Video Editing Category

Understanding render options in Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro's export dialog features several rendering options that are not widely understood. All of them are switched off by default because they either degrade quality or increase rendering times, however they can all be useful in particular situations.

Render at Maximum Depth

This renders content at 32-bit color depth. Very few output formats actually support 32-bit color but processing at this depth can produce better quality for compositing and effects operations before being scaled back to the output format's bit depth. It can reduce or eliminate artifacts and banding in your video but that benefit comes at the cost of an increase in processing time, so only use it when completely necessary.

You may benefit from this option in the following situations:

  • Your source media has a higher bit depth than the format you are outputting to
  • Your sequence contains heavy compositing or lots of layered effects (particularly layered color corrections)
  • Your sequence contains very high contrast or very low contrast images (for example subtle gradients)

You can read more about Premiere's color processing here.

Maximum Render Quality

This is a high-quality resize operation that should be used when outputting to a different frame size from your sequence. It can reduce aliasing (jagged edges) when resizing images but is of no use when outputting to the same frame size. This operation significantly increases render times so only use it when resizing.

Frame Blending

This option smooths out juddery motion when exporting to a different frame rate than your sequence. While it may improve motion quality compared to not having it switched on, it's not considered a high quality option. You will probably get better results from exporting with the sequence frame rate and then converting in Adobe Media Encoder, Apple Compressor, a standards-conversion tool like JES Deinterlacer or a hardware conversion device like Teranex.

Use Previews

This results in reduced export times because your sequence render files are used instead of having to re-render the sequence. This is of course assuming that you have a significant amount of your timeline already rendered, which may not be the case if you have a fast computer or your sequence is simple enough to be played back without rendering.

Generally you should not use this option because it is likely to result in reduced image quality, particularly when outputting to a different format from your sequence and also because it will bypass the quality options detailed above. It should only be used where processing time is more important than image quality, such as previews or rough cuts for example, although these are likely to be simple enough that this option doesn't significantly affect processing times.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Monday January 12 2015 11:10 AM to Video Editing, Adobe, Tutorials
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10 Useful Avid Console Commands

Avid Media Composer features a little-known Console window that allows you to enter commands to tune performance, improve debugging and enable hidden features. Many of the commands are aimed at plugin developers but here is a list of several that are generally useful.

To access the Console, go to Tools > Console. Note that many commands will need to be re-applied the next time you launch Media Composer.

Allow editing over network drives

By default Avid will only recognize locally-attached hard disks. You can switch off this limitation to enable editing over a network share. Note: do not let others access the project at the same time.

AllDrives 1 - Switches it on
AllDrives 2 - Switches it off

List installed AMA plugins

Displays a list of installed AMA plugins and their version numbers. Plugins can also be enabled, disabled and removed through our Plugin Manager app.

AMA_ListPlugins

Cache audio before playback

Specifies how many seconds of audio to cache before starting playback. If you are getting ADM_COREAUDIO_UNDERRUN or similar errors, you may benefit from increasing this number. You can also decrease it on a fast computer to reduce the time taken to begin playback.

audiopreread [number in seconds]

Set still image default frame duration

When importing an image via the Import dialog the length can only be specified in seconds. This command allows you to specify it down to a frame.

Cmd_setimportslidelength [number in frames]

Conform imported QuickTimes to current sequence frame rate

This applies a rudimentary conform feature by overriding a movie's frame rate with the rate of the project. This can also be done with QT Edit.

IgnoreQTRate 1 - Switches it on
IgnoreQTRate 0 - Switches it off

Cache multicam frames

Multicam playback is very taxing on a computer because it requires the playback of multiple video and audio streams at once. To help improve this you can increase the number of frames Avid caches before playback starts.

multicampreload [number of frames]

Rename media files to match clip names

Renames media files using the clip names specified in the bin. So 001V01.C4BV01.C9E214DBCCD3C.mxf becomes MyClip.V1.MyMovie.mxf.

