).

It doesn't really matter whether the video layer source is an active mulicam or a flattened multicam (which resolves to a simple video layer).  What matters a lot is that you have scaled and located the video footage so that both layers are visible at the same time.


Blending Mode Options Missing After Effects

Check your 3D Renderer. Blending and Compositing may not work if your Renderer is Cinema4D or Ray-Traced. Stick with Classic


Video editing software like iMovie, for Windows?

I've not used it, but Microsoft makes Microsoft Movie Maker. It might meet your needs.

There are also some open source video editors you might have luck with:

ShotCut - http://www.shotcut.org - kind of new, might be buggy

Blender - http://www.blender.org - it's a 3D modelling app with video editing capabilities

Lightworks - http://www.lwks.com - there's a "buy" button, but there's also a free version, as I understand it.

If you don't mind using Linux, you can also try out OpenShot and Kdenlive.


MX player allows the lyrics (*.srt file) to be synchronized in mobile using its app .(subtitle->synchronization)
For laptop, you can use VLC player.


In Premiere Pro, is it possible to link the "Create new black video" function to a quick key?

Hotkeys inside premiere are only available if they appear in the shortcut-list. However, you might be able to use an external program such as macro recorder to bind certain actions to a custom button / button-combination.
(i do not own macro-recorder btw and have not tried it for myself. I only heard that it works well with premiere.)


Is there an optimum position for placing a bug or DOG?

If you are talking about a bug or DOG and not a watermark for copyright protection, then the optimum placement is whatever is appropriate for your video's visual style. There is no magical location on the screen to place it. Most US broadcasters started out placing their bug's in the lower right corner, but that has evolved depending on the channel's look and feel.


How can I merge/link two video clips in Premiere?

MERGING VIDEO CLIPS

To combine video clips there is something called Nested Sequence.

A very powerful technique.
When adding clips to a timeline you are working in what is called a sequence (normally named Sequence 01), drop your two clips into your timeline and rename your sequence 01 to something like 'My day trip to the market'.

Select a different video clip and drag and drop it onto the 'new item' button. Bottom right of the Project window.
That would create ANOTHER sequence which you can rename as your 'master sequence' from what would probably be called 'sequence 02'.

Now you can drag and drop your original sequence like a clip INTO your master sequence. And tada.

The wonderful thing about nested sequences is you can go back and re-edit it and it would update in all your other sequences where you use it.

MERGING AUDIO AND VIDEO (original answer regarding merging audio and video)

Import your clips into the project.
Select your video and audio clips (so they are both selected)
Right click and 'Merge Clips...'
It will ask to sync on in (start of audio and video) or out (end of audio and video).
Click ok and you would now have a merge file of both your video and audio clips that you can manipulate as a single clip.

Hope that helps.


What's the best way to video chess/go/baduk/weiqi board from above (i.e. top down view)?

(This is an alternative to mounting a camera above a game board.)

If it proves difficult to mount and operate a camera above the board, consider using a mirror as an alternative.  The camera can be placed on a normal tripod, and a mirror can be mounted above the board on a 45-degree angle.  The camera then shoots the image in the mirror.

The image will need to be flipped vertically in post-production to avoid showing a mirror image of the board.


Apply scale and fade effect to Images together

Try

String command2="ffmpeg -i /sdcard/videokit/input.mp4 -loop 1 -t 2 -i /sdcard/videokit/first.png -loop 1 -t 2 -i /sdcard/videokit/second.png -filter_complex "[0]boxblur=enable='lt(t,2)+gt(t,10)'[vid];[1:v]format=rgba,fade=in:st=0:d=0.5:alpha=1,fade=out:st=1.5:d=0.5:alpha=1[img1];[2:v]format=rgba,fade=in:st=0:d=0.5:alpha=1,fade=out:st=1.5:d=0.5:alpha=1,setpts=PTS+10/TB[img2];[vid][img1]overlay=(main_w-overlay_w)/2:(main_h-overlay_h)/2[bkg];[bkg][img2]overlay=(main_w-overlay_w)/2:(main_h-overlay_h)/2" -preset ultrafast -c:a copy /sdcard/videokit/output.mp4";


Can ffmpeg input mp4 and convert it to m4b or m4a?

This might be a bit late but if it helps I've got a working PowerShell script that I use to create chapterized m4b files which I am assuming you are trying to do since you list m4b.

