Category Archives: Techniques

3D, Editing, Techniques

Magix Movie Edit 3D video encoding tip

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I am using Magix Movie Edit Pro MX Plus for 3D video editing. When I am ready to encode my videos, I have been exporting them as MPEG4 video files. However, when I output red/cyan anaglyph for my own viewing (I do not have a 3D monitor), I have been disappointed in the compression quality.

This became readily apparent today on some test shots that included grass, bushes, tree leaves and other high detail objects that compressed very poorly.

A better solution is to just output using Windows Media exportt (File | Export movie | Windows Media export) and on the Advanced (Video) settings tab, make sure you have Windows Media Video 9, Variable bit rate-quality and and set the Bit-rate-quality setting to a high value (I’m using 90) for the video options.

This is producing a much cleaner video image with fewer compression artifacts. The regular MPEG4 video encoder seems to work well on normal 2D video but really chokes on anaglyph producing video with a great deal of compression artifacts.

I also found that exporting using the Quicktime option and the default Sorensen 3 codec worked well too, better than MPEG4 on the anaglyph format.

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3D, Cameras, Gear, Techniques

“ePhotozine Panasonic 3D lens review. Is the 3D hype over?”

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43 Rumors | Blog | ePhotozine Panasonic 3D lens review. Is the 3D hype over?.

I just bought one of these 3D lenses for $50 and so far, I have not quite figured what it might be good for. I thought with the close lens spacing, and a simple trick to use it with video (put tape over the electrical contacts), that it would be useful for close in 3D shots due to the narrow interaxial spacing.

However, since the lens works by creating two side by side images on the 1080p video (a common 3D standard), the video images cannot be correctly stretched in my editor to produce the right aspect ratio.

Normally, we take two full size images 1920×1080, combine those into a single 3D representation, and (for Youtube) output in the side-by-side format. In the side-by-side format, the 3D is represented with a squished left image on the left and a squished right image on the right. These are then stretched to present a full size (albeit, lower resolution) 3D image at 1080 pixels wide.

The problem is that using the Lumix 3D lens, we start with an image of about 960×1080 and that is the correct proportions for the image. My editor can edit proper side-by-side, but it has no idea what to do with the non-squished side-by-side images. For now, it stretches the 960×1080 back to 1920×1080 and yes, this makes everyone look really fat!

For now, I have not yet found a solution to put this lens to work on close in subjects for 3D video. But I will keep trying!

3D, Cameras, Technical, Techniques

Panasonic | 12.5mm f/12 Lumix 3D G Lens for Micro Four Thirds Mount Cameras – $49.99

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Panasonic | 12.5mm f/12 Lumix 3D G Lens for Micro Four Thirds Mount Cameras | HFT012.

The $249 lens is currently being sold with a $200 rebate offer, so your cost is $49.99. I just ordered one.

Officially, the little lens does not support video in 3D, but that is supposed to be easy to work around – just put tape over the electrical contacts on the 3D lens and use the feature in the camera (see menus) to use the camera without a lens. The effect of all this is to recorded side by side (left-right) video for the left-right eyes.

The lens is wide at 12.5mm (25mm full frame equivalent) and slow (f/12) but all that is fine for deep depth of field 3D. The main issue is that the lenses are very close together, which is only going to be useful for relatively close in subjects. However, since I currently used paired cameras with a roughly 3″ and 6″ interaxial distance, I figure the narrow interaxial on the 3D lens will be useful for very close in subjects. Looking forward to trying this for 3D video!

3D, Cameras, Sound, Techniques

3D with stereo audio recording setup

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I am setting up gear to record an event this weekend in 3D, and to record audio in stereo

Group of XLR connectors
Group of XLR connectors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

with two long shot gun directional mics.

I use two Lumix GH-2s for the video recording but there is no way to monitor the recorded audio on the GH-2. Plus, I am using XLR mics. While I have a separate XLR mic mixer, I was not successful in feeding stereo signals into the GH-2 and could not find a solution to that problem.

I decided to just record the soundtrack separately. Since I do not have a digital audio recorder, but I do have an older SD camera with XLR inputs (a Panasonic DG-AVC30), I am planning to record the audio on the AVC30, while recording the video on the two Lumix cameras. My first attempt at a setup looks like this (sorry for the lousy smart phone photo – something better in the future) with the AVC30 bolted upside down on my homemade mounting rail.

The 18-inch long shot guns are mounted on top of the GH-2s, and crossed over. The one on the left records the right audio channel and the one on the right records the left audio channel. These feed into the XLR inputs on the AVC30, which enables me to monitor the audio as a I record it, plus I can adjust the audio levels in real time.

The three cameras need to be synchronized – the only way to do that is by recording an  audio pulse (hand clap, snap of the fingers, other sharp sounds) on all cameras simultaneously. The audio tracks will then be lined up in the editor. I’m sure there are easier ways to do this but I am working with what I have and my zero billion $ budget!

The plastic bag on the tripod handle covers up a remote for another camera (not shown) and was put on there since I was out recently in the rain and wanted to protect it from the rain. I suppose I could get rid of that now!

What’s with all the rubber bands? That’ll be for another day.

Update: Found the problem with the mixer and ended up using the 2 XLR mics into the mixer and into one of the cameras. Didn’t need to use the video camera as an audio recorder. Whew!

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