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Inspire Settings and Post Workflow Tutorial
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jimhare
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rfrye Posted at 2015-3-11 22:57
Jim,

I should only speak for myself in this statement because I'm not sure how to completely explai ...

Absolutely, makes perfect sense.   Knowing both what you want and how to achieve it comes with experience.

But in the meantime, use the information and tools for true correction, meaning to control the amount of contrast and saturation in your images.   The tutorial shows how to do this.   Then over time you can start pushing the look in any direction you want.   Dissect other people's images and why you like them.  Do the colors all bend to a certain tonal range?  Are some areas brighter than others and why?   Did the image appear to be shot at a certain time of day and what qualities did that offer?

This is 80% of it, the easier part is getting the tools to help you achieve it.

So step one is making a nice balanced image and go from there.

It's an adventure so enjoy it!

Jim
2015-3-11
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jimhare
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patou72 Posted at 2015-3-12 05:50
Really great Jim, thanks a lot.

Just how to use the white balance would be interesting for me. Do ...

No real hints on White Balance as I haven't played much with the different settings.   I tend to leave it on auto and fine tune it in post as needed.   But probably best to match the white balance setting to the weather of the day, sunny, cloudy etc.   

When shooting indoors it's very important to know the difference between types of light and the color temperature they put out.   Halogen/LED type lights tend to be closer to daylight balance, around 5500K and you should use the SUNNY or CLOUDY setting, but older incandescent lighting (tungsten) is closer to 3200K, in which case definitely use the INCANDESCENT setting.

It should be pretty obvious when looking at the image through the app as to whether you have the white balance set correctly.   If the image is overly yellow or overly blue then chances are you have it set wrong.

Again, when in doubt, just use AUTO and see if it looks right.
2015-3-11
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Marktho1
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patou72 Posted at 2015-3-12 05:50
Really great Jim, thanks a lot.

Just how to use the white balance would be interesting for me. Do ...

White balance can be intimidating for some but once you understand kelvin it becomes really simple.. for me I never go below 2600k and never above 8700K... most incandescent lighting ranges between 2700-3200K if you are shooting a scene with mostly artificial light start at 3200 and adjust down for desired whit point... florescent is 4200-4500 in most cases... Day light is 5200-5700 depending on time of day.. Sunset for deep colorful sunset I usually crank the WB up to 6500-8700 to get a nice warm look...
2015-3-11
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Marktho1
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jimhare Posted at 2015-3-12 12:50
No real hints on White Balance as I haven't played much with the different settings.   I tend to le ...

Jim,
Here is  the video I asked you about in the other thread... I used Log on the footage from 4:45-6:56 The log footage just does not look right to me regardless of corrections... I see a ton of mushy artifacts (mostly noticeable in the lower left portion of the video... and the trees in the field almost seem to disappear compared to the footage before and after 4:45 and 6:56... The video is long it was just intended for me... Mostly just flying over stuff.. I was just trying to build muscle memory for smooth cinematic shots.. We had some interesting skies the last couple of days of rain casting some interesting colors (mostly at the end of the video... Iso never above 100 and shutter between 60 and 100 on all shots... except night scene and a few of the sunset shots...
2015-3-11
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patou72
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Thank you Jim and Marktho1.
Great to have peoples like you
2015-3-11
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jimhare
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Marktho1 Posted at 2015-3-12 15:58
Jim,
Here is  the video I asked you about in the other thread... I used Log on the footage from 4: ...

Hey Marktho,

Can't say for sure, but my feeling is that the footage is underexposed.   I think a better result would come from raising the ISO and lowering the shutter speed.  Don't be afraid to let some very bright areas of the sky blow out a little.   You should see these areas with the OVEREXPOSURE WARNING zebras.

By underexposing you do two things.

1. You kill the dynamic range, which is basically the range of values between full black and full white and the result is a bit muddy and brash.   By pushing everything lower you are reducing the tonal levels you have to work with, giving a slightly posterized effect.

