Video basics for DSLR/Mirrorless

HappyMartin said:

winnegehetoch said:

HappyMartin said:

Sean Nelson said:

HappyMartin said:

I went back and forth on this 60 or 50 FPS thing for ages. I’m still not certain but being in a pal region I have settled on 50, or 25. Most of the planet runs on 50hz and it’s only North America and some South American countries that run on 60.

Click to expand...

I'm a little curious - do desktop computer monitors run at 50 or 60Hz in your area? I've always assumed that they run at 60Hz, but maybe I'm wrong...?

I'd certainly expect laptops and phones which are totally independent of the line frequency to run at 60Hz.

Click to expand...

Monitors are running at 60. My TV of course runs on 50. I do t notice any issue with playback on my normal 25fps on playback on the monitor. No idea why.

Click to expand...

Not necessarily correct. Depends on both computer ans monitor. My several years old Dell runs at 50 or 60 Hz normally (with extra frame rate options) connected to Apple silicon or my Asus notebook.

Regerds

Click to expand...

I went into the settings on my Mac and it says the monitors are running at 60. Is there somewhere else I can check that?

Click to expand...

It depends on many things.

• Cabling (HDMI, DisplayPort and supported versions)
• Monitor capabilities (supported HDMI, DisplayPort versions)
• Computer hardware capabilities
• Number of displays (1 External, Notebook + External, 2 x External etc)
• OS (old, new etc)
• Drivers actually used
• Other details (like switchable between two computers)
• Monitor settings (color support, 24/30 bit, sRGB, P3 etc)

Here is an example from my OOOOOLD Mac mini M1 with Sequoia 15,3,2:



It's connected through DisplayPort directly (I'm not willing to test HDMI), and using a special Dell driver. HDR mode (setting covered by frequency list) and Display P3 color profile (may also affect actual options available). 30-bit display mode. DisplayPort connection. HDMI connection - third option - not used.

When the same monitor is connected at the same time via USB-C via Thunderbolt 4 Hub ending up as DisplayPort - number two connection - USB-C - on same monitor). 30 bit display mode. Connected to my MacBook 14 Pro M1 Pro (both computers active, one visible on screen - M1 Mini):



The internal Macbook 14 Pro M1 Pro screen capabilities (fixed rates).

ProMotion is "Adaptive Refreshrate" automatically adjusting to up to 120 Hz refresh rate.

An active notebook screen will also be able to produce flickering in some fabrics, leather, furniture, decorations, including foliage, flower petals and whatnot:



The "odd" frequencies are NTSC Color TV standard compliant (30000/1001 or 24000/1001 fps), the other frequencies allow use of 30/60 fps sync (US), 25/50 fps sync (PAL, 50Hz AC, 85-90% of the world) and 24 fps sync (traditional cinema use).

If you af an old HDMI cable (or defective) - for instance - your options may be limited too. Good cables usually contain a clear marking of the best quality standard supported. And really top notch cables - for special purposes, like 12-bit ProRES RAW 8k 50/60 fps recording over HDMI - are not what anyone would call cheap.

Just to give you an overview of ONE, SPECIFIC use case.

Regards

Fishman Dan said:

winnegehetoch said:

When traveling, and in some special situations, I use 1/1000 or faster shutter on 50fps video, when I NEED “frozen” movement - for photos - too (sport, animals at speed) and I’m not interested in “cinematic look” which is somewhat over advertised, just as log.

Regards

Click to expand...

Can you go over this for me again ... slowly because I'm an old dog?

I have the camera set to 1/50th. But as you said, this is not about having a cinematic look, just something that can be consumed by specific people on a local government programme.

Click to expand...

There are two settings involved.

1. The frame rate (fps). That's the number of frames per second (must be supported by TV or monitor).

2. Exposure. Convention has it ("cinema use"), that an angle of 180 degrees (for conventional rotating camera shutter) delivers the most "pleasing" result. debatable, but... convention. For 180 degrees is a shutter of 1/48s (24fps), 1/50s (25 fps), 1/60s (30fps) etc.

The latter gives an - ahem - estetic "motion blur" - that can be achieved according to above rules (for cinema conventions).

There are special cases here too. If I choose 50fps recording a 180 degree rule, would "demand" 1/100 second shutter. But... Just as 25 fps would "demand" 1/50s shutter.

If I instead choose to record 50 fps with 1/50s shutter, I can get the same motion blur in each frame, as I get with 25 fps 1/50sec shutter. That opens up making one recording for two distinct use cases.

