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Video Booth / Video Guest Book for Events
I am looking for a solution for windows/linux to create a video guest book for a wedding. The application would run on a netbook or a laptop with a front facing webcam. Basically, people should be able to come up to the screen, hit a record button, talk or whatever, then hit stop and it should save. Maybe have the option to delete if they get flustered, etc.
I would prefer if it was something that could run in a kiosk mode so people don't mess with it, if it has cute features which would make it easier for the guests that fine. Free, FOSS, or commerical options will all be considered. I have not yet bought the netbook or laptop for this yet, and I can reload it with whatever OS or dependencies are needed. I found a few for "photo booth" like applications, but I want to do video.

I am thinking it might be easier to get an IP webcam that just records nonstop or even just a webcam, maybe one that is motion activated? I can still keep a screen up and maybe find a program that indicates whether it is or is not recording so they know. I can always get a fake button so people think they are activating, might be funny to see the practice what they want to say.

I suspect you'd have better luck with a "camera man" who ran the equipment, and showed the preview to the guests. This camera man would delete and re-shoot if the guest wasn't happy with what they recorded.  I wouldn't expect my grandmother, or my kid cousins to be able to use even a simple video kiosk at my wedding. And even if it was simple enough that they could, I suspect many would be too intimidated to try.

@Flimzy They have commercial kiosks you can rent for like $1000 USD - paying a camera man would be more costly at that and be less "cool". We decided specifically not to get a videographer for the wedding because we want to remember the memories the way we want :-)

The "Photo Booth" application on OS X can record video, and is pretty simple to use
You could probably lock it down with the parental settings
An iPad 2 has the same thing, although it might be more easily misplacable


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How do I make something sound "cloudy" as though my ears are plugged using Ableton Live?
I'm working on a song that I'd like to have drums similar to Radiohead's "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors." I love the way the bass kick sounds like it's cloudy, as though I were hearing it through plugged ears. The contrast it has with the snare-like clicks is perfect.
What effects or equalizer settings in Ableton Live would create a similar sound? I spent some time messing with combinations of EQ, compression and other things that might destruct or squash the sound the right way, but to no avail.
Granted, I could just sample the song, but I'd much rather have my own version so I can tweak it to my heart's content.

For migration to SD please Tim

Do you have your kick on a separate track? If so, there is this cool plugin that will trigger a midi note depending on the sound input. You could use that to trigger a synth, or your own sample as Robert Harvey says.
As for transforming this sound:
First thing you notice is that there is a delay in the left channel. This reduces the impact as the sound is not heard simultaeously in both ears.
Second, the lows are cut. I'm guessing under 100hz things are not really happening. It's probably boosted a bit at 120Hz. Youtube is also having an affect on this. You should test this yourself with a high quality copy of this song in an analyser. AL (8?) has a pretty good one.
Third is there are not many highs. If your kick is a real drum kick, you'll need to eq the sound of the drum skin.
Fourth is some kind of FX: Maybe bit reduction and possibly some chorus. There are many ways to acheive this. If you want something warmer, you could also use some distortion.
However, all of this should really be applied reverse. At least the delay in the left ear should be added last so that the chorus (used to smooth out the harshness of bit reduction) does not sound like a "CHORUS".
They are using a constant delay on the drum kit. It sounds like a right-left-right delay. No center. AL has some FX for this. There is ping pong delay and simple delay. I'm not sure which one allows for panning (I'm not in the studio). But you'd want to delay back and forth between right and left channels with just enough feedback to only have three repetitions. Also the falloff (rate the sound volume diminishes) should be rather low, so that you continue to hear each successive delay clearly, rather that it getting quieter.
The beginning of the track, they've mutted the drum track on and off. It sounds like the kick and snare are being hit at the same time. You can automate this with envelopes in AL. This gives the impression that there is no delay and that the kick is sort of a double hit or has some kind of a reverse reverb on it.
If you want to make something sound like your ears are plugged, you'd need to cut out a lot of the mid-range and high-end, as that is what is blocked. Considerable low-end still gets though. Though, I don't think that is exactly the sound you want judging from your example.

I listened to the song, and it almost sounds like the bass drum is not a bass drum at all, but more like a distorted puff of air.  If I were trying to reproduce that sound from scratch, the first thing I would do is try gently blowing into a cheap microphone.  I would bet you dollars to donuts that's how Radiohead created the sound originally.

my first approach would be to take the kick (either miced or synthesized), filter out a good amount the extreme lows, the mids, and the highs, then send it through a gated reverb.
the gated reverb was kind of popular in the 80s. it can be easily recreated by using a noise gate (with a sidechain input) and a compressor.
an example signal flow, in beautiful ascii art:
Source->DensePlateReverb->HeavyCompressor->NoiseGate->Output
   |                                             ^
   |                                             |
    -----------------------------SidechainInput--

so the dense plate reverb is a plate reverb setting you should be able to find/create. if you can find one which has a lot of sustain and fast release, that will decrease blurring. however, part of this is the gate's job.
the compressor is pretty hard/squashed, with a short attack/release times - this keeps the signal's amplitude fairly even.
the gate uses fast attack/release, and a fairly lengthy hold -- the hold should determine the duration.
you can accomplish a variation using:
Source->LPF->VeryShortSharpGate->HeavyReverb->HeavyCompressor->Output

in any case, the reverb's energy will be higher than the source's energy, particularly for the sustain. the signal path you choose will create different effects, and alternates will be required depending on the performance/song.

This kind of thing doesn't generally come from applying effects, but from the right source sound in the first place. I would try many kinds of sounds from whatever origin you can think of. For kick sounds, once I miked myself slamming the sofa I was sitting on with my palm, sounded very organic. At some point you are bound to get a sound that you will instantly see that fits your idea, and then you can put fx on it. Actual source sounds are under-rated in production.

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Recording 2-4 live video feeds in sync
I would like to video record my (and my friends') soccer match. I've bought a Chinese mini DV cam that I attach on top of the door and record on an SD card. But I want to do more: I would like to record using 2-4 wireless IP cam, and have a synchronized video in a grid side by side.
Which software can I use? And what kind of hardware would I need to record 2-4 live video files?

Assuming you don't need great quality and are ok with ip camera quality footage (which it sounds like you are), you could pick up several wireless ip security cameras and connect them via WiFi on the same network as a Mac laptop running Security Spy.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Screen Output to Projector and Another Computer Recording the Screen
I'll be recording some conference talks/tutorials in a couple of weeks and needed a way to capture the presenter screen without requiring them to install additional software on their machine.  The presenter would typically output their laptop/device data to a projector.  However, in addition to the projector I need to capture the output that is going to the projector to another machine for editing and creating the conference talk videos.
As I mentioned, installing software on the presentation laptop is not preferred.  In the past I've just pointed a camera at the projector and recorded that, but that didn't end up being as good a quality that I needed.
Thanks in advance.

What I have done in the past is to use a DA on the output of the laptop. One output to the projector and another one to the recording device.
The problem I faced afterwords is that in the chain I had a video switcher and, since we recorded both audio and video, the audio was noticeable ahead. That's a problem if you also have a camera recording the presenter, but not so much if you are only recording the output of the laptop. Later I fixed it in a simple video editor, no big deal, but next time I am using an audio delay in line.

What's a DA?  Could you link me to one that you used?  On the recording device, what did you use to do the recording?  I was looking at something like this - http://www.epiphan.com/products/frame-grabbers/vga2usb/, but price is a bit steep for just screen capture I think.

DA: Distribution Amplifier. AKA VGA splitter. I am actually using this one:(http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10104&cs_id=1010401&p_id=3569&seq=1&format=2). So far I have had no problems. Recommended! This next section embarrass me but I have to tell that I used a regular DVD burner. I can't remember though how I wired that thing. Probably I used a VGA/BNC fan (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10203&cs_id=1020304&p_id=566&seq=1&format=1#largeimage) to the component input of the device, or same fan to composite(using only the green signal)

Also think about all the connectors you need: specifically BNC to RCA and gender changers. Let me know if you have any more questions!!! Good luck.

In general: It depends on your signals and the signalchain. With your setup you will need at least a signalsplitter, a capture device, a capture machine and big harddiscs. But first you have to clarify whats the projector input? What components and wiring do you use? What's output of the presenter laptop? Etc. Then we can give you specific recommendations.
My general advice: I'm using hardware capturing. But I always install a fixed presenters machine. No personal laptops are allowed. It avoids changes in the setup and signalchain. It avoids troubleshooting while running a conference. It reduce your stresslevel and the error-proneness. And it prevents schedule delays. It makes the task a lot easier! And you could have a screen capture software running in the background.


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Keyboard shortcut for cut video AND sound at current position in premiere cs5.5
I know about Ctrl+K which cuts video at current position, but which shortcut will allow to cut video AND sound?

the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+K,
Ctrl+K didnt work for me for some reason.


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Recreate basic AVCHD from MTS files
My dad has a Sony HXR-NX5E which writes its output to SDHC cards in AVCHD format.
Wanting to back up his video and not understanding the AVCHD structure, I originally got him to copy the contents of the PRIVATE/BDMV/STREAM/ folder to his backup storage, seeing as they were the video files and they were playable in VideoLan Client.
My dad filmed multiple separate events onto the same SDHC card and I thought that by separating the *.MTS files for a each event into a separate folder, we'd be able to separate the events and work with them later.
I now know that we ought to have backed up the entire BDMV folder and in order for him to edit the video and transfer it to Blu-ray or DVD, it's easiest for him if we could recreate a AVCHD structure for the video files.
It seems to me that it ought to be straight-forward to recreate the clip files (*.CLI) for each of the *.MTS files and create a single playlist (*.MPL) file which will play each of the clips in sequence with no menus or anything else (and an INDEX.BDM and MOVIEOBJ.BDM file) without touching the MTS files at all. But after searching for and trying out a bunch of different free and trial programs, I can't seem to find anything which I can get to carry out this task.
I have problems with programs creating superfluous menus, insisting on re-encoding the MTS files and insisting on combing the video into one short file, presumably with all the streams overlapping.
Can anyone give me any advice on how I might achieve this?
To be clear, I would like an AVCHD which contains no menus, immediately begins playing the first clip and continues playing each clip in sequence until the last one, without re-encoding the video files.

