How to remove/minimize shadow in video, caused by something on lens.

Len Kaufman wrote on 2/7/2022, 1:44 PM

I just did an aerial video shoot and there appears to have been something on the lens, as there is a shadow in the same spot throughout the video. Yes, I cleaned the lens prior to the shoot. Possibly something got kicked up when the helicopter cranked up (door off). After seeing this, back in the studio, I checked, and nothing on the lens and nothing on the sensor.

So my question: is there anything I can do to alleviate the problem? The spot is always in the sky area of the scene: always in 3rd grid row down and 3rd grid box from the right. It doesn't have sharp edges, and it isn't a black spot, with no color. It's just a darkening of a particular area. The screen shot below is just the sky portion of the scene. Original is 16:9.

Lightening the shadows helps a little. I left the shadows dark here, so that you can more readily see the spot.

I'm using Magix Vegas Pro 19, latest version. I am considering trying Power Director 365, as they list a "sky replacement tool" for video. Though I hate the subscription model, I would do it, if that is the only option. I think they also have a month-by-month option. Any suggestions for how I might do this in Vegas or is there a plug-in available?

Comments

Former user wrote on 2/7/2022, 1:52 PM

@Len Kaufman Hi, in this video Mocha Pro tracks the sky & replaces the marked area with a piece of adjacent sky,

Mocha isn't cheap but you could maybe create a png, mainly transparent apart from small piece of un-marked sky before the mark crosses it, then manually or maybe use Vegas tracking to patch over the mark,

Len Kaufman wrote on 2/7/2022, 2:14 PM

@Gid Thank you for your response. That's kind of what I was thinking of, and was about to try. Thought I'd ask on the forum before re-inventing the wheel. Mocha Pro has a $37/month plan, as does Power Director 365 ($4.33), either of which might be a solution. I'll probably try PD 365 first.

I haven't used Vegas tracking before. It sounds like it might be pretty labor intensive in this case, as I have 16 clips to do, each about 1 minute +/-. The notion of sky replacement sounds attractive, if it can be done realistically. I do it in still photos all the time.

Former user wrote on 2/7/2022, 2:28 PM

@Len Kaufman 👍 I used Vegas tracking very briefly but quickly moved onto Mocha Pro so i can't help with that, yeah a small feathered copy of the sky should work, it maybe doesn't have to be too accurately tracked.

From what i've seen of Vegas tracking it's not too hard, you've got it so it's free & maybe this is a learning opportunity 😂😂

Musicvid wrote on 2/7/2022, 2:51 PM

If it's as minor as it looks in the screenshot, I probably wouldn't bother with it.

walter-i. wrote on 2/7/2022, 3:01 PM

I also sometimes make an effort to fix something that others don't even register.
Show the clips to a few people and test to see if anyone notices.

Len Kaufman wrote on 2/7/2022, 3:22 PM

If it's as minor as it looks in the screenshot, I probably wouldn't bother with it.


@Musicvid It's more noticeable when there is movement. To me, (and apparently also to @walter-i), I'm my own harshest critic. When I see it in motion, it screams out at me.

Howard-Vigorita wrote on 2/8/2022, 9:55 AM

@Len Kaufman I've had that problem on occasion and cured it by cleaning and vacuuming the sensor area and backside of the lens. Before cleaning, setting the aperture to it's widest minimized it.

Len Kaufman wrote on 2/8/2022, 10:41 AM

@Len Kaufman I've had that problem on occasion and cured it by cleaning and vacuuming the sensor area and backside of the lens. Before cleaning, setting the aperture to it's widest minimized it.

@Howard-Vigorita Thank you for your reply. However, my problem is not how to clean and prevent the issue. For that, I use the "Arctic Butterfly" by Invisible Dust.

It's how to fix it, now that it's happened. Even if I clean it back home, before going out on the shoot, there are plenty of opportunities for dust to wreak havoc, after leaving home.

joelsonforte.br wrote on 2/8/2022, 11:18 AM

@Len Kaufman

This problem has happened to me too. I made a short video showing what I did to solve this using only Vegas features. Hope this works for you. Good luck!

Len Kaufman wrote on 2/8/2022, 12:24 PM

@joelsonforte.br Thank you. That's a clever approach. I was trying something like that, but there is a variation in your approach that might improve my result.

First though, I'm working on a plugin that I had from New Blue FX, called "Selective Touch Up." I had it in my system already.