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Premiere Pro CC 2014 Possable Smooth Playback Solution

Cuda setting in premier pro
Hi All,

Happy holidays.  So I just updated my PPro to the lasted version as I saw a news blast they had released an update this week to build 8.2.0.  I tried an earlier v8.1 pre build 65 version and it had really bad playback – very choppy.  All excited, I launched the new version… and……. CRAP!!!!!  same thing.  However, I did catch something that I maybe didn’t see before:  Once you have updated to the latest version it appears the playback engine defaults to OpenCL instead of CUDA for accelerated playback and rendering.

I created a new project and switched the settings at startup and voila… the new project was playing back perfectly.  I then closed that new project and re-opened my older project that was stuttering and now it was playing back nicely too.  

I also did a quick export with matching sequence settings and it went about 3x speed.  Conversion to H264 was pretty slow taking roughly 16 minutes for a 2 minute piece.  1920 x 1080 30p  5D/GoPro mixed footage.


Well, I hope this helps a little.  I was searching for a while for this and got close but never saw anything about the playback engine.  I did the rollback to 8.0.1 once last time but now I’ll stick with the newest version as it seems to be working =)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

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My New Sigma 50mm ƒ1.4 DG HSM Lens

sigma lens product shot

I just picked up my new Sigma 50mm ƒ1.4 DG HSM Lens from Samy’s Cameras on Monday – Wow!!!  I’ve been waiting for it to come on now for about 2 months and it was worth the wait.  All the research I’ve done says this is one of the sharpest lenses to come along in a while and they are right. 




I’m using this lens on my 5D3 rig.  This is one in a new line of lenses from Sigma.  They also offer a 35mm ƒ1.4  Full Frame and a 18-35mm ƒ1.8 zoom for an APS-C size sensor.  

The skinny:

  • Very sharp – all the way to ƒ1.4
  • Great contrast
  • Great color rendition
  • Smooth focus ring
  • Fast auto focus
  • Nice ergonomics

So of course I wanted to shoot an image as soon as I got it and had 2 choices; the cats or the bird feeders ( man!! I’m getting old =).  So forgive the not so scientific photos… I will post some real shots and video as soon as I get a chance.

Along with the lens I added a cool little focus gear from DLC called a DL-V/Band.

It went on really easy and is nice and snug. Not too much extra hanging over to catch on the camera rig.  Smooth feel with my Chrosziel follow focus.  $15 USD.

All in all a nice ad to my kit.  I was holding out for a Rokinon 50mm Cine lens but as they seem to never want to make that lens (rumors be damned!!!!) I thought it’s time to make a move.  Stay tuned and I’ll post some more info as I discover it though use.

Until next time, Good shooting

TDTrey
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The Big Small Rigs…

Canon 5D2 in cine configuration with teleprompter
So here is a cool version of my 5D3 rig with my iPad Prompter on it.  It’s pretty tight.  The prompter is driven by my Macbook Pro using a display mirroring software over WiFi.  The system is pretty light weight all things considered and I can take it handheld if needed.  I am using an ATOMOS Samurai Blade to record in ProRes straight out of the camera’s HDMI. It also records the final audio in sync with the picture.

Here is another version of the rig using a SmallHD AC-7 monitor for the field.  I like the size of the AC-7 and how bright it is.  This is the rig when clients want to record right to CF and not deal with the ATOMOS. 

With the focus on new cameras looking toward 4K this year it will be interesting to see how the world of the 5D fairs.  I am intrigued by the GH4…  I have clients still asking for the 5D3 and the 5D2.  they like the look of the full frame sensor and want to go with a known camera.  I think I’ll get another year or two out of this rig. 


Until next time, Good shooting

TDTrey
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SmallHD AC7 Field Monitor

What a great monitor….  The End

OK, ok. Maybe a little more is needed =)

Earlier this summer I was prepping a project and the DP had asked for a larger monitor with a really good sun shade.  I was using an older 5″ HDMI monitor.  We were shooting on my 5D3 and were going to be on the move over the 5 days of shooting.  So I started looking at my options.

I had checked out the SmallHD AC7 and it’s bigger brother the DP7 at CineGear and was very impressed.  Both monitors had a really nice look and feel and were well built.  I’m very partial to the way SmallHD handles their focus assist features.  The peaking in these monitors reminds me of the peaking in my old BetaCam cameras.  When you’re on, you are on!! and you can see the focus plane coming/going as you are rolling through focus.  Really helpful with DSLR shooting. The 5D3 staying in HD during recording is also very nice.