When your dad got the camera did it come with software from Sony? Specifically does it have Sony's PMB (Picture Motion Browser)? If he lost it, go here: http://www.sony-mea.com/support/download/316131 Go here to learn how to use it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5tmwml4zeA

Thanks for that link. I didn't know of PMB.
I've installed it now, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be able to directly import MTS files, so it won't work for my purpose. To be clear, I presume it can import MTS files as part of an AVCHD structure, but not without, like the files I have.

Guess the original poster found his way to do it - I found the following that worked for me, even though I followed a different procedure. I didn't want to convert the MTS files before importing them to iMovie into anything else and was missing too the additional index / descripition files. this is the source and works for Sony SW / Cams. Potentially with other HW / SW constellation a similar way is possible.
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/movies-video/263323-how-import-mts-files-into-imovie-have-been-archived.html
So what I did:
1. I added the folder with my MTS files on my USB drive with the Sony PMB Picture Motion Browser - in fact I used the more recent Play Memories Home edition
2. Now I marked the MTS files from that source and exported them to an external USB drive - but you can use basically any medium (SDHC, maybe even DVD if you think that's better for archiving)
And now the new folders created can be either imported directly from the medium, copied to the Mac or other location from where you again can import them as archive in iMovie.
Good luck.

I use ffmpeg for that.
Just plain concat filter with stream coping works.
ffmpeg -f concat -i ./file1.MTS ./file2.MTS -c copy output.avi

I had the same problem - wanting to recreate the AVCHD folder structure & metadata files starting with a simple folder of only *.MTS files.
After a lot of hunting, I discovered this post that recommends using AVCCAM Restorer  by Panasonic.
This program is just what I needed as it is able to both:

repair an existing AVCHD folder structure if the index is corrupt and so the package can't be opened
recreate a new AVCHD folder structure + generate the metadata files from basic folder of *.mts files.

I did a diff of the *.mts files before & after the move into the reconstructed AVCHD folder structure and happily all the MTS files are binary identical.
A couple of gotchas that I've noticed:

AVCCAM Restorer will generate the metadata files with longer names & mixed case, e.g. "MovieObject.bdmv" instead of "MOVIEOBJ.BDM". This wasn't a problem for me, but apparently older programs will error if the file names don't conform to the old FILENAME.EXT 8.3 format.

The Mac version of the app is 32-bit only, & so will only work on MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or lower. It won't work on later Macs as they run only 64-bit apps. I was able to run High Sierra in a virtual machine to run the program & convert my files.

I tested the Windows version of the program in a virtual Windows 10 environment too and it works in exactly the same way as the Mac version, including the mixedCase filename handling. Anyhow, it might be easier to find a PC running Windows 10 than an older Mac running 10.13.

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How best to find literature on motion graphics design
I'm looking for material on motion graphics; books, video tutorials, etc. I think I don't just need to check out "advanced" stuff, but also the very basics. (Since there's always much you can learn there).
What techniques would be best to find relevant and current material?

Hey Zettt, Vimeo has just release the 2012 awards short lists and one of the categories is Motion Graphics, including one on "A History of the Title Sequence" and another "The Fundemental Elements of Design" which is a great way to see what is current. There are a dozen on this page: https://vimeo.com/awards/vote/motiongraphics

I would say that since things change so much in the field of Motion Graphics as it is heavily technology driven, a book may already be out of date. The field is definitely a "moving target". :>

Thanks filzilla, I'm going to watch these later.  Unfortunately that's nothing I can read. I'm going to give it a try though.

How about messaging the directors of the motion graphic vids you like and ask them if they would recommend a book?

Not a bad idea. I'll try. Thanks. Best answer so far. Sorry that I can't give you any credit for it.

Zettt please check out a site called GreyScaleGorilla.com he covers this sort of, blog esq style bridging the knowledge between those beginners and the mograph world.  He is super helpful, and a great guy...also check out his forums as well as many mograph replated questions have been asked and answered there as well
GreyScaleGorilla.com

Googling may have been a better place to start rather than Stack. There's a wealth of information out there...doing a cursory "motion graphics" search yielded this link http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/25/the-ultimate-motion-graphics-tutorials-round-up/ on the first page. Adding "totorials" to the search string would have further refined the query. I'd recommend checking out the Stack FAQ about appropriate questions...this one is a little to broad and may get deleted. You may need to focus your question a little, depending on what you want to know.

That wasn't what I've been asking for. If I wanted to watch videos, I would have watched videos, but because I found these tutorials already and didn't find anything else, I figured I could ask "the pros" to get an answer.


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Thunderbold to HDMI ---> HDMI Switch ---> Saeco projector = No Video
I've the following hardware and a problem getting things work.

projector Sanyo PLV-Z800
DeLock 87498 HDMI 1.3 Switch
MacBook Pro 2010 just with miniDisplay Port
MacBook Pro 2011 with Thunderbold Port
Lenovo ThinkPad with normal Displayport

When I try to connect my (3) MacBook Pro 2010 through my (2) HDMI Switch to my (1) projector everything works fine.
Problem:
When I try to connect my (4) MacBook Pro 2011 through my (2) HDMI Switch to my (1) projector I don't get a signal on my projector.
When I try to connect my (5) Thinkpad through my (2) HDMI Switch to my (1) projector I don't get a signal on my projector either.
I've tried to find out which hdmi versions my hardware is working with.

The Projector seems to have the HDMI version 1.3b
The HDMI Swtich seems to have the HDMI version 1.3
I don't know, which versions my Macbooks have

Is there anyone who can tell me if my Switch is problem? So I just want to know if the HDMI version 1.3 doesn't support the newer standards.
Can anyone recommend me a nice and affordable HDMI Switch where my setup will work with.
I want to buy this one: Aten CS1792 HDMI KVMP Switch (2-polig, 2x HDMI, 2X USB).

There are no real differences between HDMI 1.3 and 1.3b so I would blame either the switch (most likely), the cables (do you have the correct ones for each device), or even the configuration settings on each machine.

If you plug each one into the projector individually do they work? If so, it is your switch that is at fault.
If not, try replacing the cables and connect each one to the projector - does this solve the problem? If so, the cables were the problem.
If not, check your configuration settings for the display on each machine.

thanks for the answer,

If you plug each one into the projector individually do they work? If so, it is your switch that is at fault.

Yes they do.

If not, try replacing the cables and connect each one to the projector - does this solve the problem? If so, the cables were the problem.

The cables are the newer once, and this are active hdmi cables. they were not cheap ;-)

If not, check your configuration settings for the display on each machine.

on the macbooks, the settings are completely the same.
I think I've to try with a new swtich.

Depending on how the switch is designed, it might not be sending the DDC signal back to the computers when the switch isn't set to point to them, and this could be confusing the cable-detection logic on the output ports.  When you switch the switcher to the Mac, try using the Mac's "detect displays" button (on the Displays control panel) to see if it comes to life.

Are you sure that the Lenovo and 2011 MacBook support HDMI out via their displayPort?  Native DisplayPort signals are not compatible with HDMI.  What a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter actually does is simply put a DisplayPort that supports HDMI signaling in to the appropriate mode to send an HDMI signal, but it is not a required part of the DisplayPort standard.  It is possible that your devices simply do not implement HDMI signaling.
I would recommend trying to connect both non-working devices to a direct HDMI output to see if they work.  If they do, it may be that the HDMI detection does not work with the switch.  I've seen that before in cheap HDMI switches even when using native HDMI devices.  The solution then is unfortunately either a) restart the source device while that source is selected (to see if the full signal path is maintained when selected) or b) get a better HDMI switch.  It might also be possible to lock the HDMI output option on in a driver somewhere, but that would be hardware specific.


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Blackmagic Cinema Camera: recording, bitrate and bitdepth
If connecting a Blackmagic Cinema Camera via Thunderbolt to a laptop, can you record directly to the harddrive of the laptop? Which bitrate does have these recordings if using ProRes HQ422 at 1920x1080 @25p? And what's the real bitdepth of the image you get in this setup?

Just real life experiences. The specs are well known.

What do you mean by real bitdepth? The bit depth is there in the specs of the codec - ProRes422-HQ is 10 bit. It's not something you can fudge.

The Media Express software it ships with will let you capture video directly from the Thunderbolt port at 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 30p frame rates (from the tech specs page)
From the Wikipedia ProRes 422 page you will get 10-bit sample depth, and High-Quality comes in at 220 Mbit/s for HD resolution at 60i
Thunderbolt can handle 10Gb/s and SATA 3 can handle 6Gb/s so they will not be a bottleneck here.

I asked for a certain setup. Do you have experience with that camera?


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Automatically cut out sections of a video delineated by a sound.
Is there any way that I can automatically cut a video based on a sound.
I have a couple of long sections of video that contain videos.  I would like to remove the parts of the video that do not fall between two whistles, much like football game footage.
The video format is mp4.  I am looking for some type of software that would allow me to do this.
I have not had any luck with automatic video spliters because they will only split based on file size. Currently, I am cutting this footage by hand using iMovie.

