A Guide to Common Video Formats: Containers, Compression, and Codecs
MOV, H.264, AVCHD, MP4, AVI, the list goes on and on with so many letters of the alphabet. What video format should I use? What codec do I need? These questions come up all the time online and in conversation. This guide will demystify some of the most common formats and codecs used in the…
Log Gamma Vs. Linear Gamma: A Primer
With the Sony F5 and F55 coming down the pipeline, cinematographer Art Adams, on behalf of Pro Video Coalition, decided to revisit the differences between log gamma and linear gamma in a simple and informative way. While Sony’s cameras may use S-Log and S-Log2, you’ll run into log encoding in other formats like DPX/Cineon. It’s…
Final Cut Pro X Render Bug and Workaround
If you’re a trailblazing user of FCPX, 10.0.6 or newer, you may have noticed a bug: rendering your project after using certain effects leads to random frame glitches. According to Aharon Rabinowitz of Red Giant Software, the problem lies with FCPX and Apple. While Apple is aware of the issue, there has been no information…
Redcine-X Quick Tip: Unlock The Full Potential of HDRx
So you’ve shot some HDRx footage with your RED camera, taken it into Redcine-X, and what do you notice? All you can do is blend the exposures together. That’s it? Well not quite. Here is how it works: Open Redcine-X and select your HDRx video clip Set your HDR mode to “Magic Motion”. The blend…
January 22nd – Update
Another quick update to let you all know this blog is alive and well. I’ve been busy working and traveling around to Northern California and Chicago, Illinois. I’m home safe in Hollywood but, thanks to a bad spot of luck, I’ve cut my hand and cannot type – at least comfortably for extended periods of…
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6: Merged Clips within Final Cut Pro XML
While I sit at my parent’s home for the holidays, I thought I’d jump on the blog and keep myself busy. The next installment of the LUT series is on its way, but in the meantime I wanted to talk about Premiere Pro CS6’s merged clips and how they translate through Final Cut Pro XML…
The Hobbit and High Frame Rates: 24fps vs. 48fps
As the general release of the Hobbit looms here in the United States, my film industry friends and I can’t help but speculate on the response Peter Jackson will get from the general public for his decision to photograph the film at 48fps. There have been mixed reviews from critics concerning the look and feel…
LUTs Part 1: What is a LUT?
A LUT, or look up table, changes color from one value to another based on a list of values. For video and motion graphics, a LUT is useful for matching footage from one source to another (i.e. a 3D render to live action film), for visual effect (i.e. vintage film emulation), or for output preview…
Adobe Speedgrade CS6 Quick Tip: Reconform New Timelines
A little while back I posted on Adobe’s Speedgrade forum asking if they had any feature similar to Blackmagic Resolve’s ColorTrace, a tool that lets you transfer color grades from one version of your edit to another based on timecode. Speedgrade can copy and paste reconform data according to Adobe staffer Dennis Weinmann: There is…
November 13th – Update
Hello all my Fallen Empire soldiers. The blog posts have been light recently but expect some exciting things soon. I am working on the commercial release of the Windows/ProRes GUI app I promised, along with the commercial release of my RED RMD File Sync app (the latter was briefly offered as a beta program). Related…
