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Adobe After Effects...


Theo Lipfert

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Just wondering if anyone has been using After Effects to manipulate telecined footage -- specifically, is anyone using the grain reduction effect to clean-up miniDV or other low-end video formats? Anyone using Color Finesse to color correct?

 

I am just starting to test some of these things, being very new to shooting Super16, but not so new to working with DV and AE. I would love to hear from anyone else poking around in this direction...

 

Theo

Bozeman, MT

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Make sure the monitor you are using is reasonably well calibrated. Otherwise you will be making pictures that look great on that monitor and not necessarily so great on anyone elses :-)

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I recomend getting as close as you can in the transfer. That way the tape will have more range near your desired mark. This is most helpfull in extream color changin cases. So get it close in transfer and finess it on your PC. That is what i did for my last film. And i learned a lot.

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Discreet Combustion has a really indepth color corrector, similar to the one found in their Flame, and Inferno systems. And I've just read about a new nifty software that allows you to bring a timeline from your editing software (ie. FCP, AVID, etc) directly to Combustion, or Aftereffects, so it makes color grading alot more efficent. Each cut is represented as a layer in your compositing software.

 

So setting up a low budget DI workflow is very possible. Just try to get a low con xfer for more room for your color grading.

 

And as David said try getting a calibrated monitor.

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Combustion also makes it easier to manage Look up tables (LUT), grain, grain removal, Selections (ie. power windows, selective defocus) and even use the keyer's suppresion tool as a make shift secondary correction tool.

 

Also color correction settings can be exported, and brought into Flame/Infernal for onlines and conforms. Oh, and I don't work for discreet LOL

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Guest Kai.w
Combustion also makes it easier to manage Look up tables (LUT), grain, grain removal, Selections (ie. power windows, selective defocus) and even use the keyer's suppresion tool as a make shift secondary correction tool. 

 

Also color correction settings can be exported, and brought into Flame/Infernal for onlines and conforms.  Oh, and I don't work for discreet LOL

 

Although most of the stuff you mentioned is available one way or the other in AFX too, I agree it is better in combustion.

Especially working with LUTs. Plus as you said the colour curves in the keyer are powerful selectives... and apparently flames colourwarper found its way into combustion 4 somehow although I could not check myself.

If only it came with a "real" defocus...

If you do have to export your CC or keying setUps to FFI, check version numbers. I had some issues with this. Better test before.

 

The good thing about AFX is that it really renders faster than combustion at least up to v3 which is the latest I know. And on Macs combustions performance is pretty much a joke. I've rarely seen such a poor port.

 

-k

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Thanks for the info -- I haven't used Combustion -- but I will check it out. No wonder Adobe added SA's Color Finesse and a suite of grain tools (bought from Grain Surgery, I believe) as free plug ins. Keeping up with the competition, I guess.

 

I have been projecting some telecined super16, transfered to DV, color corrected and manipulated in AE, with some grain reduction as well. (I am simulating the projection that my work usually is subjected to at festivals) While not ideal conditions, this combo looks pretty good -- certainly better than DV -- and retains most of the "film" quality. I have found it better to have a "light hand" when manipulating film -- or else the manipulation calls attention to itself.

 

Thanks again.

 

Theo

Bozeman, MT

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