I'm posting this message on a couple of different forums. I don't mean it to be crossposted spam.
I work for a nonprofit whose director wants to move into editing original video (as a means toward raising the organization's profile). This is to be a high-profile effort, so I'm trying to do it right.
The only camera we're using is an AVCHD camera with a shotgun mic and a 16GB flash card.
The end result is Web videos that will also be available in other formats – say, discs that we could give away as a fundraising premium, and also that can play in a promotional loop on a television mounted on the premises.
I'd also like to do limited animation for title sequences and inbetween shots. I know I'm not going to learn After Effects tomorrow - I'll probably have to make do with Flash CS4 for this year - but that's part of the mixture.
Because the camera records in 1080i, and because we have one speedy computer (HP Z400, 8GB RAM) to edit on, and because YouTube now accepts footage at 1080, I'd like to stay at 1080 across the board.
I've been using Premiere Elements 7, and while I find the interface intuitive, I have not been satisfied with my results. I learned it with the Muvipix guide, but never found the perfect combination of settings. Its maximum output resolution is 720p, and I haven't been able to lose the black box around the live area (though I know that's partly my shortcoming - it might well be possible). I have found that its make-it-easy-for-me shortcuts (like the bundled upload to YouTube) yield results that are poor.
(I'm only an intermediate video guy, but I'm an old ProTools hack, very comfortable with nonlinear editing and effects processing.)
Until today, I've had a heck of a time ripping 30-second segments from commercial DVDs for fair use in a Siskel-and-Ebert style DVD review show. That was mostly because AoA Ripper was blocked by Windows DEP, which I seem to have finally cured (and which might be even easier when my upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 arrives).
So. Given that I'm sticking with the camera and the Windows computer, and have a couple of bucks to spend on the right software, and that I want our simple presentations to be high-definition and include in and out title sequences: What do you recommend for me, in terms of software and of workflow? I'm mostly interested, of course, in an alternative to PE7 that will let me export in 1080, but if you have other hints and tricks for my scenario, I'm open to them too.
Thanks for your attention.
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Look at:
NeoScene
Sony Vegas Pro
Magic Bullet Looks or Mojo http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-suite/
Also, check out http://www.vimeo.com for video footage you might find inspirational. Lots of good stuff there, including tutorials."Quality is cool, but don't forget... Content is King!" -
I have access to Adobe's Production Premium CS4 (Premiere Pro, After Effects, Soundbooth) at academic pricing ($550), which I think will allow me to do everything I mentioned above. Plus, I'm comfortable with the interface (I use their design software to produce print materials here). Does that seem sensible?
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Yes, of course. Just remember to deinterlace your footage when preparing your video for online viewing sites such as youtube or vimeo. Make sure you keep up with the various program updates Adobe makes available through the Premiere interface. This is important for AVCHD footage in particular.
Save as H264 .mp4 for exporting to the web.Last edited by Soopafresh; 5th Feb 2010 at 19:27.
"Quality is cool, but don't forget... Content is King!" -
You need to give up the 1080 idea -- not going to happen. Youtube will either compress it too much, or you'll end up with a video that stutters and jerks for most viewers (bitrate requirement too high for sustained viewing by end user). 720 is the max for reliable HD on the web right now.
You're best deinterlacing in AVI Synth or VirtualDub -- Premiere deinterlacing sucks.Want my help? Ask here! (not via PM!)
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A suggested workflow
1. AVCHD capture and convert to Cineform Neoscene 1920x1080i or 1440x1080i to match source.
2. Import into a Premiere CS4 1920x1080i or 1440x1080i project (top field first).
3. Edit
4. Export to 1920x1080i or 1440x1080i edit master archive file (Neoscene and/or MPeg2)
The following is best done in avisynth
5a. Downsize to 1280x720p 59.94fps h.264 progressive for web upload
5b. Downsize to 720x480i MPeg2 for DVD
5c. Convert to AVCHD 1080i for Blu-Ray PlayersRecommends: Kiva.org - Loans that change lives.
http://www.kiva.org/about -
@lordsmurf:
I get that 1080p on YouTube isn't what I need today, but I'm also planning to use this video for giveaway discs and on-premises promotional display. Also, my gut tells me that if it's available-but-not-the-standard today, it'll be the standard tomorrow.
Also, it seems to me that YouTube and Vimeo both do a good job now of showing the end user the resolution he selects (i.e. Vimeo's "HD is off," YouTube's selection of 320 / 480 / 720 / 1080), meaning that if I upload in 1080, my grandma is free to watch in in 320. Do you think I'm missing something? Am I compromising my project, technically speaking? -
@edDV
Thank you for your suggested workflow. It'll be weeks before I get to try it out (because tomorrow I'll propose to my director that we buy Premiere Pro), but I'll keep this page bookmarked.
Most of the feedback I've gotten (here and elsewhere) tells me that I have to be careful deinterlacing my 1080i footage to make it true 1080p; this workflow doesn't seem to include that step. Does that reflect a difference of aesthetic opinion, or does this workflow do it automatically as part of the export?
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AVCHD camcorder material is interlace and deinterlaces poorly unless you use professional shooting technique. For this reason it is better to maintain interlace to the edit master and then use interlace for DVD and Blu-Ray. For web upload or other high compression distribution, you would deinterlace from the edit master and encode to the desired distribution format.
This workflow delivers the best quality to each destination from an interlace source. This is the process used by professionals.
Alternate strategy is to shoot progressive 1280x720p 59.94 fps and edit progressive or go the 24p route.
The disadvantage of deinterlace before edit is degraded motion quality unless high quality motion adaptive deinterlace is used. This is not available in Premiere Pro. You would need to use avisynth (complicated process) or a high quality hardware deinterlacer.Recommends: Kiva.org - Loans that change lives.
http://www.kiva.org/about
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