So something that will look for waveform spikes? Or a certain frequency? I do not know how you would aquire this, especially not if it needs to be automated. Not unless the sounds are distinct and no other recorded audio is very similar?

I haven't done this myself, but I think it's quite doable.
First, you'd need to setup a ffmpeg script to demux the video into audio and video portions. Then, you'd need to apply a script that will analyze the audio file. Silence is easier to automatically detect in an audio file, assuming that you can produce the silence on site to mark the intervals (e.g. disconnect the mic for 2 seconds). You'd need to know some programming, but with something like Python it would be quite easy.
Finally, with the output of the script as times to cut between, feed this into ffmpeg again on the original file, using the -ss  -t  command.

if you have After Effects, there is a script for that.  You essentially import your footage into AE, and then run the script.  Here is a link for more information:

Automatically detects edits in footage. To use it you simply select a
  footage layer in a comp, set the work area to the region you'd like to
  find edits and tell Magnum to go to work!

I don't see how this software uses the audio to detect scenes. Is that a feature that is not shown in the video?


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FPS for the internet
HI I want to know how many FPS I should use for a video for the internet. I guess it depends on where I am going to show it? youtube, vimeo, etc?. if you can, please, give me a list of possibilities, thanks!

Your framerate firstly depends on your source footage. Could you elaborate a bit on what you're trying to upload? Is it a screen recording? A video from a DSLR? An animation? Secondly filehosters have limits to their supported frame rates. Vimeo for example supports 24 (or 23.976), 25 and 30 (or 29.97) frames per second.

thanks for your respond. I have a Camcorder Canon XA10, i am trying to upload a 12 minutes movie i made myself, i guess that's what you called Screen recording, it is not an animation, thanks again

A screen recording is when you record your computer screen with software to produce a video that can be used in e.g. a tutorial. So you don't have a screen recording. You do have used a camera to record a video. The frame rate (fps) you should chose should be the same as the frame rate of your source footage shot on the Canon XA10. You can run MediaInfo on your video file to see what the frame rate is. Post the results as an edit to your answer so people can help you better.

If your source footage is interlaced, deinterlace it.  If your progressive frame rate is a constant 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, or 30 fps, then keep the frame rate as it is, unless you require a very low bitrate and want to halve the frame rate.  These are all widely supported frame rates, although other arbitrary frame rates below 30 fps will often work as well.  Many popular devices only claim to support up to 30 fps.  If your source footage has a higher frame rate or you have a variable frame rate, consider converting it to one of these constant frame rates for wider compatibility.  Don't bother if you are submitting to YouTube as they will accept a wide range of frame rates and will re-encode the video for you at various quality levels.
If you are shooting all new footage specifically for the Internet, which will not be combined with existing footage, and you have your choice of frame rate, 30 fps (progressive) is a good and popular choice.  If you will not have any fast motion and want that cinematic look, you may prefer 24 fps.

Note that Youtube doesn't appear to support over 30 FPS anyway. You can still upload stuff over 60 though, Youtube works it's magic regardless

Most modern codecs will support whatever frame rate you throw at them.  The choice is more of an artistic decision than a technical one.  For the best quality, you should match the frame rate of your source or some even multiple there of.  If you can choose on your source, then choose according to the feel you want.  24(23.976) is more "cinematic" and is what is used in theater films while 30 (29.97) is a little smoother and is what is used by NTSC television (like the US).  48 and 60 are much smoother but also less common.  25 is common in PAL countries.

Yes, I personally have gotten the best results by keeping the online video in the same frame rate as the original. Instead of trying to tweak the FPS, focus instead on bitrate. Adobe Media Encoder is great for this as it lets you easily specify a variable bitrate, which usually best (exceptions include when you're broadcasting the video from a true streaming server rather than a regular web server).

P.S. If you don't have Adobe Media Encoder and aren't afraid of the command line, let me know - I can post info on how to accomplish good encoding for the web using ffmpeg.


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Why doesn't the Play button Play in Premiere CS6?
I am editing a video in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 on a 2012 MacBook Pro with the Intel HD Graphics 4000. Sometimes the play button does not play the footage anymore, I can press the button but nothing happens. Do you have any suggestions for a solution?

EDIT
I have figured something out.
Last time I moved my PC, I had to re-plug-in all my stuff. Mic, USB for the external sound hard drive and so on.
Then I started up CS5.5 Premiere Pro and, with all preferences as usual, nothing worked. I pressed the "Play" button and nothing happened.
After a while, I found out that the Default Settings for the Sound in- and output works only but my UX24 Asio driver wasn't accepted anymore in a way that I wasn't able to use the Play button.
Well, I closed CS5.5 and then re-re-pluged-in all my Stuff.  Then I opened CS5.5 and selected Asio Ux24 (my soundcard) and everything worked again. Don't ask me why it accepted it this time. Maybe you have to plug in everything in a certain order. Please let me know if that is the case.
My problem now:
I moved my PC again and I face the same problem.  So I did everything I did as described before, but it didn't work.
The last point, and I quote here "Go to Preferences -> Audio Hardware and change Default Device to Built-in Output. Do the same in Preferences -> Audio Output mapping.", was all set. Everything right, as usual. Re-Pluging in the hardware didn't work and re-selecting, restarting didn't work either.
I need support and help, because there are people waiting for me to make videos.
Thanks for any answers.

Have you tried restarting Premiere? Premiere 6 wasn't exactly the most stable thing on the market when it was new, let alone now with all the changes that have happened in hardware and operating systems. Other things to check are to see where your scrub line is on the timeline. If you are at the end or it isn't over a video clip, it might not play anything. Do you see anything in the playback window when you scrub over the video or has the render engine stopped working entirely. Do you have any effects applied that may need to be rendered so that playback can function? We really need more info

If you meant CS6, which renderer are you using for the project.  (Under Project, Project Settings, General).  Is it the software renderer or the CUDA GPU based one?  If you are using a system with Optimus, it is possible that the NVidia GPU switched off and thus disabled the selected renderer.

I am working on a MacBook Pro - 2012 with an Intel HD Graphics 4000. The settings are for Mercury Playback Engine - Software only, but it is grayed out so I don't have the option to choose anything else.

Okay, this worked for me:

Re-Plug-in ALL your External Sound-Hardware.
Open your Sound Menu from Windows and set your Microphone to your current one. (For me it was the external Soundcard)
Now Open up Premiere Pro and set everything on your Preferences as previously stated.
Save your Current Sequenz/Project. Close premiere.
Reboot your PC.
Check your Sound Options in Windows, if everything is set right.
Open Premiere and check again, if your Prefences are still in (everything should be in order)
Now hit play.
If the Re-plugin doesnt work, use different USB slots :)

Hope I could help you.

If you Google this problem, you'll see it's quite common. Below are a few suggestion to fix this problem from a big Creative Cow thread about the issue.

Delete the audio track from the video, hit undo, and see if it plays.
Create a new sequence and copy paste the old timeline objects in it, see if it plays.
Right click on the video footage in your source monitor window and then click Clear in and out
Reinstall Premiere Pro CS6
Go to Preferences -> Audio Hardware and change Default Device to Built-in Output. Do the same in Preferences -> Audio Output mapping.

If one of these fixes work for you, let us know in the comments.

Create a new sequence worked for me


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How to convert variable frame rate videos?
I have some old 3GP (mp4v codec)videos from my HTC desire S and when I try to drop them into Vegas they won't open so I decided to convert them to a format that would open. However when I convert to a standard mp4 template h.254 at a frame rate of 30, the video converts and plays back at twice the speed but the audio is original.
I cannot figure out the frame rate for the original video according to Gspot it is 16.393 and other videos its 9.901 etc
Here is the information from the container
3gp4: 3GPP Media (.3GP) Release 4

mp41: MP4 v1 [ISO 14496-1:ch13]
3gp6: 3GPP Media (.3GP) Release 6 Basic Profile
Recommended Display Size: 800 x 480

How would I convert such videos to play back normally?
**EDIT INFORMATION FROM MEDIA INFO**
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : 3GPP Media Release 4
Codec ID                                 : 3gp4
File size                                : 208 MiB
Duration                                 : 3mn 55s
Overall bit rate                         : 7 430 Kbps
Law rating                               : (empty)
Released date                            : 0
Encoded date                             : UTC 2012-04-29 18:18:23
Tagged date                              : UTC 2012-04-29 18:18:23
Classification                           : (empty)

**Video**
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : MPEG-4 Visual
Format profile                           : Simple@L6
Format settings, BVOP                    : Yes
Format settings, QPel                    : No
Format settings, GMC                     : No warppoints
Format settings, Matrix                  : Default (H.263)
Codec ID                                 : 20
Duration                                 : 3mn 55s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 7 416 Kbps
Nominal bit rate                         : 8 000 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Variable
Frame rate                               : 13.033 fps
Minimum frame rate                       : 3.906 fps
Maximum frame rate                       : 58.824 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.617
Stream size                              : 208 MiB (100%)
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2012-04-29 18:18:23
Tagged date                              : UTC 2012-04-29 18:18:23

**Audio**
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AMR
Format/Info                              : Adaptive Multi-Rate
Format profile                           : Narrow band
Codec ID                                 : samr
Duration                                 : 3mn 55s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 12.8 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 1 channel
Sampling rate                            : 8 000 Hz
Bit depth                                : 13 bits
Stream size                              : 367 KiB (0%)
Writing library                          : pvmm
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2012-04-29 18:18:23
Tagged date                              : UTC 2012-04-29 18:18:23

Usually there is information about the original framerate in the details tab of the properties of the video. What are you using to convert your videos?

You say that if you convert it at a framerate of 30 fps it plays at twice the speed. Have you tried converting it with a framerata of 30/2 = 15 fps? And to make the question more complete: what software are you using for the conversion?