Warning: This can potentially unlink precomputes (render files) and cause issues if you have to export an EDL or otherwise send the project to someone else. Not recommended in a shared environment.

renamemediafiles

Load precomputes into a monitor

Allows precomputes (render files) to be loaded into a monitor for playback and editing. You'll need to make precomputes visible in the bin before you can do this, by going to Bin > Set Bin Display and ticking Rendered Effects.

subsys monpane debug

Set timecode break threshold

This sets the interval at which to detect timecode breaks, in frames. Setting it to a high number might miss some timecode breaks; setting it to a low number might cause false positives. The default is 6.

TCBreakTolerance [a number between 2 and 12]

Toggle between PSF and progressive

Outputs video as Progressive Segmented Frames (PSF) instead of pure Progressive. Useful for compatibility with certain displays that don't support Progressive at higher resolutions or frame rates.

TogglePSF 1 - Switches PSF on
TogglePSF 0 - Switches Progressive on

Posted by Jon Chappell on Tuesday November 18 2014 9:14 AM to Video Editing, Avid, Tutorials
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Fixing missing database errors in DaVinci Resolve

Upon launching DaVinci Resolve you may see the following error:

"Resolve did not locate a compatible or upgradable database."

Clicking past it shows an empty project view.

There are several possible causes including database corruption but a common one is caused by your PostgreSQL database being too large. This can cause PostgreSQL to request more shared memory than is allowed by OS X or Linux.

To determine the exact error on OS X, you can launch the Start Server app in your /Applications/PostgreSQL folder. If it fails to launch it will show an error message after about a minute or so. On Ubuntu the equivalent command would be sudo service postgresql start.

The error may not have the exact wording shown above but will be labeled "could not created shared memory segment".

There are two ways to fix this problem - either permanently or temporarily until your next reboot. I'd recommend trying the temporary option first because if something goes wrong you can just restart to fix it.

Temporary Fix

1. Enter the following command into the Terminal located in /Applications/Utilities:

sudo sysctl -w kern.sysv.shmmax=41943040

You'll need to enter your admin password after typing this.

2. Launch the Start Server app or type sudo service postgresql start on Ubuntu. If all went well, it should not report an error and Resolve should be able to see the database when you relaunch it.

3. If you still get an error, try the command again with a higher value then repeat Step 2. The memory limit is specified in bytes so multiply the number of megabytes by 1024 twice. PostgreSQL documentation recommends you use 1/4 of the available memory for this, although I was able to get it working with much less.

Permanent Fix

1. Back up the file /etc/sysctl.conf.

2. Use the following command to edit the file:

sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf

3. Add the following line (or edit it if it already exists):

kern.sysv.shmmax=41943040

4. Press Ctrl + O to save the file, then reboot.

5. Resolve should now be able to see the database. If it can't, try increasing the memory limit further and reboot.

If you get into problems and your system refuses to boot, either boot into safe mode or use target disk mode to copy the backup file and then reboot.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Monday April 28 2014 9:09 AM to Video Editing, Color Grading, Tutorials
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Buy OS X 10.8 while you still can

While Apple recently instituted a policy of offering older versions of an app to users on older versions of iOS, it does not have the same policy on the Mac App Store and has so far given no indication that it will make older versions of OS X available upon the release of Mavericks. Consequently, the moment OS X 10.9 is released (possibly tomorrow), OS X 10.8 is likely to cease to be available for purchase.

Sometimes it can be difficult to juggle the OS compatibility of multiple third-party applications, particularly if you are still using deprecated apps in your workflows (e.g. FCP 7). So even if you have no plans to install it any time soon, we'd recommend buying OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on the App Store today so that you have it tied to your account for future use.

Update: While 10.7 and 10.8 are no longer available for direct purchase from the Mac App Store, Apple is now offering redemption codes for OS X 10.7 and OS X 10.8 on its main online store.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Monday October 21 2013 9:17 AM to Video Editing, Analysis
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How to sync metadata between QuickTime movies

It's common nowadays for videos to be processed through one or more applications prior to editorial. Unfortunately that can result in camera metadata being stripped from the processed files. This can cause lots of problems later on if you need to relink back to the original files for grading.

QT Edit solves this by letting you import metadata from another QuickTime movie. Here's how to do it:

1. Open up the destination movie.

2. Go to File > Import > Metadata. Browse for the camera original source file.

3. Select the metadata items you'd like to import or just import all metadata from the source file.

4. Save the destination file.

Being able to choose the metadata that is imported allows you to copy metadata fields between files even if the source file isn't the camera original version. Metadata can be added, removed or edited after import.

