STACEY JENKINS

I’ve been incorporating my GoPro Hero camera footage into more videos lately and wanted to see how it performed for  timelapse video. There’s a plethora of timelapse video out there – some great (the Philip Bloom Skywalker Ranch video is breathtakingly beautiful), some not (click here for a bad timelapse ex.)

The process of setting up your GoPro for timelapse, and uploading the images to play out in Quicktime  is super easy – This great tutorial by Camarush walks you through each step – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65wHnBn8Az0. A few notes and extras that I learnt through the process:

- I shot all my Timelapse videos at 5 second shot intervals (a picture every 5 seconds) – you can adjust this setting on the camera – tutorial walks you through it.

- You will need QuickTime 7 to transform your images into an image sequence – QT 10 doesn’t have this feature. You can upload QT 7 HERE.

- I imported the finished timelapse video into FCP and adjusted the sequence settings for HD 720p (960x720p) video with a square pixel aspect ratio and ProRes 422 LT compressor. When dragging the footage into the sequence do NOT allow the sequence settings to match the video. This way you can keep the large size of the timelapse video and have the freedom to manipulate it with motion keyframes or hone in on a tighter shot.

- I also adjusted the aspect ratio (viewer window motion tab > distort carrot) to 10 to prevent the video from stretching out.  I color corrected the footage as well using the 3-way color corrector under Video Filters.

The 3 timelapse videos you see below were done quickly in the past couple of days. I tried to find scenes that draw the viewers eyes to a particular area and showcase movement in different ways. I shot them with the purpose of incorporating them into future videos to add a different video perspective, not as stand alone videos – I think you would need some pretty dramatic landscape or city imagery to keep interest in a stand alone timelapse video.

The first video was shot in half an hour and shows a high street angle that highlights the sky – clouds or a sunset/rise are a must for this; a blue sky moves very little! The second video was shot over a one-hour period and was placed at eye-level. It highlights the fast-paced action at a local skatepark with the cityscape in the background and lots of moving clouds overhead. The third scene  was shot over a period of 2 hours  – it’s a cityscape that draws the eyes to the activity on the water and the transition from day to night. I’m going to go back and shoot this video over a longer period of time to capture to full transition to darkness because it didn’t get dark enough for me to use in a video, but for this purpose  I’ll use it as an example so you get an idea of what you can get ( 2 hours of hanging out at Seattle’s GasWorks park until 9:30pm after a busty work day as enough for me for this purpose).

As always, I’m interested in hearing your feedback and any additional GoPro timelapse tips or tricks that worked for you!

timelapse

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I get asked a lot about export settings. An editing program’s export settings can be a dizzying land of confusion for the poor average law-abiding citizen who just wants to post a video clip of their co-worker Ted spewing out mashed potatoes while laughing at the bosses’ lame joke – let’s get real people, it shouldn’t be that hard!

Actually, if you simply want to edit out the bad parts of a video and throw it online for pure blissful entertainment, iMovie really isn’t that hard, in fact, it’s really easy. Just click on “Share” in the top menu and you can put choose “YouTube” to put it straight into your youtube account. If Vimeo’s your bag, again click on “Share” > export movie. Choose “HD” if you shot movie in HD, and “Large” if it’s your handycam (yeeeeah….you might want to upgrade that camera, and uh…it’s getting harder to buy VHS tapes these days as well you know

What if you’re editing something for work and you spent a lot of time on it? If you want to be more precise and picky about settings:

Click “Share“
Choose: “export movie using quicktime“
and click the  “options” button  (see below)

After that, click the  “settings” button and you’ll be brought to the image below
compression type: h.264 (the gold standard – it has never failed me)
Frame Rate: choose 30, unless you’re shooting in 24fps, and if so, why are you editing in iMovie,  Mr. filmmaker?
Key Frames: automatic
Compressor quality: Best (only choose “better” if you need the file size to be small, otherwise why wouldn’t you want the best quality?)
Encoding: Best Quality (multi-pass)
Data Rate: automatic, or you can choose restrict to 5000 kbits/sec – Vimeo’s recommendation and it does a good job of preserving video quality
Size: 1920 x 1080 if you shot it on a DSLR or full HD camera, or 1280×720 if it’s HD but you want to upload it to Vimeo or it’s compressed HD, or 640×480 if you shot it in SD (again, let’s talk about upgrading for a moment….I kid, I kid).