Case 1:

Use each second frame to "emulate" 25 fps 180 degrees (1/50 sec shutter). Normal playback and perfect audio sync too (with correct settings).

Case 2:

Slowmotion at half speed at 25fps also with 180 degrees (1/50s shutter) for each frame. Audio NOT in sync, but... that may not matter, depending on use case or external independent recording.

Case 3:

Use 50 fps with same motion blur as 25 fps 180 degrees in each frame. Dogma tries to avoid discussion why this is NOT OK ;-)

Now.... this is viewed form the point of the "cinematic congregation dogma" perspective on how everybody else should behave - no exceptions accepted ;-)

If you're a run-and-gun travel/reportage guy filming a sports game, you probably have two use cases in mind (and two, different cameras controlled and aimed by one person may be too much in sports). First is video, where motion blur is accepted (not always required by "infidels" in the TV business also committing "unacceptable heresy" by using internationally standardized HDR HLG material). The second use case must be sports photography, where tack sharp photos (single frames) are the rulers of the universe (with some exceptions - forget them unless required). That could mean 1/1000 sec or faster shutter speed in each frame. And if your camera could handle 50fps, open gate (6.2k 3:2 10-bit 4:2:2 2020 HDR HLG) each frame will have around 26 megapixel content (when "de-compressed") - tack sharp, ready for any sports magazine in most cases.

Or ready for personal use. Who would not like - let's say - a full 5 minutes street fracas on video - filled at distance but including sound - at 50 fops (allowing slowmotion in post) and tack sharp sequences of each dirty punch to be used for reportage - you know five different sequential fist-in-face photos. Just an example.

IF, and in most cases - outside the hallowed halls of true cinema delivers .- you should need to render a sequence including motion blur, it can be reproduced (faked) in post by modern editing software (adjusted to taste of the paying parties - not necessarily what you would like - but, hey, money is money - right. Even priests... and all that jazz ;-)

Fishman Dan said:

For example, they have asked to get some screenshots of some scenes, which might not be crisp enough at 1/50th. I have already reviewed some test footage and to my eye it looks fuzzy when paused.

I don't want to make wholesale changes now - I'm pretty locked in at 1/50th, f8 (with some variance) and ISO 100-250 if it gets gloomy (but generally auto). But if what you are saying is as simple as pushing up the shutter speed, then I would consider it.

I'm in the car in 8 hours from now to drive to the first site (90 minutes away), so as mentioned unless you recommend change off 1/50th, that's pretty much where I'm sitting atm.

Note ... also using ALL-I because I have the space for it.

Click to expand...

Most modern cameras (mirrorless especially) allow all the flexibility, you can handle. Resolution can be a stumbling point, UHD (8 megapixel) over 6+k to 8k (32 megapicxel) frames cover the range from acceptable over very good to ourtstanding single frame quality content extraction - if you select the right shutter speed.

Completely independent of frame rate. Pure heresy, I know, but really, really usable... now, does the cinema dogma rule your life, or do you like to "have a life of cinematic sin" from time to time. That's the question ;-)

You seldom need a different camera to be a horrible "infidel"; just another perspective on use cases.

My ten cents. YMMV.

Regards

Sean Nelson said:

Fishman Dan said:

winnegehetoch said:

When traveling, and in some special situations, I use 1/1000 or faster shutter on 50fps video, when I NEED “frozen” movement - for photos - too (sport, animals at speed) and I’m not interested in “cinematic look” which is somewhat over advertised, just as log.

Regards

Click to expand...

Can you go over this for me again ... slowly because I'm an old dog?

I have the camera set to 1/50th. But as you said, this is not about having a cinematic look, just something that can be consumed by specific people on a local government programme.

Click to expand...

The "normal" rule for setting the shutter speed is the "180 degree shutter" rule, which states that you set the shutter to expose each frame for half of the frame rate. So at 24fps you'd use a 1/48th second (usually rounded to 1/50th) shutter speed.

The reason to do this is so that anything moving in the frame gets a bit of motion blur, and this helps to avoid a staccato look to the movement when you're shooting and viewing at lower frame rates.

What I've found when I shoot at 60fps is that the images are coming rapidly enough that you don't get very much staccato effect no matter what shutter speed you use - although the perception may vary from person to person.

At 1/50th I'm not sure how much motion blur would be needed to mask that effect.

@winnegehetoch's point is that if you use these kinds of relatively slow shutter speeds to deliberately create motion blur, then the individual frames really aren't suitable if you want to take one and use it as a still image. To do that, you need to shoot at a higher shutter speed in order to eliminate the motion blur.

