Knights of the Editing Table has created a new tool called Grave Robber for $15 (currently on sale for $12). It un-nest nested sequences or multi-cam sequences (not just flatten).
This company is amazing, Excalibur has become my favorite tool for Premiere Pro in how it speeds things up. And they just keep coming out with new tools.
Chris Zwar at ProVideoCoalition has an article on Bining and After Effects Rending order in the public beta of After Effects. The embedded video is about 45 minutes long, but well worth checking out. And you should also check out his 18 part series on After Effects and Performance which I have talked about before.
The video goes into 2D layers and precomps (rendering from the bottom up), and then 3D layers which is where Binning comes in, which connects all 3d layers that are next to each other in the timeline as a single render so you don’t get motion blur issues of individual layers in a created object. The new beta includes labels to show you how 3d layers are binned in the timeline, which will prove very useful to anyone who does a lot of 3d within After Effects.
It is funny, he started on After Effects 3, and I believe I started on version 4, though he is certainly more of a master than I am.
I have posted about this before, but here are some more topics that I can’t believe don’t have more upvotes.
The first is with a problem that has been bugging me lately that Essential Graqhics automatically scale when you change the sequence size, and I want them not to, or to have control if they automatically scale as you can do with Motion Effects. I often have to do a 1920×1080 and a 1080×1080 sequence so I cut it in 1920×1080 then do a 1080 version. Now I want the graphics to stay the same, but they don’t.
Bug: Essential Graphics scale when changing sequence frame size with 5 votes.
Option to not resize graphics when resizing a sequence with 2 votes.
So I have long hated the AMIRA lut added to Alexa Footage. It has been notorious since it was added, and has been known to cause project bloat. It used to show up as a Master Clip effect (now a source clip effect) but this has been changed (though strangely I can’t find it anywhere in the Premiere Pro help files) to be in the new Interpret Footage Color Management section.
Moving the AMIRA LUT to Interpret Footage Color Management takes more steps to remove the AMIRA LUT, How about an option to not apply ever. And yes this is mine.
Option to disable or delete Amira LUT with 8 Votes.
These are just a few more issues that Adobe needs to deal with, let me know if you have any that you think should be dealt with quickly by Adobe.
Blackmagic Design has upgraded DaVinci Resolve to 17.4, with support for the M1 Pro and M1 Max and a ton of new features.
Unfortunately they have gone Full Screen as default and it took me a while to figure out how to turn it the hell off, but when I did it fixed a big complaint which was DaVinci hiding my damn dock.
I love DaVinci, and I love all the free updates at a rapid pace, but my biggest complaint about DaVinci is it’s lack of customization, and I find forcing full screen mode to be another customization annoyance.
My big complaint with Final Cut Pro (x) is that it feels designed by engineers who want to force you to use a program how they want to, and not how you want to. I have always felt AVID and Premiere allow you to set things up how they work best for you, and I always customize allot, with DaVinci you are forced to work how they want to, down to being forced to hide my dock, and now being forced into full screen mode. And honestly my biggest complaint of this is the menus. i want the menus there all the time, not dissapearing and coming back when I put my mouse there, that loses efficiency!
OK anyway, to turn it off, you have to bring up the menu, then when you see the stop sings, hit the green one.
And even better once I exited Full Screen mode, DaVinci added something new, for the main screen I can now resize the window and it even shows my dock! WOOHOOO.
Now if only the second screen worked like this as well, this is how the second monitor works in Final Cut Pro and I hate it there as well.
And there is a ton more to like in the new update, look at all these features:
What’s new in DaVinci Resolve 17.4
Key Features
• Hardware accelerated Apple ProRes on Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max.
• Faster DaVinci Neural Engine performance on Mac OS Monterey.
• Native HDR viewers and 120 Hz playback on supported MacBook Pros.
• Native Dropbox and Dropbox Replay integration with render presets.
