Fix faux 16:9, any ideas?

farss wrote on 11/30/2009, 1:05 AM

Footage shot on cheap Panny SD camera. Somehow client switched it into 16:9 but all the camera does is mask the top and bottom of the frame. Worse the mask isn't even symmetrical.
I've tried cropping it back to 4:3 but it's barely passable before enlarging the image and it gets really furry as a result, not helped by having a cheap 2X teleconverter on the camera either.
So I tried leaving the image as is and replacing the black bars with something. Tried the trick that works OK getting 4:3 into 16:9 of using a blurred version of the full frame to fill the sides. This does not work well at all at times. Legs and boots at the bottom of the frame and heads at the top of the frame really give the game away. I would use some motion background however there's a lot of this footage.
I'm pretty much at the point of just saying to the client the choices are ditch the footage or learn to love the black bars, I'll tidy them up but that's it. Just hoping there's some other option that I haven't considered.

Bob.

Comments

ushere wrote on 11/30/2009, 1:57 AM

shoot the client? ;-)

i'd live with the black bars. the other tricks you mention work extremely well for short grabs and the like, but not for extended periods.

amazing what the clients expect nowadays - here mate, take this sows ear and make me a silk purse - sure, no problem, but have you got a calf skin wallet to start with?

ceejay7777 wrote on 11/30/2009, 2:01 AM

Only idea I can think is to make it obvious. Drop it back a bit so there is space at the sides too, and then dump it on a slightly softened, but obvious still background that's somehow relevant to the story eg the Harbour Bridge if it's set in Sydney.

Coursedesign wrote on 11/30/2009, 1:37 PM

Does the output need to be a 4:3 frame?

If not, crop to the image area and render to real 16:9 anamorphic.

You may need to do a bit of sharpening but this should look better than the alternatives.

Topaz Enhance is the bee's knees for uprezzing a sow's ear to at least a factory outlet silk purse.

Just get the full functionality trial that is good for 30 days, and you won't have to spend a dime (other than when you buy it because it's so good). It runs in AE which I think you have, right?

Coursedesign wrote on 11/30/2009, 1:56 PM

The next step up if the customer has the budget is to apply a very small amount of GenArts Sapphire Glow.

This is the only glow I know of at any price that doesn't look goofy for high class work.

Jawdroppingly good, and I think you could do the project with just the free eval version.

I was reminded of this from a recent story about the look design for the House TV series.

farss wrote on 11/30/2009, 3:32 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions.
After posting I went and had a look at the shot that's the reason for this segment and the wind noise is lethal. Lots of it elsewhere in this guys footage but after carving out as much of it as possible and hiding it in music it's almost passable. However this is shot is not amenable to that. I'll simply have to tell the client the bad news.
The rest of the DVD is 4:3 so not really an option to make part of it anamorphic 16:9. Thanks to the cheap optics not only is it furry but the CA is pretty bad. At that focal length of course solid tripods are mandatory and that's not what this guy had. Half the footage is ruined by the camera shaking at every puff of wind.

On a positive note another client did shoot some footage "for me" of the Durga Puja in Kolkata. Somehow found a Z1 for rent and bought Sony HD tape stock. Numerous emails left me fearing the worst but I finally captured the footage a couple of days ago and what a breath of fresh air. They got a good tripod and used it, they found an XLR lead so they could hold the mic off the camera while doing pieces to camera, they did interviews, got cut aways and background footage. I should mention they've not used a camera before.

The event itself is just beyond belief. Large temples and structures all built out of natural materials, even the idols are all bamboo, banana leaves, jute and mud from the river. All either sent back to the river or burnt at the end of the festival. At night the lighting is over the top, India has discovered the LED, at least ten for every man, woman and child :)

Bob.