You'd certainly not need to worry about this for "talking head" shots since there's very little motion in them. Buzzing bees might benefit a bit more from motion blur, if you're shooting some B roll you might want to try a few shots with fast and slow shutter speeds so you have a choice as to what looks best in post-production.

Click to expand...

Thanks for explaining.

The major reason for asking is as raised earlier, they will want still shots of scenes to display the production on their website.

I think I'll take photos with my other camera body rather than relying on a snapshot from the video itself (which was my default position).

Thanks ... this is a fantastic explanation. As mentioned a moment ago, I'll stick with 1/50th, I don't want to experiment at all with this and use my 2nd mirrorless body for the stills shots which will be used as tiles on the website.

Fishman Dan said:

BobKo said:

You have gotten a ton of comments about how to handle the video... but don't overlook the importance of getting good audio. You will be shooting an interview, so what do you have for audio? Relying on the camera's built-in mic will not be acceptable.

Click to expand...

I have Rode Wireless Go II's (pair), and also a VideoMic Pro+. I tested the audio this afternoon with the test shots I did.

Click to expand...

Besides using the Rode Go II, Bring a boom pole and boom the ViceoMic Pro+ over the talent, instead of mounting it on the camera (unless the camera will be less than about 40 cm away from the face of the person being interviewed, and if you are using a 70-200mm lens, then no, it WON'T be within 40 cm of the talent).

If you will be recording audio outdoors, bring appropriate wind protection. Even if shooting indoors and the AC will be runing hard, then you might need wind protection.

Set up a second camera for the interviews, if at all possible.

Remember the Golden Rule: Two is one. One is none.

If not using timecode, bring a slate, or at least learn about the hand-clap sync method.

You ARE bringing LED lights and C-Stands, right?

Right???

If not, then you better bring a bunch of reflectors and negative fill to better shape whatever ambient light there is.

There is no such thing as "too many clamps" nor is there such a thing as "too much gaffers tape."

I don't know if you have a zoom in the 24-70 range, but that would LIKELY be more appropriate than a 70-200 zoom for interviews (I think yu said something about shooting in an office???). Otherwise, maybe something like a 50mm prime for the main shot and throw the 70-200mm lens at 70mm on the second camera.

If you will be editing this yoiurself, you should learn to like color grading without haste.

Bring extra batteries and extra storage cards. Do your cameras overheat? If so, figure out how you are going to deal with that.

Shoot close-up shots of the bees at a faster frame rate (i.e., 50fps or 100fps, instead of 25fps) and slow it down. (Coincidentally, this is known as B Roll). Put on a suit and get close. Ask the keeper to smoke the bees, even if they aren't being aggressive, because it looks really cool on camera in slow motion.

Fishman Dan said:

I also have the camera audio down as far as I can manage and use the gain in the device. Tips I've picked up along the journey.

You watch enough YouTube videos you will find conflicting advice!

Click to expand...

That's probably because a LOT of videos exist solely for people to use the affiliate links that the creator posts so the creator will make money off stuff that you may or may not need.

--
What Middle School Is Really Like:

So a few of your (very sensible) recommendations are a bit over the top for the needs of this video.

The lapel mics were fantastic, but also note that a lot of the footage shot will be used as b-roll over interviews.

Another thing is that I was in a bee suit all day, so holding a boom wasn't an option, even if i was fit enough. A 2nd camera would have been easy - I was surrounded by beehives to rest it on - but not required for this, where the 'case studies' were answering questions to someone off screen (questions won't be used, answers will).

I have 2 Neewer LED lights and stands. They were terrific. I had to put the ISO up a bit more (640 @ f6.3) but it's nice light. I love my daylight savings and we lost it last weekend ....

It's always fun putting farmers in the 'spotlight' .. literally.

These are super-knowledgeable people about their field of expertise and can talk about it all day, but turn on a camera and they go to water quickly. The one thing I can't force them to do is write and rehearse a script, or notes.

Fishman Dan said:

So a few of your (very sensible) recommendations are a bit over the top for the needs of this video.

The lapel mics were fantastic, but also note that a lot of the footage shot will be used as b-roll over interviews.

Another thing is that I was in a bee suit all day, so holding a boom wasn't an option, even if i was fit enough. A 2nd camera would have been easy - I was surrounded by beehives to rest it on - but not required for this, where the 'case studies' were answering questions to someone off screen (questions won't be used, answers will).