So as I said I was going to be in the field (or actually on an island) for 5 days shooting mostly “Run and Gun”.  We weren’t going to be able to charge batteries during the day and the rig had to be really light and nimble.  Pictured here is my Hand Held rig:

I found the easiest thing was to set up the 5D3 on a Manfrotto raiser with 12″ rods and use a Ultralight 15mm rod accessory to add the monitor via a cine arm.  (Say that 3 times fast =)  This put the monitor almost right over the camera body and still left access to the battery door and CF card slot.  To keep the weight down I used the Canon battery plate from SmallHD.  This allowed me to use all the same batteries for the monitors and cameras.  In this config we really didn’t need a follow focus and normally left the mattebox off as well.  At night we could run without the sunshade leaving a much wider angle of view for the shooter and any one around him.  I didn’t have it at the time but have since added a LockPort to protect the mini HDMI connection on the side of the camera.

The monitor was flawless.  The HDMI port is on the bottom so it was very easy to run the cable under the lens and straight up into the monitor.  It is very light weight.  The screen is quite bright and clear.  The shade helped the daytime shooting immensely.  We could make it about 4 hours on one pair of batteries. ( the plate is set up for 2 batteries to run together extending the over all running time.)  When the batteries are down to about 10% the screen changes to the AC7 logo and starts flashing.  (Can’t miss that warning =)  Pop two fresh batteries on and you are ready to go another 4’ish hours.  You can get a variety of different battery plates to match your kit batteries and needs.

The monitor comes in two versions: an HDMI only version or an HDMI / HD-SDI version.  I went for the HDMI version at the time but am now thinking about getting the combo HDMI / HD-SDI version.  That way I can hang it off my EX3 or the H2S converter on my 5D3 / Blade kit.

The menu is easy to navigate and has a dial entry approach along with two assignable button for shortcut features and menu functions.  There are a number of guides that can be assigned as well as false color, etc.  Truly a well thought out monitor.

Well just my first impressions of the monitor.  Very happy.  It now lives in the 5D3 bag.  I’ll give an update as I use it more this year.  Thanks again for reading my post.

Until next time, Good shooting

TDTrey.com


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ATOMOS Samurai Blade

So, the afternoon that the Samurai Blade was first in stock at B&H, I ordered it.  I had been waiting a while for it to be available and was happy it was finally on it’s way.
At CineGear I was able to check out quite a few recorders including the Atomos Samurai Blade and the Convergent Design Odyssey 7.  Both are excellent recorders.  Both have terrific feature sets.  Both are priced at $1295 USD. 
I went with the Blade.
      • It’s 5.5″ screen makes it a nice tiny recorder to hang on any rig.
      • It has a non proprietary storage media solution. (the Odyssey uses Convergent Design’s own SSDs to ensure compatibility with the recorder)
      • With the Blade, you can use SSDs or spinning 2.5″ hard drives right from your local computer store (as long as they meet the specs required by Atomos)  The fact that you can use spinning drives is one of the main reasons I went with the blade.  I can use a 500 gig laptop drive for tripod shoots and it will only cost me $60 or so and yields almost 5 hours of ProRes HQ.  For “run and gun” I’ll probably want to use SSDs because of the risk of shock to the drives.
      • I can run all day on a couple Sony NP-F970 batteries.
      • The Blade works well with both my EX3’s SDI out and my 5D3’s HDMI out.  For the HDMI from the Canon 5D3 I use the Atomos H2S converter.  It converts HDMI to HD-SDI and does 3:2 pulldown removal in real time.
      • The focus assist features work like my Zacuto EVF and SmallHD AC7 monitor.  I can see the focal plan coming my way as I roll through focus.
      • The waveform feature is very handy and pretty much a necessity these days on DSLR shoots.
        One of the other things I’ve been waiting for in a recorder is the ability to delay the audio coming into the recorder to compensate for the 5 frame LAG the Canon 5D3 has on it’s clean HDMI output.  When feeding the recorder audio directly you’ll end up with your picture behind your audio 5 frames.  Those clips will then need to be slipped back into sync on the timeline during editing.  However, (this was great) I wrote Atomos about the LAG and asked if there was anything in the works at Atomos to help.  The next day (at 3:02 am) Tech support sent me an e-mail saying they had released a new firmware update that morning and added an audio delay function and way better audio meters.  I was stoked as those were really the last 2 minor things that disappointed me about the Blade.