So what if you’ve moved up in the world and have started on Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro – here are some basic guides for exporting video from these programs. Keep in mind, these settings are BASIC, are assuming a lot of things here – that you’ve shot your footage using an HD DSLR or Video camera, you are editing something to post online, and that’s where it will live out it’s happy life. Playing it from the computer onto a projector will work fine with these too. However, if your purpose is to make DVD’s, Broadcast it on TV, or transfer over to some other codec, server player, etc, these will NOT be your ideal settings.

FINAL CUT PRO
Go to: File> Export > using Quicktime Conversion
click “options“
(from here it’s the same as imovie since you’re using h.264 – of course! – see pic above)
compression type: h.264
Frame Rate: choose 30
Key Frames: automatic
Compressor quality: Best
Encoding: Best Quality (multi-pass)
Data Rate: automatic, or restrict to 5000 kbits / sec
size: 1920 x 1080 if you shot it on a DSLR or full HD camera, or 1280×720 if it’s HD but you want to upload it to Vimeo or it’s compressed HD, or 640×480 if you shot it in SD (pfff.).

FCP includes Audio settings – adjust them! (see pic below)
Format: AAC
Channels – just go with Stereo
Rate: 44.10
Quality: change to “Best“
Target Bit Rate: 320 kbps

UNcheck “prepare for internet streaming“  – this little option has been around since I started editing with FCP in 1999 (I know, cue the coffin-opening sound effect here). I think it was included because the internet was still relatively new and a 30-second video would take half an hour to stream to play – I don’t know anyone that leaves this checked. If you do and there’s a good reason I’m actually quite curious and would love to hear it!

ADOBE PREMIERE PRO EXPORT SETTINGS

Format: h.264 (yes, this codec crosses video cultural boundaries and is loved by all)
check “export video” and “export audio” unless you don’t have video or audio.
Select the video tab in the section below choose:
TV Standard: NTSC (PAL is european and will turn your project into video-rubbish)
Frame width: 1920 pixels (1280 if you’re uploading to Vimeo or want a smaller file size)
Frame Height: 1080 pixels  (720 if you’re uploading to Vimeo or want a smaller file size)
Frame Rate: 29.97 or 30 (or 24fps and just starting with Adobe Premiere Pro after the disappointing latest release of a certain editing program that shall remain nameless – just don’t look up )
Pixel Aspect Ratio: square, or widescreen 16:9
Profile: high
Level 5.0 (recommended from Vimeo and Youtube)
check the “render at maximum depth” box
Bitrate settings:
Bitrate encoding: VBR 2pass (always choose 2-pass variable encoding – this allows the video data to be analyzed first, then encode your video to the highest quality possible using the first pass data)
Target Bitrate: 7.8
Maximum Bitrate: 8
(increasing your bitrate increases video quality, but also increases rendering time and file size – vimeo recommends 5, and I’ve read that for 720p video, anywhere from 4-6 is fine, and for 1080p video, 8-10mbps is a safe bet).
click the “use maximum render quality” box – I ignore the others.

Audio (same as FCP)
Format: AAC
Channels – again, just go with Stereo
Rate: 44.10
Quality: change to “High“
Target Bit Rate: 320 kbps

Hope these help – hey, let me know if you’ve found additional ways to export web-ready video – I’m always interested in learning new tweaks and export settings!

It’s a weird experience being in front of the camera instead of behind it – I wanted some more professional-looking shots of myself so my photographer friend Ann from Ann Norton Photography took some shots of me at Green Lake, where I live in Seattle. Of COURSE it started raining the moment I walked out of the car, but what more could one expect in Seattle than freezing temperatures and ever-present rain…in June. Sigh. Ann was really great to work with and I was thrilled that she made me look so good – These days I’m editing a documentary and my work attire is usually some combination of workout clothes, pajamas, or modified sweats (I think my husband incorporated the promise of never wearing sweatpants again into our wedding vows). Anyways….the point is I usually do NOT look this put together, so I thought I’d share them with my loyal readers (I hope all five of you enjoy them!)