Yes I tried to convert it 15 too, but it didn't work. The only converter I used was the free version of Any Video Converter

Could you run MediaInfo on your footage and post it here? This will show all relevant information about your video. As I see it now it boils down to using AviSynth scripts. I'm looking into what exact script will help you, but you can of course take a look at the program yourself.

added the information into the question

Interesting, so it looks like the format that was used doesn't record at a consistent frame rate.  (That's kind of nutty.)  You will need some software tool that understands the variable frame rate format and can calculate out where frames need to be duplicated.  I'm not aware of anything that can do this off the top of my head, though someone has probably done it.

Here's someone with the same problem who has a solution through with Avisynth.

I know this is old, but I just wanted to mention that ffmpeg can do this easily, with the fps filter.

Have you tried using Quicktime Pro version 7?  It's what I usually use for file conversions.  It costs about £20 / $30.
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/D3380Z/A/quicktime-7-pro-for-mac-os-x
Open your file.
Go to the file menu, and select Export
Choose your format, e.g. Quicktime Movie with ProRes 422 codec at 30 fps.

This is an excellent use case for gstreamer and the MKV format. gstreamer was written to tackle this problem nicely. It can be used and accompanied by ffmpeg to transcode a video into a constant or variable rate video format.
Here is a link to a great resource on solving this problem: https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/V4L_capturing


text:
Changing QuickTime Conversion Default Settings for export
We recently just switched our production to anamorphic (SD) widescreen (720x486) and we're running into some issues getting our videos to export from Final Cut Pro (version 6) at the right size.
To get things looking correctly, our current workflow is to

Go to Export->Using QuickTime Conversion.
Then from there, leaving the "Use" dropdown on "Default Settings", we click [Options], then the [Size] button from the Movie Settings box and finally,
Change the Dimensions dropdown from the current Compressor native (apparently the default setting, which has dimensions of 854x480) to NTSC 720 x 486 16:9.

See screenshot below:

This is obviously a very tedious process to repeat for every video we want to export. Is there some way we can change the default settings (or something to that effect) so that it exports at that size as the default? While the Export Using QuickTime Conversion works well after you change that, if there's another simpler workaround, I'd likely be open to considering it!

Some suggestions here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2507322?start=0&tstart=0

Why not set your sequence settings in final cut to the desired resolution and aspect ratio before beginning a project? Then you will just have to select "export to QuickTime" without having to select all the options each time.


text:
After Effects experience with virtual choir 3D environment
Is there anyone in the forum with After Effects experience related to the production of a virtual choir, such as that of Eric Whitacre (e.g., see video below)?

I would like to get some advice on how to set up  the AE 3D environment for a similar production.

I think that setting up a 3D environment in AE which visually showcases video solids, as seen in your youtube link, is a fundamentally different question than coordinating/ arranging a virtual choir.  Which are you more interested in?

-1: Putting together a virtual choir video is a very large, involved process, one that is much too large and ambiguous for an SE site. Is there one particular step you want information on?

This is a tricky video production technique. Anyway, try the following steps:

First, create 4 black solid layers. Then, add a Lens Flare to them.

Place one flare in the bottom right corner.
On another solid, make the lens flare on the fare right middle.
For the third color solid's lens flare, make it on the top. With different color flares, it will look closer to what you are after.
Then, add a Ramp behavior to the last black solid and make sure it is on the bottom of the other layers.

Also, make the top a light gray and the bottom a dark gray.
Add an Adjustment layer above the black solids.

Add a Fast Blur to it and set it to around say 60, making the lens flares blurry.

Select all of the layers and create a pre-comp.
Meanwhile, try to add another color solid and make it white. Then, add a mask to it and make it an oval shape. Make the feather big like 250 or more. Move it so it is where the floor would be.

perhaps illustrations would make this answer more useful.

There's no one place better than www.videocopilot.net for the solution to this problem.  Theres is Adobe AfterEffects for motion graphics and VC's plugin called Element, worth every expense for managing the scope of the video choir.  They have posted two very important tutorials with a particular toolset in AE called Sure Target and using 3D positioning mapped onto the globes in the video above, you should be able to achieve this result.
It is quite the project and they did a fantastic job producing the result in the virtual choir on TED Talks.  You can achieve similar results if you take a look at what I've posted.  Good luck…!

are you affiliated with this product in any way?  Your answer reads rather like a product placement.

And if you aren't affiliated, could you explain or summarize the answer rather than just saying that someone else has answered it? Clarity and completeness is a mark of a good Stack Exchange-style answer.


text:
What is the best way to distribute an audio/video feed from a computer to TVs over existing indoor coax cable?
We have existing coax cable in our office building and we'd like to put displays in our lobby and some other rooms in the office (where there are existing coax jacks).  We'd like these displays all controlled by a single PC.
What is the best way to accomplish the distribution aspect of this?  I have found ZeeVee's products and they seem like they will work, but I am wondering if there is a better solution?

ZeeVee's ZVBox solution is designed exactly for this - hotels, airports, companies etc use this. They can scale massively, they can take video or feeds from PC's and distribute one or both on different channels to existing HDTV's.
So what are you looking for that would be better?  It appears to cover all your bases.

It does cover all my bases, but if there is a lower cost option I may prefer that.  I recognize that ZeeVee's products are pretty low cost for what they provide, but I just wanted to be sure.

I haven't seen any cheaper, and ZV is the solution I usually see in my clients. Sorry I can't help on costings.


text:
What's the right project profile for my WVGA60 videos in Premiere Elements 10?
I'm having issues rendering a project with Premiere Elements 10. Basically it gets stuck at "Estimated Time: 00:00:05" and never does anything after that. After I click Cancel the program just crashes.
Someone had suggested I might have picked the wrong project profile for my videos. I tried various presets without much success. I even upscaled all my footage to 720p without much success.
Judging from this codec info from one the WVGA60 video I used, which profile do I need to use?

You haven't mentioned any details of the rendered output target such as resolution, file format, video codec, audio codec..etc. Just the fact that your rendering crashes at 5 seconds before completion suggests file format issues, but we'll need more details to know for sure.

I've tried multiple formats, including YouTube Widescreen HD/SD and MP4 HD 720p 24. Oddly enough I can successfully render a small part of the project, but when I render the full project it fails.

Correction: I think it's MP4 HD 720p 60, if that makes a significant difference. I specifically chose to film in a 60fps format so that I could slow down the material without having video playback become choppy.

ok: here's a workaround which tries to avoid the original error without trying to solve it. Render your entire project to uncompressed AVI with audio codec PCM/16/48k/2.0 and video resolution as the final intended resolution. Keep the frame rate as 24. Then load the rendered AVI in AVIdemux, and convert the audio-video to MPEG4-AVC/AAC MP4 or whatever.

Alright, I just tried rendering to AVI. I'm getting the same result... again with 5 seconds left. But any sign of activity faded away even before the countdown stalled. I also noticed that the output file never grew beyond 101MB even though I still have 10GB of free hard drive space.

The advantage of rendering to uncompressed AVI is that you can render the project piecemeal and then join them together later on. So first, render only the entire project's audio to WAV. Then render the video (without audio) in contiguous chunks e.g. frames 0-200 to segment1.avi, then frames 201-400 to segment2.avi and so on. Once done, load the first AVI in avidemux and then do a file->append of segment2.avi and so on. Finally, from audio->main track, set source to external WAV and then browse & select the WAV. Now you can encode to final output from within AVIdemux.

Interestingly, when I render increasingly smaller parts of the project the program still crashes and stops writing data earlier. This is evidenced by the file size of the temporary video output file.

can you post screenshots of your project settings and of your render settings?

Just tried rendering a mere 30 second part... that fell through after 10 megabyte. I'm starting to think this issue isn't related to a certain problematic frame. Any thoughts? Edit: sorry, just saw your post. I'll get back to you in a bit.

Here are my current project and rendering settings: http://imgur.com/a/b0W2i

Provide the render settings for the AVI as well.

I use DV PAL Widescreen with 'Export Audio' disabled.

Are you producing your video for upload to Youtube?

No, but I might burn it to DVD.

OK. Assuming your raw footage is 848x480 @ 60fps; change project settings to match clip properties. Then render video only to uncompressed Microsoft AVI (not DV AVI) with pixel aspect as square pixels (1.0) and keep resolution as 848x480. Keep frame rate as 60. BTW, make sure your footage is interpreted as 60fps. Check this by right-clicking the clip in media bin and going to 'interpret footage'. Hopefully this gets rendered without crashing.

Is this what you mean? http://imgur.com/a/CXHsz This profile is still giving me problems.

No, first, you need to change project settings to match the clips. If you can't do that, open a new project with those settings and copy-paste the timeline. Next, you're still selecting a compression codec "Microsoft Video 1". Instead, it should be 'Uncompressed' or 'None'. I use Pro CS5.5, not Elements, so our options may not match. Also, keep field type to none or progressive.

Apparently I can't make a video project with a custom width/height in Elements. 848x480 is not available as built-in preset, either. I used a new rendering preset for 'None' and 'Progressive' but I'm still having the same issue with the difference that it's now stuck on 6 seconds.

One final suggestion for now: use 1280x720 as settings but with 60 fps as timebase. If that doesn't work, upload one of the smaller clips and I'll have a look tomorrow.

Alas, the settings you suggested aren't working. Here's an example clip that was recorded with my camera in WVGA60 mode. It's a little dark because it's currently evening where I live.

