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Is there a microphone / video setup that requires little to no post-production?
I'm trying to record one take per day of someone reading a story in from of a camera in a vlog-like format, but I don't have a ton of time for post-production.
Most advice articles on a vlog setup tend to make recommendations around either (a) quality or (b) budget. But what technical specifications and features (or brands) would you look for if you're creating a setup that seeks to reduce the time it takes to do various post-production activities. Namely:

is there a microphone that eliminates pops and ambient noise automatically
is there a way to sync up audio and video automatically? Is the best solution here a USB mic? I know in the past USB mics have produced whirring sound?
are there any more tips and tricks to time if you're doing a lot of recordings? Automated scripts, etc?

I still imagine some lightweight editing is needed, but otherwise I'm wondering how elegantly we can get from record to upload while still maintaining good video & audio quality.

What I would do is concentrate on the setup in front of the camera, to make sure that what you're recording is the best quality it can be, in order to avoid the need for post.
Set up your lights so that you have good, soft-ish (no harsh shadows) lighting that is well colour balanced. A 3-point light setup is the standard way of lighting interview subjects, but you could also get away with a single keylight and reflector, or keylight, reflector and back light. A good simple portrait setup is detailed in this very good tutorial.
Pay attention to the background. A flat white wall is going to make the shot look flat and boring, but heaps of clutter could be distracting. Pay attention to the lighting levels—havign the background at the same exposure as the foreground may make your subject disappear, it can be good to slightly under-expose your BG. This is definitely not a rule; have a look at this reel, and pay attention to the backgrounds to get a good idea of how to do it right.
Check your white balance and exposure before shooting. Auto exposure may work, but it is usually better to use manual, to avoid it changing during the shot, or over-compensating for white or dark objects in the shot. Most cameras can do a custom balance off a white card held in the same position as your subject.
Try and get the location as quiet and dead as possible. No mic will automatically eliminate background sound. Directional mics will limit the pickup pattern to a narrow beam, but low frequency rumble (e.g. street noise or wind noise) will still cut through.
The absolute best way to minimise background noise is to get the mic as close to the sound source as possible. Sound intensity falls off with the square of the distance, so going twice as far away means one quarter the intensity. So to get the most signal versus noise you want the mic to be close to the signal, and away from the noise. A boom mic (a micstand will do for a seated subject) is a good way to do this, because the head of the subject is usually near the to of the frame, meaning you can have the mic close to the top of the subject's head, and if it's directional, pointed at their mouth. Having the mic above the subject and away from their breath will help eliminate p-pops.
Lapel mics are another way of getting the mic close to the subject, but can be affected by clothing noise.
By "dead", I mean less reverberation. Don't record in a bathroom; a room with carpet, soft furniture and as few hard surfaces as possible will work best. A bedroom is actually pretty good usually.
Good cameras (including some better consumer grade cameras) will have an external mic input. This removes the need to synch audio and pictures in post. Then you can just use a standard analog mic with a cable; on a budget this will give you the best bang for your buck.
If you have the subject well lit, with a good sound setup, and the camera correctly exposed and balanced you've eliminated a lot of post work. You could set up a standard grade if you want to tweak it more, eg. adding a LUT or a 'look' to make it really pop. If you keep your shoot settings the same, then you can just use the same grade each time, and still achieve great results.

Crazy helpful thank you. Surprising how loud a quiet rooms sounds when you start assessing it for this purpose.

First, have your subject(s) rehearse the heck out of their presentation if that is practical. If  you have access to a Mac, place it near a wall, preferably white. Bounce a cheap lamp off the wall to give your subject soft diffused light, and record using Quicktime (it's free). You can do quick edits right inside Quicktime if you need to.
Dave Shaheen
Methuen MA


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Shooting in 4:3 Aspect Ratio
I'm a filmmaking student planning to shoot a shortfilm, I want to give it a special visual style that's why I will try to shoot it as if it were square aspect ratio, the problem is, since it's an independent project, my budget will only allow me to use cameras like Blackmagic Cinema Pocket or Sony Alpha A7 so, if any of you knows techniques or resources that could help on this task it would be very helpful for me.

Use the frame guides built into whichever camera you use, and set the guides to 4:3.  Both cameras you mention have them.  When you're shooting, compose your image inside the frame guide.  The camera will record outside of that area, but when you edit, you'll crop the image back down to 4:3.  The extra pixels around the edges allow you to do things like; recompose if necessary, correct your horizon, add or remove lens distortion, add or remove camera shake, etc.
I haven't used the A7 enough to remember where the frame guides are in the menu structure (Sony menus are famously awful.  I still have nightmares about switching to/from HFR RAW on the FS700.), but on the BMPCC4K it's dead simple, just tap the reticle icon on the top left corner of the screen, and select 4:3 from the menu that appears, and flip the toggle on the bottom left to "ON".

Thanks so much, this is gold

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Custom timeline settings - how to use that?
On Resolve index page I found this article:

But I can't find information about it, how to use that and where is located?

That particular menu is only available on the cut page, AFAIK.  The BMD website is referring to the fact that as of R16, projects can contain multiple timelines with different resolutions.  In previous versions of Resolve, timeline resolution was set at the project level; you could have multiple timelines in a project, but they all had to be the same resolution.
But if all you need is that little menu, here are the steps to find it:
Switch to the "Cut" page.  It's icon looks like this:

Then click on the Icon in the upper-right side of the screen that looks like this:

This little window is really just a shortcut, which sets a few things in the project settings to commonly used values.  To put it another way, changing the "Timeline resolution" dropdown menu in Project Settings->Master Settings (gear menu) to 1920x1080, 3840x2160, etc, does exactly the same thing.
There are a few other places in Resolve's interface where you'll find shortcuts to the project settings, but all the magic really happens under the gear icon.  For example, when you create a new timeline via File->New Timeline, then click the "Custom Settings" button, and switch to the "Format" tab, you'll get a dialoge that looks like this:
Again, these settings are just shortcuts to the main project settings, and you can change everything besides timeline framerate after the fact (which actually is possible, but that's another topic.  Best to just get it right the first time).
And just for good measure, here's a screenshot of the master "Project Settings", which you'll find under the gear menu on the bottom right of the UI:

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


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Shooting short clips vs. cutting long clips
Say I want to create several short clips with the original encoding of a certain camera. Do I have to shoot the short clips directly or can I shoot a long clip and then cut it up using ffmpeg with the appropriate options?

You can do either method.
Short clips

Take up less file space.
Files are already cut.

Long continuous shot

Easier method when shooting, but more work in post.
Easier to sync a continuous audio stream such as from an external mic.


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Collage elements appearing one-by-one
I am working on a project in Premiere Pro and one scene calls for a collage of logos to be visible one-at-a-time until the whole collage is filled. I felt that a 2-second delay was the most appropriate setting to give viewers enough time to actually identify the logos. The client did not object to this design decision, but asked me what the "industry standard" is. I admit, I have never heard of any standard for this, or even if there is one. I did the typical internet scouring - nothing other than opinions with no underlying support. So I put the question to you knowledgeable folks. Does anybody have any references or professional discussions you can share?

There's not an industry standard, but two seconds is too long for logos.  If it were a sentence of text, then maybe, depending on how long of a sentence.
A colleague of mine once told me that you should keep text on screen for long enough for you to read aloud, backwards, one word at a time.  So, if you put, "The quick brown fox jumped over the two lazy dogs" on screen, you'd read: "dogs-lazy-two-the-over-jumped-fox-brown-quick-the" aloud, and it should take about as long as the text is on screen.  I can do that in under two seconds.
Logos are specifically designed to be identifiable by a quick glance, plus, you're talking about popping up a tile, and leaving it up, correct?  If you weren't, and each logo disappeared before the next one came up, I'd say 15 frames might be too long.  If each logo is readable after the next one pops up, you might not pause at all, depending on how they're animated, how simple/complex they are, how busy your other layout is, etc -- but I'd experiment with between 1-5 frames.
People's attention spans are shorter and shorter every day.  Cuts in movies and online videos are faster and faster every day.  Your audience is very good at identifying new information quickly.  Don't sell them short.  They'll get bored and watch something else.
Also, when a client asks for a video or video element of length X, the first revision you show them should be X/Y units of time, where Y is a positive integer, which increases the less your client knows about video.  For the average person, I'd put Y at about 3.  So, the first version I show a random person should be about 1/3 the length they'd requested (It's probably smart to let them know up front, though.)  In cases where the time is fixed, like music videos, or commercials, substitute time-of-effort for video duration.

Jason, thank you for such a thorough response. Your advice will help me with this project, and many future projects to come. Much appreciate the time and thought to respond. Have a great weekend!

I like that rule of thumb. It's so true.


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Davinci Resolve 15 - color correction of whole tracks
I have a video project which I have cut and edited and now I want to adjust color (temperature) of one track that contains clips from one camera (2nd track contains clips from 2nd camera), I know it is possible to adjust individual clips, but I want to do it for the whole track because it is the same camera with the same settings. Or do I have to adjust individual clips manualy?
I bet the functionality must be somewhere and I just can't find it.
Thanks in advance!

A couple of ways you can do this.  My faforite is groups.  In the color page, do this:

Shift click all of the clips you want to color correct at the same time.  You can limit the clips shown on the color page to a single track by disabling the video tracks on either the color page or the edit page.
Right-click on any of the now selected clips to bring up a contextual menu.
Choose "Add into a new group" from the menu.
Click the disclosure triangle next to the word "Clip" above the node viewer.
Select either "group pre-clip" or "group post-clip" from the dropdown.

You'll now notice green chain link icons across all of the clips you have grouped together.  When you grade one, it will grade all of the other ones that are linked.  Additionally, If you switch the node viewer back to "clip," you can stack additional corrections on your group corrections.  The order of operations depends on whether you used "pre" or "post" and you can always do both.
I might, for example, do a basic first pass in group-pre, matching all of the cameras' white balance, exposure, and look.  Then, once everything matches, move clip-by clip in "clip" view, making individual adjustments on a case-by-case basis.  Then, I might use "group-post" if I notice all of the grouped cameras still need a group-based adjustment, perhaps to un-distort a lens, for example.  Finally, you can use "Timeline" view in the node viewer to apply an overall grade to the whole timeline, which is useful for "legalizing" the whole program; making sure the waveform and vector scopes stay within range for the whole show.
The group method is good, because while you can restrict a group correction to a particular track, or a particular camera, you don't have to, and a clip can belong to multiple groups.  So, for example, if I'm using two different cameras, the cameras have different looks AND interchangeable lenses; if the cam-ops swap lenses during the shoot, I can have a group for cameras, and a group for lenses.  I can then match the color of the cameras to each other in the camera group, then match the distortion in the lens group, and it doesn't matter that the cam-ops swapped lenses.
Another, perhaps less complicated method is to:

Grade your clip.
Switch to the edit page.
Copy your clip
Select all of the clips that you want to bestow the first clip's correction upon.
Paste Attributes (alt/option-v).  Under the Video section, make sure "Color Correction" is checked, and unless you want to affect other elements of the target clips, make sure all of the other boxes are unchecked.