        The Convergent Design Odyssey 7 and 7Q look like excellent recorders as well.  At the time I needed my recorder the Odyssey units weren’t shipping and did not yet offer ProRes.  They are projected to ship a little later this year.  The 7Q will be able to do up to 4K resolutions  and also record in camera raw formats.
        All in all I think the Atomos Samurai Blade is a great choice for a flexible external field recorder and one that I will be able to use for some time to come.  As we all move ever closer to the 4K world new technology is going to keep sneaking up on us.  But for now HD recorders are a great way to go.

        Until next time – Good shooting

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        Rokinon Cine Lenses-Second Look

        Still loving the Rokinon Cine lenses.  I have three now: the 24mm, 35mm for a few months and the 85mm just came in last week.  All the lenses are at a T1.5 max exposure. 

        The 85mm is a little smaller than the 24 and the 35.  It still has both an iris gear and a focus gear.  Very handy for jib work.  Since this one just came in, I haven’t had a chance to test it in the field yet – but plan to in January.

        The build quality is just as amazing.  The markings are nice and bold (although still only on the driver’s side).  The gears seem to work nicely with my FF.  And… the 85mm has a deep filter thread.  I ordered from B&H so I also ordered a Tiffen UV filter to go with.  The pair shipped as one and I knew that I would have the lens protected as soon as it arrived.

        I’m hoping the rumors about a 50mm Cine lens are true.  I would like to round out my basic prime set now and then start adding T&S lenses and other more specialized glass later in 2013.

        I’ll keep you posted as I put this one through it’s paces on the F3 and the 5D2…
        Until next time, good shooting.

        TDTrey.com

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        Which Camera?? Decided… Sony F3

        Well after a little over a year of searching and waiting and wanting I made a what I think is a fine decision for my next camera.  For those of you who have been following my “which camera” posts you’ve scene me ponder everything from the Scarletus… I mean, Scarlet.  And the 5Dmk3, Nikon D800, FS100, FS700 and more.  But after working with the Sony F3 for others I decided to get one of my own.  Great Camera!!!
        I went to CineGear this year to look at everything that was coming out and projected to be out soon.  Lots of cool stuff – (technical term).  Spent quite a while at the Canon booth and the Sony Booth.  Big competition there.  With all the research about new cameras and features I was feeling very lost and then about 2 weeks ago sat down and took a hard look at what I do and how this new crop of cameras could affect that – here’s what I found:

        Most used this year: 5Dmk2
        Most flexible: Sony EX3
        Best combo of the two: Sony F3

        I’m not being asked to go 4K just yet. If need be I can rent an EPIC from VR and go crazy with resolution.  Super Slowmo is great but likely to get overused in my circles and burn out quickly and again — EPIC if needed.  Super Shallow DoF nice but not the end all be all.  The F3 seems to fit the bill right down the middle.
        The best part I like is I’m already an EX3 owner so all my achechepies plug right in. I’m planning to do the S-Log upgrade soon so I’ll keep you posted on the progress.  Also I’m getting a set of the Rokinon T1.5 cine lenses as the come out.  See my review of the 35mm T1.5.  I’ll be getting the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm.  I can rent a Zeiss ZF.2 kit when needed but I wanted to start with the Rokinons to give them a try.  I got the Tokina 11-16 in Nikon F — no cine mod yet; a Nikkor 28-70 ƒ2.8 and a Nikkor 80-200 ƒ2.8.  It will be a balanced kit when I”m done.

        Well dinner is ready.  More to come…

        Until next time, good shooting

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        5DmkII All Grown Up

        So since my last entry for the 5D I have added a few new goodies to the rig… As you can see (kind of) I have the whole enchalada mounted in an cage (love it) which makes grabbing this camera and using it a dream. The cage is made by Easom and this particular version is called the Halo. It provides 2 ribs for connecting the upper and lower sections and I have them staggered here. Their other model called the Solo has only 1 rib – an equally nice cage. Also I found a great D-Tap power distribution company: Hawk-Woods in the UK. They sell a kit that allows you to use you V-mount batteries with DSLRs by way of voltage regulating the power with the adapter that goes into your camera where the battery fits. Now I power my camera, monitor and any other goodies from a single B4B V-mount battery. This is a mid sized battery 6Ah/90Wh and lasts about 2 to 3 hours each.

