Crooked Path Blog

Red Giant just released the newest version of their awesome color grading software, Magic Bullet Looks II.  Naturally I nabbed it up right away, and have been color grading the short western “Courage” with it.  So far me likey… but with newer redesigns comes some bugs.  But first, let’s go over what’s new:

What’s New

1. A redesigned interface that’s very similar to the last version, just a bit more slick looking and easier to use.
2. More scope options.
3. 64 new and updated presets.  (I don’t use presets, but many do)
4. Added video out preview for an interactive single frame preview.  (Or at least this feature was attempted, see the “bugs” below)
5. 6 new tools, including some of the stuff you find in Colorista II and something called “Cosmo”…which smooths skintones for beauty shots.  (Works very well!)

Newer redesigns of software can certainly comes with problems, but don’t worry, Red Giant didn’t pull a Final Cut Pro disaster with this release.  Despite some of the bugs below the software is a leap from the previous version, and with the workarounds I outline below, you’ll be able to navigate around the issues.  Some of these issues are open tickets in Red Giant’s support queue, and naturally I will update the list below with any fixes or explanations as they come in from Red Giant.

NOTE: I use Magic Bullet Looks as a plugin for Adobe Premiere CS5.5 almost exclusively.  These issues may not be a problem with other NLEs or computers.

Some Bugs

1. Video Out:  This does not work for me on the plugin nor the stand alone program.  In “preferences” there is a drop-down area where you should be able to select what monitor you want to throw your interactive preview frame…but sadly there are no options in the drop-down.  Neither the online help materials nor tech support themselves have yet to explain this, and I’m not sure if it’s only compatible with certain cards like AJA and such since nobody seems to know as of right now.
2. Single Frame Creation:  When you apply the MBL effect to a clip in the timeline, you must click on “EDIT” to open the interface and begin working on the grade.  When you do so, MBL “grabs” a still of the frame you are paused on in the timeline and displays it for previewing your work as you apply the tools.  But here’s the glitch: about 50% of the time when I click “edit,” MBL grabs some other frame, and usually not even a frame in the clip I am working on.  I have to keep deleting the effect and re-applying it to the clip until it works.
3. Premiere Auto-Save Freeze:  If you’re like me, you have Premiere set to autosave your project every few minutes.  That has saved me from unfortunate loss of work several times.  But if you have the MBL interface open when Premiere initiates an autosave, Premiere will freeze with the “save” dialogue open and you’ll have no choice but to force close the application.  Best to turn off autosave while coloring and remember to hit ctrl-s every now and then.
4. Upgrading From Previous MBL:  I found out the hard way that you should uninstall the previous version of MBL before installing 2.0.  Not only uninstall via add/remove programs, but go into your plugin folders and delete the MBL plugins.  Here’s the path to find them: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\Plug-ins Once these are deleted, you can install 2.0.  If you don’t do this, a duplicate plugin will still exist in Premiere and it seems the software will get confused as to which version of MBL your effects are referring to.  So, if you add MBL 2.0 to a clip and then close the program and reopen, Premiere seems to “point” the effect to the OLD version and not apply the effect correctly.

I’m sure Red Giant will fix these problems, and until then, I am still glad to use the software now that know the workarounds to the bugs.

 

I’ve had about a week to play with Adobe Premiere CS5, and I’m already greatly impressed by it’s speed and efficiency.  I replaced my old Windows XP system with a new computer built by a friend to the optimized specs to which allows the Adobe video softwares to run the best.  For those interested, the specs for my new system is as follows:

* Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
* Liquid-cooled Intel i7 2.8GHz quad-core
* 24GB DDR3 RAM
* 2 terabyte internal hardrive
* NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 Graphics Card (1gb RAM)
* LG 10X LIGHTSCRIBE SATA Blu-ray DVD CD Burner
* DVD burner with lightscribe
* 500w 7.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
* Adobe CS5 Master Suite
* Magic Bullet Looks color grading software, updated for CS5
* Signature IV CD/DVD/BluRay Color Printer
* Dual 26” Monitors and additional 42” HDTV

The folks at Adobe created CS5 with something called the Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, which basically performs some ridiculous graphics acceleration when used with a compatible NVIDIA graphics card like the GeForce that I use.  You can scrub/play full resolution NATIVE HD footage and even 4k RED footage with multiple layers and effects without so much as a hiccup or stutter.  Additionally, you can export out this footage in REAL TIME.  Meaning if the film you’re editing is 2 hours long, it takes approximately 2 hours to render out.