Just color correct one clip according to your specifications and then select that clip first and then all other which you want to have the same color correction. To select the other clips you can do ctrl + click. This way all the clips which you selected, will have the same color correction as of the first clip. I saw this in some YouTube video.

Thanks for your reply. I have tested it and it does not work, but I figured it out thanks to you. First, I have to correct one clip, then select all clips I want to adjust, after that select the one I have corrected (it has to be the last one in selection), right click and select Apply Grade.


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Master volume in final cut pro X
I have a lot of audio tracks in a project of FCPX and I did some changes on each of them separately. Now, I want to decrease the volume of all tracks by a same amount. I was wondering if there is a simple master volume in FCPX to do that.

Create a compound clip of the clips you want to adjust the volume of by selecting the clips and pressing alt-G. The volume of the compound clip as a whole can then be adjusted like a regular clip.

Although I would expect to have a master volume in FCPX. Hope they will add it in the next updates.


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Reading aux timecode with Premiere Pro
I have a video clip with an audio track that has a recording of SMPTE linear timecode.  I would like to apply a real timecode to the video, derived from this audio track so that I can more easily sync up the video to an audio clip later on.
I've read that older versions of Premiere Pro can't handle timecode in audio this way.  Can the current version (CC 2019) do it?  If so, how?  Thank you.

Premiere Pro does not currently read audio timecode, I wish it did as it would solve a lot of problems.   There are a couple options but either mean longer work flow and or costs money depending on your situation.
If you have Tentacle Sync hardware, you get a license for Tentacle Sync Studio for Mac or Tentacle Timecode Tool for PC which can overwrite your file embedding the audio timecode as file timecode.
Another paid software is LTC Convert from VideoToolShed. It does a much better job of converting timecode than the Tentacle Timecode Tool can do for PC (TTC tool will not covert 10-bit footage) using ALL-I codec on GH5 and the codec used for 10-bit on the Sony FS7 (and possibly the FS9).
The last option and this one is free, but means more workflow, Davinci Resolve (free version) will allow you to convert your audio timecode and then re-export the footage to use in Premiere Pro.
Me personally, I am going to spend the 135euros for LTC convert for the next big project I need to shoot. The demo version is free and you can convert one file at a time using the demo version.
Maybe someday, Adobe will get with the real world and be able to read audio timecode.

Thanks for the advice!  I've since switched to Davinci Resolve anyway (when possible), as Premiere Pro has been incredibly buggy.  I didn't think to check there for the timecode options yet.  Will check it out soon!

does anyone know whether premiere has this feature yet?

I'd be very cautious about the videotoolshed ltc product. Its pretty unstable. We've had to give up on it, because on a pc , it crashes pretty consistently when reading LTC (as in the whole program locks up and fades out). It might be OK on a mac, but I see no evidence that its actually useable on PC (We've tried this on multiple machines). Unless the non-demo version "unlocks" not crashing, we noped out of buying it.  YMMV


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Water on movie camera lens?
At the end of "Gravity" movie main character splashes water towards camera, it looks like this:

 (2:30)

From that moment camera view has water drops visible. It the movie gear waterproof or there was some glass mounted in front of the lenses? Or was it CGI?

This is pure speculation with respect to the movie Gravity, but when people use expensive cameras around water, they usually protect them from the water.  It's not very hard to do.  If you search BNH for "Camera Rain Cover," you'll see that you get results for under $10.  To protect the front end of the lens, often people will use a UV filter.
Also, when you imagine a typical movie camera, do you picture a black box at the front end? Ever wonder what that was all about?  It's called a Matte Box, and the black petals that stick out the front are flags, which keep stray light from hitting the front of the lens and causing unwanted lens flares.  But the other thing matte boxes do is hold sheets of glass in front of the lens for various reasons, most typically ND (neutral density) filters, but also polarizers, UV filters, IR, etc.  Just like the screw-on UV filters, these flat, square ones will protect the lens from water or debris.  As long as the rest of the camera is safe, you're good to go.
To me, this shot looks like the water droplet isn't that close to the front of the lens, so it's probably not hitting a filter that screws directly on the front.  Since there are underwater shots in the film, and since there are shots where the camera swims alongside the actress, my guess is that the camera is housed within an underwater camera enclosure.  These are usually relatively expensive, bespoke pieces of equipment, which can cost as much as the camera they're designed to house.
If you're on an indie budget, it's an item you would rent.  But if Sandra Bullock is your lead, and you've got the VFX budget for a movie like this, your studio probably already owns one, and they'd probably rather just let you use it than A) risk losing their expensive camera or B) spend VFX money on water drops instead of space action sequences.
Anecdotally, in the movie Children of Men, there's a fantastic long take, where some fake blood hit the front of the lens.  The director chose to leave the blood because he felt it added to the immediacy of the scene.

Let's say you really want the splash to be in the scene, and it is not an accident, then you need to keep the camera close to the action. But if you want to control it you need to calculate the right distance, so it does not look like a smudge or simply a disrupting dark blur, so you need distance from the lens.
Then you use a rig, not only to protect the camera (you can use a plastic rain cover for that) but to put a flat glass in front of the lens at some distance so you control if it is focused or not.

But in this era of overcontrolled stuff, yes. A CGI splash can be added to a normal scene to enhance it. In this case, without seeing any behind the camera of that scene, the camera is too close that I would say it is natural, and it just happened to look good enough.
Probably some other shots were taken. And this one just worked.


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How to create a video so it can be displayed on 3 screens
My question is simple.
Is it possible to create a video (by standard tools and processes) that needs to be displayed on 3 horizontal screens stacked side by side (like a screen wall)?
The idea is to put the screens on this setup:

My designers and video producers are stuck with this task, so I am trying to help with it researching.

I do this all the time at work, I'm currently rendering a 6 screen video wall for an installation. The easiest way to work is to create the video at the size of all the displays put together, e.g. for 3 × 4K displays it would be 11520 × 2160 pixels. This is so that you can work on the whole thing at once, and also so you can justify to your boss the insane amount of money they spent on your workstation (did I say that out loud?).
You can use standard video tools like NLEs, e.g. Premiere or Resolve, compositors and animation packages like Fusion and After Effects or 3D applications like Maya, Lightwave or Blender. All modern versions of this kind of software will have the capability to work at custom resolutions, but as mentioned, your hardware will need to be pretty good, you'll have to budget for render time, and your proxy game will need to be strong (proxies are low-res substitutes that you can use to work on, then swap for the high-res originals at export time).
Then you export, and encode into the playback format suitable for your playback devices. Some playback devices are able to handle large videos and split the playback into multiple screens. Small computer-based devices like Intel NUCs and Mac minis can be hooked up to multiple monitors and standard video players like VLC can be used to play the content full-screen across them all. Alternatively you can get multiple playback devices, one for each screen and synch them over a network. The output format will depend on the hardware you are using to play the material, so talk to whoever is setting that up.
To split the composition you re-compose the full composition into the screens that will be displayed on each monitor. In the installation I am working on at the moment there are 6 screens, but the material is being played as three parts, with each playback device playing to two screens. So I've split my 10800 × 1920 into three 3600 × 1920 compositions.
The tools above all have the ability to take one composition and nest it into another at a different resolution, but as I've found in my current projects you may have to re-edit the main composition to help with renders (I was hitting a GPU memory wall with some GPU-based effects, so I had to resize some of my layers and shuffle things to get it to render without choking).

I know there’s a specific piece of software for concert displays, billboards, and non-rectangular projections. Is it Resolume? I think there was something else. Likely overkill anyway. Just bugs me that I can’t think of it.

I just would add to @stib's answer that if the source material is not that high resolution, the project can be smaller in total size.
If the original video is 4096px width, for example, the final composition could be that size, and just crop the height. Probably double that resolution and adding some sharpening can be easier to work with.
Another option is to limit a FullHD height, 1080px and work with 1920x3 = 5760 px width.
One thing to consider is if you want to compensate for the gap between monitors, so you need to crop the intersections as if they are just behind the gap.

Then the computer displaying it should have the monitor's desktop set as "extended" and you need to have 3 HDMI output ports.


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How to split an object in a video
I trying to find a way to do the animation of separating different components of a computer window as it is done in the following video using adobe premiere pro.
Could somebody help me to put some light on how to achieve this in premiere pro
the time of the animation starts at 3.11

I'd typically tackle something like this in After Effects, but since Premiere Pro is the restriction here, lets give it a go;

Screenshot/Screen Record the application you wish to deconstruct.
Import the footage into Premiere.
Count how many components you'll be splitting the footage into and duplicate the footage that number of times.
On each duplication, use the rectangular mask in premiere to isolate the different components of the application.
You now have control over the position of each components you isolated. Use positional keyframes to animate as you wish.


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how to smoothly increase a video in picture of picture mode
Pretty much this effect.
What I tried:

I put the movie in a picture in picture mode
Cut the overlaying movie (the one on top) every second for about 5 seconds
gradually increased each newly created scene a little

This looked horrible and not smooth at all

What you're trying to do is easily achieved with after-effects. iMovie really isn't made for motion graphics.
What you want to do is the following:

Create a composition from your footage
Drag the pip video above the main video.
Press "s" while having the pip video selected to bring up the scaling.
Scale the video down and drag it to the position you'd like.
Now press the stopwatch on the scaling (this will create a keyframe).
Go forward in the timeline and enter 100% in the scaling, which will make it full-screen again.
Do steps 5-6 with the position (you can bring it up by pressing "p"), except for entering 100%, you'll right-click the position and choose "reset". This will center the now full-scale pip video perfectly.