I have 2 Neewer LED lights and stands. They were terrific. I had to put the ISO up a bit more (640 @ f6.3) but it's nice light. I love my daylight savings and we lost it last weekend ....

It's always fun putting farmers in the 'spotlight' .. literally.

These are super-knowledgeable people about their field of expertise and can talk about it all day, but turn on a camera and they go to water quickly. The one thing I can't force them to do is write and rehearse a script, or notes.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it was a success!!!

(for future reference) Just the issue with lapel mics is when they sometimes rustle. And I have also heard of people who use Rode / DJI / Deity / Tascam / Saramonic recorders that sometimes thy just corrupt a file. That is why I always say:

"The best sounding audio, is REDUNDANT audio."

Good that you got lots of B Roll. I am sure you noticed that non-professional talent will often scratch their face, run their hands through their hair, cough, drool on themselves, etc., so yeah, you can never have enough B Roll.

Scripts and telepromprters... are kind of a necessary evil. However, I shot an advertisement for one person and his warm, affable personality immediately went out the window once he started reading from the teleprompter. It was kind of like staring at drywall all day.

Anyway, If you will be able to post the final video, please share it wiht us. Always good to see what everyone else is up to.

And I am Pro Bees, btw. Hornets are The Devil, but Bees are a gift for mankind.

Off The Mark said:

Glad to hear it was a success!!!

Click to expand...

Part 1 - capture the footage is complete (48 hrs, 600 km round trip). Now to get the media organised and into 4 different 'Projects'. I don't mind FCPX (I have a license since working for Apple Retail a while back). I now have Premiere Pro but never really used it, so I'll stick to what I know here, but I would like to do a similar in Premiere (long term licensing is the issue).

Off The Mark said:

(for future reference) Just the issue with lapel mics is when they sometimes rustle. And I have also heard of people who use Rode / DJI / Deity / Tascam / Saramonic recorders that sometimes thy just corrupt a file. That is why I always say:

Click to expand...

In some cases the lapel mics were visible ... not a big issue but the audio quality is as good as you can expect. I still have some tricks to learn, but decent video projects are few and far between so I need to re-learn things ... and 'dressing' your subjects is one of them.

I once had a situation where a rather 'buxom' young lady was struggling to weave the mic into her work-shirt buttons, and I reached out and almost helped her by giving her a hand with her shirt ..... I caught myself in time!

Off The Mark said:

"The best sounding audio, is REDUNDANT audio."

Good that you got lots of B Roll. I am sure you noticed that non-professional talent will often scratch their face, run their hands through their hair, cough, drool on themselves, etc., so yeah, you can never have enough B Roll.

Click to expand...

Yes, a lot of hand rubbing, standing like the Tower of Pisa .... it's the unspoken part about shooting video - telling people they aren't standing, or smiling correctly and not being condescending about it!

Off The Mark said:

Scripts and telepromprters... are kind of a necessary evil. However, I shot an advertisement for one person and his warm, affable personality immediately went out the window once he started reading from the teleprompter. It was kind of like staring at drywall all day.

Click to expand...

A lot of this was experiential ... so it was bee-keepers giving their account of what it was like before and after we had a pest incursion in our country. The other side of this is the Govt department sent out questions to these people, but the entire project has come together in under 2 weeks (including me being approached, quoting and being accepted!).

So a bit of the standard 'build up' time simply didn't exist. We didn't have time to storyboard, and the videos need to be completed in about 3 weeks. It's going to be busy .... (but I factored that into my quote )

Off The Mark said:

Anyway, If you will be able to post the final video, please share it wiht us. Always good to see what everyone else is up to.

And I am Pro Bees, btw. Hornets are The Devil, but Bees are a gift for mankind.

Click to expand...

Appreciate your insight. It's a Govt department as mentioned, so while they're very much about 'leaving it to the experts' ... they also often don't follow instructions!

And I only got stung once!

Fishman Dan said:

Off The Mark said:

Glad to hear it was a success!!!

Click to expand...

Part 1 - capture the footage is complete (48 hrs, 600 km round trip). Now to get the media organised and into 4 different 'Projects'. I don't mind FCPX (I have a license since working for Apple Retail a while back). I now have Premiere Pro but never really used it, so I'll stick to what I know here, but I would like to do a similar in Premiere (long term licensing is the issue).

Fishman Dan said:

(for future reference) Just the issue with lapel mics is when they sometimes rustle. And I have also heard of people who use Rode / DJI / Deity / Tascam / Saramonic recorders that sometimes thy just corrupt a file. That is why I always say:

Click to expand...

