LED Light Flickering Fixed (VP18-482)

RonB_USA wrote on 3/22/2021, 3:27 PM

For literally years(!), I've been trying to figure out a way to fix a video that I shot in 2015 that yielded a flickering LED light directly behind the moving presenter. He walked left and right across the flickering light, so it was almost impossible to use other techniques to disguise or fix it other than to use some tricks to dim at area. But that resulted in changing the presenter's video quality and look. BUT, VP18-482 fixes it when I use the Media FX with the Flicker plug-in and the Flicker Reduction Preset setting. YAY! There is absolutely no flicker motion at all except a very small amount of shimmer when I moved my camera left and right. I am very pleased. The LED light is the kind that can change colors and dimness, so that may be the reason that it flickered in the first place. Their handheld light remote control system may have a weird non-standard frequency.

Comments

fr0sty wrote on 3/22/2021, 11:24 PM

Cheap LED lights do that... they pulse 60 times per second, and if your shutter speed and frame rate are not in sync, they'll see the shut-offs between pulses. More expensive LEDs have drivers that pulse them much faster than that, so they play nice on camera.

Steve_Rhoden wrote on 3/23/2021, 6:04 AM

In 2015 if you had tried Digital Anarchy Flicker free plugin for Vegas Pro, that issue of yours would have been completely fixed in seconds (smile).... You also had RevisionFX DE:Flicker as another option.

RonB_USA wrote on 5/26/2022, 9:52 PM

It's a year later and the light flicker is fixed. HOWEVER, when the talent moves quickly left and right or moves arms, etc., there is blurring of just the talent when using the Flicker plug-in. This is caused by the Flicker plug-in itself. So it helps the flickering light but caused blurring of the talent. Just as long as the talent doesn't move much, the talent and the light are perfect with no flicker. (I have several video productions from that era when I had the shutter speed problem.) I've tried every combination for the Flicker plug-in, currently in VEGAS Pro 19 550. Any ideas? Would edit and/or rendering at 60fps help? Sharpen plug-in? Any other ideas?

RonB_USA

Former user wrote on 5/26/2022, 9:59 PM

@RonB_USA Hi what about adding a mask, both Pan/Crop & Bezier masks will 'Apply to FX' only?

PS. Pan/Crop mask you can keyframe

Dexcon wrote on 5/27/2022, 4:09 AM

Just as long as the talent doesn't move much ...

It's the same with camera movement as well. A slowish panning shot I had a while ago ended up with a disappointing amount of blur with BCC Flicker Fixer applied to the video event to reduce flicker from ceiling fluro lighting.

RonB_USA wrote on 7/27/2022, 12:19 PM

@RonB_USA Hi what about adding a mask, both Pan/Crop & Bezier masks will 'Apply to FX' only?

PS. Pan/Crop mask you can keyframe

@Former_User

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. @Former User, could you elaborate more on your possible solution? I'd love to be able to fix the blurred moving talent or moving camera in addition to having already fixed the flickering light.

I have several videos like this one, from that period of time, where I failed to set the shutter speed correctly. TIA

RonB_USA

Former user wrote on 7/27/2022, 7:50 PM

A basic flicker fixer is just blending frames, There's hardly any benefit to them as far as better results, but saves time duplicating your clip on timeline a number of times and offsetting each row by 1 frame and blending the rows together via opacity.

The smarter ones still do the blending (from what I understand) but they can auto mask moving objects. This allows stronger deflicker to be used on backgrounds that aren't moving, and less flicker reduction on moving objects. I would imagine this works best with a locked off tripod

That is what the user is most likely suggesting, duplicate track, and on upper track create and animate the mask, apply the deflicker fx to both using the minimum required for moving subject that doesn't cause blur, and use setting that best deals with flicker for your lower track.

I see that the vegas flicker fixer actually has masking built in and also a motion compensation which sounds good, but I don't have the time to try it now

Former user wrote on 7/27/2022, 9:31 PM

I had a look at the Vegas deflicker. I couldn't stop the blur, but not entirely familiar with all it's settings. In resolve it's deflickering works acceptably with movement. The advanced screen is showing but it's basically the fluro preset. It may be possible to better remove the flicker and not blur the dog in advanced menu. From what I can tell this fx should be in free version of Resolve18, as it's not a neural engine effect.

This is the sample file if anyone wants to try for a similar result with Vegad deflicker https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/YH0APtfUR22ETN7lUMS_Bg.PrWiavaqyswG6qK39_8VmI