• Sync markers, comments, annotations with Dropbox and Dropbox Replay.
• Export timeline markers as YouTube video or QuickTime chapters.
• Steinberg VST3 support with access to even more audio effects.
• Simplified auto color management settings with SDR and HDR selection.
• Improved 3D keyer and matte finesse controls.
• New Resolve FX including film halation and custom mixers.
• Text+ support for combined glyphs, right to left text and vertical layouts.
• Subtitles can auto resize backgrounds and decompose to parent timeline.
Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max
• Hardware accelerated Apple ProRes on Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max.
• Faster DaVinci Neural Engine performance on Mac OS Monterey.
• Smoother 120 Hz UI and playback on M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros.
• Native HDR viewers on M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros.
• Native full screen mode on Mac OS.
Dropbox
• Dropbox login within DaVinci Resolve preferences.
• Render presets for Dropbox and Dropbox Replay with background uploads.
• Sync comments and annotations with Dropbox Replay in Studio.
• Sync markers and comments with Dropbox in Studio.
Edit
• Subtitle and caption backgrounds now auto-resize to fit text content.
• Subtitle tracks in nested timelines now decompose to the main timeline.
• Adding a new subtitle caption now auto-focuses on the text area.
• Simple titles and subtitles are faster on Apple Silicon systems.
• Improved ease in and out functionality for position curves in the timeline.
• Options to include effects and grades for render in place operations.
• Switch multicam angles in the edit page with the speed editor.
• Ability to mark selection for timeline gaps.
• Edit asymmetric audio transitions created in the Fairlight page.
• Trim video and audio transitions asymmetrically using cmd/ctrl.
• Fine audio clip gain adjustments using shift + mouse drag.
• Support for pasting retime attributes on audio clips.
• Option to limit audio sync to the first timecode match.
• Preview composite modes by hovering over each mode in the inspector.
• Ability to set per-clip deinterlace quality in the inspector.
• New square iris transition.
• Support for custom aspect ratio controls for shape transitions.
• Improved overlays for Fusion tools in the viewer.
• Improved undo support for Fusion effects and Text+ in the inspector.
• Support for folder based organization of effect templates.
• New customizable key actions to go to previous/next timeline tabs.
• Ability to close timeline tabs with middle click.
• Preview generators and titles from the effects panel in the cut viewer.
Color
• Support for an automatic mode for color managed projects.
• Support for ACES 1.3, gamut compression and new CSC transforms.
• New 3D Keyer with new modes, better selection/stroke logic, live feedback.
• Improved HSL and luma keyers with updated matte finesse controls.
• Track forward and back with a single action in trackers and magic masks.
• Node tooltips now indicate LUT and effect type present.
• Dragging new links to layer and key mixers auto-creates node inputs.
• Dragging color nodes over key links creates key-to-RGB connections.
• Added individual primary and secondary tool icons for faster switching.
• Clip filters for timeline clips with Dolby Vision analysis or trim.
• Disabled clips are now shown as gray in the timeline.
• Support for applying camera LUTs and CDLs to ARRI MXF ProRes clips.
• The printer light state is now persisted across application restart.
• Navigating to markers in the timeline now auto scrolls to center marker.
Resolve FX
• Film halation emulates film stock reflections and scatter with Studio.
• Custom mixer to combine effects and grades with finer control.
• Improved 3D, HSL and Luma keyers in edit and Fusion.
• Better noise handling and key refinement for existing keyers.
• Improved patch replacer with ability to align source and target.
• Film grain with interactive previews and grain freeze options.
Fairlight
• Support for Steinberg VST3 audio effects on Mac OS and Windows.
• Ability to reorder, move and duplicate effects in the mixer.
• Support for copying clip ranges with partial fades.
• Single sided audio transitions are now displayed as fades.
• Support for multi channel audio outputs on Linux.
• Waveform displays visible at smaller track heights and lower zoom levels.