Lost Boot Media has a new Facebook page! Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/LostBootMedia and give it a like! I’ll be posting weekly DSLR video tips and tricks, along with new videos like this one I shot in Oregon last weekend – I got to use my new Sigma 24-70mm 2.8f lens and incorporate some pretty sweet GoPro footage as well!

OR skatepark tour spring 2012

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We went to Oregon this past weekend and took some Instagram shots of our kids at Three Oaks Amusement Park in Portland. I was struck at how perfectly these retro filters captured the moment. The crap-tastic amusement park rides, faded color, and 70′s hair all perfectly complimented the filter. It could have been me on a ride in the 70′s.

Most of the time I loathe the ill-used filters that are randomly thrown on top of pictures  - how retro can a contemporary gallery exhibit be? Is a piece of toast avand-guard artsy because it has the Pro-X filter? The post “Why I Hate Instagram” pretty much sums it up.  However….I DO like the sharing community aspect, and like any social media tool, it becomes a habit. There’s also some crossover happening in the video world. Clients are asking for the “Instagram” look to be applied to video – sigh….just when DSLR is at the top of its game in quality and color….I understand though, and agree there are instances where it may be appropriate. Cineblur.com features a blog about applying Instagram-style video filters through using LUT’s (look up tables). It gives you instructions on how to download and install the free Magic Bullet LUT Buddy from Red Giant Software (for After Effects and FCP7), and also includes a link to a video tutorial on how to use the filter (watch it – so much better than randomly applying the filters incorrectly). I’ll test it out on some skatepark video I took this weekend with my new 24-70mm f.28 Sigma Lens, which I love it btw- it’s affordable, sharp image, and works well at the low 2.8 fstop (here’s a review, and a great comparison between the Canon, Sigma and Tamron if interested).

The video I shot for Sandcastle web design is up! Click on their link at http://www.sandcastle-web.com/aboutus/default.aspx# to watch it – very happy with how it turned out!

I recently watched a commercial for Windows Phone that impressed me. Customers in the Microsoft store went head to head with the Windows phone rep and tested out how fast their phones were. Of course the Windows phone beat them every time (it IS a Windows phone commercial – watch it HERE). Being a video geek this got me wondering  – just how good is their camera? I am really impressed with the iphone camera and video capabilities -  I rarely take my DSLR on family outings anymore. But my brother has a Windows phone and always brags about the camera and video quality -  could the Windows phone actually be better? The specs on the Windows phone are impressive – the HTC Titan II has a 16 MP, 2.6f 28mm wide-angle lens and records video at 720p HD . In comparison, The iphone 4S has only 8MP but has a lower f-stop with a 2.4f lens (those little f stops are a big deal), and shoots in higher-quality 1080HD video. They seemed to run neck and neck. I needed to see for myself – so I headed down the street to the Microsoft Store in Seattle, and took some test shots and video. I got the friendly sales associates to take a picture and video of me with each phone, then email them to me. I took the original photos and videos and made a little video – the originals are at 100% resolution, and they have NOT been re-touched, compressed (before uploading) or altered (which is slightly embarrassing being that I’m the subject and just came from a run and don’t look…ahem…my best). You can see the photos and video at 200% to see how the image quality performs when it’s blown up. Here are the results:

iphone vs. Windows phone camera test

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As you can see, The Windows phone outperforms the iphone in the camera test hands down. The resolution, pixels, color depth and clarity are all stronger on the Windows phone. My hair looks redder, the color temperature’s a little warmer, and the resolution is simply better. Video was a closer call but I say Windows Phone won there too – again, the colors are richer, the image is clearer and it wins hands-down in resolution when the video is blown up to 200%.  I’m impressed and need to concede to my brother that he has a better camera on his phone.

Guess what else I got to test drive at the Microsoft Store? The not-yet-released Windows 8! I saw the ads, but experiencing it yourself is a totally different experience. As you can see, it’s a tablet…yeah I know….we’ve all seen those before. But guess what? With this tablet, you can do all the ipad-type stuff, then turn around and plug in your keyboard to the USB drive and actually do WORK on it. It’s got a quad Intel processor that can run your office docs and Adobe programs  – pretty sweet.  It’s twice the price of an ipad, but my first thought was “wow, my almost 11-year old wants an ipad for Christmas, but what he really needs is a computer for school – done!” It’s fun and easy to use and I can’t wait to get one when it comes out!