Notes: It is important that the first keyframe from scaling and position are on the same frame, and the last  keyframe of position and scaling must also be on the same frame.
If you look at the animation, it might look a bit "linear". To make it smoother, you can select all four keyframes you have created, right-click and choose "easy-ease". This will interpolate your keyframes in a smoother way.


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Create a spherical hologram
I am clueless how to create a spherical hologram in After Effects without CC Cylinder effect …
Do I need to animate it in a 3D software and then import that model with the animation in After Effects or is there an easier way to create it solely in AE?
NOTE: The sphere needs to be scaled on the y-axis. I don't want a perfect sphere and therefore can't use the CC Cylinder in AE (I think).

I just want to make sure I understand you correctly. Are you sure you're not mistaking cylindrical (more like a tube shape) for spherical (more like a ball shape)? The image that you are showing here looks as though it would be a perfect use-case for CC Cylinder, so I am uncertain as to why you think you shouldn't use it. There shouldn't be anything stopping you from scaling it on the y-axis.

This is not something you should ever do in After-Effects. Primarily, After-Effects is a motion-graphics program, so it works in 2D 99% of the time. Something like this scene from ghost in the shell was probably created using a 3D-Program to model out the cylinder (Modo, Cinema4D, Maya or Houdini could have been used), and then send over to a compositing-program, of which I'm pretty sure they used Nuke. If I was to get a job like that, this is how I would've worked:

Track the original shot and create a 3D-Camera (using Pf-Track or something similar).
Create a mask around the Lady and export it as a matte-image-sequence.
Import the camera in your 3D-Program of choice and set the original Clip as your background, so you can see where the cylinder is supposed to be in space.
Model out the Cylinder and texture it accordingly.
Set the 3D-Kamera to fit the real camera, i.e. Lens-distortion, Chromatic-Abberation, Mono-Chromatic Abberation, etc.
Light the scene to perfectly fit the video-clip.
Cut out the back part of the cylinder using your matte-image sequence from prior.
Export the sequence as a tiff or exr with alpha-channel (the transparency)
Import the image-sequence into Nuke.
Add some finishing touches such as grain, glow, etc.

I agree about not using After Effects, but that's just because I don't have a very high opinion of Adobe.  People use AE to motion track and composite 3D elements into 2D scenes all the time (not to mention rotoscope, add filters, chromatic aberration, etc).  In fact, I don't see anything in your post that AE can't do.  It even has lite versions of Mocha and C4D included (albeit, very out of date).  In my OPINION, one shouldn't do this kind of thing in AE, because Adobe are abusive to their customers, who suffer from Stalkholm Syndrome.

Also, I feel like I should mention Fusion.  Yes, Nuke is king of VFX compositors.  Fusion is a very Nuke-like alternative, but is cheaper/free, and a good entry point for someone learning node-based compositing.  Layer-based compositing (AE) being a poor approach to temporal media is a solid argument against its use.  Just calling AE a motion graphics program is not.

@JasonConrad I fully agree with you, actually. My crippling phobia of doing 3D work in AE made me recommend Nuke, although it indeed is theoretically possible in ae.


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Can I make m4v files "better" before archiving? (adding keyframes, or lossless optimization, or ?)
I've got a decent bitrate DVD rip of an animated TV series, and before sending it to it's forever home (currently my PS3's extra HD space), I was wondering: can you take existing m4v files and make them somehow "better" losslessly?  Maybe adding more seekable points, or optimizing headers, or sprinkle in more video chapter marker thumbnails, or ...?
H264 MPEG-4 AVC, 720x480

No, there are not commonly accepted ways to optimize a pre-existing mp4 file without full re-encoding.

No and yes.
For one, you cannot magically pull out more information from the video you have. On the other hand side, you can try to use NVIDIA's AI-Upscaling, which works fine on documentaries and nature, but it turns humans into horrible creatures. The Ai practically guesses what information is hidden between the pixels, so it's not 100% accurate.
But just thinking about the problem at hand should make it clear, that there's nothing "hidden" between blurry pixels. There just isn't enough information in the stream and you cannot simply enhance the video like you see in csi:miami. You can try using post-processing, such as sharpening, upscaling to 4k using Red-Giant's plugins (which are expensive though) and enhancing contrast. All of that is just post-processing though, so if the file's a turd, you'll be polishing a turd.

Oh, completely - not trying to get more from what I've got.  I was thinking more along the lines of "if you take a regular mp4 file, and add in more thumbnails at even intervals, it will make seeking faster".  Or "if you run it through this process, you can make sure MP4 'Fast Start' is enabled."

@BenjaminH I did not even know about "Fast Start". Anyway, what you can do is ensure maximum playability of your files, for example by deinterlacing them with the best deinterlacer you can find instead of letting your TV or media player doing it. To me this would be the number one thing I would do if I ever bothered with doing something like this. For example, my Sony Blu-Ray player is horrible at deinterlacing, and I see combing all over the place when I watch The Simpsons from a DVD.

Cool, thank you! I think I'm going to delete this question (kinda opinion) but these were good suggestions!


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How to include guitar tabs from guitar pro in video?
Guitar Pro is a software that is used to write and play back guitar tabs (or any music notation for that matter). Similiar to the video below, I want to overlay the tabs played in guitar pro to a video. How would I do this?
Example on YouTube:

Playback in guitar pro

Does this answer your question? I'm trying to add guitar tabs to a music video, do you know any software to do it?

The Guitar Pro website doesn't list video as one of the output formats available within the software.  So, you'll need to use screen capture software to record the animated tabs, then composite this over your instrument footage.
Alternatively, you could use hardware video mixing devices to combine the video feed of the tab playback with a live camera feed of the guitarist.  This is how many video game streamers composite video feeds with their live gameplay.  Blackmagic design makes an entry level device suitable for this purpose called the ATEM mini.  AJA is another company with similar devices.
Neither of these methods will allow you to alter the format of the output from the guitar tab software; what you see is what you get.  For example, if Guitar Pro 7 doesn't have a continuously-scrolling lower third output format (Like the one in the Cerberus video), you'd need to manually re-create the lower-third tab notation, and then composite it with your guitarist footage.  You can get as fancy as you want with this method, using motion graphics techniques and software such as After Effects, Fusion, or Motion (to name a few), but you could also keep it pretty simple; It's pretty straightforward to animate an image moving left to right in any NLE.  You could use photo editing software like photoshop to convert one of the printable export formats of GP7 into a long, horizontal image, overlay the graphic on your footage, and animate it by setting a position keyframe at the beginning of your video, and one at the end (use linear temporal interpolation for steady movement).


text:
FFMPEG Stitch four videos together, then add overlay to result
I have four videos (no audio) which I am able to stitch together using this command.
I am also able to add an overlay on a single video with this command.
Is it possible to combine both of these operations with a single ffmpeg command (i.e. stack four 960x540 videos as in the first link, then add a 1920x1080 overlay onto the resulting 1920x1080 video)? Thanks.

Add the overlay to the result of the stacked videos.
Use
ffmpeg -i input0 -i input1 -i input2 -i input3 -i overlay -filter_complex \
"[0:v][1:v]hstack[top]; \
 [2:v][3:v]hstack[bottom]; \
 [top][bottom]vstack[v];[v][4:v]overlay=0:0[v]" \
-map "[v]" output.mp4


text:
Best video format for a retired PowerPC (iBook G4)?
We have a retired iBook G4, it plays H.264 quite laggy.
My question is what is the best video format optimizing for Battery Life on a PowerPC?

Bonus question: Is there a free batch converter for macOS to process 300+ file?

Is there a forum somewhere better suited for this kind of question?

Instead of the “bonus” question it would be better to ask it as another question.

MPEG4 encoded with Handbrake, or use Xvid with ffmpegX.
MacRumors PowerPC forum is definitely a better place to discuss this.


text:
Physical difference between ISO and gain
I'm trying to understand the difference between gain and ISO in today's photo/video cameras, and haven't found a good explanation even after heavy googling. I know that both ISO and gain are used for adjusting the sensor's sensitivity to light, with higher ISO/gain resulting in a brighter picture, but with more noise. However, I do not know what the physical process behind ISO/gain is. Does both mean analog/digital amplification of the signal at the sensor? Is gain just another term for ISO?

ISO stands for the International Standards Organization.  They standardize all kinds of stuff, including film stock for photography, cinematography, and digital video.  If you're using a digital camera that uses ISO instead of gain, then it should conform to the specifications they've outlined in ISO 12232:2019, which is available for purchase here.
There's a very good wikipedia article on the subject here.
Gain is just the amount of amplification in decibels that the camera applies to the signal from the sensor before it gets recorded to the image.  Some cameras apply gain before analogue to digital conversion, some apply it after, and some, such as the BlackMagic Pocket cinema cameras do both, to achieve what they call, "dual-native ISO."
So, in short, Gain is a measurement of amplification, and ISO is a standardized measurement of film/sensor sensitivity.  Gain does not necessarily correlate consistently to exposure across different camera makes, models, and manufacturers.  It's just a "volume knob."  ISO is designed to correlate to exposure universally (but it does not consider some variables and imperfections, which is what EI does, similar to the difference between "T stop" and "F stop" measurements for aperture).

Thank you! So are different ISO levels in a camera just different, preprogrammed levels of gain?

I guess you could think of it that way if all you need is a heuristic for getting correct exposure, and your camera only uses one or the other, but it's not technically accurate.  Reducing your ISO by half (from 800 to 400) is a one-stop light reduction, and compensating with a one-stop increase in shutter angle (going from 1/60th to 1/30th at 30 fps aka 180º to 360º) should hold the exposure level constant.  The same is not necessarily true for gain.


text:
FFMPEG is not trimming the audio to the length of the video
As a follow-up on Video concatenation puts sound out of sync, I have 6 video clips where the audio is 200 ms shorter than the video. The last clip has a chair banging on the floor and serves to measure the total misalignment in the concatenation.
I tried concatenating them simply with:
ffmpeg -safe 0 -f concat -i files_to_combine -vcodec copy -acodec copy temp.MOV

where files_to_combine contains a list of the files in format file ./DSC_0013.MOV for example. The result is 0.5 seconds of misalignment.
I also tried trimming each clip to the shortest stream with:
ffmpeg -i DSC_0013.MOV -map 0 -c copy \
  -fflags +shortest -max_interleave_delta 0 DSC_0013_trimmed.MOV

before concatenating them as above. The results is 0.08 seconds of misalignment. I also tried increasing the value of -max_interleave_delta, with similar results.
With iMovie, the concatenation of audio and video is perfectly aligned.
How can I trim and concatenate the clips with FFMPEG so they concatenate as cleanly as with iMovie?

