Posted: April 12th, 2011 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Final Cut Studio, Red Giant Software, Workflow | Tags: California advertising photographer, digital workflow, dslr transcode, Lee White Photography, Los Angeles advertising photographer, Red Giant Software Grinder, video production | No Comments »
Take a look at Magic Bullets Grinder by Red Giant Software if you need a very fast transcoding of your HDLSR video. It uses all of your processors to transcode the H.264 from your HDSLR into a variety of Apple PRO RES and Photo-Jpg formats so it is fast. If you need even faster editing Magic Bullet Grinder can create Proxy files in PRO RES and Photo-Jpg codecsl. If you were planning to do major color grading (correction) or adding effects in Motion you can transcode into PRO RES 4444. Any 720p video will be automatically upgraded to 1080p so it can be used in Full HD editing.
It is a simple three step process: drag your files on to Grinder, Set the transcode to format you want and save which allows you to set the destination for the transcoded files. You’ll end up with transcoded files with time code which is helpful. Note: I suggest when making proxy files that you set the main format to original + timecode and burn in file name and time code. You can download a trial version of Magic Bullet Grinder at http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/downloads/trial-versions.
Magic Bullet Grinder's Three Step Process
Coming soon is the 1.5 update that adds more format codecs, timecode options, conforming controls, Growl support, separate output options for main and proxy outputs and better clip naming.
Red Giant Software Magic Bullet Grinder for Fast Trancoding of DSLR Files
Posted: November 8th, 2010 | Author: Lee White | Filed under: Panasonic, video production | Tags: California advertising photographer, digital workflow, Lee White Photography, Panasonic HMC-40, photography educator | No Comments »
As a busy advertising photographer that also shoots video, I am always looking for tools that make my job easier. The right tool can make for a faster and more professional outcome. One function that video cameras like the Panasonic HMC 40 have that is still lacking in the HDSLRs is the waveform. Photographers might think of the video waveform as the histogram turned on it’s side. The bottom of the waveform (0) is like the left side of the histogram as it shows the shadow / dark values. The top of the waveform (100) is like the right side of the histogram showing the highlights / bright values. And just like the histogram, if the waveform bottoms out at or below 0 there will be no information in the shadow /darkest values. The same holds true with the highlights / bright values, if the waveform peaks at or above 100, there will be no information in the highlights / brightest values.
In the picture below you can see the waveform in the LCD screen of the Panasonic HMC 40 where I have put a red box around it. You can also see that the waveform does not touch either the top or bottom of the scale so there are no burned out highlights or dropped out shadow areas. The waveform can help with both exposure and contrast ratio information as you shoot video.
Waveform in LCD of Panasonic HMC-40
The biggest difference is that you can see the video waveform as you view and shoot with the video camera rather than needing to shoot a still with the HDSLR and pull up the image file to view the histogram. This makes adjusting exposure and judging contrast a realtime event, not an after the fact method. Realtime saves time and I need all the time I can get while shooting.
Hoodman USA