Pro Media Tools helps studios, production companies and freelancers alike forge new workflows every day. To find out more view the feature list, read the user manual, watch the overview video or download the free trial.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Monday October 14 2013 9:17 AM to Video Editing, Software, Tutorials
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Bugs of the Week - 9-15-13

After a long break, our list of NLE bugs you should know about is back.


Premiere


Adobe announces new features in upcoming October release

In and out points change when relinking EDL

The thread for bad things about Premiere CC (created prior to the update announcement)

Software update causes video to be obscured (Windows)

OS X 10.8.5 causing color profile issues

Disabling then re-enabling the dedicated GPU can fix some launch crashes (Windows)


Avid


Overview of the changes in Media Composer 7.0.2

DMF service not working in non-admin user accounts


FCPX


FCPX ignores timecode on certain Canon 5D Mk III clips

Various issues with media stored on NFS mounts

Share progress bar is inaccurate

Plugin effects can disappear upon export

Sony XDCAM plugin can conflicts with other plugins

Sapphire 7950 cards can cause rendering issues in FCPX

Putting a blur filter on interlaced footage softens it, even if the blur is set to 0%. Softening also occurs in progressive but it's much less noticeable (thanks Andy).


FCP 7


When cutting multicam, switching angles after adding a 3rd party transition will cause a cut at the end of the transition and the rest of the clip will revert to a normal clip type. (from Strypes)

Posted by Jon Chappell on Sunday September 15 2013 8:04 PM to Video Editing, Bugs of the Week
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Avid Codec Guide

Avid Media Composer and Symphony ship with a wide range of old and modern codecs. They can also be downloaded free of charge for systems without Avid products installed.

SD codecs

Avid DV - SD codec used when exporting DV material
Avid MPEG2 50 - SD codec for MPEG 30, 40 or 50 material
Avid Meridien Compressed - SD codec for compressed material
Avid Meridien Uncompressed - SD codec used for 1:1 OMF outputs

Meridien Compressed has various compression ratios ranging from 2:1 (36 Mbps) to 35:1 (12 Mbps).

SD / HD codecs

Avid 1:1x * - 8-bit lossless 4:2:2 codec that produces very large file sizes
Avid Packed - Essentially the same as 1:1x except it supports 10-bit media
Avid RGBPacked - RGB version of the Packed codec
Avid DV100 - HD codec used for exporting DV100 media

* x normally refers to 10-bit codecs but in the case of Avid 1:1x it was used to designate MXF during the transition away from OMF

DNxHD Codecs

DNxHD is the most likely codec to be used in Media Composer. Each variant is named according to bitrate and bit depth, so for example DNxHD 120 means it's a 120 Mb/s 8-bit codec and DNxHD 185x means it's a 185 Mb/s 10-bit codec (the x indicates 10-bit).

Offline Codecs

DNxHD 36
DNxHD 60
DNxHD 80
DNxHD 90

Medium Quality Codecs

DNxHD 100
DNxHD 115
DNxHD 120

Mastering Codecs

DNxHD 145
DNxHD 175
DNxHD 185
DNxHD 185x
DNxHD 220
DNxHD 220x
DNxHD 440
DNxHD 440x

Similar Bitrate Codecs

Try to choose a codec that matches the bitrate of your acquisition format. All codec bitrates are calculated at 23.98 fps.

DNxHD 36 - DV, IMX40, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD
DNxHD 60 - DV50, IMX50, Apple Intermediate @ 1080, XDCAM HD422
DNxHD 100 - AVC Intra 100, Cineform 444 @ 720, Digibeta
DNxHD 115 - Cineform 422 @ 1080
DNxHD 120 - DVCPRO HD, Motion JPEG @ 1080
DNxHD 145 - HDCAM
DNxHD 220 - Sony SR Lite
DNxHD 440 - Uncompressed 422 10-bit @ 720, Sony SR SQ, HDCAM SR

Approximate ProRes equivalents

All codec bitrates are calculated at 1080p 23.98 fps.