        To go with the “all growed up” look I added my RedRock follow focus and CA Vision matte box. I had to go up to 18″ rods to make everything fit and balance out but it all sits there nicely now. I put a small Pony clamp on the back of the cage handle and slid both of my Sennheiser wireless receivers on there for a tight cable package. I used XLR splitters to feed the mic’s outputs to both the ZOOM and the 5D at moc level. There is an XLR to stereo mini adapter cable in there going into the 5D itself.

        Rounding out the system I have a Zoom H4n mounted to another part of the cage and my Marshall monitor is being held on my a Manfrotto mid sized articulating arm. It all fits… and comes in at about 16.2 Lbs…. ouch =) I have another Noga arm on order that should drop a pound or two off the total weight of the package. I’ll keep you posted.

        TDTrey.com

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        ZOOM H4n Digital Recorder

        Recently got to use the new ZOOM H4n on a project to track GOPRO cameras in a car interior setting – Worked great. We first used them with the internal mics place near the interviewee – that worked OK but had a little too much road noise. Plan B, we already had the people miked from the other part of the interview process with Lectrsonic 195 systems so we just added the ZOOMs to our field mixer bags and set those in the back seat during the “on-the-road” interviews and used hand claps to sync them up later. Sounded great.

        Things we learned:

        • 4gig – class 4 cards were fine
        • 48/16 WAV files fit right into the edit
        • Batteries would last almost all day – 10 hours
        • New front panel design was much easier to read and operate
        • Mic level in to the XLRs from the mixers worked great*
        • Gain staging mixer to H4n had plenty of wiggle and head room
        • Make sure you don’t bump the MIC/1&2 buttons – Silence… OOPs
        *In preparation I had done a lot of reading up on the new H4n and most said “no line in”. I understand the combo inputs are designed to accommodate HIGH impedance signals from guitars and basses 10k. Well I did some testing after the shoot, -10 line out of my FP33 @ 0vu yielded a nice signal when the record levels on the ZOOM are set relatively low. No sonic coloration that I could hear – Tone and Dialog.

        I have the H2 and the H4n. The H2 stays with my FP33 as a piggy back dual system recorder and the H4n stays with the 5Dm2. Nice kit to have…

        TDTrey.com

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        My 5D Mark II has arrived !!!

        OK OK… So I held off as long as I could. The first time I saw the photos of the all rigged out 5DmkII I thought WOW!!! Then I told myself I was just judging a book by it’s cover. It looks very cool — but it’s not ready for video yet.

        So I waited, patiently, with my EX1 and EX3 by my side. My trusty LETUS 35 Extreme always ready… Then it started happened. People I knew started asking for or using the 5D and 7D on their projects. TV shows started using them. Canon released the firmware updated for the 5D — now it was a whole different ballgame. Workable frame rates, better control over the sound (even if it’s just a scratch track in most cases) and Zeiss has adopted the EOS platform as a real entity. All hail the CP.2 lens set…where’s that winning lottery ticket….

        I’m now into my third week of owning a 5DMKII. It took a week to figure out how to get it into video mode. My first subject – my big toe… Got almost a minute and a half out of that. Next it was on to real uses. I re-configured my RedRock rod system and V2 follow focus from the EX3 to work with the Canon 24 -70 2.8 L lens that I bought. Worked out the mount for my 7″ Marshall monitor and tracked down the elusive spare Canon LP-E6 batteries. I was able to make my CA Vision matte box just fit the tall form factor of the 5D with the battery grip on it.

        I’m off to the races — or in this case an art showing for a friend to shoot a couple of interviews for the event. They turn out really pretty good considering the room was packed and I used only the light from a hanging PAR 64 blasting the art on the walls. I put the interviewees about 4 feet in front on the art and me about 3 feet in front of them. Not your ideal ratio – but it’s what the room could handle. The DoF was not bad when I looked at the footage later. Important safety tip Egone… Just because you can go WFO with these lenses on the 5D and get everything really shallow – doesn’t mean you should. The first interview went great because the interviewee stood still — at ƒ2.8. The second person repeatedly leaned in to make her points. I didn’t think it was that far… but she fell in and out of focus slightly through out the interview. To do it over, I would set my focal plane more forward or shoot an ƒ4.0. Still a good first outing.

        I’ll keep you all posted. Should be a fun learning curve. Have a great weekend.

        TDTrey.com