Can you fix my interview footage?

[Tom Knight]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this -

I am new with the camera and the lights. I think it came out great, except for that bright reflection on the right side of the frame!

Technical stuff - It's a DVX100B. Mini DV tape. I'm using Final Cut 6 to edit. Ultimate destination is YouTube, and then embedded in her web site.

I tried zooming in, but the image got fuzzy.

I'm wondering if I can do some kind of mask that can disguise the refection.

I'm also considering editing the whole thing in 4 X 3 instead of 16 X 9.

I could reshoot the whole thing, but I'd like to avoid that if possible!

Any suggestions from you pros would be invaluable.

- Tom

 

[bgundu]

The camera is locked off so it's easy to fix. Pull a still frame from video and retouch in photoshop. Then composite back into video.

 

[Tom Knight]

Wow. Cool idea. Never thought of that.

Any other ideas?

 

[Hawk Teflon]

No I would suggest that to be one of the best solutions for this.

 

[Tom Knight]

I just tried it, and it works OK. Luckily, it's an abstract painting, and not a picture of her grandmother or something. As it turns out, I know the artist, so he might not like the changes. But he will probably think it's funny.

 

[Huy Vu]

A small trick would also be to add a slight vignette to the frame so that it draws attention away from the edge and focuses it on the subject.

 

[AwakenedFilms]

Vignette plus a subtle blur. There is a free plugin for FCP called Andy's Regional Blur that does a decent job.


Jason

 

[Tom Knight]

What's a vignette? Can I see an example?

 

[Tom Knight]

Here's a quick fix. I think I can do it better, but I think it helps a lot. First you see the reflection, then you don't. Then it comes back at the end for comparison.

 

[adamrahn]

the fixed shot looks good, I'd second the blur/vignette around the corners if you're still worried about that little bit of light reflection that you can still see - otherwise solid job on fixing it. I'm assuming you won't make the same mistake next interview


Cheers,
Adam

 

[Tom Knight]

Still not sure what a vignette is. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Tom Knight]

I'm assuming you won't make the same mistake next interview


Cheers,
Adam

Yeah! Every time I use the camera I make new mistakes! I'm learning like crazy right now.

 

[bgundu]

Essentially some lens have light falloff around the edges. Often, a post process of this phenomenon, can help draw attention to the center area. All NLE have a plugin filter that can easy add this effect. It's very common in photography and film.

 

[clang]

The fixed shot looks good. You could also consider slightly blurring/defocusing that side of the screen to even further reduce viewer attention to it.

 

[Renee]

Nice fix. :]