• Ability to shift-click and cmd-click on keyframe selections in the timeline.
• Navigating to previous or next timeline marker now selects the marker.
• Improved default processing order in Fairlight mixers.
• Automation curves display current values when no automation is present.
• Flashing edit cursor in edit selection mode.
• Improved column order and search behavior in the clip index.
• Improved jog, scroll and shuttle with the editor keyboard and speed editor.
• Fairlight FX meters have resizable displays and improved channel labels.
• Improved audio performance when using Blackmagic monitoring devices.
Fusion
• Text+ support for combined glyphs and right to left language layouts.
• Improved vertical Text+ layout, vertical glyphs, rotation and line direction.
• Improved Text+ character grouping, spacing, underlining and borders.
• Text+ supports per-character stylistic sets for supported fonts.
• Support for OpenType features, including old-style numbers in Text+.
• Multiple Text+ improvements for character styling and animation.
• Hover to show tool descriptions in the effects panel and add tool window.
• Improved default tracker search and pattern size for grid warps.
• New search area scale slider in tracker options.
Codecs and File I/O
• Improved encode settings for YouTube render preset.
• Option to export a timeline marker color as YouTube video chapters.
• Option to export a timeline marker color as QuickTime chapter markers.
• Support for decoding opus audio in QuickTime and MP4 clips.
• Hardware accelerated Panasonic 8K AVC decodes on Apple Silicon.
• Improved decode speeds for ARRI ARX clips.
• Hardware accelerated H.265 encodes on free version on Windows.
• H.264 encode profile options on supported Nvidia systems with Studio.
• H.264/H.265 encode bit rate controls on supported Windows Intel systems.
• Faster hardware acceleration on Windows Intel systems with Studio.
• Support for rendering EXRs with ZIP1 compression.
• Ability to add custom languages in DCP/IMF composition naming options.
• Ability to use approved operator / rating / region lists for DCP naming.
• Marker support in the IO encode plugin SDK.
• Ability to bypass re-encodes for Sony XAVC Intra clips.
• Improved retention of comments metadata for third party XML workflows.
• Improved display of render job names with tooltips.
General
• Right click audio icon to adjust volume on media, color and deliver pages.
• Auto-identifying media storage sequential image formats as stills or clips.
• Prompt to overwrite existing projects when invoking save as.
• Locked project indicator for PostgreSQL databases with usage info tooltip.
• Ability to clone a PostgreSQL database from the project manager.
• Ability to export PostgreSQL access keys from the project manager.
• Option to import into current timeline when importing an AAF.
• Scripting API support to access inspector properties for video clips.
• Scripting API support to set playhead position on the timeline.
• Scripting API support to get color version for video clips.
• Scripting API support for reflecting upload status in render job APIs.
• Scripting API support for setting network optimization in render jobs.
• Scripting API support for H.264 multi-pass encode option in Mac OS.
• Improved scripting property set when querying MediaIn nodes.
• Addressed an issue with Vimeo login.
• General performance and stability improvements.
Minimum system requirements
• Mac 10.15 Catalina.
• 8 GB of system memory. 16 GB when using Fusion.
• Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 12.0 or later.
• Integrated GPU or discrete GPU with at least 2 GB of VRAM.
• GPU which supports Metal or OpenCL 1.2.
OK AMIRA LUT CAN BE TURNED OFF, SEE BOTTOM OF POST ON HOW TO DO IT, I STILL WANT THE ABILITY TO NOT HAVE IT APPLIED THOUGH, WHY AM I FORCED TO HAVE THE DAMN AMIRA LUT APPLIED? AND WHY DOES IT TAKE MORE STEPS TO TURN IT OFF NOW THAN IT DID BEFORE? Yes Sorry I was yelling.
—-
Adobe released Premiere Pro 2022 this week, and I was playing with some Alexa footage, and looked at the source in the effects window and there is no AMIRA LUT anymore, but the LUT is still being applied. WHAT IS GOING ON?