2. You have to raise levels in post beyond how they were shot, which brings out all the artifacts and unattractive stuff that lurks below the surface.

I suggest doing some exposure tests during your next flight.  Start with what looks good on the histogram and then record some clips above and below the exposure.  

If exposed correctly the highlights will be sparkling and the shadows deep but not heavy, and you will have tons of dynamic range to play with.

Like I said, can't say for sure, but I've seen a lot of underexposed clips over the years and they all tend to suffer from the same things I saw in the video.
2015-3-12
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Marktho1
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jimhare Posted at 2015-3-12 18:46
Hey Marktho,

Can't say for sure, but my feeling is that the footage is underexposed.   I think a b ...

Thank you for your reply. Yes it was a very flat dull cloudy day with 0 contrast...I may have under exposed trying to get something out of the sky because it was just solid gray at that point... I'll mess with it again on a better day...
2015-3-12
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lrwskyfilms
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Outstanding, thank you very much for sharing.
2015-3-12
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deanholland1.me
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Hi Jim, Great stuff. I just sent this post to a colleague I work with who is about to purchase an Inspire. He operates in the Blue Mountains and has his UAV Operators Certificate and I am down the South Coast (I hold a UAV Controllers Certificate) and have been flying my Inspire for a few weeks now. We will all have to catch up some time. Appreciate the time you are spending on this, thanks again.
2015-3-13
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DJI-Autumn
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Dangair Posted at 2015-3-10 23:28
They should make these tutorials STICKY! We need a tutorial Stickt thread. Get on it moderator!

I'm going to Dan.

Well done Jim. Really helpful! I'll make it a sticky.
2015-3-13
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jimhare
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deanholland1.me Posted at 2015-3-13 16:07
Hi Jim, Great stuff. I just sent this post to a colleague I work with who is about to purchase an In ...

Dean, we should definitely meet up!   I'm very interested in having ties to people with operator and controller certificates as I don't think I'll be able to get one so won't be able to shoot commercially.

Would also love to talk to you so I can better understand the system.

All the best,
Jim
2015-3-13
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jimhare
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DJI-Autumn Posted at 2015-3-13 16:54
I'm going to Dan.

Well done Jim. Really helpful! I'll make it a sticky.

Yay!  Thanks!
2015-3-13
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gareth.greener
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Awesome post Jim, I am going to try out these settings this weekend ;)
Not sure my editing will be as good as yours.
2015-3-13
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rodger
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Nice work Jim.
2015-3-13
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nilsblix
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Thanks a lot for this great tutorial - I was so exited I had to carry my Inspire around the terrasse (strong wind) and taking video with your settings - then in FCP X to color correct.
Thank you
2015-3-13
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Sky High Aerial
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Hi,

Just looking for some feedback.  It seems as though the Inspire 1 is primarily a video platform. The still images I am capturing are not as crisp as I was expecting, even after post processing the RAW file.
Has anyone tried using a Framegrab off the 4k video?  Is there a noticible difference in final image quality? I use FCP X for video editing, does it have a good Framegrab setting?
Again, I am really satisfied with the video quality, I am just trying to maximize the crispness of the stills from a small sensor camera.
Always appreciate the feedback from all of you that never hesitate to offer up suggestions and recommendations.
Thanks in advance,

Peter
2015-3-13
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RichJ53
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jimhare Posted at 2015-3-11 14:04
Good point!   For those who don't know, this refers to a 180 degree shutter which translates to do ...

Hey Jim,
Have you had any luck being able to save the previous settings on the camera.  I have only had my Inspire for a short time now and learning quickly. It seems that after you shut down the Inspire and the app, you loose the settings. Is there a way to change the default settings?   PAL to NTSC etc.