In some cases the lapel mics were visible ... not a big issue but the audio quality is as good as you can expect. I still have some tricks to learn, but decent video projects are few and far between so I need to re-learn things ... and 'dressing' your subjects is one of them.

I once had a situation where a rather 'buxom' young lady was struggling to weave the mic into her work-shirt buttons, and I reached out and almost helped her by giving her a hand with her shirt ..... I caught myself in time!

Fishman Dan said:

"The best sounding audio, is REDUNDANT audio."

Good that you got lots of B Roll. I am sure you noticed that non-professional talent will often scratch their face, run their hands through their hair, cough, drool on themselves, etc., so yeah, you can never have enough B Roll.

Click to expand...

Yes, a lot of hand rubbing, standing like the Tower of Pisa .... it's the unspoken part about shooting video - telling people they aren't standing, or smiling correctly and not being condescending about it!

Fishman Dan said:

Scripts and telepromprters... are kind of a necessary evil. However, I shot an advertisement for one person and his warm, affable personality immediately went out the window once he started reading from the teleprompter. It was kind of like staring at drywall all day.

Click to expand...

A lot of this was experiential ... so it was bee-keepers giving their account of what it was like before and after we had a pest incursion in our country. The other side of this is the Govt department sent out questions to these people, but the entire project has come together in under 2 weeks (including me being approached, quoting and being accepted!).

So a bit of the standard 'build up' time simply didn't exist. We didn't have time to storyboard, and the videos need to be completed in about 3 weeks. It's going to be busy .... (but I factored that into my quote )

Fishman Dan said:

Anyway, If you will be able to post the final video, please share it wiht us. Always good to see what everyone else is up to.

And I am Pro Bees, btw. Hornets are The Devil, but Bees are a gift for mankind.

Click to expand...

Appreciate your insight. It's a Govt department as mentioned, so while they're very much about 'leaving it to the experts' ... they also often don't follow instructions!

And I only got stung once!

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing the backstory!!!

Yesh, that is a pretty short pre-production schedule, and pretty short turnaround time for four different video projects (from the two-day shoot).

I am not certain, but it sounds like YOU are going to be doing the editing yoiurself, right?

All I can say is that good editing is an art form unto itself.

Sure, things like color grading matter, but for what it seems like you shot, the edit is going to make or break the story.

Anyways, good luck with everything and keep us posted.

Off The Mark said:

I am not certain, but it sounds like YOU are going to be doing the editing yoiurself, right?

Click to expand...

I am ... so I'm going to learn quickly how to do multiple drafts at once. The sub-text here

Off The Mark said:

All I can say is that good editing is an art form unto itself.

Click to expand...

Every job I do turns out better, but i'm far from being a top shelf producer, but it gets the message/s across. As I get more work I invest back into what I'm doing ... this time I might buy some FCPX add-ons (callouts etc) to have at my disposal.

Off The Mark said:

Sure, things like color grading matter, but for what it seems like you shot, the edit is going to make or break the story.

Click to expand...

With the timeframe I wasn't experimenting or trying to learn new tricks. I want to do as little colour adjustment as I can, but I use a present that's a tab down on contrast and saturation in-camera.

The fact I shot ALL-I has cost me a significant amount of disk space. All interviews went too long, one of them was 45+ minutes .... for a 5 minute video. I can drop much of the video from the interview but i have to organise and categorise everything first.

Fishman Dan said:

I now have Premiere Pro but never really used it, so I'll stick to what I know here, but I would like to do a similar in Premiere (long term licensing is the issue).

Click to expand...

You might consider DaVinci Resolve - IMHO it's at least as capable as Premiere Pro, if not more so, and free for the non-Studio version. If you decide to spring for the Studio version (accepts more advanced media formats and has a lot of AI-assisted editing features such as voice isolation from background noise, intelligent relighting of a scene, automatic masking of objects for color grading, etc.) then it's a one-time license cost rather than a subscription model.

Sean Nelson said:

Fishman Dan said:

I now have Premiere Pro but never really used it, so I'll stick to what I know here, but I would like to do a similar in Premiere (long term licensing is the issue).

Click to expand...

You might consider DaVinci Resolve - IMHO it's at least as capable as Premiere Pro, if not more so, and free for the non-Studio version. If you decide to spring for the Studio version (accepts more advanced media formats and has a lot of AI-assisted editing features such as voice isolation from background noise, intelligent relighting of a scene, automatic masking of objects for color grading, etc.) then it's a one-time license cost rather than a subscription model.