I use the following command for mp3 format files

ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -vn -y -b:a 64k -acodec aac -ac 2 temp.m4a

If its already in AAC format (MP4) it's even simpler

ffmpeg -f concat -safe 0 -i list.txt -c copy temp.m4a

list.txt is a simple list of all the files to combine into a single m4a, 1 file per line. I found this to work much better than trying to do it using INPUT and listing all the files on the command line. That method always seemed to break for me.

Once this is done you can inject the chapters and rename to m4b all in a single command line.

ffmpeg -i "ffmetadata.txt" -i "temp.m4a" -map_metadata 1 -codec copy "$artist - $albumSanitized.m4b"


How to combine ffmpeg vf commands for resizing and color correction?

Filter complex isn't needed. When a series of filters are to be applied to a single input in sequence, they are to be separated with a comma and passed along as a single filterchain (-vf, -af). You already did that with the setsar. So,

 ffmpeg -i input.m2t -vf "scale=852:480,setsar=1,eq=brightness=0.1:saturation=1.5" -crf 24 -c:a aac -b:a 48k -ac 1 -movflags +faststart output.mp4


What is the name of this minimalist film genre?

Generally "Minimalism" is more about shedding content to focus on the essence, "eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts." This does not necessarily require the elimination of sound or strict use of b/w.

Another term used for a Minimalist like film back in the 1970s was "lean".

What you are describing is more like emulating a silent film which reached its peak in 1928.

If you only use b/w, 60 seconds, no camera movement (pans, tilts, tracking), no cuts, no edits what you have is one clip from a stationary camera. This in itself does not fulfill what "Minimalism" in cinema is about as the balance of this question rests with whether the content is in fact Minimalism.

Also, specifying certain aspects such as b/w and no sound are somewhat superficial now.

Consider that before 1928 that sound was generally limited to what music or sound effects could be played live with the film. So too, color films were not widely available so only hand tinted films existed. Before 1928 the cinematographer generally did not have the option of synchronized sound and color. To go back to this approach is a conscience artistic choice today where as back then, you did not have this choice cause that's all you had.

I would call the genre you are describing as approaching Neo-Silent but not quite there as these guys use hand-cranked gear etc, as described in their manifesto:

http://www.silentmovies.com/neosilent/neosilent.htm

So perhaps, "Post-Neo-Silent" is a more accurate term?

In any event what you are describing is actually very popular in some cinema circles. Consider director, Blake Whitman's "1 Minute Vimeo Project":

https://vimeo.com/groups/1minute

Wherein Blake offers:

"Welcome to the 1 Minute Vimeo Project Group. Add one video, comment on two!

With the chaos of everyday life consuming our senses, it is nice to sit back and enjoy moments and experiences that are often overlooked. This project aims to study the forgotten moments and times in life that we often pass by without acknowledging.

The rules:
-Video must be exactly one minute long
-No camera movement (no panning, tilting, etc)
-No editing whatsoever
-Use original sound
-Tag with '1 minute'

-Have fun"

Aside from allowing color and sound, this is pretty close to the criteria you have defined.


"Unable to open key file" error when remuxing a set of encrypted .ts files (as a .m3u8 playlist) into .mp4 with FFmpeg

Ok, looks like I solved the problem... Basically, I used relative paths in a couple of places where I should have used absolute ones instead.


Ken Burns Effect. - Software Recommendations

Any software with keyframe support can do this.  This answer provides a rough walkthrough of how you can accomplish the look you are describing with just keyframes and positioning/scale keyframes.


ffmpeg drawtext timecode source framerate

FFmpeg has a modular design. The module which unpacks a stream from a file and discovers/sets its properties, including framerate, is ffmpeg base code. drawtext is a filter module that operates upon decoded frames. It has no concept of a framerate because it receives a sequence of individual frames in series, and only gets to see the metadata pertaining to that frame.

Usual M.O. when performing such operations is to get the framerate information by running ffprobe beforehand and saving it to a variable, referencing that variable in the drawtext options so that the shell can substitute the value.

That ffprobe command is

FPS=$(ffprobe -v 0 -show_entries stream=r_frame_rate -select_streams v:0 -of compact=p=0:nk=1 "$file")


This is as it is described in the manual. These modes are continuously filming, but only saving the last 5min or 20min. This is done by splitting the part up in serveral files, and the oldest one will be overwritten. To your second question: What do you mean by 'counter'?


Encore CS6 "DualLayer: This disc requires a layer break"

It looks like it is not possible to create a DVD DL with a ROM part that exceeds a layer's size.