So I imported your clip into CS5.5 with project settings as DV 24p widescreen. Added a color curves effect and rendered to NTSC DVD @ 24 fps format. Worked fine. So without knowing more about Elements or your sys config, I can't help you out. FWIW, your cam is essentially recording NTSC DV Widescreen but in square pixels, and with a customized variant of H.264 codec called Ambarella AVC. So as a last ditch effort, you can try project settings of DV 24 or DV NTSC (both widescreen) to see if that works.

Well oddly enough I have no problem rendering a single WVGA60 clip either. It's driving me up the wall. Thanks for all your help -- I'll try your last suggestion. If that doesn't work I'll tinker some more with the upscaled 720p copies of my footage. Yes, I'd lose quality but at this point I just want to get the project rendered and never film in WVGA60 again.

You're better off conforming your clips to NTSC DV Wide i.e. 720x480. 720p is a lot of interpolation. Also, I just realized something. So far, I hadn't clicked on the link to your thread at Adobe. Till now I thought the render was getting stuck towards the end since you mention the estimated time left as 5 sec, but it's actually getting stuck at 10% completed. This strongly hints at a hardware bottleneck or configuration issue rather than a codec or file format or preset issue.

It's not consistently 10%, but it is nearly consistently 00:00:05. But long before that happens the program stops writing data to disk and Estimated Time Remaining timer just counts down to 5 seconds, then stops. Any thoughts on how I can find the hardware or configuration problem? I already installed the latest graphic drivers.

What's your virtual memory/paging file setting? And during your render, what other apps are running?

I can only use 3 out of 4GB (they installed 32-bit Windows on my 64-bit laptop!) but physical memory use was at 75% and processor usage at 99%. Background apps include antivirus, Dropbox, IM client, WinPatrol and Secunia PSI. Sometimes (like today) I have Chrome open. Aero is disabled while Premiere is running. Despite all the background apps I have no reason to assume they're interfering because physical memory is never full. Interestingly, the render tests I did to obtain these figures were successful. Same project, same render profiles, no problems. I'm trying a full render now.

My page file configuration is set to automatic.

Rendering went smoothly at ~69% physical memory usage. What the... How can this happen? I didn't really change my approach.

Once I was doing complicated work in Fusion on a comp with 2GB ram. Fusion would always crash during export after a few minutes. I checked the settings in Fusion and noticed that it was set to use 70% RAM. I lowered it to 65% and then all was fine. Since Fusion thought it could use 70% of RAM, it would request that much, but Windows & other apps had reserved in excess of 30%, so it wasn't actually there for the taking. I suggest trying my original uncompressed AVI method but first see what's the largest chunk you can successfully render, and then render the whole thing in chunks of that size.

I see your full render went fine. Congrats.

I'll be more careful about memory usage from now on. Thanks for helping me diagnose (what's likely to be) the problem!


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Optimizing MPEG2 Encoder in Adobe Media Encoder
We're looking at using MPEG2 as an alternative to ProRes 422 for delivery & archiving.
There are many options in there which are beyond my knowledge; I would like to understand them and maybe get even better results. Is there a guide to these terms?

Macroblock quantization
VBV buffer size
Noise Control (Sensitivity/Reduction)
Write SDE
Intra DC Precision (8/9/10 bits)
Ignore Frame Interval

trying to not flood the site with Q's! But I'll open a 3rd question about the GOP weirdness...

Thanks for the effort, but we don't mind a flood of questions as long as they are good questions. :)  It makes it easier for others to find them in the future if they address distinct topics.

MPEG-2 works by compressing in two different ways.  Within a frame, it looks at groups of pixels (blocks) and compresses them based on patterns it finds within them.  This is kind of similar to how JPEG compression work.  the Macroblock quantization level describes how loosely the encoded block can represent the original block.  The lower the number, the higher the quality but the more data required to represent the block since less error is accepted when trying to compress.
VBV Buffer Size is the size of the buffer required in order to maintain a constant frame rate.  Each frame of video in MPEG-2 requires different amounts of data from other frames.  Assuming the stream arrives at a constant data rate, a certain amount of buffer is needed to ensure that data continues to arrive in time to present a frame since the rate of arrival may sometimes be lower than the rate of data being consumed.  This value allows the player to judge how much data it needs to buffer in order to avoid running out of information to display to the viewer.
Noise Control is a means of trying to avoid encoding inefficiencies from noise present in the video.  MPEG-2 and other predictive encoding schemes rely on the fact that video tends to not change from frame to frame.  Noise, however, is random and not able to be predicted.  This is a significant problem for high efficiency compression since it can't be predicted.  Reducing the noise before encoding results in better compression rates as the video is more predictable, but also results in some loss of detail as it is not possible to distinguish between noise and fine detail in many cases.
Write SDE writes out information about the vertical and horizontal size of the frame.
Intra DC Precision is the number of bits used (thus the accuracy) of the DC coefficients.  It also impacts how accurately blocks are quantized.  Higher values mean more precision is used, but also that higher data rates are required.
Ignore Frame Interval I'm not 100% sure on for that encoder, but generally it allows the encoder to adjust the keyframe interval as it deems necessary.  It may use more or less data as needed, low motion video will likely benefit as the keyframes can be further spread out, however high motion video is more likely to suffer if the interval becomes too long.

After some deep Googling, I did find explanations for a few of these options:

MPEG macroblock quantization level. Valid values are from 2 to 31. Low
  values of this variable mean higher quality and higher bitrate, so 2
  is the highest quality and 31 is the lowest quality.

VBV buffer size in units of 16k bits. The meaning of this parameter is
  confusing because it is used to help predict if the MPEG decoder might
  suffer buffer overflows or underflows. VBV buffer over/under flows are
  more commonly a problem when in CBR mode. If significant artifacts are
  present in the generated movie, try increasing this parameter.

(http://vis.lbl.gov/NERSC/Software/express/help6.2/help/relnotes/mpeg.htm)

Intra DC Precision: the MPEG-1 DC value is mandatory quantized to a
  precision of 8 bits. MPEG-2 introduced 9, 10, and 11 bit precision set
  on a picture basis to increase the accuracy of the DC component, which
  by very nature, has the most significant contribution towards picture
  quality. Particularly useful at high bit rates to reduce
  posterization. Main and Simple Profiles are limited to 8, 9, or 10
  bits of precision.

http://www.gadegast.de/frank/mpegfaq/mpe1736.html

In MPEG-2 video, Intra DC Precision indicates the number of bits for
  quantized DC coefficients of intra-coded blocks; it takes one of the
  values of 8, 9, 10, or 11 bits. The more bits are used, the more
  precise quantization is achieved.

http://avs.kddilabs.jp/mpeg/mpcs/faqe.html


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Correcting exposure flickering in time-lapse footage "in post"
I have made some time-lapse footage of a flower blooming. It was taken inside, at night, with constant lighting. The pictures are great, but as footage, the exposure between frames is slightly inconsistent (probably beacuse one of the lights was fluorescent), resulting in a "filmic" flickering effect. The effect is actually quite cool (in an early 20th century kind of way), but I want to see what it would look like corrected.
I had assumed that it would be pretty quick and easy to correct this sort of thing in After Effects. I've tried using Auto Contrast, Auto Levels, and Auto Color (with and without temporal smoothing enabled), but they don't seem to correct the flicker at all.
What I want is to equalize the total amount of "light energy" (sum of pixels values) per frame, using an exposure adjustment. Anyone know how I would go about doing this (in After Effects or other software)?

Sorry, I don't know the answer, but how many days did you spend on this? And how often did you take a picture? :)

If I were you I'd do it again. This time you'd set the camera to Manual and be sure that the lightning in the room is the same on all the pictures. This is because equal lightning and equal settings equals to equal exposure. Sorry. :(

I actually told a white lie to simplify the question. It's actually several hundred pictures of a flower, taken a few seconds apart. I used a controlled stepper motor to rotate it a fraction of a degree between exposures. The exposure is only very slightly inconsistent, but because it gets played quickly it's quite obvious. I think it's inconsistent because the exposure time was so short (as short as we could get), but we needed a very tight depth of field. So I think we'd have the same problem if we re-shot (with the same camera at least).

(that's why I mentioned "stop motion", cos it wasn't really a time lapse, as such)

Well, wouldn't it work if you set your camera to f/2 and 1/250, ISO 100 and don't change the lightning?

It is not clear to me that the exposure controls (Iris and Shutter) were locked down for the entire recording. What about white balance was this locked down and to the appropriate light source? ...and what is the lighting, tungsten? fluorescent? If you were shooting with a fast enough shutter and using fluorescent the camera might pick up the slight flicker of the fluorescent lamps.

GBDeflicker plugin for after effects does the trick

Awesome. Only $99 standalone. A free solution is ideal, but this is a pretty good answer.

Sadly this product no longer exists: https://www.granitebaysoftware.com/Default.aspx

The flickering you are talking about comes because you have chosen a too narrow aperture. Normally you can completely eliminate the flickering by choosing a wider aperture than f/8.
The reason is simple: The lenses are no longer controlled by a physical aperture ring. Today it's the camera's job to set the aperture, and if you choose a f-number higher than 8, the aperture has to move a lot in a short amount of time. This leads to an accuracy of maximum 96 %, thus resulting in 100-96=4, 4 in each direction: 4*2=8 %. This means that each picture can be up to 8 % different in exposure. (This percentage is of course dependent upon how good your camera and lenses are.)
But as you already have your footage shot you need to fix it on your computer. There aren't many programs to do this, in fact I couldn't find any, but a good one is Photoshop CSX Extended. The Extended version can work with video, thus making you able to correct each frame individually. But this leads to a lot of job!
Luckily for you there has been made an action for Photoshop CSX Extended to automate this process. (Think of it like a plugin for After Effects.) Just load your video and apply the action, and it will fix your footage completely!
The action is a part of a big action bundle called iNovaFX which only comes with this eBook: http://www.gmbooks.com/product/CS5.html. On this page you can see it in action!
I hope this will solve your flickering video! Have a good day!