Click to expand...

First: The Resolve free version has clear limitations compared to the Studio version (Studio license costs money- surprise, surprise).

Second: There exists recent discussions on the BlackMagic Forum speculating, that Resolve Studio may not be free for life after version 20. One thread on the subject:

https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=218660

The current official statement from Peter Chamberlain is:

“To clarify, v20 release will be a free upgrade for current DaVinci Resolve Studio users.”

Look in the thread. Read the thread - and others covering the matter- if interested, and make your own decisions.

Version 20 is in the very early first beta stage, exhibiting “quirks” that may not be ideal for first time users. Nothing unusual or wrong here.

Per usual, you cannot “downgrade” projects from - lets say - version 20 beta to version 19.x.x and it is officially not supported to install both versions on the same machine. Beta versions (I’ve been using the Studio version since version 16) are not ideal for production use. Preferably use a second computer for testing betas.

Downgrade to earlier versions in Resolve (or Final Cut) are not a good idea, if you don’t have backups of the “original earlier version project” (Resolve database or Final Cut library). I’m not familiar with Premiere on that point.

Just a heads up for newcomers to DaVinci Resolve (Studio).

Regards

winnegehetoch said:

There exists recent discussions on the BlackMagic Forum speculating, that Resolve Studio may not be free for life after version 20. One thread on the subject:

Click to expand...

While this may be true in the future, there's still no hint that Blackmagic design will charge an ongoing fee. It appears they will remain with the "perpetual license" model. In other words, if you pay for DaVinci Resolve version 20, you'll be able to use it as long as you want without further payment. When a new version comes out It'll be up to you to decide whether the new capabilities merit whatever upgrade fee they may choose to levy.

And of course none of this applies to the free version, as far as we know.

Sean Nelson said:

winnegehetoch said:

There exists recent discussions on the BlackMagic Forum speculating, that Resolve Studio may not be free for life after version 20. One thread on the subject:

Click to expand...

While this may be true in the future, there's still no hint that Blackmagic design will charge an ongoing fee. It appears they will remain with the "perpetual license" model. In other words, if you pay for DaVinci Resolve version 20, you'll be able to use it as long as you want without further payment. When a new version comes out It'll be up to you to decide whether the new capabilities merit whatever upgrade fee they may choose to levy.

And of course none of this applies to the free version, as far as we know.

Click to expand...

I’m only commenting on the Studio version on the Apple platform in the following:

Of course you can stay on any Resolve Studio version, but there’s no guarantee, that the platform “MacOS” can be updated and still expect, that an older Resolve Studio can continue to work as intended.

If your machine is “never” connected to the internet, that’s no problem at all. Otherwise a Mac is not the as safe in the ordinary user configuration, as many users believe. Nothing new here.

You can of course decide to stay on - for instance - MacOS 12 Monterey (released October 25, 2021) or macOS Monterey 12.7.6 (released July 29,2024), if Resolve Studio 17.4.6 from 29 Mar 2022 is still used and working on the release.

A few facts (based on downloadable Resolve Studio versions):

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/dk/support/family/davinci-resolve-and-fusion

First DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 from 22 August 2024

Last DaVinci Resolve Studio 18.6.6 from 20 Mar 2024

First DaVinci Resolve Studio 18 from 10 Jul 2022

Last DaVinci Resolve Studio 17.4.6 from 29 Mar 2022

There are lots of people happily staying on matching old OS and program versions. Freezing the state (OS and used software). Even keeping the machine off the internet. Perfectly valid decision.

For many - especially "Indie or private" users - that’s not an option, if the machine is also used for other purposes.

Let’s see, what Apple says regarding reasons behind the latest OS update from a very recent Sequoia 15.3.2 to Sequoia 15.4.

Security Content: https://support.apple.com/en-us/122373

Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-15_4-release-notes

The content covers actual, established and verified problems, that may or may not be actually exploited in real life at release date in earlier versions.

It’s "fairly" guaranteed, that it will be the case soon after release. Bad guys with good sponsors are plentiful and internet is “everywhere”. Both a curse and a benefit.

Not keeping your internet connected machine fairly updated, is akin to crossing streets in spite of red traffic ligt for your preferred direction. In most cases nothing happens, but if… it can be a bloody mess.

Even if you have a backup - ohh, no backup (no need to read further;-), if the backup has also been "affected", you have a really serious problem.