So I created a 4 GB HD video (which also fits on a FAT32 file system) and created a DL disc with some GBs wasted space.

I tried to put another file onto the ROM part but this always fails as soon as the ROM part exceeds the layer limit, which is strange because DVD-ROM-only DL discs seem to work perfectly.


Overlaying Images on top of each other so they both show

It sounds like the image isn't actually transparent.  I am not familiar with kdenlive, but any decent NLE should allow for transparent layers.  As long as the images actually have transparent backgrounds, it should just work to animate one layer coming in on the other.  I would try using GIMP to make sure to remove everything but the line itself from the second image and place the line in a transparency supporting image format (such as 32 bit TGA), then try again.  If it still doesn't work, maybe kdenlive doesn't work and you could try one of the other editors on the open-source video editors question.


Will Davinci Resolve work on Mac Book Pro 13? (integrated Iris graphics, no dedicated GPU) Did anyone manage to run it? It crashes for me on startup

You can save a copy of the DaVinci Resolve crash logs to your desktop by going to the Help menu and selecting "Create Diagnostic Logs on Desktop".
The DaVinci Support and Troubleshooting FAQ has a section on the subject with a few procedures to follow in case the app doesn't start. Search the page for "Logs".
I am running Resolve on a 2020 MacBook Pro 13. It works fine for checking edits on the go but I wouldn't use it as a main editing machine.


How to use (or should I use) time code/user bit feature on Sony FDR-X3000 action cam

No, they don't have a way to keep it in sync.  This is why the timecode is clock based.  The idea is that if the clocks are reasonably close, you'll be able to line up multiple cameras across multiple shots once and note their offset.  You can then use this as a starting point on other shots that are done at the same time.  Clock drift is likely to require minor corrections though, but it can at least get you close.

In professional settings, there is a system called genlock where the frame timing is based on an external clock signal that keeps all cameras exactly in sync and it's even possible to provide an external timecode such that all cameras have exactly matching timecode that doesn't have to be based on real time, but can be based on shooting time instead.

The user bit information is for capturing other additional data about the shot that isn't caught in the timecode.  Date isn't generally included in timecode and scene number certainly isn't.  This meta data is helpful for sorting out clips in post production and is basically a digital version of the information seen on a slate at the beginning of production shots.

More advanced cameras support additional meta-data.  My Ursa Mini for example can record the name of the project, director, camera operator, various lens and shooting conditions, scene number, reel number, take number, whether the take was good or not, if it was shot inside or outside, day or night, etc.


What software is available for recording in 1/60 FPS?

AutoScreenRecorder (currently version 3.1) appears to allow you to record as low as 1 frame per minute in the Pro version only (the free version does not allow altering the framerate).


How to change menu bar color in premiere pro cc 2018 in windows 10?

The answer to your question lies here. You may not be able to change the appearance to the point where is also affects scroll bars, title bars and menus that aren't inside panels. I have highlighted the related section of text in that link below:

  Brighten or darken the interface You can lower the brightness, as when working in a darkened editing suite or when making color
  corrections. Changing the brightness affects panels, windows, and
  dialog boxes but does not affect scroll bars, title bars, and menus
  that aren’t inside panels. In addition, the change doesn’t affect the
  application background on Windows.

  Choose Edit > Preferences > Appearance (Windows) or Premiere Pro >
  Preferences > Appearance (Mac OS). Drag the User Interface Brightness
  slider to the left or right. Click Default to restore the default
  brightness level.


It's because the template you're using is referencing video files, or still images - the Lens Flare effect, which do not use an alpha channel.

This was likely done deliberatly by the template author to prevent bloating the template file size, especially if it's a motion/video file. A video flare that moves, using an alpha channel would be huge in size depending on resolution and length.

So thats WHY.

The work around is you need to set the layer's Blending Mode to a setting other than Normal. Normal will simply place the file as is... what you are now seeing. Black with Flare, nothing underneath.

RIGHT CLICK THE CLIP -> Blending Modes -> SET AS:

You will get different results with different Modes. Typically for flares, I'd use either Screen, Soft Light, Hard Light, or Multiply. You may get interesting effects with other options such as Vivid Light.

But these modes will essentially matte out areas, depending on setting, to get a superimposed effect of the flare over underlying layers.


Rather than render out one large video file, you can use your existing video files after a batch rename as Ambo100 mentioned previously with Advanced Renamer. A title rendering process, such as with Adobe Premiere or other editing platform, would also take time to render, especially if it's a large archive of clips.  The model below keeps them intact, and the original filename can be prefixed with your create date, which means you'd be able to keep the original filename included as a suffix.