Excellent answer, thanks! I didn't know that PS extended existed, let alone could work with video. Cheers! You will likely receive this bounty.

Thanks! The difference between the standard Photoshop and Photoshop Extended is that the Extended version can work with both video and 3D models in addition to what the Standard version can do. So if you are into 3D modeling you could actually texture them in PS as well as other dedicated programs.

This leads to an accuracy of maximum 96 % I don't understand where you got the numbers. Do you have a source for that?

@BartArondson Unfortunately I don't have the source anymore. The source stated that most cameras have an accuracy of up to 96%. The more you pay for the camera, the more accurate it will (likely) be. The point of my answer being that all cameras have some deviation, and that deviation is causing flickering on higher f-numbers.

@FriendofKim Ok, I see. I understand you point that cameras are not accurate, but a big part of your answer bases itself on this "fact" so it's a pity that you don't have the source anymore.

You should try VirtualDUB with the MSU deflicker plug-in. It's totally free and work better than other software I've tried.
You don't have to tweak any settings, it's working directly.
It's available for Windows.

Thanks, I'd love to check this out, but yeah, Windows. :(

The constant lighting you are referring to is not enough. Did you lock down the camera exposure? white balance? Focus? If any of these items are left in auto mode on your camera, your going to get some kind of uneven variance in light.
What kind of light are you using?
Since you are want a shallow depth of field and are achieving this with a short exposure the light source may be of interest as well.

Nope, I had set the camera to manual mode, manual focus, incandescent white balance. I welcome this input, but my question was more about how to correct this issue "in post", as re-shooting is undesirable.

Ah! You may very well be right! I was using a halogen and a fluorescent, the latter of which would explain the flickering at that exposure I guess. In any case, my original question still stands: "how can exposure flicker be corrected after shooting?"


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Closed Caption formats - support for overlapping phrases
I am looking to develop a tool for editing Closed Captions for MP3s.  It is mostly in support of YouTube music videos.  I've been looking over the Supported Caption File Formats in this YouTube page and the example they show is:
0:01:23.000,0:01:25.000
This text displays for two seconds starting
1 minute and 23 seconds into the video.

0:02:20.250,0:02:23.8
This text displays from 2 minutes and 20.25 seconds after the start
of the video until 2 minutes and 23.8 seconds after the start of the video.

0:03:14.159
This text displays beginning 3 minutes and 14.159 seconds
after the start of the video for an undefined length of time.

It seems clear enough there, with the first line being start,end time, the blank line being a delimiter, and the rest indicating text and line breaks.  The last 'time' entry indicates a start time but no explicit end time - it is up to the software to define how to render it (any examples my software makes, will have an explicit start & end time).  That is basically what is shown in the SubViewer (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SubViewer - link broken to reduce 3 links to maximum of 2) example at Wikipedia.
What neither page makes clear is whether the captions could effectively overlap.  E.G. a busy meeting, or songs with lead and back-up vocals.  An example of the latter is Johnny O'Keefe's - She's My Baby.
The BG vocals start
1. Bom, bom, bom, BOM..

Continue that with 2 & 3 (when you're on a good 'bom', roll with it..)
Then JO'K cuts in with ..
4a.                Short black hair..
4b. Bom, bom, bom, BOM..

Does the format specify/expect that all captions will be non-overlapping periods of time, like lines 1-3, or does it also support 'interleaved' text as with lines 4 a/b?

Could come kind soul add the [tag:file-formats] & (does not exit yet) closed-caption tags to this post for me?  If I go to edit it, I get informed it can only have two links (low rep.), and I'd prefer to keep all 3.

OK - reduced the 3 links to 2 in order to edit, but users with <150 rep. cannot create new tags.  I think 1) closed-caption should be a new tag for this SE site 2) it should be added to this post.  If you have the rep. & agree, please edit.

I tried this just a short while ago, and YouTube supports interleaving captions! You can even jumble the captions around in time. So the first caption could be the last one showing up in the video.
Just specify the starting time and the end time on all of the captions and they will show up during the time you specified.
Have a good time captioning! :)

Do you have a link where I can see your (or any) sample?  I'd really like to see how it is rendered 'live'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N26vTecsE7Y

There I've added some examples. Sorry for the lame video behind.. xD

The captions are at 1:23 and from 2:10.

On the second one around 2:10 it will show (call it) Caption 1. Caption 2 will start right after Caption 1. Caption 2 will also stop right before Caption 1 stops. A Caption 3 also starts inside Caption 1. This (Caption 3) however will stop before Caption 1.

And you can of course change the way the captions look by clicking the CC icon on the video and choose Settings.

That is perfect, thank you!  I'll study it a bit more closely, but it seems to be the best way of interleaving captions that I could imagine (short of scrolling them upwards, rather than just pushing them upwards).  I've marked the answer correct, but cannot award the bounty for 22 hrs.


text:
How to make a video of an iPad (or other tablet) screen
I have been making some movies of my iPad for promotional videos and they all range from bad to worse in terms of video quality. I have used compact cameras and camcorders with pretty similar results.
Most of the stuff I shoot is AVCHD 1920x1080 at 30fps. The camera is positioned to take in the whole screen of the iPad and little (or nothing) else.
The other day I borrowed a Canon REBEL T2i, thinking that the results were going to be fantastic. They were not. There is a weird strobey effect (NO idea why that would appear more with this camera shooting 30fps than with any other one), and the clarity is not great. In fact, it may look better with a $250 Sony pocket camera I have.
Which got me to thinking: I really haven't the slightest idea what I'm doing.

Should the room be dark or light? Or should there be light coming from some specific direction?
Should the iPad's brightness be high, medium or low?
Should the camera be as close to the iPad as possible, while still being able to get focus, or a few feet away?
Since the DSLR has SO many manual settings, what adjustments should I be trying to make?
Since the DSLR has interchangeable lenses, what kind of lens is really appropriate for this sort of thing?

I could go on, but I really don't even know the questions to ask. A bit of guidance or orientation or some links to read (that are not 400-page books, unless they are titled "How to Make a Video of a Tablet") would be appreciated.

http://viewstream.com/blog/index.php/2011/12/how-to-record-an-ipad-screen/

Related: http://avp.stackexchange.com/questions/3065/how-do-i-record-a-computer-monitor-without-banding-flickering-with-a-canon-t2i-5

From what I recall

The room should be dark, so the tablet is the light source.
Experiment with the brightness, but usually low is the way to go.
Camera doesn't need to be extremely close, but the more zoom you use the more obvious vibrations will be.
Put the DSLR in manual focus and adjust it so the tablet is just slightly out of focus - this will remove the moire effect.
You want a short depth of field. This is achieved with a lower F-Stop (larger aperture opening).

I attended a session by Hendrik Kueck (creator of Color Splash) at 360iDev on this topic specifically. It was called "Effectively using videos to explain and market your app". You can buy that video online for $3.50. It goes into a lot more detail and explains everything really well (and may even correct me on a couple points.) It is a deal at 10x that price.

Wow, great stuff, thanks! I will definitely check out the video and go through all of your advice carefully.

Also I just added a link as a comment to my question a friend sent me...

@Yar: I was just reading that article. Looks to have some good information too. I am going to be shooting similar video here soon, so am researching this again too.

a friend has also suggested I try a "softening filter" and "UV filter", i.e., hardware. Thoughts?

@Yar: I haven't tried. Get that video by Hendrik and I bet he has his email address in it and you could email him. He does a fabulous job on his videos.

After lots of testing and fiddling with a T2i, I actually got better results with my Sony DSC-WX5. Batteries are cheap and it does AVCHD, but it just contains less artifacts the the Digital Reflex. Weird. Anyway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRIa7y4tLM Not 100% pro, of course... anyway, iPad upside down, some ambient light, a nice distance away, and brightness at 50%. It's a 1-minute video only... Still exploring though...

Even better is to use a HDMI capture device like a Blackmagic Intensity. Plug the iPad (or any tablet with HDMI output) into it and away you go. Perfect screen capture.

Yeah, the problem is that you lose the finger (um, that doesn't sound right). It's a reasonable suggestion, though, but the units are $200...

The finger isn't that important, is it? If anything, the finger/hand gets in the way of seeing what's on the screen. Plus the quality of a capture via HDMI will look perfect, 1:1 copy - where as you've found with a video camera, there's so many variables that can change the quality.

the finger is pretty important for demoing, otherwise I'd use the iPad Simulator, which is beyond perfect (though hard to pinch and zoom)


text:
Avoid Rendering in Final Cut Pro: Smaller Frame Size?
I usually have great success in not needing rendering. I take all of my clips and make them Apple ProRes 422 @29.97fps and everything works. The clip that defines the characteristics of the sequence is imported from AVCHD, so it's Apple ProRes 422 1920x1080 @29.97fps (HDTV 1080i).
Today, one of my clips wants to be 1024x768 @29.97fps and the sequence (and other clips) are HDTV 1080i @29.97. For some reason, the smaller frame-size clip needs rendering. If I use Mpeg Streamclip and scale it up (to 720p, for instance), then it doesn't need rendering. However, I want it in its actual size (1024x768).
I've been through this before and was able to use clips that were not 1920x1080 with success. This time, I need to render. What am I doing wrong?

First off, there is no such coded as ProRes 411, so I have to assume you are using ProRes 422...which is a great start.
However it is not really worth the effort of trying to convert the clips so that you don't have to render within Final Cut, rendering in Final Cut is going to occur whether you attempt to avoid it or not.  In your case I believe it is a difference in pixel aspect ratio, if the PAR matches with a different frame size typically you do not have to render, however if they do not match even if both clips are 1920x1080 you would still need to render.