Regards

Fishman Dan said:

With the timeframe I wasn't experimenting or trying to learn new tricks. I want to do as little colour adjustment as I can, but I use a present that's a tab down on contrast and saturation in-camera.

The fact I shot ALL-I has cost me a significant amount of disk space. All interviews went too long, one of them was 45+ minutes .... for a 5 minute video. I can drop much of the video from the interview but i have to organise and categorise everything first.

Click to expand...

I don't know if this exists in FCPX or not, but MAYBE there is a transcription editor / edit based on transcription?

I am NOT trying to get you to switch to Resolve (espescially since you are in a time crunch), but I am only familiar with Resolve, so I am just saying that for that 45-minute-long interview, if you can find a way to have FCPX automatically discover things like pauses and double takes and such, that is going to save you a lot of time.

Maybe that feature is built in to FCPX? If not, maybe there is a plugin available for it?

Also, I think yoiu only used ONE camera for the interview segments, right?

If you did end up using two cameras, then one thing I found easiest is to put all my interview footage (from two or more cameras) on to a single "Interview Timeline," edit that interview timeline to how I like it, and then put that (edited) interview on the main timeline. (This might not be an ideal workflox in FCPX so I am not going to swear by it for you.)

I don't know if that is something that FCPX can do or not, but maybe it is worth looking in to those things first.

--
What Middle School Is Really Like:

Off The Mark said:

If you did end up using two cameras, then one thing I found easiest is to put all my interview footage (from two or more cameras) on to a single "Interview Timeline," edit that interview timeline to how I like it, and then put that (edited) interview on the main timeline. (This might not be an ideal workflox in FCPX so I am not going to swear by it for you.)

I don't know if that is something that FCPX can do or not, but maybe it is worth looking in to those things first.

Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with FCPX either. However, I have edited a lot with Resolve, Premiere Pro, and Corel VideoStudio, and all three work nicely the way you describe. Using Resolve, I recently edited two cameras shooting a 30-minute presentation, and they were easy to sync up and edit. I had no issues with the cameras drifting apart and falling out of sync (Panasonic GH6 shooting 4K and Panasonic G9M2 shooting 5.7K).

I would be very surprised if Final Cut was any different.

Sean Nelson said:

Fishman Dan said:

- I'm in Australia so we're PAL, but the main use will by YouTube (or similar) - I'm required to provide digital. Should I stick to PAL and associated framerates?

Click to expand...

For Internet presentation I would tend to choose 30 or 60fps since that's what most viewers (even in PAL countries) will be seeing.

Click to expand...

Yes.

Sean Nelson said:

However if you have any indoor shooting that uses fluorescent or LED lighting that causes strobing effects then you may need to choose a 50Hz-compatible frame rate

Click to expand...

No!

Flicker/banding are not solved with frame rate. Even if the flickery lighting is running off a generator genlocked to the camera (which it ain't) banding is still entirely possible.

Sean Nelson said:

with an appropriate shutter speed to minimize or eliminate it.

Click to expand...

Right.

Sean Nelson said:

Sean Nelson said:

- Some will be in harsh/midday sun, or late morning. Should i temper brightness with aperture, or can I use ND filters? Shooting as narrow as f16 is not an issue. This is my main concern - blowing out the highlights (I don't use zebra's ... I know i should).

Click to expand...

The reason you'd want to use ND filters is so that you can use a larger aperture in order to shrink the depth of field, which will help isolate the subject from its background. That's an artistic choice, which may or may not be appropriate depending on your subject and your intention.

Sean Nelson said:

- Video Format: Just watched a video saying I should shoot ALL-I. Is that significantly better than IPB when it comes to editing. I'm not doing any dramatic editing, just colour correction and a little enhancement. I have always struggled when it comes to editing video (I use FCPX but also have Premiere Pro at my disposal).

Click to expand...

IMHO ALL-I is really only needed for scenes with a lot of rapid motion across the frame, such as a screen full of rustling leaves, undulating reflections on water, or the classic "falling confetti" that you always see used as an example of why video compression sucks. For scenes with more isolated motion or static shots, it's really not necessary as long as you're using a codec with a half decent bitrate.

I am just a bit of a video duffer myself, so if anyone else comes along with better advice, heed it!

Click to expand...

[cut...]

My basic questions;

- I'm in Australia so we're PAL, but the main use will by YouTube (or similar) - I'm required to provide digital. Should I stick to PAL and associated framerates?

- With the above in mind should I be shooting 50 fps?

- Some will be in harsh/midday sun, or late morning. Should i temper brightness with aperture, or can I use ND filters? Shooting as narrow as f16 is not an issue. This is my main concern - blowing out the highlights (I don't use zebra's ... I know i should).