In the process of submitting a bug report, I tested the same input samples on the nightly build of FFMPEG of 11 February 2020, which fixed the problem. That nightly build had version:

ffmpeg version git-2020-02-11-f15007a

To install a nightly build, I suggest using the compiled binaries from Zeranoe. Beginners should choose "Static" libraries, which includes the required libraries in the build.
I suspect that the problem is due to the input samples being slices of an hour-long footage, which is longer than the EU restriction on camcorders. Using the nightly build avoids this case of sound and video out of sync even with shortest clip trimming.
For the EU restriction, see Filesystem that records longer than 4 GiB, or one hour without interruption or Why is there a limit restriction to the 1080p film video?.


text:
Ffmpeg wipe diagonal transiton with audio concat
How to create “diagonal wipe” effect in FFmpeg?
This question has an answer, however the answer does not concat the audios of videos. How can I fix it ?
ffmpeg -i old.mp4 -i new.mp4 -filter_complex
   "[1]format=yuva444p,
       geq=lum='p(X,Y)':
       a='st(1,(1+W/H/TN)*H/D);if(lt(W-X,((ld(1)*T-Y)/(ld(1)*T))*ld(1)*T*TN),p(X,Y),0)':
       enable='lte(t,D)',setpts=PTS+D/TB[new];
    [0:v][new]overlay" wipe.mp4

Use the acrossfade filter.
...
[0:v][new]overlay;
[0]atrim=0:T+D[a0];[a0][1:a]acrossfade=d=D"

D like in the original command is the duration of the wipe. T is the time at which the wipe starts.


text:
Prime or Zoom for Video (Micro Four Thirds)
I am looking to get a Blackmagic Pocket 4K. I know that you can do the EF conversion, and use Canon EF lenses, but I want to keep the cost down on my initial purchase.
I am looking at either getting a Zoom Lens (14-42mm) F3.5/F5.6
or
Two (or possibly just one), prime.
17mm Prime(F1.8)
45mm Prime(F1.8)
I suppose the right idea is to prefer using a prime? But the convenience of a zoom is something that I have gotten used to. I don't really do zoom shots, but it's convenient setting up a shot and using the zoom instead of moving the camera around where you sometimes won't have adequate space to do so. It is also convenient to not have to change lenses on a rig for different shots.
I am an amateur (hobbyist) videographer, hoping to get better and later offer more professional videography.
Is the prime's really THAT much better? In photography, I feel a prime has more worth when you do some pixel peeping, but does it make a huge quality difference for video? (I don't own and have never used a prime).
I currently shoot on a Fuji x-T20 (aps-c / 18-55), making use of a gimbal and tripod. The Blackmagic will be on a rig.
Thanks in advance.

For most people, the first workhorse lens will be a zoom, because of the versatility.
Sharpness in lenses isn't a huge factor for video; at HD resolution and below, lenses that photographers turn their noses up at for their sharpness do a perfectly adequate job. Once you're shooting 4k it starts being a bit more important, but even still that's way below the sort of resolution most photographic lenses are made for. Unless you're talking about lomo lenses, you'll probably struggle to see the difference. What you will notice is the extra stop and a half that the prime gives you. If that's something you really need, then buy a prime second.
If money wasn't an object and you were using them for drama or other scripted content, a set of primes would be ideal. You get the range of a zoom with the quality of primes. But even if you had all the money in the world, you still wouldn't choose that for documentary work, because you're not going to want to be changing lenses to get different shots when you're running and gunning.

Thanks. This makes sense to me. I wanted to stick with a zoom as that is what I use on my Fuji X-T20, but wasn't sure if I was going the wrong way by not rather getting primes.
I got the Panasonic Lumix 12-35mm F2.8, and may add one or two primes later.

I have that camera.  Here are a few things to consider:

The camera doesn't have any in-body stabilization, so the footage can be very shaky unless you're prepared.  In my situation, I knew I wanted to use a gimbal to stabilize.  This works great, but it will affect your lens choice.  If you plan to use the BMPCC on a gimball ever, remember that you won't be able to touch the lens to focus it, change iris, or zoom without disturbing the gimbal operation, so if that's in your playbook, you'll either need a remote follow focus setup (for a prime lens), or a lens that can be controlled remotely through the camera's bluetooth interface (for an autofocusing and/or stabilizing photo lens).  Keep in mind the autofocus on this camera is very slow, and not very "auto."  You have to tap the screen to re-focus unless you use bluetooth or remote follow focus.
When you say that you plan to use the BMPCC on a "Rig" I assume you mean shoulder rig.  Consider how you are going to monitor the footage and control the camera with it on your shoulder; if you're planning to use the camera's built-in screen, the camera's center of gravity will be VERY (entirely) forward.  Without proper counterbalance, you're better off not using a rig at all.  With a properly balanced shoulder rig, you can just about let go of the thing with both hands, and it should stay balanced on your shoulder.  There's no way to do that with this camera without an EVF or, like I said, some serious counterbalancing, which will more than double the total weight of what you're carrying.  With a shoulder rig, it's possible to grab the focus/iris/or zoom ring, and you won't shake the image as much as you would on a gimbal, BUT it can be very awkward to reach, and it's better to have a follow focus setup with remote hand grip controls in this situation as well.
The crop factor on this camera is 2x.  So, if you buy a 50mm lens, it's going to look like a 100mm lens on the BMPCC.  So, you'll want to get something wider than you think you'll need; a 35mm prime would be good for portraits/interviews.  If you want to do landscapes, you'll want at most a 12, and if you want to show real-estate interiors, you'll want an 8.  If you film in 4K, but deliver in 2K, you can use the extra pixels to digitally zoom (or stabilize), so again, it's better to err on the side of wider rather than telephoto.  Using a wider lens also has the added benefits of requiring less stabilization and having a larger focal plane, which translates to touching the lens less.
The price you pay for using a zoom lens is speed.  Zoom lenses have more moving parts, and more elements than prime lenses, which translates into less efficient light transmission and a higher minimum f-number than you'd find in a prime lens at the same price-point.  Yes, they are convenient.  The cost of that convenience is image quality.

For my starter kit, I went with three ultra cheap manual lenses.  I got a SLR MAGIC 8mm f4.0 for about a hundred bucks.  It was designed for drone use, so it works perfectly on a gimbal, and even handheld, the footage doesn't look shaky.  I wouldn't use anything higher than that without stabilization, though.
I also got a Meike 25mm f1.8, which translates into a 50mm equivalent, and is a good general-purpose lens.  At 1.8, it works in low light situations, although it is not at its sharpest.  It was also around a hundred bucks, so at that price, I'm not complaining.
Then to round out the kit, I found a m.zukio 40-100 olympus 5.6.  I use this one the least because the crop factor makes it a 80-200 equivalent.  It does have autofocus, though, and it was also VERY cheap.  It's an OK lens for sports, in the daytime.  At night, I had a hard time finding enough light with it at a local dirtbike track for HFR footage, and could just eek out a decent exposure at normal speed.  I suspect a football or baseball field would have more light, though.
TO BE CLEAR, I don't use my personal lenses for paid work.  These lenses are basically toys for practicing.  For paid jobs, I rent good glass, and what I get depends on the shoot.  If the shoot calls for a remote follow focus, I'll rent that, too.

Thanks for the tips on the bmpcc. I ended up going for a Panasonic 12-35mm F2.8.

Congrats!  I think I've rented that one before.  How do you like it?  How's the OIS?

I got it used, and it seems to work pretty good. I am happy thus far. As for the I.S., I have not really tried without it, but it seems to do the job. I have not really had the time to really experiment with some shoots as I am still waiting on some equipment.

For videography you do not necessarily look for "a good" lens for pixel peeping, you want a good autofocus system and a wide aperture for a "cinematic look".
This depends on what type of videography you are doing. Interviews, documental, landscape, indoors, outdoors, using a tripod, using a handheld. Jason Conrad's answer is interesting because he is using that same camera and has experience with the crop factor. But I think you need to pay attention to the line of work you want to develop.


text:
Cut Loom screen recording at 39s, trim video around the edges to hide scrollbar and Loom stop button using FFmpeg
I have a 1920x1080 MP4 screencast that has been created in full-size mode in Google Chrome. I wish to hide the Loom video stopping process (after 39 seconds) and also trim around the edge of the video, so the browser scrollbar and Loom recording button are hidden during the video playback. Essentially cropping the inner 95% of the video.
How can I cut (crop) 95% of the video so the inner section is extracted? The proportions for 95% of the video would be 1824px x 1026px.
Here is the command to cut the video at 39 seconds. How could I combine with a crop command to hide the Loom browser recording process?
ffmpeg -i LoomFullSizeScreenCast.mp4 -t 39 -c copy LoomFullSizeScreenCastCut.mp4
Here is the video in action
https://thirsty-heisenberg-58e54e.netlify.com/LoomFullSizeScreenCast.mp4

Cropping is carried out using a video filter. Also, a filtered video has to be re-encoded. So the command would be
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf crop=1824:1026 -t 39 -c:a copy output.mp4

See the docs for the crop filter for all options.

This is brilliant, thankyou - works a treat. It does end a bit abruptly with the cut. Is there any way to add 2 seconds to the start and finish? So the video would start at 2sec and finish at 43sec and perhaps still showing the still image you see if it was paused at 0:00

Do you wish to freeze the start of the input (t=0) for 2 seconds and then show 41s of the video?

Start playing video at 2s, showing the image of the video or what it like it would look if you paused at 0:00 and then add 2 seconds on the end, with the same attributes as 0:00 to 0:02

Found this answer by your good self which should do it. https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/20717/ffmpeg-add-3-seconds-of-black-to-video-head-and-tail/20721

Use this instead with a recent version of ffmpeg, it's one-step: -vf "crop=1824:1026,tpad=start_duration=2:start_mode=clone:stop_duration=2:stop_mode=clone" -af adelay=2s


text:
overlay filter with simple PNG adds black fringe
Trying a simple overlay example, getting nasty black fringes:
fmpeg -y -i b.png -i a.png -filter_complex "[0:v]format=rgba[a];
    [1:v]format=rgba[b];
    [a][b]overlay,format=rgba"  normal.png

Expected over Result zoomed in

Open a ticket at trac.ffmpeg.org. Run your command with -v verbose added and capture log. Share full command and log there..

