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Inspire Settings and Post Workflow Tutorial
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jimhare
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Sky High Aerial Posted at 2015-4-9 05:26
Hi Jim,

Please excuse me if you have already mentioned this, but... Transcode?  Is this a program ...

That's okay.  Yes, transcode simply means transferring to another CODEC.   It doesn't define the process or how you do it, just that you start with h.264 and end with ProRes.

Since you are color correcting at the same time some would call this a "1-Light Transfer" referring to when someone would transfer film to video tape and do some quick corrections on the way through.

Anyway, the point is you will find ProRes infinitely easier to work with, just make sure you don't damage your footage on the way through by crushing the blacks or blowing out the whites.  As long as all of the color information is still there you can do further color corrections to the ProRes.
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So am I transcoding on import to either davinci or fcpX.  It is an import option?
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jimhare
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Sky High Aerial Posted at 2015-4-9 08:02
So am I transcoding on import to either davinci or fcpX.  It is an import option?

Sorry Peter, I think I'm confusing things.

It's not an option, it's just a definition for changing the fiotage into something else.
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Jim,

Still testing at the moment, it may have been a one off showing some weeds/flowers.  Tried taking shots close up on dark backgrounds with no visible white spots so looks like it could have been this one instance and specific location, although it was the same on a few different stills in the same location.

Just out of curiosity, what size card in the Camera do you use Jim.  

I have been using a Lexar High-Performance micro SDHC and micro SDXC UHS-I cards (633x) but got a message on the App yesterday that the card was too slow ??   It would only record video up to 8 seconds.  Changed battery and video lasted about 8 minutes.  But unable to take manual stills whilst recording !

I have reformatted the card, so will try again.  Never had any problems with this card up to now.

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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-6 15:33
Here's a "before & after" of my cliff shoot the other day.   

Notice that in the milky/boring befor ...

Hey Jim,
I was hoping you could take a look at this video I made of several clips I have taken over the past couple of weeks. I am a photographer and kind of new to videography. I followed your tutorials and used the LUTs from Newmanfilms. I am shooting in 4k 24fps, ISO 100, and usually a shutter speed between 120-200 (I know this isn't good but the camera constantly says the sky and mountain tops are overexposed. I love the looks the LUTs are giving me but I find that it makes the darks way to dark. If I try playing with the settings like lift and such, I can brighten it but it looses that pop that is has. Anyway if you could please take a look at my video and give and pointers as to how I might edit or film better?



Also side not I used youtube to add random music to my video and for some reason it drops the resolution from 1080p to 720p. Weird!

Thanks!
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I'll be honest, I am new at editing. Using FCPX.  Jim I'm not liking recording in the log mode. I think I understand  what it's supposed to do but Im just not able to pull out color and detail in post. For now I'm gonna go back to the None setting. BTW what format is best to video and photo in, 4:3 or 16:9. Tnx
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tahosrfr Posted at 2015-4-10 01:36
I'll be honest, I am new at editing. Using FCPX.  Jim I'm not liking recording in the log mode. I th ...

Yeah, if you arent able to pull the looks you want then you are better off with the standard setting.  As long as you expose correctly it should give very nice results.

Video should be 16:9 but stills are up to you.    If you are printing 8x10 then a 4x3 is the closest ratio.   EIther way you should be able to crop the image to suit, just be aware while shooting what you might want to do with it and leave some room for cropping.
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nalhutta Posted at 2015-4-10 00:52
Hey Jim,
I was hoping you could take a look at this video I made of several clips I have taken ov ...

Hi nalhutta,

First of all some stunning footage in there!   Love your locations.

First tech stuff.  Controlling the LUTs can be a challenge.  When you first apply them they can come on way too strong.  If you're using DaVinci, you can use the KEY page to dial back the gain of the node the LUT is in (the LUT should be in a node all by itself, with the earlier nodes doing the actual corrections.)

If you are applying the LUT directly in your editor you'll need to research how to control its levels.

The way I work is I set up 3 nodes in DaVinci.  The last one is where I put the LUT.   I then go back to the first node and make basic corrections to balance the color and contrast of the image.   I go back and forth between the first and third node, maybe dropping the intensity of the LUT using gain or changing the contrast using curves in the first node.