This one is easy.

1. Do what your customer needs or wants (inform them)
2. In PAL areas you should use 50 or 25 fps (depending on requirements or preferences). Youtube specifically states:

In the document:

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?sjid=631521459100733505-EU

I suggest, that you ignore opinions, hearsay and absolutes from anywhere. If in doubt use this google search string within your country. I'm searching inside the EU, where anything but PAL is plain bonkers (unless otherwise required).:

"youtube recommended frame rate"

Since most of the world lives in 50Hz AC mains areas (80+%) this typically leads to the PAL standard being implemented (based on 50 fps with the option to use 25fps).

Personal approach

I always use 25 fps (exceptions are 50 fps). That's my personal preference (unless otherwise is required).

Comment

If you need to check 60Hz (fps) flicker to get most 50 fps settings correct, choose a 'merican news station - "PBS News Hour" on YouTube is a "stable" choise (they do not deliver ginormous culture chocks to the rest of the world ;-)

Recording at 60 fps has no flicker. Recording at standard 50 fps settings is anything but "Narjs" flicker wise. At 1/60 sec shutter, the flicker disappears.

If you need to check 50Hz (fps) effects on other settings, you could choose the "Australia Institute" or the "ABC News (Australia)" YouTube channel.

Recording 50fps, I get no flicker. At 60 fps, I get 'horrible flicker. Verify yourself.

My TV is frequency "agnostic" (to a degree), but bought some years BEFORE corona.

The easiest way to get a quick settings check is to use Blackmagic Camera or Cinema P3 on your iPhone (15 Pro in my case). That will leave no doubt.

Regards

P.S. If you have mixed frequency lighting, the easiest way to find, what you need to shut off, or which alternative setting you need to avoid flicker is to use your iPhone (15 Pro in my case). Then perform a short test recording in camera to be absolutely sure!

winnegehetoch said:

In PAL areas you should use 50 or 25 fps (depending on requirements or preferences). Youtube specifically states:

Click to expand...

I don't see any mention there about shooting 50fps in PAL areas...

Sean Nelson said:

winnegehetoch said:

In PAL areas you should use 50 or 25 fps (depending on requirements or preferences). Youtube specifically states:

Click to expand...

I don't see any mention there about shooting 50fps in PAL areas...

Click to expand...

Of course not. YouTube just states what it handles. YouTube is no standard. Just a service, covering many standard, formats and options all over the World catering to all standards.

PAL (correctly called CCIR 625/50 standard) is 50 fps. It is based on the standard 50Hz AC mains frequency used in Europe, where the system was developed.

Similar to the 60fps/60Hz used for the NTSC system (except, when color TV was introduced, the NTSC frequencies were “adjusted slightly” by a factor 1000/1001. Look it up yourself!

”The goal was to provide a colour TV standard for the European picture frequency of 50 fields per second (50 hertz), and finding a way to eliminate the problems with NTSC.”

You could of course have looked it up here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL

Where you also can find the OFFICIAL standard names stated as follows:

“CCIR 625/50 and EIA 525/60 are the proper names for these (line count and field rate) standards; PAL and NTSC on the other hand are methods of encoding colour information in the signal.”

In this respect a standard TV signal. And probably untold trillions of dollars of existing broadcast hardware in permanent use is based on the 50fps “frame rate” all over the world. Like it or not. In other regions the 60fps frame rates deliver trouble free use in regions using 60Hz AC grids.

In “everyday use” it is shortened to “PAL” and “NTSC” (the latter often called “Never The Same Color” in the early implementations).

The Broadcast Industry always tried to maintain compatibility, allowing - for instance - 30 or 40 year old TV’s to still display “basic” PAL or NTSC, where traditionelly used.

Today, the use of 50 fps is mostly a practical and simple approach eliminating a lot of problems in the majority of regions, where 50 Hz AC mains is used. Street lights, indoor lighting etc.syncronized to mains power (still the most common and cheap approach) will not exhibit flicker at 50 fps, wheras the same lights will flicker at 60fps (but not at 30fps, IF shutter of 1/50sec is used). It’s simple physics.

The simplest approach is to test using the YouTube channels I mentioned. Then you can see the effects in real life. It’s easy and obvious.

50Hz AC (or significantly less used 60 Hz AC) could be called the “life pulse” of the industrialised world.

You don’t have to like it, but you may benefit by adjusting. Why is this a problem?

Regards