Thanks, Gyan,  http://trac.ffmpeg.org/ticket/8563

Workaround: ffmpeg -y -i b.png -i a.png -filter_complex "[0:v]format=rgba[a];     [1:v]format=rgba[b];     [a][b]overlay=format=auto"  normal.png

@llogan add it as the answer. Explained at trac.

@Gyan Added. Would be nice if auto was the default.

Yes, but at this stage, many scripts in use probably assume yuv420p output.

@Gyan Obviously, there is always the ever-present "scripts" argument, but I don't think that is reason enough.

Fine by me but good luck on the ML :)

Default pixel format for overlay filter is yuv420p. Use the format option in overlay to set it as auto or rgb.
ffmpeg -y -i b.png -i a.png -filter_complex "[0:v]format=rgba[a]; [1:v]format=rgba[b]; [a][b]overlay=format=auto" normal.png


text:
Physics and Math animated video
I would like to start and create math and physics animated video. Do you guys have any suggestions on the software to use? I have a Wacom tablet to draw but I am not sure I want to draw myself or instead to somehow use tools that do stuff like drawing graphs, equations etc..
So any suggestions and ideas will be precious.
P.S. It would be nice to have something that includes the latex features
P.P.S. Some introductory tutorial would be also useful

Can you be a bit more specific please? What do you need the software to do? And what is your budget? Also, it might be worth doing a search of this site, because similar questions to this get asked at least weekly.

GeoGebra Math Apps is an awesome option to do 2-D and 3-D static pictures and animations.
You may do it on-line, or download individual applications into your PC or tablet / smartphone.
It partially supports LaTeX and is for free.

Another option is to use MS office.
You have of course Excel that can make the graphs but assigning some data.
On PowerPoint, you can make animations, import different assets, and export to video. And there are some online Add ons to import LaTeX.


text:
Effect of screen shape on video quality
How does the shape of screens (that is, different "width x height" values while keeping the same total displaying area) affect the quality for a given optimal viewing distance?

What is the underlying problem you're trying to solve?

Depends on what your standard of quality is.  If your standard is maximal retina coverage, then, well, you've got round eyeballs, so a 1:1 aspect ratio would be the "best" rectangular shape.  But they don't make square TVs, let alone circle-shaped ones, which would be "better".  On the other hand, if you watch a lot of television, you'll get the most use out of your pixels with 16:9, which is what most stuff is broadcast in these days. If you watch more movies, then maybe you prefer 2.39:1.  Video games? 16:9.  Flight simulator? Maybe you want something panoramic. The best aspect ratio for you is the one that most closely matches the content you plan to consume most often.  And aspect ratio and viewing distance are unrelated; one has no impact on the other.

For watching movies, screens with a greater width than height are better suited. Now the 16: 9 format is popular. For some video games, high screens are suitable, when the character is visible in full growth.
It’s better to look at large screens from a high distance.

I do not understand your question. As it is I would say nothing.
Get a 16x9 inches monitor. It measures 16 x 9 inches. Now rotate it 90°. It has the exact same total displaying area but now measures 9 x 16 inches. The "optimal" viewing distance is the same.

If you are referring to different aspect ratios, the unit that is important and easier to get is the native linear PPI.
Find out the horizontal resolution used and divide it by the horizontal physical measure of the display area.
If your monitor has 1920 x 1080 px, use 1920.
If the monitor measures 21 inches on the horizontal size:
1920/21 = 91.4 PPI. Use that value to compare other monitors.

Thanks. I really meant aspect ratio: is it a third variable (together with display size and viewing distance) into play for the optimal viewing distance? Ottherwise, how does it affect the display quality?


text:
Where to get codecs?
I have a two part codec question.
I want upload a 100 min video to YouTube. Export size from Premiere Pro is 22GB on disk. Here are the only Codecs I have installed:

I'm new to this, and was advised to use a H 264 codec.

Is that a good codec to use for smaller file sizes without losing quality.
Where do I get this codec from?

You need to change the format from AVI to h.264. In the top of the export window there's a section where you get to choose formats:

It's a bit confusing, because it mixes container formats like AVI and Quicktime with codecs like h.264. If you chose AVI you are limited to a few older codecs, as you've seen.
Once you've chosen h.264 you can then chose a preset. The default Match Source - high bitrate preset is usually spot-on for YouTube, as it's a good compromise between quality and file size. It will automatically match the resolution and frame rate of your sequence, so you won't have to worry about other settings.
If your video is 4K or larger you could also consider h.265, which is designed for UHD. It's a lot slower to compress, so don't bother if you're exporting HD or lower.


text:
Kdenlive composite effect not stretching
I am using Kdenlive to edit a school project and I need to use small amounts of a green-screen effect. I have seen several tutorials and understand how to do it, but the composite effect will not stretch. In every tutorial I have seen the composite starts large and is able to stretch, but when I do it it starts small and will not stretch. I cannot find any handles to stretch it with. I can use the glove to move it around, but not stretch it. Any help is appreciated!

I had the same issue.  Use the "Composite and Transform" transition instead.


text:
Dual display with final cut pro
I have a MacBook Pro 13” 2019, and until now I have used a single external monitor for Final Cut Pro x. I just bought a new monitor, and when I select the dual display in fcpx, the second screen goes to my mbp instead of the second screen.
Could anyone tell me how I can set the second display for fcpx to a different screen?
Thx

In the system preferences, in the display arrange dialogue you will see a menu bar. Move this bar to the monitor representation you want FCPX to have its main window.


text:
What free software can I use to speed up my video?
I have a 90 minute video in which I want to speed up some segments, like a fast forward, preferably with some averaging of video frames to make the motion appear smoother.
What free software can do this, and how do I set up the effect?

There are many, many questions on this site looking fro free video editing software. I suggest you have a search through them first, and then ask a specific question if you get stuck on something. https://video.stackexchange.com/search?q=free+software

A good option is Davinci Resolve.
It has a specific feature called Retime controls, where you put a couple of markers and select the speed of that particular segment.
90 Minutes is quite long, you probably want to make some proxy videos at smaller resolution and then render using the original clip.


text:
how to have a project on a different location that its library in FCPX
I have an SD kart with a lot of videos, and I have a USB stick also with videos.
Is it possible to have all the videos on one USB stick and the project on the other USB stick? If yes, how would I do that?
thanks

As far as I know FCPX is not excepting external USB to work on your project. It has to be an internal or external drive. You certainly can move the project to an USB when you finish or to transfer between computers.
I also would not recommend to have your media on an USB for performance reasons as well.


text:
FCPX is getting stuck all the time
I have a MBP 13” with a 1.4 GHz quad core i5 prosesor and 16 GB of ram.
All the footage Including the project is on a external usb stick with usb 3.
When I am editing a simple video clip, not in 4K, fcpx is getting stuck a lot. Mostly when I want to move a video a second back or forth or when I want to watch right after moving a video.
Does anybody have a idea what this could be?
Thanks

For performance, I would not use a USB stick, and as far as I know, this isn’t supported as well. I would recommend an external hard drive or for best performance the internal SSD.
If you still have problems, you should reset the FCPX settings. To do so quit FCPX then find the FCPX program icon in the application folder and hold down the command and option key and start FCPX. A dialogue will come up asking if you want to reset the configuration.
You can find more issue resolving in this article.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203477

Ah ok, I have also a externer hard drive, but I don’t know if it is a SSD. would you recommend a external harddrive over de usb

I checked again, it’s a HDD

Also, I have only 256 storage on my mac

Any external hard drive is supported and should work much better. If you have to work on external drives try use SSD with fastest Port your Mac has (thunderbolt, USB-C) if possible.

Good idea also to create Proxies for the footage.

And if you need even more help with performance use this workflow to create HEVC Proxies. https://www.rippletraining.com/blog/final-cut-pro-x/hevc-proxy-editing-in-final-cut-pro-x/

Ah, ok thx. Does the article you posted also cover proxies in general?

Yes, it does in short terms. If you need information about Proxies you can find more in the FCPX help.

ok, great thx!!

Your bottleneck is the USB stick and USB 3.0 itself. There's simply not enough bandwidth to get smooth playback.
From your specs (quad i5, 1.4 GHz) I'm guessing you've got a the 2019 13" MBPro which should be powerful enough to handle quite some video editing, so I'd highly recommend getting an external SSD connected via Thunderbolt 3, or at least USB-C. While USB-C is optically the same plug as Thunderbolt 3, the protocol and speeds are different. Thunderbolt 3's max throughput is about 4x of what USB-C can handle.
For maximum performance get a NVMe SSD (M.2) drive and a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure. You can get 1TB with case for ca. 250 USD and the maximum throughput is just as fast as the internal drive (same technology), up to 1400 MB/s which should be enough to even edit 4k footage.


text:
syncing slideshow with music
So im currently creating a music oriented slideshow with a bundle of images that needs to be changed each beat of the music. Problem is, the music is 129 bpm which results in 2.15 beats per second. Having the image change each beat would take me approximately 27.9069767442 frames for each image to show up before changing to another one in a 60 fps sequence. knowing the capabilities of my software, i can only go 27 or 28 frames per image which resulted the slide show being not precise to the beat, it slows down in certain parts of the music when im using 28 frames per image and it speeds up when im using 27 frames per second.
Is there any easy and time saving way to sync up my images before i resort to brute force (adjusting the frames manually)? Perhaps is there a way to change the frame rate im working on to a desired number?

Just some ideas.
1. Do not sync everything.
Define what out of sync is acceptable to you. Let's say 1/10 sec. (I would be way less "picky" and go for let's say 1/5)
Then calculate how many images you need to accumulate that out of sync, and only adjust that. This will be now adjusting only let's say one of every 10 clips.
2. Choose a "multiple" framerate
To reduce even more the out of sync, and retime later. Let's say you choose a framerate of 10x faster, then the out of framing could be rounded a bit more accurately. 279 frames. Then retime.


text:
Audio/video sync software for Linux (preferably open source)
I'm looking for a program that can synchronize audio and video from separate files. PluralEyes does this. I'm looking for something that runs on Linux and preferably is open source.
I imagine a CLI that goes like this:
$ clappersyncoffsets in.pm4 in.wav
0s 3.876s
$

It's a webtool but seems interesting:
https://github.com/allisonnicoledeal/VideoSync
This other is open, but - AFAIK - just for Windows:
https://github.com/protyposis/AudioAlign

I assume that you have a sound channel recorded on the camera which is in sync with the picture. In that case you only have to find the offset between the audio channels.
This tool claims just that: https://github.com/bbc/audio-offset-finder
I never tried it yet, but I would be very interested on your experiences if you would give it a try.