Thanks for answering. Fixed it to 422 (doh). You're right about PAR, methinks...
I'm avoiding rendering now by converting to 1920x1080 but without using up the whole frame. In Mpeg Streamclip I adjust the X/Y to be .75. Then I crop the thing in FinalCut Pro. I do not render while editing, ever, because then I'd never edit.


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What's the best working format for video making?
Good day.
I'm trying learning Premiere, but at the moment i'm using Corel Video Studio to make video footage.
I noticed cpu-spiking and freezing editing my video (with both programs): in particular i'm using source video x264 econded with Handbrake.
My cpu is a Ryzen 5 1600 six cores with 8gb ram.
I'm working on a mechanical HDD.
So my question is: what's the best and low impact video format for working/editing ?

Welcome! "Best" is rather subjective, especially without more details. What resolution is your source material? Are you working on professional projects or something personal? How are your acquiring your source material? What qualities are important to you besides performance? (For example, future proofing, small file size, delivery to broadcasters/streamers.)

The best format is using a temporal file of lower resolution.
Make a copy of your source material at half size, which will become 1/4 of the weight, then use some format that is compatible with your program and use it for the editing process, when it is ready, relink the videos to the original ones for the final render and done. Make some tests and see if the keyframes are working fine for small clips.
If you only want to change the source material to another format you are degrading your video.

I use Cinegy Daniel2 codec for editing in Premiere Pro.
This codec take more space on disk, but work veeeeery fast compare to H264.
Also it work more fast for me compare to ProRes.
Cinegy Daniel2 can be replaced with DNxHD MXF OP1a or MXF OP1a.
Try these codecs. In Premiere it works very good.

Welcome! Just a bit of clarification. MXF OP1a (and the other operational patterns) are containers, not codecs. MXF can be a great choice for a mezzanine format in a professional setting, but may not be right for casual use.

Thanks for corrections @MichaelLiebman .
I use Cinegy Daniel2 in generally for 4K videos. Or 4K multicam editing. Or when I want more smooth workflow in Premiere :)
I agreed with you that "best" is rather subjective, but from context I've understood that stighy want to improve him workflow in his editing program.
When I say improve I mean more smooth process without brakes.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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How can I reduce the wind noise as much as possible when recording a video with a GoPro?
I use a GoPro 10 to record videos. The GoPro is placed on a car. There's some pretty audible wind noise, esp. when the speed is over 50 or 100 kph. How can I reduce the wind noise as much as possible when recording a video with a GoPro?
I've turned the wind noise removal on on the GoPro settings. tried using the official GoPro protection case and some "windscreen windslayer cover housing frame case", it helps but there's still some wind noise. What else can I do?
I'm aware of How to reduce wind noise from a video? but that's for post-processing the wind noise.

Official GoPro protection case:

Windscreen windslayer cover housing frame case:

Is the GoPro mounted externally? What sounds are you trying to capture? One solutions would be a separate mic, closer to your subject - inside the car, in the engine bay etc.

@Tetsujin externally mounted indeed. I'm trying to capture the ambient sounds and don't wish to record anyone inside the car. Where could be a good place to place an additional mic and what type of microphones has a good sound quality at 100+ kph? Thanks!

I think you may need an external solution, mic in a 'zeppelin' blimp covered by a 'dead cat' secondary windshield. That's de rigueur for outdoor filming, but idk whether it's good enough for a moving vehicle - that's outside my experience.

As Tetsujin mentioned in the comment, a typical solution is to use an external microphone with a wind shield (aka windscreen or dead cat). One may get a GoPro Pro 3.5mm Mic Adapter to connect an external microphone to the GoPro.
Here are the microphone suggestions I've read online:

Olympus ME-51S Stereo Microphone (source 1, source 2, demo)
Rode VideoMicro Ultracompact Camera-Mount Shotgun Microphone (source, demo) + Rode WS9 Deluxe Wind Shield for VideoMicro + Manfrotto 035RL Super Clamp with Standard Stud + Tape King Gaffers Tape.
Lavalier Lapel Microphone (source, demo)

Pictures of setup from dragtimes.com:

Another picture of setup (source):

A more advanced setup:


text:
Any reliable benchmark for frame interpolation?
I want to use frame interpolation to convert videos from 30 FPS to 60 FPS. I found many programs for that: Davinci Resolve, Flowframes, SmoothVideo Project, Topaz Video Enhance AI (Chronos model), etc.
Is there any reliable benchmark for frame interpolation that would show me how these programs compare against each others (in terms of output quality + computational cost)?


text:
How can I keep all the clips' metadata when exporting a sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro?
I have a sequence composed of two subsequent clips in an Adobe Premiere Pro 2022 project. Each clip is a video taken with a GoPro and contains GPS information. However, when exporting the sequence using the export default settings, the GPS metadata is lost (I use this tool to view GPS data). How can I keep all the clips' metadata when exporting a sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro?

Adobe Premiere Pro 2022 export options (I'm keeping all the metadata that I was allowed to keep but maybe I messed up something):

I am still interested in this question.

Any idea is welcome.


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How can I change the images used in my graphics in Adobe Premiere?
I have 2 clips in one of my graphics in Premiere, as shown in the screenshot below. How can I change the image used in a clip?

The question seems simple but I've been looking for a solution for over 15 minutes without any success except for swapping the underlying file via Windows Explorer, but I feel there must be a way to do it in Premiere.

When you add an image to Essential Graphics, I think it is also added as an item in your Project.  If you can find the item in your Project window, you can replace it by right clicking on it and choosing Replace Footage.
Annoyingly, there doesn't seem to be a "Reveal In Project" option when you right click on an item in the Essential Graphics --> Edit pane, like there is when you click on a clip in a sequence.
If you are working with After Effects graphics templates, I'm not sure the individual items are added to your Project window, as I think those are designed to only be adjusted in After Effects.

Screenshot showing the "Replace Footage" option in Project window -> Select the image one wishes to change -> Right click on it:

Thanks! "Annoyingly, there doesn't seem to be a "Reveal In Project" option when you right click on an item in the Essential Graphics --> Edit pane, like there is when you click on a clip in a sequence." indeed, the Reveal In Project option is greyed out there. No idea why.

Essential Graphics is pretty new - maybe they just haven't got around to it yet?

Interesting, how did people use to add text before that Essential Graphics were introduced?


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Why does quality degrade so much if just cutting video with ffmpeg?
I have tried to cut video with the following command
ffmpeg -i "Вспомнить все (Total Recall, 1990).avi"  -ss 01:07:29 -to 01:08:05 fight.avi

Output:
Input #0, avi, from '╨Т╤Б╨┐╨╛╨╝╨╜╨╕╤В╤М ╨▓╤Б╨╡ (Total Recall, 1990).avi':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : VirtualDubMod 1.5.10.2 (build 2540/release)
    artist          : Menen
  Duration: 01:53:33.69, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3660 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (Advanced Simple Profile) (XVID / 0x44495658), yuv420p, 704x384 [SAR 1:1 DAR 11:6], 2295 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 23.
98 tbn, 23.98 tbc
    Stream #0:1: Audio: ac3 ([0] [0][0] / 0x2000), 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 448 kb/s
    Stream #0:2: Audio: ac3 ([0] [0][0] / 0x2000), 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 448 kb/s
    Stream #0:3: Audio: ac3 ([0] [0][0] / 0x2000), 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 448 kb/s
File 'fight.avi' already exists. Overwrite ? [y/N] y
Output #0, avi, to 'fight.avi':
  Metadata:
    IART            : Menen
    ISFT            : Lavf55.43.100
    Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (FMP4 / 0x34504D46), yuv420p, 704x384 [SAR 1:1 DAR 11:6], q=2-31, 200 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbn, 23.98 tbc
    Metadata:
      encoder         : Lavc55.67.100 mpeg4
    Stream #0:1: Audio: mp3 (libmp3lame) (U[0][0][0] / 0x0055), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp
    Metadata:
      encoder         : Lavc55.67.100 libmp3lame
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (mpeg4 (native) -> mpeg4 (native))
  Stream #0:1 -> #0:1 (ac3 (native) -> mp3 (libmp3lame))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
frame=  863 fps= 20 q=31.0 Lsize=    2690kB time=00:00:36.00 bitrate= 612.1kbits/s
video:2061kB audio:563kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: 2.500957%

The resulting video has obviously worse quality, with apparent big MPEG squares visible

Why?
How to avoid?
UPDATE
Even if re-encoding, then why so drastical change? Can we re-encode so that it will be nearly invisible degrading of quality?
UPDATE 2
I guess if I use -codec copy then I will be unable to cut at precise moment. Moment precision is a priority. So I agree with quality loss but it should not be so drastical.

I don't think ffmpeg supports this, but you can get nearly the best of both options by using the original stream (-codec copy) from the nearest keyframe, and re-encoding only the frames between the cut-point and that keyframe.  This only works if you have an encoder that can produce output compatible with the original stream, but you can use a high bitrate for the short segment to avoid quality loss.

Re-muxing only
Use stream copy mode to just re-mux instead of re-encode:
ffmpeg -ss 01:07:29 -i input -codec copy -map 0 -to 01:08:05 fight.avi

Using -ss as an input option can be faster than using it as an output option, but it may not be as accurate.
-codec copy will stream copy (no re-encoding). Default behavior, if -codec copy is omitted, is to re-encode, and as you've noticed the default encoding settings for most encoders are not optimal (they used to be a decade ago).
Default stream selection is to select only one stream per stream type (video, audio, subtitles, data, etc). -map 0 will ensure all streams are copied in case there are multiples of each type. That being said, your input only has two different streams, so it is actually not needed here.
Development of ffmpeg is very active, so it is important to use a recent build if possible. See the FFmpeg Download page for several options.