When I'm happy with the overall look I use the second node to make anything pop as needed.   Might be a sunburst on water I want to jump off the screen so that's where I do it.

About other aspects, like editing, I don't want to say too much because there are many editing styles.   I really like your long, explorative shots.   They work really well.   In my personal opinion (which you should feel free to ignore) the only times I didn't like it was when there were abrupt camera shifts during the shot.   Might be it was cruising along happily and you did a small course correction.   Sometimes it was starting/stopping a pan/tilt where it was way too robotic.    If you are going to use camera moves in shot (which can be spectacular) spend some time practicing smoothing them out.    The gimbal wheel is touch sensitive, just like the sticks on the remote.   Start really gentle, speed up in the middle of the move, then pay really close attention to smoothing out the end.   Otherwise it doesn't look human, it looks automated, which is the opposite of what you want.

When I'm editing drone footage I intentionally keep the clips pretty short for two reasons.  The first is as I described above, if something happens during the shot I will cut it short and use the rest of it later in the edit.

The other is about psychology and compression.   If you are allowed to watch an Inspire clip for more than a few seconds the initial wow subsides and you find yourself exploring the fine detail.   When using a high end camera this is wonderful but when you study Inspire footage you start noticing the artifacts, the blending and other things in the image that aren't so nice.    If I were shooting aerials with my RED EPIC then I would probably have much slower cuts because the more you study the more you love what you see.

Again, you should ignore everything I say and do what works best for you.  There is no right or wrong.   I loved watching your footage and loved the long shots.   I didn't like seeing the images fall apart in the detail and some of the camera moves.   That's just me.

Well done and keep exploring that environment, it's awesome!

Jim
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-10 06:44
Hi nalhutta,

First of all some stunning footage in there!   Love your locations.

Hey Jim,

First off I'd like to thank you not only for helping me personally but most of the people on this forum! I think I can speak for most of us when I say we appreciate you! Thanks for noticing the beauty beyond the ok footage! The whole reason I was "Inspired" to get the Inspire is because of where I live. I'm very excited to capture as much of this place and from as many different angles as I can!

For the technical input you gave me about the nodes that was extremely useful as the main problem I had was as you said they were just way to strong. I have already re edited a couple shots and am rendering as we speak. The gain on the LUTs is priceless! That info has helped a ton.

As for the my actual editing I do agree with not having as long of cuts as I used but that video was only made so you could see the LUT issue I was having and it was my first time trying to upload something to YouTube.

Once I have had time to re edit my footage I'll try making a nice video using a lot of that footage and we can see the difference!

Thanks Again!!
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nalhutta Posted at 2015-4-10 14:18
Hey Jim,

First off I'd like to thank you not only for helping me personally but most of the peopl ...

Thanks for the kind words, it's my pleasure!   

Please don't lose your long cuts, I really did enjoy them and they added a sense of peace.   But you'll know when they've overstayed their welcome, either because there's a camera bump or you start to notice areas of the image that are undesirable.

All the best,

Jim
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delas
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have anyone ever used cineform for premiere, transcoding inspire's 264??? i am very curious. cineform is the best codec for pc - premiere users.  i use cineform since 2006 and it seems that there's something wrong when trying transcoding 4k with hdlink for first light color grading. any experience about it would be very appreciated and very helpful , especially for users that are strangling to edit in slower / older machines. i have noticed that a lot of people (pc users) have made beautiful 4k footage but are strangling to edit properly. i mean real time adding transitions and effects as well as color grade. if you have already talked about cineform codec please let me know where i can find it.
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Hello
ok am i understanding it right ,best settings for inspire camera with 25p is shutter at iso at 100 and shutter 50
is there some rules if i have to go higher shutter to get it not overexposed? is something better than the other ? if i have to rise the shutter.

thanks
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Made this  jim what else can i do to get this better,what do you think about it

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Cinestar Posted at 2015-4-12 21:09
Hello
ok am i understanding it right ,best settings for inspire camera with 25p is shutter at iso a ...

Hi Cinestar.

Yes, ISO 100 with 50 shutter is best but when you already have the ND filter on, if you are still overexposed (which you probably will be if in bright sun) then your only choice is to increase the shutter speed until the overexposer warning shows just a couple of spots that are too bright.  That's when the image will look best.   Hopefully the shutter is still under 200.  
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Jim,

Do you have a suggestion on an affordable post production program that can help with editing?  DaVinci is extremely expensive for this amateur...

