Zebras and false color highlighting (Vegas 18)

kentavv wrote on 8/22/2020, 9:09 AM

Likely I'm overlooking the options, but are zebras (highlight areas above a given luminance) or false color (overlay a binning of the luminance of each pixel) available in Vegas 18 and how are they enabled in the video preview? The vector and waterfall scopes are fantastic, but it would be nice to have similar information with spatial context. Thank you.

Comments

Grazie wrote on 8/22/2020, 9:27 AM

@kentavv - Never heard of Zebras in VP? I’ve got them in my Canon Cameras. NewBlue ColorFast has Masks, not Zebs, that can be set and they show areas of High, Medium and Shadows. That helps me. Also in Red Giant Magic Bullet Looks I get a crisscrossed, no, Zebs.

michael-harrison wrote on 8/22/2020, 9:38 AM

You can fake it. Let me see if I can find the relevant post...

System 1:

Windows 10
i9-10850K 10 Core
128.0G RAM
Nvidia RTX 3060 Studio driver [most likely latest]
Resolution        3840 x 2160 x 60 hertz
Video Memory 12G GDDR5

 

System 2:

Lenovo Yoga 720
Core i7-7700 2.8Ghz quad core, 8 logical
16G ram
Intel HD 630 gpu 1G vram
Nvidia GTX 1050 gpu 2G vram

 

michael-harrison wrote on 8/22/2020, 9:41 AM

Jump to the end...

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/pc-to-tv-levels-a-comedy-of-errors--107325/

 

System 1:

Windows 10
i9-10850K 10 Core
128.0G RAM
Nvidia RTX 3060 Studio driver [most likely latest]
Resolution        3840 x 2160 x 60 hertz
Video Memory 12G GDDR5

 

System 2:

Lenovo Yoga 720
Core i7-7700 2.8Ghz quad core, 8 logical
16G ram
Intel HD 630 gpu 1G vram
Nvidia GTX 1050 gpu 2G vram

 

Grazie wrote on 8/22/2020, 9:47 AM

@michael-harrison Excellent! Well remembered. @Musicvid is an Icon.

michael-harrison wrote on 8/22/2020, 9:54 AM

@Grazie yeah, that's one of a handful of posts I saved locally knowing it would be very useful

System 1:

Windows 10
i9-10850K 10 Core
128.0G RAM
Nvidia RTX 3060 Studio driver [most likely latest]
Resolution        3840 x 2160 x 60 hertz
Video Memory 12G GDDR5

 

System 2:

Lenovo Yoga 720
Core i7-7700 2.8Ghz quad core, 8 logical
16G ram
Intel HD 630 gpu 1G vram
Nvidia GTX 1050 gpu 2G vram

 

vkmast wrote on 8/22/2020, 10:01 AM

@Musicvid's signature is a quick way to find his informative forum articles (and other resources)..

Musicvid wrote on 8/22/2020, 10:41 AM

@kentavv also contacted me via PM, after finding this thread.

Hi, I'm impressed by the work you showed in your post 'New Free Video Levels Tool for MS Platinum.' I would like to learn to write similar plugins for Vegas, analyzing the video and audio stream and marking them up in preview or writing results to a log file. Would you be so kind to point me to a good resource to begin learning to program plugins? Thank you

The only way I could ever write a plugin is if it were done in CGI/Perl ;?) Kidding aside, that's not an actual plugin, but an archived project, that uses existing presets to create false colors at the YUV clip points, [16,235] respectively. If you'll bring up the Output Effects, you will find two Secondary CC presets, which I recommend saving. These contain the "secret sauce." In addition you'll find the stock Levels preset, so you can test Studio and PC levels, as well as rolling your own customized source levels. There are actually two video demos in that thread, this one is the best proof-of-concept for the uninitiated.

Now, here is the one that should really interest you (intellectually I mean, it's too slow for practical use). It was written to work with image sequences using a custom Action in Photoshop. "Action" is Photoshop's name for a "Macro." If you are already well-versed in Photoshop, I can send you the Action, but it is touchy, so foreknowledge is needed.

Color Legend

 

 

kentavv wrote on 8/22/2020, 10:55 AM

The only way I could ever write a plugin is if it were done in CGI/Perl ;?) Kidding aside, that's not an actual plugin, but an archived project, that uses existing presets to create false colors at the YUV clip points, [16,235] respectively.

Now, here is the one that should really interest you (intellectually I mean, it's too slow for practical use). It was written to work with image sequences using a custom Action in Photoshop. "Action" is Photoshop's name for a "Macro." If you are already well-versed in Photoshop, I can send you the Action, but it is touchy, so foreknowledge is needed.

OK, sorry, I misunderstood the original post. Obviously, I thought you'd written a plugin, but what you did is also very clever. This all great information and will take a while to work through. If convenient, please send the Photoshop Action. I would never claim to be well versed in it, but I can stumble my way through. :)

Musicvid wrote on 8/22/2020, 12:07 PM

When you are versed in using the Project and presets in Vegas, I would enjoy hearing your feedback and suggestions.

With the Action IIRC, I left out all the saving information at the end, so you could write your own saving directory instructions. Support will have to be minimal, as I may not remember what I've done all too well. It was created in CS2, but should be forward-compatible.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZazpfAtlhKX2V_cU8rkhlgH5v7m1R8PN

Musicvid wrote on 8/22/2020, 12:09 PM

Maybe you're going to be the guy to turn this concept into a plugin.