It would be nice to pick up where you left off.
2015-3-14
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Dangair
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Jim can you recommend the right hardware for us beginners? I built my last pc so perhaps a hardware upgrade may be needed to support more intense graphic handling? Also, a breakdown from you folks on software that would not be too intense for beginners too learn on. Having been exposed to the bewildering amount of music editing software I know that some are NOT practical for learning on.. So this is not a question solely for you Jim but I feel that people like me that are just getting set up for photo video editing need help to get pointed in the right direction so as to avoid having to upgrade straight out of the gate, this can be costly and frustrating! Any help would seriously be appreciated, perhaps a new thread should be created strictly for hardware software? What do you all say?
2015-3-14
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Midi
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White Balance is usually done with a piece of paper or at hand a grey card, but paper works great
and balancing makes colors pop out more.
2015-3-14
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jimhare
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Midi Posted at 2015-3-15 05:10
White Balance is usually done with a piece of paper or at hand a grey card, but paper works great
an ...

Of course the problem is the same as it is with exposure, what's correct in one spot is it might not be the same by the time you reach your filming destination.  Sun goes behind a cloud, fly in the shade, doesn't take much.    I have found that auto does a good job and it's easy to correct in post if not perfect.
2015-3-14
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Colonel Angus
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jimhare Posted at 2015-3-12 06:12
Absolutely, makes perfect sense.   Knowing both what you want and how to achieve it comes with exp ...

Great stuff Jim appreciate your insight always !
2015-3-15
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jimhare
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RichJ53 Posted at 2015-3-15 01:07
Hey Jim,
Have you had any luck being able to save the previous settings on the camera.  I have onl ...

Hi Rich,

On the previous build I found it always reset to NTSC and I would manually change back.  Since the firmware upgrade the settings all seem to stick.

I check all of these, including color and format etc. during my preflight inspection.
2015-3-15
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jimhare
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nilsblix@gmail. Posted at 2015-3-14 00:07
Thanks a lot for this great tutorial - I was so exited I had to carry my Inspire around the terrasse ...

Awesome, be sure to post your results!
2015-3-15
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jimhare
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Dangair Posted at 2015-3-15 02:35
Jim can you recommend the right hardware for us beginners? I built my last pc so perhaps a hardware  ...

Good question.   

The most difficult thing for a computer to do is work with the highly compressed MP4 footage, which was never really designed to be edited, it's more of a finishing CODEC.

So to work with it natively, especially in 4K, you would need a very powerful machine.

The truth is, if you are willing to transcode your original footage before editing then you can work with almost any computer of any speed because you are taking away the burden of the original MP4 files.  

For those who don't know video TRANSCODING just means resaving the footage to another CODEC (movie compression) and at the same time applying your color corrections.   For example, I transcode my footage to ProRes, which is a great editing CODEC if you're on a Mac.

By doing this you end up with files that are MUCH easier to edit with a slower computer, but also already look beautiful because you did the color corrections.

As for software, a program like Adobe Premiere Elements would be a good start for software.   Adobe is good because you can use any of their products for 30 days before purchase to see if they are right for you.  For this reason maybe get both Premiere Elements and the full version to try them out.

This is for both PC and Mac.   
  
If you do have a Mac then Premiere is still great, but you might be better off with FCP-X, which has a lot of really cool features.
2015-3-15
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jimhare
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Sky High Aerial Posted at 2015-3-14 01:28
Hi,

Just looking for some feedback.  It seems as though the Inspire 1 is primarily a video platform ...

I haven't spent any time with the still capabilities but I might take some test shots and compare them to vision.
2015-3-15
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RichJ53
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jimhare Posted at 2015-3-16 09:21
Hi Rich,

On the previous build I found it always reset to NTSC and I would manually change back.  ...

Okay thanks Jim,

I will check this again when the weather allows some flying time. I already have so many things on my preflight check list and forget some of the camera settings... It would be nice if your settings would stick as the default or at least let you select the options.
2015-3-15
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Dangair
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Thanks Jim, I was unaware of the transcoding thing, I always thought you just slapped the video clip in the program and started working on it. Hmm interesting.
2015-3-15
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jimhare
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Dangair Posted at 2015-3-16 14:27
Thanks Jim, I was unaware of the transcoding thing, I always thought you just slapped the video clip ...

