high contrast

tapit1 wrote on 6/20/2004, 9:16 AM

Hi.
I'm working on a new project which has some low light footage in it.
I'm using a Sony TRV950 camcorder and everything has gone well, but when I look at he low light stuff, it looks "posterized" or really ultra-pixelated. Everything else is fine.
Is there any way to "smooth out" the picture? The original looks fine on tape, and when I play the tape through a VCR. It's as if ScreenBlast is trying to rasie the gain or something.
Thanks!

Comments

Former user wrote on 6/20/2004, 12:26 PM

Before you change anything, output that footage to tape from your computer and see how it looks. It could be that your computer monitor is affecting the look. Don't judge the quality, contrast, color or anything else on your computer monitor unless you are sure it is set up correctly for video images.

If your video looks okay after output, then adjust your monitor. If your video does not look like the original, then post back.

Dave T2

Steve Grisetti wrote on 6/21/2004, 6:31 AM

Dave is right. Never judge your final output based on the preview you see when you play your timeline. Your preview is a "soft render" and your software may be taking shortcuts just to give you a general idea what it will look like.

Output just this portion as an AVI and see if you're satisfied with the results. You should be able to tell with Windows Media Player if it's turning out right.

Also note that your software can only go so far in rescuing your footage. You can only sharpen blurry footage so much and you can only brighten dark footage so much. Although you'll have more success applying these effects to DV than to analog, your software can't add what wasn't there to begin with.

tapit1 wrote on 6/21/2004, 7:32 AM

Thank you both for your replies.

Actually, I did send the project to tape and played it on both my camera and TV. That's where I first noticed the problem, as a matter of fact. I've learned to check everything in "actual project size" mode since then.

I've done a dirty fix of overlaying better video on top of the problem spots (they were only "talking heads", after all) but I'd really like to be able to polish the tape I've got.

Any suggestions?