I think the asker allread has the diffrence of 3.876 seconds. So he only needs to copy the audio to the video

@beemtee: this is a very interesting project. It seems that it mostly calls out to https://github.com/cournape/talkbox for actual functionality. One can probably build what I'm looking for out of talkbot.
In the meantime, I have been focusing on a hardware solution for embedding actual timecode (LTC) in the fiels during production. Here's my first pass at a decoder for that: https://github.com/arikrupnik/ltcsync

Timothy Lukas H: @beemtee has it right. In the hypothetical terminal capture in my question, "0m 3.876s" represents the output of the hypothetical clappersyncoffsets program.

Bump.
We've finally collected (almost all ?) open source synch software tools here:
https://github.com/forart/HyMPS/blob/main/A_Tools.md#alignmentsynch-
Enjoy !


text:
FFMPEG - Scroll filter on filter_complex applies on under layer
I apply filter_complex to put objects on coordinates using overlay. Sometime, I need to use the scroll filter.
Here is the code
ffmpeg -vsync 0 -i /tmp/2SN92agDIG.png -i /tmp/TogmpB9etD.png -i /tmp/lxiQXCxhaZ-1.png -filter_complex "color=size=312x312:c=0xffffff,loop=-1[color];\
[0:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=480x320,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=1[0];\
[1:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=298x301,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=0.8[1];\
[2:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=288x614,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=1[2];\
[color][0]overlay=x=-76.18:y=-4[-1+0];\
[-1+0][1]overlay=x=8.043499999999995:y=5.044000000000011[0+1];\
[0+1][2]overlay=x=8.021000000000015:y=0,scroll=vertical=0.02857142857142857" -map 0:a? -c:v h264_nvenc -c:a copy -t 35 -y

It works great but when this filter is applied on an object which is on top of other objects (Ex. third object in the filter complex chain), the scroll is applied to all under layer.
Do you have an idea how can I "isolate" the scroll to be applies only on one object ?
Thanks.

The scroll should be applied within the [2:v] filtering.

How can I connect the output of the filter scroll to my filter_complex ? Thanks

Shift the scroll to after the colorchannelmixer for 2:v

I tried this [2:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=288x614,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=1,scroll=vertical=0.02857142857142857[2]; But i got Filter scroll has an unconnected output

Add -report and rerun. Share report.

Here it is : https://pastebin.com/GEAwbsXH  Thanks for your help :)

You removed the final overlay. Why?

Because if I let it, there is no movement

I'll try to reproduce.

Did you find a way ?

The image to be scrolled has to be looped first and then scrolled.
ffmpeg -vsync 0 -i /tmp/2SN92agDIG.png -i /tmp/TogmpB9etD.png -i /tmp/lxiQXCxhaZ-1.png -filter_complex "color=size=312x312:c=0xffffff[color];\
[0:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=480x320,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=1[0v];\
[1:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=298x301,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=0.8[1v];\
[2:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS,setsar=1,scale=288x614,rotate=0:c=none:ow=rotw(0):oh=roth(0),format=argb,colorchannelmixer=aa=1,loop=1:1,scroll=vertical=0.02857142857142857[2v];\
[color][0v]overlay=x=-76.18:y=-4[-1+0];\
[-1+0][1v]overlay=x=8.043499999999995:y=5.044000000000011[0+1];\
[0+1][2v]overlay=x=8.021000000000015:y=0" -c:v h264_nvenc -t 35 -y out.mp4

(there are quite a few unnecessary or inert elements in this command, but I haven't removed them, such as the rotate filters which don't perform any rotation)

Thanks for you help, I tried with your command and the result is I only have a little movement at the beginning (less than a second) but it's fixed then

I added like loop=-1:75:0 and it's working like a charm :) Thanks for your help


text:
Where can I find build in sounds in fcpx
I a editing a video and I want to add some sound effects ie by some places add some small Bits of audio. Is there built in audio files in fcpx like in iMovie? Or do I need a plug-in? And if that is the case, what plugin?
Thank you

Make sure you do “Download Additional Content” under the Final Cut Pro menu. Download and install if you haven’t.
Left top corner next to the Library Sidebar icon is the Photo and Audio Sidebar Icon. When you in this sidebar you can find “Sound Effects” with lots of sounds you can use for free.

Doesn’t that reform the sound of people speeding? If yes, I don’t mean that. I mean sound like a peep or something longer or else

You can search in it and always alternate what is in there to fit your needs.

how can I search?

I want to have some sound by a specific part of the video, but fcpx only allows me to put the sound effect by the whole video

You can search on the top of the sound effects column.

You can cut or trim the end of sound effect to the length you need.

I cant add the sound effect as standalone sound as I want....

Did you try to add it below the main timeline?

it only shows the plus when I hover over a video....

You should be able to use drag and drop for most operations.

I  know, but it doesnt work...

Not sure how to help further without a screenshot of your timeline.

Maybe this might help https://youtu.be/6vHwk2ocHy0

ok, will check it out
thx a lot!!


text:
What techniques/tools are used to create this text motion graphics in After Effects?
What tools or techniques do you think are used to create the following motion graphics in After Effects?
Do you think they are created using presents, plugins, expressions, or just by keyframing every step of the way? There is also Pins&Box script which could make similar results, but I am not sure.

Thanks for you response

Text animators are an essential part of working with text in AE, I suggest you read up on them, which you can do here. Text animators give you lots of tools for doing the kind of effects you want, but they're slightly unintuitive. However for the beginner there are dozens of presets included.
As far as the boxes go, it's a fairly simple animating task, that could be achieved with masks, matte layers, animated shape layers, a combination of the above, or probably a dozen other techniques. A good tip is to slow down the video you want to reproduce, and work out what exactly is going on frame-by-frame.
For example the eat less junk food text box starts as a series of boxes which you could create using shapes that have their scale animated, until they overlap and form a single box. Or perhaps you could have a single box that is revealed by a number of masks that are animated to grow.
The box is then split in two which you could achieve with another animated mask using the subtract masking mode that starts with zero width and grows until it covers the box completely. Notice that as this happens the green shape is growing slightly, so you animate its scale as well.
TL;DR: the plugin you need is called Animation™.

these animations are called Lower thirds. You can achieve this by adding a mask layer to the text or by using a plugin.
There are 15 minute videos tutorials in youtube that explains every step of the animation.


text:
ffmpeg take channels 7+8 and make a stereo
I have a 8 audio track mov file which I want to encode to mp4 using ffmpeg BUT take the tracks 7+8 and put them as stereo with 320k and 48KHz to that mp4. My line is this:
ffmpeg -i %source% -map 0:0 -map 0:7 -map 0:8 -c:a:0 aac -ab:1 320k -ar:1 48000 -ac:1 2 -disposition:a:0 default -c:a:1 aac -ab:2 320k -ar:2 48000 -ac:2 1 -disposition:a:1 0 -strict -2 -async 1 -c:v libx264 -b:v 9300k -minrate 9300k -maxrate 9300k -bufsize 2325k -r 24 -force_fps -s 1920x1080 -aspect 1:1 -pix_fmt yuv420p -profile:v high -preset medium -level 40 -partitions partb8x8+partp4x4+partp8x8+parti8x8 -b-pyramid 2 -weightb 1 -8x8dct 1 -fast-pskip 1 -direct-pred 1 -x264-params force-cfr=1 -coder ac -trellis 1 -me_method hex -flags +loop -sc_threshold 40 -keyint_min 24 -g 240 -qmin 3 -qmax 51 -threads 12 -metadata creation_time=now -sn -y %source%_FINAL.mp4

What do I have to change in order to make it stereo instead of 2 mono? I tried adding-filter_complex "[0:7][0:8] amerge=inputs=2" c:a aac -ab 320k at the beginning but it didnt work. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

Try something like this:
1) Merge Audio Tracks 7 and 8, put it in Audio Track 1, discard other Audio Tracks from source:
ffmpeg -i "in.mxf" -filter_complex "[0:7][0:8]amerge=inputs=2[mergedAudio]" -map 0:v -map "[mergedAudio]" "out.mp4"

In some cases you might add the option -ac 2 between the end-" of filter complex and the 1st map.
2) 1) combined with all (useful) parameters of your code:
ffmpeg -i "in.mov" -filter_complex "[0:7][0:8]amerge=inputs=2[mergedAudio]" -map 0:v -map "[mergedAudio]" -ac 2 -c:a aac -b:a 320k -ar 48000 -disposition:a:0 default -strict -2 -c:v libx264 -b:v 9300k -minrate 9300k -maxrate 9300k -bufsize 2325k -r 24 -force_fps -s 1920x1080 -aspect 1:1 -pix_fmt yuv420p -profile:v high -preset medium -level 40 -partitions partb8x8+partp4x4+partp8x8+parti8x8 -b-pyramid 2 -weightb 1 -8x8dct 1 -fast-pskip 1 -direct-pred 1 -x264-params force-cfr=1 -coder ac -trellis 1 -me_method hex -flags +loop -sc_threshold 40 -keyint_min 24 -g 240 -qmin 3 -qmax 51 -threads 12 -metadata creation_time=now -sn -y FINAL.mp4

You had a space in your bitrate -ab:1 320k. I have changed it to the current syntax -b:a 320k
Same with -ar:1 48000 -> -ar 48000
Removed -async 1 because it threw an error

Thanks drake7 but where do I put it to the above long line so I have everything I need (video and audio) in one command? I tried it but did not work. Thanks.

Can you provide your file? If it's too big you can limit the duration to 5 seconds: ffmpeg -i "in.mxf" -map 0 -c copy -t 5 "sample10s.mxf (I assume it's .mxf but use whatever file extension your source has)

I can but how should I send it to you?

You can e-mail me with a service like wetransfer or upload it to something like uploadfiles.io.
I've added my e-mail to my profile info.