Glitches

Let me first say that in comparison to Cs4 and even Final Cut Pro, Premiere Cs5 is a very streamlined and in many cases more efficient NLE to use.  But with these benefits come a couple little glitches that I found (and are well known to other users on the Adobe forums) that will hopefully get fixed in the next update.

1) Render Time – The 2 Exporting Options

You have 2 choices when it comes time to export your project.  You can opt to export the video file using Adobe Premiere, or you can choose to “queue” the export to Adobe Media Encoder.  Exporting directly from Adobe Premiere is ideal for exporting an effect or small clip to re-import back into the project as it doesn’t open Media Encoder and all that to compete the export.  Queuing the export in Adobe Media Encoder allows for the export/render to proceed while freeing up Adobe Premiere to work on other projects or just close down.

THE PROBLEM:  When you export directly from Adobe Premiere, the rendering process apparently does not use the accelerated graphics, thereby forcing the render to take about 3-4 times longer.

THE WORKAROUND:  Always export the video using Adobe Media Encoder.  You can either “queue” the file from Premiere to AME or alternatively you can close Premiere, open AME, and import the Premiere project and continue the process.

2) Render Time – “Render Quality”

You have the option to select “use maximum render quality” when exporting.

THE PROBLEM:  The render time is increase by as much as 4 times the necessary rendering time.

THE WORKAROUND:  Don’t check it!  Exporting at maximum render quality is only necessary when NOT using the CUDA accelerated graphics, and if your exporting video using a 10-bit 4:2:2 colorspace.

3)  Proper Encoding of H264

If you want to export the video for uploading to Vimeo or Youtube, many people (including myself) export to H264.  If you have a Sony Playstation, you should change the multiplexing to “PSP.”

THE PROBLEM:  If you choose PSP you will notice that the resulting video is black video with no sound or just won’t play at all.

THE WORKAROUND:  Change the multiplexing setting to “Standard.”  You will need to find another way to convert this file if you want to play it on your PSP.

Adobe has come a long way since CS4 wit

The software that helped final cut pro users automatically sync audio with their video is now available for Adobe Premiere users (PC) if you have either CS4 or CS5.

From the website:  PluralEyes™ saves hours in post-production for multi-camera edits, dual-system audio or multi-take workflows such as music videos. It automatically synchronizes all your audio and video clips without the need for timecode, clappers or any special preparation.

Head over to the Singular Software website and download it for FREE! Look over the guide for any questions.  There are known issues and bugs just like any other beta, but hey, it’s FREE.

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me or posted on a forum about the “best/ideal export settings for Adobe Premiere,” I would be a rich man.  So I’m posting a guide for Premiere users to use.  I know that there are a million different ways to export video…so I’m going to show you my best practices and choices for export settings in each category.

The categories are:

1. Uncompressed
2. Master Copy (Deliverable and Intermediate)
3. Exporting for uploading to web-based video sites like Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc.

First there are a couple of general tips everyone who uses a non-linear editing system needs to know:

Bitrates come into play when you export a file that is compressed using a codec.   The codec (AVI, H264, Mpeg, Flash, WMV) is compressing the file to make it smaller yet attempt to retain the quality of the video.  It goes like this: The higher the bitrate, the better quality video you will get and the bigger the files.  The lower the bitrate, the smaller the files but to the expense of quality.  Variable Bitrates (VBR) mean the bitrate changes throughout the video depending on how hard the video in particular section push the graphics.  For example, parts of the video with alot of movement will have a higher bitrate versus static shots.  Alternatively, Constant Bitrates (CBR) maintain the same bitrate throughout the video regardless of what happens in the video.

It is also important to know that Adobe Premiere has the capability to edit footage natively…meaning it actually uses the original files to edit rather than convert the footage to an intermediate codec prior to editing (like Final Cut Pro and it’s proprietary ProRes codec).  This plays a key role in #2 below.

The first (and still the best) format that Adobe Premiere’s software on PC was built to edit is AVI.  Audio Video Interleave was created in 1992 by Microsoft as part if it’s video for Windows technology.  It’s MADE for Windows. Adobe then added the other codecs as options but AVI remains the best.  For MAC users, the best type of video to edit with is Quicktime (.MOV).

1) Uncompressed

Why would you want to export uncompressed?  First of all, you can export to an intermediate codec (like DNxHD, free from the Avid site) or uncompressed if you plan on either converting or editing the exported footage later.  This keeps the files smaller. But sometimes an intemediate isnt possible, like exporting to Prores from a Pc for editing in Final Cut Pro. For example: I have been given footage exported by a Final Cut Pro editor in ProRes Quicktime to edit in Premiere.  I can import it into Premere (on Pc) to edit but I cannot export it back into ProRes to give back to the editor. Therefore I must export to an uncompressed format like Quicktime Animation or PNG. I can then deliver this back to the Final Cut user knowing they will have no problem using QT with their software.