Honestly I have been complaining about the damn AMIRA LUT for years, and I just wanted ADOBE to remove the fucking thing. I never want it automatically turned on, I want to work with the RAW footage and I can add an Adobe LUT if want it.
So in 2019 I have Alexa footage, that if I bring into the project it has the AMIRA Lut applied.
Now lets take a look in 2022, and it looks like in 2021 as well.
So it looks like Adobe saw that people were complaining about the AMIRA LUT being automatically added to footage and instead, of listening to us and just not adding it, they are now automatically adding it to any ALEXA footage you import into Premiere without the ability to remove it. WTF!!!!!
THIS IS NOT THE DAMN SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM ADOBE!!!!!
——–
OK HERE IS HOW TO TURN OFF THE AMIRA LUT, given by a very helpful Adobe Engineer in the Adobe Premiere Pro Editors facebook group, though my post was removed for being too emotional, so the solution is no longer available there.
OK so you can remove the AMIRA LUT, in a different way than you previously did, but why am I forced to have this LUT Applied. Adobe give me a way to not have the AMIRA LUT applied! And why does it actually take more steps to remove the “Embedded” LUT than it previously did?
Of course I was also told by an Adobe Engineer on UserVoice that the new top navigation bar is far better than the old one, even though it takes more clicks to switch between workspaces, but enough people complained, and now we at least get 3 that can be at the top, so I will continue to complain. And especially when things are made even less efficient!
In Premiere Pro 2019 you could select all the clips, and right click and hit disable Master Clips, and this turned the AMIRA LUT off.
Now it is right click, sub menu, then another sub menu in another screen. And I have heard said now it is removed, but I am not so sure about that. If it was removed, the AMIRA LUT wouldn’t be re-selectable. The fact that it is called Embedded now I think means it is still there. I wonder if it is still causing project bloat as the AMIRA LUT had previously done?
All I want is for an option to not have AMIRA LUT added at all, if I want a Alexa Rec709 LUT I Can add it. Most other footage doesn’t force a LUT on it in Premiere, except maybe RAW.
I deleted my previous post on this, and posted an updated post at UserVoice.
And this means it is time for the awesome deep dive review with Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica. This is always the way to learn the ins and outs of the new system, and I always look forward to the article, and have been reading them for every OS release for so many years.
I would love to upgrade, but I always have to wait. Before you upgrade you should always check out what apps might have issues and to find out I always check out the forum at MacRumors, which has a post with a sticky at the top with Apps that are working and not working. Now it doesn’t do version numbers, so it will almost never answer my most pressing issue, which is what versions of Premiere Pro will work on the new OS (yes the new version works). Now it does seem better than most OS upgrades, but some apps are still having issues or sure.
I have companies that work completely on 2019 (which you can’t even install and should not be using anymore), and I don’t know how you run a newish MacPro on that old of an OS, but I digress.
Adobe has updated it’s awesome drawing app for tablets, Adobe Fresco to it’s October 2021 release, version 3.0.
It’s new features are:
•Apply Motion (ipad and windows) which I am interested in checking out.
•Perspective Grids (ipad and windows) to help do proper perspective
•Send to Illustrator on iPad
•Vector jitter brushes to give a more organic feel to vector brushes
Awesome, I need to spend more time in Fresco as it really is such an impressive and powerful painting program, and am certainly interested in seeing what the motion does, and see if will be useful for any video projects in the future.
So Adobe has updated photoshop to 2022 with more Sensei Features.
THE NEW FEATURES ARE
•Automatic Selections on Hover via Adobe Sensei (can’t wait to give this a try)
•Share for Commenting via Creative Cloud
•Improved Interop with Illustrator, import vectors with color, stroke, and properties as well as layer structure and vector masks.