Thanks Drake, I just did on your email.

got it! I'll get back to you soon

Thanks! so the whole idea is to use that line for the video (which works great) but grab the CH7+8 from the mov file and encode them as stereo in aac 320k and 48KHz and add to the final mp4. The audio command on its own works but when I add it on the above big line it pops errors.

Thanks drake! That worked like a charm!

Glad to hear that, you're welcome. I wasn't sure if you wanted more than 1 audio track because I saw the -disposition option in your parameters. That makes sense if you have multiple audio/subtitle tracks. Adding a 2nd track would be easy by the way. Furthermore you have lots of parameters that I would only use if a client would have these specific requirements. Otherwise the defaults for video codec libx264 are pretty good both in quality as well as compatibility.

Thanks Drake! You are correct, those settings came from the client/digital platform so I can't do much about it! No, the disposition must have been a leftover from another line! I might get rid of it. Thanks again!!!


text:
why ffmpeg changes video stream from interlaced to progressive when it is set to copy the the stream
I have a large video file that I try to chop into smaller pieces. The command I use is
ffmpeg.exe -i VideoTape-2007_09_09_19-20_05.avi -vcodec copy -acodec copy -ss 00:00:00.000 -t 00:10:33.761 VideoTape-2007_09_09_19-20_05-01.avi
According to MediaInfo, the original file is interlaced:
Video
ID                                       : 0
Format                                   : DV
Commercial name                          : DVCPRO
Duration                                 : 56 min 22 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 24.4 Mb/s
Encoded bit rate                         : 28.8 Mb/s
Width                                    : 720 pixels
Height                                   : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 25.000 FPS
Standard                                 : PAL
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Interlaced
Scan order                               : Bottom Field First
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 2.357
Time code of first frame                 : 00:02:26:16
Time code source                         : Subcode time code
Stream size                              : 11.3 GiB (100%)
Encoding settings                        : ae mode=full automatic / wb mode=automatic / white balance= / fcm=manual focus

after cutting, the output file has the following info:
Video
ID                                       : 0
Format                                   : DV
Commercial name                          : DVCPRO
Codec ID                                 : dvsd
Codec ID/Hint                            : Sony
Duration                                 : 10 min 33 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 24.4 Mb/s
Encoded bit rate                         : 28.8 Mb/s
Width                                    : 720 pixels
Height                                   : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 25.000 FPS
Standard                                 : PAL
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Original scan type                       : Interlaced
Original scan order                      : Bottom Field First
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 2.357
Time code of first frame                 : 00:00:00:02
Time code source                         : Subcode time code
Stream size                              : 2.12 GiB (97%)
Encoding settings                        : ae mode=full automatic / wb mode=automatic / white balance= / fcm=manual focus

Why is the Scan Type changed from Interlaced to Progressive? I just want to split the video.
I have also noticed that the resulting file in disproportionally large.

Could be a mediainfo quirk/bug. resulting file in disproportionally large --> how so? Looks to be proportionate as per mediainfo Stream size

Looks like it is a FFmpeg bug.
I tested to remux an AVI with DV to AVI with latest FFmpeg, and the resulting "video properties" chunk indicates progressive, even if the source AVI has the right "video properties" chunk:
010F4   Video properties (76 bytes)
010F4    Header (8 bytes)
010F4     Name:                               vprp
010F8     Size:                               68 (0x00000044)
010FC    VideoFormatToken:                    0 (0x00000000)
01100    VideoStandard:                       0 (0x00000000)
01104    VerticalRefreshRate:                 50 (0x00000032)
01108    HTotalInT:                           720 (0x000002D0)
0110C    VTotalInLines:                       576 (0x00000240)
01110    FrameAspectRatio Height:             3 (0x0003)
01112    FrameAspectRatio Width:              4 (0x0004)
01114    FrameWidthInPixels:                  720 (0x000002D0)
01118    FrameHeightInLines:                  576 (0x00000240)
0111C    FieldPerFrame:                       1 (0x00000001)
01120    Field (32 bytes)
01120     CompressedBMHeight:                 576 (0x00000240)
01124     CompressedBMWidth:                  720 (0x000002D0)
01128     ValidBMHeight:                      576 (0x00000240)
0112C     ValidBMWidth:                       720 (0x000002D0)
01130     ValidBMXOffset:                     0 (0x00000000)
01134     ValidBMYOffset:                     0 (0x00000000)
01138     VideoXOffsetInT:                    0 (0x00000000)
0113C     VideoYValidStartLine:               0 (0x00000000)

It should be
010F4   Video properties (108 bytes)
010F4    Header (8 bytes)
010F4     Name:                               vprp
010F8     Size:                               100 (0x00000064)
010FC    VideoFormatToken:                    0 (0x00000000)
01100    VideoStandard:                       0 (0x00000000)
01104    VerticalRefreshRate:                 50 (0x00000032)
01108    HTotalInT:                           720 (0x000002D0)
0110C    VTotalInLines:                       576 (0x00000240)
01110    FrameAspectRatio Height:             3 (0x0003)
01112    FrameAspectRatio Width:              4 (0x0004)
01114    FrameWidthInPixels:                  720 (0x000002D0)
01118    FrameHeightInLines:                  576 (0x00000240)
0111C    FieldPerFrame:                       2 (0x00000002)
01120    Field (32 bytes)
01120     CompressedBMHeight:                 288 (0x00000120)
01124     CompressedBMWidth:                  720 (0x000002D0)
01128     ValidBMHeight:                      288 (0x00000120)
0112C     ValidBMWidth:                       720 (0x000002D0)
01130     ValidBMXOffset:                     0 (0x00000000)
01134     ValidBMYOffset:                     0 (0x00000000)
01138     VideoXOffsetInT:                    0 (0x00000000)
0113C     VideoYValidStartLine:               1 (0x00000001)
01140    Field (32 bytes)
01140     CompressedBMHeight:                 288 (0x00000120)
01144     CompressedBMWidth:                  720 (0x000002D0)
01148     ValidBMHeight:                      288 (0x00000120)
0114C     ValidBMWidth:                       720 (0x000002D0)
01150     ValidBMXOffset:                     0 (0x00000000)
01154     ValidBMYOffset:                     0 (0x00000000)
01158     VideoXOffsetInT:                    0 (0x00000000)
0115C     VideoYValidStartLine:               0 (0x00000000)

I have open a bug ticket at FFmpeg tracker with an example about how to reproduce the issue.
Note that the DV stream is correctly remuxed only (it is still interlaced, no conversion), the issue is only a piece of metadata in the created AVI file, reason you see both "progressive" (from AVI) and "interlaced" (from DV) in the MediaInfo output.
Jérôme, main developer of MediaInfo.

Just made 3 years. No more comments on the bug yet. I just stumbled into it now.


text:
In Premiere Pro, how do I set the fps of a video to publish?
In Premiere Pro, how do I set the fps of a video to publish?
For example, I have imported an audio of 200MB
I've added an image.
And when I export, it says the estimated file size is 13GB.
Really the file size should not be more than 500MB.  A video frame rate of 3fps is fine for me.
But I can't see any setting to change the frames per second for the video that is published.

You need to select minimum bitrate for video, especially if your video have only 1 image.
If you will look how h264 codec works, you will know that it creates one "basic frame" each 'n' frames and then it creates "intermediate frames" only with areas of pixels which were changed.
I have tried some variants and can show you how fps affect on file size. And how keyframe distance affect to file size.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZobMxAzPQi2NaVfLDa5wYrHN87tIc11h
You can look at these 5 files.

Sample_minimum video BitRate_10 fps_keyframe distance = 300 - audio bitrate 320kbps.mp4 has size - 1 348 883
Sample_minimum video BitRate_10 fps_keyframedistance - standart - audio bitrate 320kbps.mp4 has size - 1 943 816
Sample_minimum video BitRate_30 fps - audio bitrate 320kbps.mp4 has size - 1 983 552
Sample_minimum video BitRate_30 fps_keyframe distance = 300 - audio bitrate 320kbps.mp4 has size - 1 544 303
Sample_without video - audio bitrate 320kbps.mp4 has size - 1 210 771 B
Minimum bitrate you can set here:

Also in this post you can read another solve of similar problem.
https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/23061/adobe-premiere-video-size-with-static-image?rq=1

thanks,  pushing that "target bit rate" down to the far left (which seems to be the option you are saying to change), has made it much smaller. Your animation does show you doing other things like flicking to the audio tab scrollup up and down doing nothnig there, also the video tab I notice you have frame rate of 10 . When I change mine from the default of 25 to 10, it doesn't change "estimated file size". . The key frame distance, mine is 90, if I change it to  300 it seems to make no difference to estimated file size

Hi Barlop!
In my test changing framerate from 25 to 10 fps has changed size of output file, but insignificant.
Keyframe distance affects on file size slightly, but it also depends on many factors and one of them it dynamic of changing frames in video.
If you need to do the most small size of file each from these parameters will be useful for you.
I have showed all settings of rendering which I changed. In audio tab you can also change bitrate to lower if you need to have file with lower size. Experimentally you can find balance of quality and size.


text:
Why is my camcorder creating 10:40 clips?
I was given a used Sony NEX VG20 as a gift.  I bought this SD card for it - "SanDisk 128GB Extreme SDXC UHS-I Card - C10, U3, V30, 4K UHD, SD Card - SDSDXV5-128G-GNCIN", https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H48412Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
I tried filming with it today for just over 50 minutes straight and it produced five files - four at 10 minutes, 40 seconds and one at 9 minutes, 25 seconds.  While this is OK, for the most part, the problem is, when it ends one file and creates the new one, it doesn't capture the audio for that split second.
I was unable to find a setting anywhere on the camcorder to increase or decrease the maximum length of a single clip.
Is there a way for me to set this camcorder to capture everything as one file?
I also wondered if this is a limitation of the SD card I'm using.  Do SD cards have a limitation on the size of a single file?

Most devices use memory formatted as FAT32, which gives you a 4GB file size limit, so a recording is broken up across multiple files. For Sony products, Catalyst Browse is normally the software used to re-combine the files:
https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/catalystbrowse
Normally you would import the files off the card using that, then select the files together and right click/combine. It should make a continuous single file recording from the source files, with nothing missing.

Thank you, Peter.  I am downloading Catalyst Browse now and will give it a try.

Thank you again, Peter.  Using Catalyst Browser, I was able to access the multiple clips as a single linked *.m2ts file and copy them from my SD card to my computer.  I did some quick testing and this single file does not seem to have the audio gaps either.