Thank you,
John
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johnootz.cox Posted at 2015-4-13 14:02
Jim,

Do you have a suggestion on an affordable post production program that can help with editing?  ...

John,

DaVinci has a FREE version that does absolutely everything I have shown in the tutorials.  Unless you want them to pay you it doesn't get much better than that!   ;-)
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Cinestar Posted at 2015-4-13 03:41
Made this   what else can i do to get this better,what do you think a ...

Hi Cinestar.   Was that really with no ND filter????   It looks really underexposed, which I find confusing unless it was very early morning or dusk?

Anyway, the footage looks underexposed which kills the dynamic range and makes everything fall into a displeasing grey area, even when graded.    Your raw footage should look milky but bright, almost looking overexposed (which is just an illusion caused by LOG.)

Try some exposure tests, always using the overexposure warning meter (which I think is on the IOS app only so if you are on Android use the histogram and try to keep things from running off the right side of the meter.)    Keep making the image brighter (using ISO/Shutter) until you get two or three little hotspots in your image.  Not so many that they make up a measurable proportion of the image, just a couple of small ones.   This is the best way to protect against underexposing.
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-9 07:11
That's okay.  Yes, transcode simply means transferring to another CODEC.   It doesn't define the p ...

Hi Jim have you ever used cineform avi for premiere?   
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-10 14:24
Thanks for the kind words, it's my pleasure!   

Please don't lose your long cuts, I really did en ...

Hi Jim,

So after some re application of the LUT's using your advice with the nodes and using the key to reduce the gain of the effects I have my first actual video. It's nothing special and its a little dark (most of it was filmed at sunset) but I believe it is the first step towards some fantastic videos. Take a look if you'd like.



P.S. I left in a long cut at the beginning ; )

Thanks,

nalhutta
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-13 14:14
Hi Cinestar.   Was that really with no ND filter????   It looks really underexposed, which I find c ...

thanks for good advise i will try this
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Hello
what about this : now i have use the expo warning so i just can se a few marks off the overexposing warnings and then i added a inspire lut

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jimhare
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Cinestar Posted at 2015-4-14 03:27
Hello
what about this : now i have use the expo warning so i just can se a few marks off the overex ...

Looking a lot better!    I don't think sharpening is doing you and favors though, let it be slightly soft as that's what film would do anyway.    Did you try using the ND filter?   I see you were at 160 shutter when it would have been nice to be down around 50-60 depending on your frame rate.

Did the ND but out too much light?
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jimhare
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nalhutta Posted at 2015-4-14 01:02
Hi Jim,

So after some re application of the LUT's using your advice with the nodes and using the  ...

Very nice!   

I'm still seeing a lot of camera moves in shot, which for me pull me out of the magic and makes me feel like you're asking the viewer to witness your search for the good stuff, rather than only using the good stuff.

But that may be your goal so I'm reluctant to say not to do that, it's all up to you and how you want it to flow.   

My point is this - if you were watching a $200 million movie and the camera bumped in the middle of the scene (and it wasn't an earthquake scene) would you be perplexed what they didn't cut it out?   If so, cut them out of yours and you'll be one step closer!   ;-)
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-13 14:09
John,

DaVinci has a FREE version that does absolutely everything I have shown in the tutorials.   ...

Thanks Jim.  I downloaded it after I posted the question to you.  I might have to get a degree to use it though!  Ha!  I'm sure your videos are going to be a great help once I start.  Thanks again for getting back with me.
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-14 05:45
Looking a lot better!    I don't think sharpening is doing you and favors though, let it be slight ...

thanks
i haven't the nd filter on i though it was to dark to use it ,but maybe i should have it on to get closer to 60-50 ,i was filming  4k 25p in this test.
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Cinestar Posted at 2015-4-14 12:47
thanks
i haven't the nd filter on i though it was to dark to use it ,but maybe i should have it o ...

Cool. Next time set the shutter to 50 and put the ND on.  Raise the ISO to make it brighter if necessary.   If you get to ISO 500 and still don't have any overexposed areas then take the ND off as it is too dark.
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delas Posted at 2015-4-13 23:30
Hi Jim have you ever used cineform avi for premiere?

