Noob question: Rotate a MJPEG file?

Pascal_Parvex

Well-known member
Hi. Long time no write.

I recorded a vertical short video in 4096x2160 30p pixels in 2017 in Greece with my then Canon 5D Mark IV. Well, how do I rotate it to be upright to play on my small 8K TV, which I have this PC connected to? I only have the basic version of Resolve, and I wonder how to get it rotated without resolution or quality loss, and I am overwhelmed with it. I could Google it, but then this post would not exist...
 
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But something seems off with what you're saying...because if the video is vertical in horizontal framing then it should still play in its upright position (like the video above).

Either way, there will be black somewhere in the frame where there is no information as you crop and/or rotate (and don't zoom or apply a duplicating effect to fill any empty space in).
 
But something seems off with what you're saying...because if the video is vertical in horizontal framing then it should still play in its upright position (like the video above).
The Canon 5D Mark IV isn't a phone and I don't think it is smart enough to know if it is shooting video vertically or horizontally. As far as it knows, it just recorded a normal wide-screen video.
 
The Canon 5D Mark IV isn't a phone and I don't think it is smart enough to know if it is shooting video vertically or horizontally. As far as it knows, it just recorded a normal wide-screen video.
Canon's had a vertical video mode in their cameras for a good number of years now but IDR if it ever made it into the IV (and it's unclear if he used it if it did).
 
Have you tried rotating your large screen tv? :p

I assume what you did was film a video vertically and playing it directly back through the camera is using the wrong orientation.

Sounds like you need to rotate it in a video editor. I don’t use Resolve but I imagine it does. You should be able to google how fairly easily.
 
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Canon's had a vertical video mode in their cameras for a good number of years now but IDR if it ever made it into the IV (and it's unclear if he used it if it did).
I have a Canon 5D Mark IV on the shelf less than 15' from where I sit. I just don't care enough to dig it out and test. :)
 
I'm a changed man...literally only use my iPhone now as a camera and computer (with a USB-C laptop shell consisting of a screen/keyboard).

But stop referring to it as rotating video, lol...the ones that do it are shooting in the natural vertical resolutions (1080 x 1920, 1080 x 1080, etc) that big tech made famous.
 
Hi. Long time no write.

I recorded a vertical short video in 4096x2160 30p pixels in 2017 in Greece with my then Canon 5D Mark IV. Well, how do I rotate it to be upright to play on my small 8K TV, which I have this PC connected to? I only have the basic version of Resolve, and I wonder how to get it rotated without resolution or quality loss, and I am overwhelmed with it. I could Google it, but then this post would not exist...
In Resolve > Project Settings > Master Settings > Timeline Resolution > Custom > and then set the resolution to 2160 x 4096. Bring in your vertical footage. On the timeline, select Video > Transform > Rotation Angle > 90.000. That is, if I understand correctly that you actually shot with the camera rotated at 90 degrees, vertical in other words.

As others pointed out, this will leave you with large black pillar box sides. You can now render this out as you want, in any resolution that is selectable under the 'Export Video' selection under the 'Delivery Tab'. Again, if so desired, you can set out any output resolution you want under 'Custom'.

Generally after this I would bring my 9 x 16 render back into a 16 x 9 project, of whatever raster size you want. In this project, I place another track under the video and place a Resolve 'Texture Background' with colors to complement the vision clip and then animate that background with a slow soft movement. Doing this helps avoid screen burn if your 9 x 16 clip is repeating, such as a show booth video. Even if not, I just think it looks better than big black pillar box sides to the vision. Example JPG below.

Chris Young
 

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It's the resolution and quality loss that surprised me - as in you want it but aren't going to get it.
 
I guess I have to ask the question. Why a resolution loss in this OP's case?

As the OP states, he wants to play his video on an 8K display. An 8K display is 7680 x 4320. If he just rotated his 4096 clip 90 degrees in an 8K project, it would display at the full vertical resolution of 4096 in his 8K project without any resolution loss. As the clip's original 4096 horizontal dimension, which is now the rotated clip's vertical resolution, would fit the 4320 vertical dimension of the 8K display, though with a blank space of 112 pixels above and below his image. He would obviously have to render it out as an 8K project. I think my reasoning is on solid ground?

Chris Young
 

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In Resolve > Project Settings > Master Settings > Timeline Resolution > Custom > and then set the resolution to 2160 x 4096. Bring in your vertical footage. On the timeline, select Video > Transform > Rotation Angle > 90.000. That is, if I understand correctly that you actually shot with the camera rotated at 90 degrees, vertical in other words.

As others pointed out, this will leave you with large black pillar box sides. You can now render this out as you want, in any resolution that is selectable under the 'Export Video' selection under the 'Delivery Tab'. Again, if so desired, you can set out any output resolution you want under 'Custom'.

Generally after this I would bring my 9 x 16 render back into a 16 x 9 project, of whatever raster size you want. In this project, I place another track under the video and place a Resolve 'Texture Background' with colors to complement the vision clip and then animate that background with a slow soft movement. Doing this helps avoid screen burn if your 9 x 16 clip is repeating, such as a show booth video. Even if not, I just think it looks better than big black pillar box sides to the vision. Example JPG below.

Chris Young
Thanks a lot, Chris. This is what I was looking for. As I said, I could have Googled. I also want to thank everybody else who has posted in this thread. Greetings from sunny Switzerland.
 
Okay, guys, I have now exported the file, but even though I set the custom output render resolution to 7680x4320, the clip is in 3840x2160 29.97p. What did I do wrong? I exported as QuickTime H.265 (HEVC), as my father's LG OLED from 2016 (6BV) can play HEVC.
 
Okay, guys, I have now exported the file, but even though I set the custom output render resolution to 7680x4320, the clip is in 3840x2160 29.97p. What did I do wrong? I exported as QuickTime H.265 (HEVC), as my father's LG OLED from 2016 (6BV) can play HEVC.
The free version of Resolve is limited to 4K exports. If you want to export at 8k you'll need to pay for the Studio version of Resolve.
 
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Maybe someone here would do it for you for a cup coffee if this is a one off.
 
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Or use other software (if you might have something else).

Upscaling the 4K footage anyway so it's not real 8K and I think most would do a good job these days.
 
I also have a Resolve Studio license someone gave to me that I’ve never used that for the right price I might be willing to part with.
 
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