VLC can display the filename being played, which means you'd only need to merely save the playlist of your chosen video files versus making one video large file of all your videos.  If a user decides to stop the video once the desired video is found, VLC will also stop on that video listed in the playlist. A right-click will allow you to go to the file directly. I put nine-9s in my time for showing the video title, which equates to a video length of ~278-hours.


Removing an undesired object from a clip in Final Cut

You could use a "garbage mask" to cut out the desired object on the main frame. Doing that, it will be in place during the transition.

If that does not work for you, then just duplicate the transition for the vector object.


Fix mp3float Header missing without re-encode

Right now the only solution I found is a two steps process:
Extract the mp3 stream:
$ ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:a copy input.mp3

Combine it back into the original AVI container:
$ ffmpeg -i input.avi -i input.mp3 -c:v copy -c:a copy -map 0:v:0 -map 1:a:0 output.avi

Leads to:
% ffprobe -hide_banner -i output.avi
Input #0, avi, from 'output.avi':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf58.20.100
  Duration: 01:19:44.96, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1211 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (DX50 / 0x30355844), yuv420p, 512x408 [SAR 1:1 DAR 64:51], 1071 kb/s, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 25 tbn, 30k tbc
    Stream #0:1: Audio: mp3 (U[0][0][0] / 0x0055), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s


After Effects on Mac: Use touchpad to scroll like in PS or Illustrator

It's so weird the way all the Adobe apps require different muscle memory to do the same thing. Even things that are the same like panning around a work area or zooming. I understand it's because of the history of the apps, but Adobe's acquisition of AE was over two decades ago, they've had time to standardise it.

Until they fix this (and don't hold your breath) you'll have to learn the AE way of navigating your comp window: hold (don't tap) the spacebar and click-drag with the left-mouse-button / single-finger-trackpad to pan and scroll, scroll-wheel / two-finger-slide to zoom. It will zoom to the point that is in the centre of the comp window, unless you hold the alt key while you're zooming in which case it zooms to the cursor. If youy want to zoom right in to the frame level press ;, press it again to zoom out to the whole comp.

Also useful are the , and . keys which zoom in and out (it makes more sense if you think about the < and > symbols which also share those keys, but you don't hold shift) and ? which zooms to fill the comp window. You'll find that AE works best if you work two-handed. Dominant hand using the pointing device of your choice, the other working the keyboard. Efficiency in AE is all about keyboard shortcuts.


Best software for homemade YouTube videos

A great choice that works on both Mac and PC is DaVinci Resolve.  The Lite version is free, and if you use only the basic features, it is very intuitive and easy to learn, from drag-and-drop media to basic editing to automatic delivery to YouTube.

A second recommendation is this: software is great for controlling edits, meaning cuts, transitions, wipes, dissolves, and generally assembling footage so that a sequence of shots tells a story, possibly syncrhonized to music, sound effects, or whatever.  However, a great edit will get you only so far when your footage is sub-standard.  Don't waste your time looking for software to fix sub-standard footage.  Learn about lighting (especially 3-point lighting), camera movement, and camera support.  If you don't like your audio, don't waste your time looking for software to clean it up.  Learn to record audio properly, with microphones positioned appropriately.

It may well be that you are very happy with the audio and video you are capturing, and that editing really is the only thing you need to worry about.  Good for you!  But if you are trying to get better looking video or better sounding audio, fix it at the source--with lighting and proper mic techniques.  It takes years of practice and the very best to work magic with software to fix what should have been done right in the first place.

Once you have learned lighting and audio, then you can really go nuts with Resolve, making good footage look great.


the answer to this question was posted by bukkojot as a comment to this question on 20171012

github.com/bookkojot/mp4fixer

This tool fixes exactly this problem. I tried it and it worked for me.
There are a few simple steps involved, instructions are enclosed. You need a short properly saved video on the same machine with the same kazam to use as input so it knows what the headers should look like. And you get the mp4 from the temporary movie.mux.


Lithiumhosting is a great provider of streaming audio over the internet. They are pretty cheap too. I use their webservers and I am very pleased with their service!

As to what softwares you should use. It depends on how much money you are willing to put into it. A good way of doing it would be to use an analog mixing board and send the audio into the streaming computer. But you could as well do it on the computer. Again, it depends on how much money you are willing to put into it. Go to Google and study each software in depth. There are dozens of them.

Good luck!