If you must re-encode
-crf
You can target a "visually lossless" quality level using the encoder libx264 with the -crf option. CRF is just about as close as you can get to a "constant quality" option: 0 is lossless (but usually results in huge files), ~18 is usually considered to be visually lossless or nearly so, 23 is the default, and 51 is worst.
-preset
The encoding speed to compression (quality per file size) ratio. Basically use the slowest preset you have patience for: ultrafast, superfast, veryfast, faster, fast, medium, slow, slower, veryslow.
ffmpeg -i input -codec:v libx264 -crf 23 -preset medium -ss 01:07:29 -to 01:08:05 output

Also see

FFmpeg H.264 Encoding Guide
Seeking with FFmpeg

You are re-encoding the video rather than cutting out a portion of the stream.  Any re-encode is going to produce quality loss, particularly when you cut the data rate to less than 1/11th of the original data rate.
If you want to cut out a portion of the video, you need to use a tool like VirtualDUB to actually extract a portion of the actual video stream and put it in a new container without re-encoding.  Note that there will be limitations to where you can cut like this since you will need to start at the beginning of a group of pictures.

Where am I cutting data rate to 1/11th?

Your input stream is 2295 kb/s.  Your output stream is 200 kb/s.  It is probably a default setting since you aren't specifying a bitrate.

Can I just conserve bitrate?

I mean that copy operation may cut at inprecise moments

So I agree with reencoding if small decreasing of quality

@Dims - at a consumption quality level like the video is already at, pretty much any re-encode is going to make a reasonably significant quality loss.  You would actually have to increase the file size a fair bit to try to come close to preserving quality.

Which file size? Output? I agree with any file size.

If you really want to re-encode rather than stream copy (stream copy would likely be accurate to within half a second), then you could probably preserve quality pretty well if you try somewhere around 3,000 or 3,500 kb/s for your encoding.  I'd try starting there and play around with some different data rates to find the best trade off between file size and video quality.


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How to make a fake 3d effect (The Matrix 3d rotation style) from 2 video sources?
I have two sources from differents points of view of the same scene. I'd like to start the video from one camera, stop it, and make a rotation to the second source just like a famous The Matrix scene. They made use of several cameras, but I only have two sources, just like bellow:

Is it possible to make it using an "easy" way ?
If yes, can you link a tutorial or sum up the steps ?
Does this technique have a name ?

I'm a real beginner, so please try to detail as possible your answer.

Depending on your intended use etc, when you consider that 1920x1080 is about 2 megapixels, you might be able to get some friends to bring their cell phones with them to do a "crowd sourced" shot.

@horatio In the theory that would work, but in reality it will not. Every camera will have different levels of zoom, different exposure, different shutter speeds (thus different blur), different white balance, different vignetting, different positions both in height and a lot in rotation.. It's not practically possible..

This is possible, though it wouldn't look real at all.. If you use Adobe After Effects you can just put both sources in one composition. Then you would turn on the 3D-mode on each of the layers. There is a button on each layer. If you click it there should be a small picture of a cube where you clicked.
Then you press P on each of the layers to bring up the position sliders. Then you animate the first layer until it "matches" the position of the second camera. (The axis that goes from the top of the image and downwards.) Do this for both the layers and just blend them together. I don't remember if you have to insert a camera into the scene too. So you basically move the layers to simulate movement. Oh, and add motion blur too with the motion blur button next to the 3d-button. Remember to switch on the master blur button too. This will make the camera movement (or in this instance the movement of the layer itself) look more natural. Remember to zoom in a bit into the comp to compensate for the 3D.
Please post your video so we can see how it looks! :)

+1 this can look good, but it really won't look real. There aren't any shortcuts to this. You either need many cameras, or a detailed model to allow you to render the movement.

Thanks for your answer! However, I don't really understand how you're planing to do the trick. I put the two layers in one composition, adjusted the position of one layer to match the other one, but I don't get how the transition between Layer #1 and Layer #2 should happen. Can you go further ? :)

You could try animating the opacity. So you'd be sure to match the contents of the layers up, so that the model does at all time stay in exactly the same position during the transition. I'll explain better when I come home.

The technique is called "bullet time", and as stated by @DrMayhem, involves lots of camera. I seem to recall that The Matrix VisFX team had enough cameras to do 60 frames per second.
That being said, check out Vincent Gallo's "Buffalo 66" and look for some articles on line. I think American Cinematographer did a piece on it around the time it was released. On a limited budget with a SINGLE camera, the closing scene is a pretty convincing bullet time sequence. He held REALLY still while the camera rolled a few seconds, cut, moved about 5 degrees along an arc, rolled for a few more seconds, cut, moved, rolled...until they'd travelled along the arc as far as they needed to. Circular dolly track makes this a LOT easier, but I'm sure a creative mind can figure out a way to simulate that... :)
Any jitters were smoothed out in post by morphing one frame to another...they probably had about 100 - 200 frames of each camera position from which to choose. A pain in post, but single camera bullet time.
I've been muddling a DIY circular track in my head; A digital SLR on time lapse mode with the actor holding still is the next thing I want to try. I can get a solid 8fps; animate the other 16fps by interpolating from existing frames, e voila.
There's a lot of DIY Bullet-Time stuff on the web as well.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Enter-the-Ghetto-Matrix-DIY-Bullet-Time/ is one of my faves, though a little more complex than a single camera.
Good luck!
d

I can't remake the footage, it's been already shot from 2 sources, just like I drew it above. I'm wondering if there is a way to recreate a 3d model of an object from the scene with PFTrack and then use it to change the angle during the animation. Any suggestion about that ?

I have to say sorry, but that isn't possible. PFTrack is a program for tracking a 3D-scene. And if you are wondering about if anything could work when it comes to 3D, it will not.. If it will work, you know it beforehand. You could try consulting a professional from Warner Bros, but even the professional will not be able to make it look real.. You would have to use the two pictures to rebuild the whole scene in 3D, and because of that it will not look completely real. (And it would take hundreds of hours to make it look good.)

My answer, given that the footage is already created, would mirror @50ndr33 above. Yes, you can create a 3-D model. However, people are the hardest to animate. It's no coincidence that the MAIN on-screen characters in Pixar's films are toys and robots, with humans appearing from the knees down. The translucence of skin just CANNOT be replicated well, even with today's animation. Look at the animated Beowulf. While that was somewhere at the top of animation's pinnacle, it doesn't look ~real~, and that level of animation likely needs more processing power than you have or can get a hold of...
Given the headaches, perhaps a reshoot might be easier...as much of a PITA as that may be, you'll likely be more pleased with the results.
Sorry I don't have better news on that front... :(
The good news is that this experience of looking for options to make it work is a valuable learning experience for you as a filmmaker. We've all been there...have a vision bigger than what we know and figuring it out along the way, missteps and all. That's an excellent place to be. Don't ever lose that spark.
d


text:
Converting MTS for best use in After Effects?
I have a client who gave me nothing but MTS files to use in After Effects. Basically it's HD slow motion photography, shot sideways, against a greenscreen, and all he wants to do is put one 1920 x 1080 composition up against another (they are rotated 90 degrees), have em move in the slow motion he shot them as, and fade out to another.
It's more of an effect, than a movie, so we're working completely in After Effects, no need to go back to any NLE. There's also no audio.
After Effects WILL work with MTS, but it runs really slow and was going to take hours just to render out 10 seconds. So I suggested we find a way to compress them, while still keeping the quality. (Also the greenscreen needs to retain data to be keyed out)
I've tried using Adobe Media Encoder to try out these formats. Note that the source MTS is 500MB, and 4 mins.
Quicktime PNG Codec (NO, LOSS QUALITY BAD) I forget the size, deleted it.

Quicktime ProRes422 : (SEEMS QUALITY RETAINED, FILE SIZE TRIPLES THOUGH) 2GB

Quicktime Animation (NO, LOST TOO MUCH QUALITY, ALL TILING AND PIXELATED) 5GB

Quicktime Cinepak (NO, SO MUCH QUALITY LOSS THAT IT LOOKS LIKE A 256 GIF PAINTING NOW) 600MB

Quicktime H.264 (NO, BLURRY QUALITY PIXELS) 37MB

Quicktime TIFF Codec (NO, LOST TOO MUCH QUALITY, ALL TILING AND PIXELATED) 10-FRICKEN-GB

Quicktime MPEG-4 VIDEO (NO, BLURRY QUALITY PIXELS, LOOKS LIKE H.264 RESULT) 28MB)

Quicktime HDV1080p24 MPEG-2 (WE MIGHT HAVE A WINNER) 600MB

TIFF SEQUENCE (Hasn't exported yet)

FLV (Hasn't exported yet)

Yeah....so I'm not sure what to do here. Again, the final result, is a no-audio, 1920 x 1080...not sure frame rate, VLC says some crazy number like 46.3432, that retains quality and can be reliably keyed, and renders out the fastest that After Effects CS5 (or 5.5, don't remember, it's the clients) will allow, because my client needs to be able to compare compositions against each other and stuff.
Thanks, I'm going crazy here!
Also, I asked CC, but figured I'd get faster responses here.

Use ClipWrap to convert the MTS file into a Quicktime Movie file (e.g. ProRes 422 codec).  There's a free version and a paid version - both will do what you need:
http://www.divergentmedia.com/clipwrap
Handbrake will also do this, I believe:
http://allmybrain.com/2010/01/05/handbrake-can-convert-mts-files-for-mac/