7D + SmoothCam

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xalexm

New member
Hi,

I have all this footage that i applied final cut pro SmoothCam filter too. It was recorded in 1080 24p. Inside the FCP timeline the clips play very very smooth without a problem. But when exported to .MOV using compressor ( or any other method ) the final outputted file plays back with this stuttering effect that i can get rid off.

What am I doing wrong ?

workflow:
7D > MPEG Streamclip > ProRess 442 > FCP > SmoothCam > Export individual clips to ProRess 442 > FCP > EDIT > Export Final output.
 
Why would you possibly want to export individual clips out from FC after adding Smoothcam, that only extends you Workflow by 2/3rd the time.

Simply after you bring the footage over from Mpeg, then add it to the timeline, edit as usual, then once complete, locate the clips which need Smoothcam applied, select them individually, apply the effect, Rednder, and then Export the final.
 
Hi J.Odoms. Thank for the reply. Thats how i do it normally but read some where that if you do what's described above it would remove the choppiness of the smooth cam clips in the final video. But nope that didn't work for me. All smoothcam panning shots are all choppy when playing.

Any ideas ?
 
I realized that anything shot with a normal shutter speed (1/50 -1/60) can develop a stuttering effect if the original frame was moving. It will be recorded with motion blur in it and once smoothed out (frame zoomed in and moved to match previous frames) you'll see clear frame, clear frame -->> then blurred frame, which gives the impression of stuttering.

Is that what you're seeing? If so, those stuttering parts would happen when the camera was moving faster and Smoothcam had to correct a lot of motion.

If so, I think the only fix would be to reshoot using a higher shutter speed, (Maybe 1/125?) or if you lessen the smoothing amount, and allow some motion, it won't look as stuttery.

I'm pretty new to Smoothcam, so this could be totally different from what you're seeing. :)
 
Motion stabilization is actually very complicated, Smoothcam does a pretty good job with I-frame based footage, footage that if your shooting 30fps has 30 discreet frames.

For highly compressed footage like MPEG and H.264 that calculates its compression once every seven frames (long GOP), I think that stutter is associated with that. I have tried a wide variety of stabilization applications with XDCAM footage and pretty much always see the same thing.

I'm not sure re-shooting as suggested would make any difference but it would be good to find out.
 
I was seeing those effects from something shot on a dvx, so I wouldn't think it's related to the compression codec. I mean, once its recorded it is 24 or 30 discreet frames, right?

It makes sense to me that if a frame has motion blur baked into it, there's no way around that.

Now that I reread the OP, it sounds like its something else. If the stuttering occurs after the smoothed shots are exported a 2nd time... Maybe when you exported the individual clips it was with the wrong frame rate settings? Or same issue on the final export?

Do the individual clips play smooth in QT player?
 
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