I presume not. Thank you Jim. you see, davinci resolve lite , the one that you highly recommend is a teaser for davinci 12 which costs 995 and you need another 2,5k for a better PC to deal with it. . . .And so on.
There are alternatives, especially for enthusiasts and semi pros. . . . that costs much less, you do very good job and there is no need for a super duper computer. How about the cineform gopro studio premium?http://cineform.com/products/gopro-studio-premium
i have posted again but nobody ever replied. is there something wrong about it?i really would like to have any feedback.

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jimhare
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delas Posted at 2015-4-14 19:20
I presume not. Thank you Jim. you see, davinci resolve lite , the one that you highly recommend is  ...

Hi Delas, no, I'm not familiar with those, sorry.

I strongly disagree about DaVinci Lite being a teaser for the full version.  It is fully functional and the advanced features they reserve for the full version are not of great use to beginners anyway.

Regarding computer power, a slow computer will do just as good a job as a fast one, only difference is you can't see your footage play without rendering it, which isn't a big deal as you can dot through your footage and see what the correction looks like at different moments.

It's all about making the most of what you have available.  
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-14 23:01
Hi Delas, no, I'm not familiar with those, sorry.

I strongly disagree about DaVinci Lite being a ...

Thank you Jim. I will check davinci lite. Please have a look at  cineform premium whenever you have time. Thank you for your time.
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Jim,

Can Davinci be used for still shots as well?

John
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jimhare
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Have a look at this idea for the second (camera) remote.  Been playing with monitoring options.

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... amp;extra=#pid95653
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johnootz.cox Posted at 2015-4-15 03:51
Jim,

Can Davinci be used for still shots as well?

Hi John,

Yes it can, though it's not designed for it and is a bit clunky compared to PhotoShop, but if you just import a still into the media pool and go through the same process as video, when you get to the delivery page just select TIFF as the output format instead of ProRes.    I suggest only doing one at a time as I'm not sure if it will try to make 24 frames out of each or something if you do multiples.  

Basically it's treating it as if it's a movie, which is why it may be a bit unpredictable.   But I just imported a single still, edited it and exported as TIFF and it worked perfectly, creating a single output file.
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Thanks Jim!  
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Sky High Aerial
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Lightroom 5 works wonders with still photographs!!!
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Sky High Aerial Posted at 2015-4-17 02:40
Lightroom 5 works wonders with still photographs!!!

Support RAW DNG as well!
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-4 03:51
Ah, that's an important bit of info.   I think your Inspire is fine, you're computer is just havin ...

thank you Jim! you are spot on. and no I'm using the latest gopro 4 black- that the only thing that threw me off but i think youre right.
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ZeroCool Posted at 2015-4-18 08:21
thank you Jim! you are spot on. and no I'm using the latest gopro 4 black- that the only thing that ...

Interesting.  So 4k GoPro footage plays smoothly in the computer (without converting the footage to something else) but 4k Inspire footage doesn't?
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jimhare Posted at 2015-4-18 18:53
Interesting.  So 4k GoPro footage plays smoothly in the computer (without converting the footage t ...

yes latest GP4black and only inspire clips are acting up. maybe because i dumped too many codecs in my devices. i;m thinking about reformatting  all of them before burning money on a new laptop. im using PC( all alienwares 2010-2012 models) and all have lag issues during preview. i'm honestly considering switching to mac or might try this:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/se ... alSearch=yes&sts=ps

any recommendations Jim?
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Cinestar
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Hello
i have got some shoots from my inspire 1 in 4k 25p that i want to get in slow motion,but how to get smooth slow motion,do i have to convert my clip to 1920x1080 50p.I use final cut pro ,do somebody know how to do this*?

thanks
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Cinestar Posted at 2015-4-19 07:17
Hello
i have got some shoots from my inspire 1 in 4k 25p that i want to get in slow motion,but how  ...

If you've already shot it 25FPS then your only choice for slomo would be a third party specialist product like Twixter.   http://www.revisionfx.com/products/twixtor/

This will create new frames between the existing ones to smooth out your clip.

In future, shoot your native clips at 50FPS or even 60FPS and they will slow down perfectly as you'll have the "tween" frames you need.
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