•New and improved Neural Filters, with betas of Lanscape Mixer, Color Transfer and Harmonization powered by Adobe Sensei
•Improved Gradients
Improved Export As worklfows
So yesterday I had a post how Adobe’s new color correction feature in Premiere Pro 2022 didn’t do anything to fix the gamma shift issue on Mac on exports, and I posted a link to my post in a facebook group on Premiere Pro for Pro users.
Responses included finishing everything in DaVinci, which does nothing about Premiere’s handling of the issue, and people saying just work on a PC which will fix the issue, though it won’t if you have people viewing on Mac, because the gamma shift will happen then.
And then there were the responses about putting the Gamma 2.4 tag in DaVinci in fact tagging the clip wrongly to display correctly on Mac, and I decided to do a little test with Parallels to see how the clips show up in Windows. And I know that putting the Gamma 2.4 tag on your footage is ignored by YouTube, which ignores a 121 tag on footage and in fact forces 111 which will then have the gamma shift.
So to start this is short film I am working on, and the first part are the clip set with the DaVinci Gamma tag set to Gamma 2.4 on export.
So I exported the show with this tag.
Now I wanted to see about the tags and how they would look in Windows, so I have Windows 11 installed in Parallels, and I used both just Windows viewer and VLC in Windows, now I just used whatever size they opened at so I will scale down the other images to match framing. And the frame might be slightly different as I couldn’t figure out how to go frame by frame in Windows player. This is all on my iMac Pro, though screen shotting form mac, find it interesting that the 121 Gamma 2.4 tag matches on Windows to Mac, but VLC on Mac and WIndows doesn’t and VLC on Mac looks closest to what is on my external monitor.
And this one I don’t get at all, but here it is, VLC on the Mac vs VLC on windows, the mac version seems correct, and closest to what I am getting on my external monitor. If anyone can explain it, please contact me about what is going on here. Windows 11 is on the same display as the mac, though I am taking the screenshots from the Mac into the parallels Window.
I am very confused about this last one, I think the VLC on the mac looks most like what the image looks like on my external monitor, but on the mac at least the clips exported from DaVinci with the 121 Gamma 2.4 tag look closer to the image than ones exported with the 111 tag which completely show the weird gamma shift.
So for exporting from Premiere Pro, I guess if you can get people to use VLC is the best option, but if you can’t I would love if Premiere was able to add the 121 Gamma 2.4 tag to exported movies because it will look better on client machines.
I have also read the YouTube ignores the 121 tag and plays video at 111, so they will look blown out on YouTube. Does Vimeo do the same? I might have to do some tests and see what the results are when I have a chance.
If anyone has any thoughts please let me know.
EDIT:
So since there is such a difference in VLC, I decided to try another app that doesn’t do ColorSync on Mac and that is Firefox in Windows 11 and Mac.
So strangely Firefox looks different on Mac and Windows. Better on Windows, but not as bad as Mac Quicktime for sure.
OK so I have posted about this at Adobe Uservoice to ask Adobe to add the ability to change the gamma of a clip on export. I know you don’t want to do this for final export, but for clients viewing copies, it would be nice to guarantee that those on Mac and those on Windows see something approximating what I see on my external monitor.
So at Adobe Max yesterday Adobe upgraded After Effects to version 22, October 2021 release, of course this is now the unified version number of the video suite, so after effects 22 works with Premiere Pro 22.
New Features are
•Fast Previews and Renders with Multi-Frame Rendering which has moved over from the beta
•Reimagined Render Queue with Remote Notifications via the crative cloud app on your phone, tablet or even watch
•Composition Profiler, which will help you see which layers and effects take the most time
•Speculative Previews, After Effects will now render when you have been idle for a set period of time
•Export faster with Adobe Media Encoder using mult-frame rendering, and you can continue working
•Improved 10 Bit HEVC playback
•Enable LUT Interpolation method selection, either Triliner or Tetrahedral
CURRENTLY IN BETA
•Scene Edit Detection using Adobe Sensei