Needing to convert some avi files to a format that After Effects could read. Settled on converting the avi file to a x264 format in a mov container using the following syntax:
ffmpeg -i input-file.avi -c:v libx264 -crf 0 -preset ultrafast output-file.mov
This creates large x264 files with a minimum compression setting. As close to lossless as it can get with x264 format. It’s also a very quick conversion.
So I think I’ve found a video workflow for dealing with video shot on any device.
The workflow needs a lot of work still, but the basics are down.
For reference, use this youtube video. Batch files mentioned in the video are here.
Most of my video these days is mp4 format. I would like to first clean up the video (mainly remove camera shake) before doing any processing. This is where DeShaker comes in.
In order to use DeShaker, I need to get the video into virtualdub. Since I haven’t been able to get virtualdub to read the mp4 files directly, I first need to convert the video to a format virtualdub can import. Cineform HD is that format. This is not such a big problem to convert to CineformHD before virtualdub, since I would have converted to it after deshaking anyway.
So the process I’ve currently found to work for me is:
Useing AVS video converter, convert all the mp4 video files to CineformHD. This is wasy as AVS converted does batch conversion, so all the video can be processed in one go.
Then run the video through virtualdub and use the DeShaker plugin. I will try to automate this so I don’t have to manually load every file into virtual dug and run the plugin.
Just the other day I saw a video on YouTube.com. It was called “Invisile boards”. It’s a clip from a skateboarding movie called “Yeah Right”. it features boarders that ride on what seems to be … nothing… The skateboards have been painted gren and digitally removed.
Anyway this made me think about biking videos. All the videos I’ve seen have pretty standard shots.
I want to produce something that features more visually interesting shots.
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