It's not uncommon at all.  There are many filming formats that just aren't practical to edit and require transcoding.    Some people overcome it by buying super computers but then an even more difficult format comes out and they have to start over again with more hardware.

I think of it the same way as film.   In the film days it would have to go to the lab and then get transferred to tape before you could do anything with it.  

The main thing is to go to a good CODEC, like ProRes, which will preserve the quality and be easy to work with.    Some will say you are technically degrading the footage slightly by doing this but in the real world it's just fine and well worth it if it allows you to work with your own footage without having to sell your car!  
2015-3-15
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Dangair
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Ok, I undestand now, it's a way to keep up with new technology without having to pay through the nose for it. Makes sense. I was looking at some of the software for video editing and it can be as high as $25,000 without the gear to run it. Not surprising really when you compare it to audio, I have invested several thousand in audio processing and it was obsolete the day I did. So what I'm asking is if you had a pc and could swap out the video card etc. what would you throw in it? Of course anyone else can leave advice too. I suppose I have to stay in keeping with the mother board when doing so but anything can be changed.
2015-3-16
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nic
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I'm not convinced about dropping the sharpening setting in camera. It is too heavy, and the aggressive H264 hardware encoder will jump at the opportunity to encode similar pixels as uniform values in order to achieve a low 65Mbit/s constant bit rate @ 4K. In my testing, -1 sharpness is way too soft. I believe it's better to leave sharpness at default, do a good (decent algorithm) 1080P down-rez and then deal with the excessively sharp images in the grade, rather than discarding information at the point of capture.

Just my 2 cents.

2015-3-16
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jimhare
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nic@tractionfil Posted at 2015-3-17 05:43
I'm not convinced about dropping the sharpening setting in camera. It is too heavy, and the aggressi ...

Absolutely.  

I mentioned in the tutorial that there are good reasons to lower it and good reasons to leave it alone.   

You should base it on the subject matter.   I find for nature it's good to drop it and for architecture it's good to leave it at zero.
2015-3-16
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jimhare
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Hey All,

I posted a second tutorial here -

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... id=10235&extra=
2015-3-17
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Outta Control
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Thank you very much for the education.
2015-3-17
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angelo
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Thanks Jim, very generous of you to make this video!
2015-3-18
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jimhare
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Third tutorial is up.  This one is on "troubled footage."

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... ra=page%3D1&lang=en
2015-3-20
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Colonel Angus
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You Rock !!!
2015-3-20
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johnootz.cox
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Incredible video Jim.  Thanks for sharing.  I just got my Inspire and haven't flown it yet.  I'm a beginner when it comes to the video and camera settings.  Looking forward to learning more as I go...  Thanks for the tutorial but right now, it doesn't make any sense to me!  Ha!  Looks like I have some studying to do!
2015-3-21
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tc_chay
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Jim,

What file do you export as for your final product from davincci resolve?
2015-3-21
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jimhare
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johnootz.cox Posted at 2015-3-22 07:09
Incredible video Jim.  Thanks for sharing.  I just got my Inspire and haven't flown it yet.  I'm a b ...

Hey John, it will make sense as soon as you start flying!  
You'll love it, so much fun and the results can be spectacular if you get the settings right.

Enjoy
2015-3-21
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jimhare
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tc_chay Posted at 2015-3-22 07:57
Jim,

What file do you export as for your final product from davincci resolve?

I typically go out as ProRes then back to the editor for mastering with audio, titles and so on.   From there it all depends on what the edit was for.   If it's feature film/TV etc. I would stay in ProRes but for just-for-fun YouTube stuff I go to h.264 because it's easier to upload and I'm not worried about protecting every little artifact.
2015-3-21
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