ProRes Proxy - DNxHD 36
ProRes LT - DNxHD 80
ProRes 422 - DNxHD 115
ProRes HQ - DNxHD 175x
ProRes 4444 - DNxHD 440x (444) (although ProRes 444 is actually closer in bandwidth to DNxHD 220)

Other variants

Avid Media Composer 6 and higher can also wrap ProRes in an MXF wrapper. This is only available on the Mac version of Media Composer.

Calculating storage space

Our online calculator will calculate storage space for some of these but our Mac and iOS calculators have more options and codecs.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Monday July 15 2013 10:38 AM to Video Editing, Avid, Tutorials
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Bugs of the Week - 6-30-13

Here's another installment of critical, useful or bizarre bugs in your NLE that you should know about.

Adobe Premiere


Multicam edits switch angles when relaunching a project in Premiere CC (probably best to do multicam edits in CS6 for now)

More multicam quirks

Update 7-1-13: Adobe has posted a candid response to the multicam bugs.

Match frame may not match to the correct clip

New NVIDIA Quadro driver can improve Lumetri effects processing (Windows)

Keyboard Shortcut panel is blank

Audio dropouts, possibly due to image sequences

Pressing M twice in the source panel adds a second marker instead of editing the first

Visual corruption when playing XDCAM media

Several reports of Effects Panel lag

Premiere CC still losing render files

Timecode is not preserved when sending to SpeedGrade

Labels can disappear in CS6

Importing media files first and then importing an XML can prevent freezes for large XML files


Avid


Media Composer 7 released

Not all AMA plugins are compatible with MC7. Here's a list

You may need to start background services manually for them to work

You may need to refresh autosequenced clips that have LUTs on them for the LUTs to show

Cannot scroll timeline horizontally with mouse wheel / trackpad

Reports of trim lag continue in MC 7

Scaled audio meter shows incorrect values

Media Composer 7 doesn't apply proper pulldown when converting frame rates

Dynamic Media Folders do not work correctly with audio files

Matrox Mini / MXO2 aren't officially supported in MC7 yet but they appear to still work

MC7 still can't export native ProRes media to an AAF

RED AMA plugin installer lacks a .pkg extension

Mark In / Out keys go to in and out points instead of marking them


Adobe Media Encoder


AME will pause encoding if Premiere starts playing


After Effects


After Effects is not compatible with OS X 10.9

Posted by Jon Chappell on Sunday June 30 2013 1:13 PM to Video Editing, Software, Bugs of the Week
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Bugs of the Week - 6-22-13

After a bit of a hiatus, Bugs of the Week is back again.

Premiere


Like any major software update, Premiere Pro CC has several new and exciting bugs.

Fix for CC applications crashing immediately

Adjustment Layers may not affect nested multicam sequences

Color Curve Tool clips luma at 100%

Matrox Mini is not yet supported in Premiere CC

Changing the compatibility mode to Vista could fix situations where Premiere won't load (Windows)

Trick for installing Adobe apps in multiple languages

Audio gets cut off at the end of a clip

Audio waveform sync doesn't work with one camera angle and multiple audio files. Here's a workaround.

The CC installer doesn't not contain Functional Content

Adobe Encore is not part of Creative Cloud but here's how to get it if you don't have a perpetual license of CS6

Fix for Cineform clips being the wrong duration (Windows)

Premiere may not boot for some Windows users with old graphics drivers

Premiere CC no longer creates a new sequence with a new project (this is probably a good thing but it's causing some confusion)

Cannot sort clips by creation date

Clip Mixer levels can reset when stopping playback


Avid


Media Composer 6.5.3 released with lots of fixes

Media Composer 6.0.4 released. Among the usual bug fixes, it also includes a new XML export option for markers.

Workaround for failure rotation stabilizer failure in the 3DWarp effect

Repeated frames on QuickTime imports

Performing a mixdown instead of transcoding can sometimes prevent gamma shifts

Dongle Manager may not launch if permissions are incorrect


OS X


Apple finally fixed a bug we reported a year ago that prevented certain apps from opening QuickTime movies that did not have a chapter marker on the first frame. We've been working around it but it is now fixed in OS X 10.8.4 so we recommend updating.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Saturday June 22 2013 5:10 PM to Video Editing, Software, Bugs of the Week
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