Awesome, glad to hear that this was able to fix the file up for you.


text:
FFmpeg: Cutting 3 seconds at the beginning of a video leaves 5 seconds blank
I have an MKV video, and want to cut the first 3 seconds. I tried with FFmpeg:
ffmpeg -i /input.mkv -ss 00:00:3.0 -c copy -t 00:09:58.0 output.mkv

But the result (when played in VLC) is that there are 5 seconds blank video with the original sound, and after that, the video shows.
I think it has something to do with a missing keyframe at the beginning. So I tried:
ffmpeg -i /input.mkv -ss 00:00:3.0 -c copy -t 00:09:58.0 -force_key_frames 00:00:00.000 output.mkv

But this has no effect - same result.
How can I cut a video properly so that it begins exactly where cut?

Replace -t with -to

@Marware nope, that just chnages if the time is a duration or end time.

I think I found the answer here: https://superuser.com/questions/138331/using-ffmpeg-to-cut-up-video  I need to put -ss in front of -i with some more time. ffmpeg -ss 00:08:00 -i Video.mp4 -ss 00:01:00 -t 00:01:00 -c copy VideoClip.mp4

This is answered in FFmpeg's Seeking wiki page.
The behavior is expected: If the time hits to a space between 2 key frames, it copies only audio up to the next keyframe and fills the video with black.
There are some methods to get also the beginning.

One is to overlay the copied part with few seconds of re-encoded original.
Or, simply, seek to a bit earlier frame.
Or, find the previous keyframe and clip from that.
Or, reencoding the whole clip.

It's a bit pity that FFmpeg (AFAIK) doesn't have a feature for this built in.


text:
OBS RTMP to Web player
Good morning, I'm biiiiig newbie and I struggle to understand one thing
I want to stream video with e.g OBS, it supports RTMP, so I'm setting up RTMP server. It works fine, I'm able to watch it via VLC, but "web" doesn't accept this format, so I have to convert it on fly to WebRTC?
and stream it somehow again?

Perhaps you've already discovered a solution, but you need a server that accepts the RTMP stream, and outputs an HLS video stream.  You can then use one of many JavaScript players (like video.js) to show your video on the web.
Companies like api.video will transcode the video, and give you a "web ready" player that you can just drop onto your webpage.


text:
How is a multi-angle scene filmed?
There is a great scene in a popular TV series.
In this scene, a clerk (in a white-and-blue dress) is shown from 3 angles.
Each angle is around 7 seconds long.
I wonder how they filmed it.
Did they have 3 camera sets all filming at the same time, or did they record this scene multiple times?
If they filmed the same scene multiple times, how many times are standard in professional movie making?
And how is responsible for such decisions? The director?
Thank you!

If you ever get the chance, work as a Production Assistant for a day on set.  It's basically working as an errand boy, but it's a relatively easy position to get with little experience, and you'll get to learn how all this stuff works.  It was really eye opening to me to see how good actors are at "resetting." It's like watching time re-wind in real life, and then unfolding again with subtle changes.  Directors are amazingly good at remembering those changes, and keeping track of events unfolding out of order.  See also: Script Supervisor, and Director of Photography.

Shows can be either "Single camera" or "Multi camera."  Sitcoms, shows broadcast live, and stuff shot in front of a live audience is generally multicam -- they do it once, or as few times as needed to get a good take.  They just have three (or however many) cameras, and cut between them.
Other stuff is Single camera.  Some "Single camera" stuff actually has two cameras rolling when it's convenient, or maybe a rare action shot where they had a whole bunch of cameras running to capture an expensive stunt or something, but it's still considered single camera style work.  I expect Better Call Saul is shot this way.  Basically, you do many "setups" where you typically tweak staging and lighting for each camera setup and do the scene or part of the scene over and over.  There is usually some piece of equipment just off screen in any given shot like a light stand or a boom mic so each shot is as nice as they can make it, but if you shot it from another angle at the same time you'd see equipment or crew, or it just wouldn't look as nice.  People and objects get moved around between shots to get nice framing, and you never really notice that a table moved a few inches or whatever.
As for how many times, ultimately the director decides.  Some directors are lunatics, and a certain scene in a film with a long schedule may get shot hundreds of times for variations on performance, angle, etc.  Some directors are more efficient and a scene might only get shot like a dozen times if you do three takes for each of four angles/setups.  Some directors will work closely with their crow in deciding these things -- often the cinematographer will have a lot to say about how many angles they need to get to cover the whole scene, and which shots will be most interesting.  In a few rare cases, a whole scene will get shot just once, if it's something that is a big expensive stunt.  If you only have one car, you can only blow it up once, so you just have to try to get it right.  There was a scene in the documentary TV series Connections where the presenter timed his monologue to the countdown timer of an actual NASA rocket launch of a space probe that was visible in the background.  Obviously, they could only get that shot once because you can't go to NASA and ask them to quickly launch another 100 million dollar space probe because you got a little tongue tied.  Though, I assume they got a few takes without the rocket launch as well.

Thank you, what a great explanation!


text:
How is this Doom Eternal still-picture-to-stretching motion video produced?
I came across a music video on YouTube for Doom Eternal where an image appeared to have been transformed into a video under some sort of stretching transformation.
What is this stretching transformation? How is it performed?

The overall steps are:
I. On a photo editor (Ps, Gimp, Photowhatever)

Duplicate the image several times, One per element of your final composition, for example. Background, player, monster 1, monster 2, ax.

Mask each element, normally with the lasso tool or similar, so you isolate the element on that layer.

For the background, you need to expand it a bit it to erase the element, You probably do not need to erase all the ax, just enough so when you move it you do not reveal the same ax behind the moving one.

Do the same on a monster if you need to delete some other monster part over it.

Export each layer as a single PNG file.

II. On a composition software
You could use Davinci Resolve, Hit Film or Blender which are great programs and free. Try with Davinci Resolve for this one.

Drag them into the timeline. Background on one layer, and monsters on another layer.

On the inspector Add keyframes on the scaling, making a loop.

For more specific information look for tutorials on how to mask, how to export and import files on the program you choose, and about the inspector on Davinci Resolve.
If you are paying Adobe, use Ps to mask and AE to composite. I prefer Davinci because you can see the waveform of the music, and playback in realtime to sync the animation.


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How do i make the different values of two properties change at the same amount in After Effects?
I want to make the value of the Point of Interest of a camera change at the same amount i change the Position, but when i simply pick whip parent the Point of Interest to the position, the former takes the same value as the later, which is not the result i expected. How do i accomplish the expected result?

Pick-whipping one value to another sets it to that value, if you don't want them to be the same but rather change at the same rate then try this instead:
value + transform.position

Alternatively, parenting the whole camera to a 3D null object may make things easier to animate and is generally nicer to deal with.
The Angle Script will create a new camera parented to a null for you, which makes things a lot easier: https://madebyloop.co.uk/products/angle-streamline-camera-null-control-after-effects/


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How do I deselect the Blade Edit Mode in DaVinci Resolve?
I was just learning DaVinci Resolve and accidently clicked Blade Edit Mode
It's now shown as follow.  red

How do I deselect it?

So you can just click Arrow button, or press "A". To select blade again, press "B".
Now that you know how to turn the mode on and off, you may want to learn a little more about what it is. The blade tool is very convenient thing to cut video instead of dragging by the end of footage.
I'd strongly recommend considering "Blade + select + delete" editing. It's working tool.
Now there are two ways to use interface in such editors:

Point and click.
Short cuts.

I think my answer is most accurate, thank you.

Sorry, I missed the bit where you answered the OPs question because it was at the bottom. I moved it up to the top for clarity.


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Resize target layer in perspective tracking
I created a perspective corner pin tracker in After Effects. I selected a target, and applied it.
Unfortunately, the target is not of the same aspect ratio as the virtual rectangle that I tracked.Therefore, it is horizontally scaled.
What I want to do, is correct the scaling and position, within the corners.
When I resize the target layer, init expands beyond the corners.Which makes sense, but it it not the sense I'm looking for.
What would be my strategy?

Pre-comp the replacement layer (using the option to keep all the settings in the outer comp), and match the aspect ratio of the pre-comp to the rectangle you're tracking. Then adjust the replacement layer so that it fills the comp as you wish.


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Am I increasing dynamic range by increasing the bit rate of video?
My smartphone allows me to change bit rate. Will I increase the dynamic range by doing that ? Thank you

It won't increase dynamic range per se like using a 10-bit encoder would, but it will throw out less information in shadows and highlights when it compresses, so the extremes of the dynamic range will look better.

Thank you! Now the question is, will extra image data from highhilights and shadows make noticeable difference in processed video ?! ... I mean: I record fottage in 100mbps, but once I upload on youtube, it will have like 40mbps in best case. Will I loose these extra image informations once youtube applies it's compression again ?

The better the input, the better the output, to some extent. The biggest difference is probably when you go to grade the footage, more detail in shadows and highlights will mean that you have more latitude to be able to tweak the exposure and look.


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FFMPEG how to add image and soundwaves to video
I have an mp3 song that I am making a video for, I also have a background image.
My command that doesn't work.
ffmpeg -i song.mp3 -i image.jpg -filter_complex \  "[0:a]showwaves=s=3840x200:mode=line[sw];" \
-map "[out]" -map 0:a video.mp4

I'm trying to read the documentation and understand how to just put the image as a background, overlay the Soundwaves on the Image and keep the audio. Can someone help me understand how to do this?

Added bonus would be showwaves customization with color and histogram

Could you please try this: ffmpeg -loop 1 -i image.jpg -i song.mp3 -c:v libx264 -tune stillimage -c:a aac -b:a 192k -pix_fmt yuv420p -shortest video.mp4

Use the overlay filter to put the showwaves on top of image.jpg:
ffmpeg -i song.mp3 -i image.jpg -filter_complex "[0:a]showwaves=s=3840x200:mode=line:colors=red|yellow[sw];[1][sw]overlay=(W-w)/2:(H-h)/2:format=auto,format=yuv420p[v]" -map "[v]" -map 0:a -movflags +faststart video.mp4

Adjust showwaves colors with the colors option. Each channel will have its own color, so in this example, if song.mp3 is stereo, the left channel is red and the right channel is yellow.
If you just want a single waveform of all channels add the aformat filter before showwaves, as in aformat=channel_layouts=mono,showwaves=s=3840x200:mode=line:colors=00ff00.