Uncompressed AVI or Quicktime (Animation, None, or PNG) are basically your choices.  Uncompressed AVI is chosen if you plan to convert or edit the exported file with Premiere.  Quicktime should be used if you plan to work on a Mac.

Editors who use uncompressed formats should know that these files are going to be huge.  Most of the time the uncompressed version is overkill.  Converting a compressed format to an uncompressed format does not increase the quality of the video, but it ensures there isn’t any degradation of the video quality.

2) Exporting a Master Copy

My practice is to immediately export a master copy of the the finished video and use that file to create other versions for use in the following categories.  The master should be exported to a less compressed intermediate like DNxHD that will help reduce any compression issues. If you are creating a master for another post house or distributor, make sure you find out which intermediate codec they require. They usually have a spec sheet that is very detailed in their requirements.

3) Exporting for uploading to web-based video sites like Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc.

Most of these sites accept many types of files…Quicktime (MOV), Windows Media Video (WMV), H.264 (MP4), and Flash (FLV).  Each site will transcode the video into an FLV format and embed it within their sites automatically.  It’s important to know that your exported video does not need to be of a quality that exceeds these sites’ bitrate threshold.  For example, a Vimeo video that was from an uploaded WMV exported at 5 mbps IS THE SAME QUALITY as the same WMV exported at 20 mbps.  That’s because Vimeo’s bitrate cap is 5 mbps.  It is pointless to export higher than this bitrate, as you’ll only be increasing the size of your file but not gaining any quality in the uploaded and converted video playing on the Vimeo site.

The bitrate cap for Youtube is lower than Vimeo, and Facebook and Myspace even lower than that.  You’ll notice that Youtube videos never look quite as good as Vimeo, that’s because the bitrate on converted Youtube files are around 3-4 mbps as opposed to Vimeo’s 5.

The best type of file to export for uploading to websites is h.264 (mp4).  The quality to size ratio for these files are efficient and ideal.

MULTIPLEXER: Select MP4 and Standard.  Use PSP if you want to enable the video to play

on Sony Playstation or Xbox. (NOTE: The PSP option is buggy in CS5 and not recommended)

VIDEO: Adjust the frame width/height and Frame Rate to match your project settings.

AUDIO: If you get audio sync issues with 48khz, try 44.1khz.

As with ANY CS5 project, I recommend selecting QUEUE.  This sends the project to Adobe Media Encoder, which frees up Premiere to

work on other projects or simply close to free up memory while it encodes.  Using this option will also make rendering ALOT faster.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT RENDERING TIME:  If you select “Use Maximum Render Quality,” it will drastically lengthen the encoding time and will add very little to the quality of the final product.

UPDATE FOR DSLR USERS

I’ve been asked by several to share DSLR workflow.  For master copies and/or intermediate codecs, (since you cannot export to the same H264 file) I highly recommend using Cineform.  The best all around!  You will need Cineform Neoscene to encode into Cineform AVIs. 

MY CUSTOM H264 EXPORT SETTINGS (CS5)

Here are links to my h264 export settings should you want to install them on your system, saving you time setting them up.  I’ve included several variations including the elusive “anamorphic” setting to export video to a 2.35:1 aspect like theatrical films.

Right-click and “save as” to your computer.  Place the downloaded files here:  C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Common\AME\5.0\Presets

Anamorphic (2.35:1) HD 1080p, at 24fps (NOTE: this preset crops the top and bottom of the video to achieve the correct aspect)

Widescreen (1.78:1)  HD 1080p, at 24fps

Widescreen (1.78:1) SD 480p, at 24fps

 

Beware MAC and Final Cut Pro users….it seems Adobe will be turning heads in the near future.  They are developing something called the “Adobe Mercury Playback Engine,” which is a software-baedgraphics accelerator that uses the computer’s CPU and GPU in combination to achieve mind boggling playback and render speeds.  If you’re skeptical, as I always am, then take a gander at this video:




Playing unconverted AVCHD and RED 4k FILES at FULL RESOLUTION without so much as a hiccup?  Rendering it in SECONDS??  I don’t care if you’re married to a MAC and FCP, if these claims are true then it’s silly to continue calling FCP the “standard.”  Will Hollywood eventually look to Premiere as the NEW standard for nonlinear editing?

More info HERE.