Nikon D90 Breakthrough! Part III - The solution by us

As soon as we discovered that the other methods for destepping were wrong. All we had to do was compare the two methods, find where they had the wrong splits and make a correct split template.
The theory proposed by a friend was that Nikon scales the footage using the nearest neighbor method to go from a resolution of about 800 lines to 720 lines. This was why some lines were discarded.
So all we had to do was find the exact scaling factor of Nikon's method and then reverse it so we could go from 720lines to about 800. The result would leave us with duplicate lines (because we would use the nearest neighbor method again) which would then be discarded and inerpolated.
After counting (by hand!) all the pixels and found the repetitive segments we were able to calculate the scale factor. The magic number is 1.113281 .
It was all downhill from there. And as you can see below the flow is very compact with minimal nodes. It is also very fast to render.
Of course in Fusion you can do all of this in a macro so it is as easy as adding a node to your footage.

I suppose a similar method can be used with After Effects. As long as scaling is done in draft mode and rendered as it is and NOT with best settings. If someone makes it for AFX, please let us know.

UPDATE: It seems that fusion has trouble with some of the Nikon AVIs possibly to a bug in the Nikon avi packager. You can use ffmpeg (free) with the script below to remux them in new fixed avi files. Just make a dos batch file (.bat) with a text editor like notepad and paste the code below

::-----------------------------------------------------------------
for /f %%f in ('dir *.avi /b /a:-d-s-h') do call :Convert "%%f"
echo Finished
PAUSE
goto :EOF
:Convert
echo FIxing %1
ffmpeg -i %1 -vcodec copy fix_%1
goto :EOF
::-----------------------------------------------------------------

Nikon D90 Breakthrough! Part II - The solution by others

Searching the internet for solutions to the D90 stair stepping problem, we found an After Effects project called 'D_MOVIE_FIXER' [technique created by Lee Wilson (dvxuser) project finished by Matthew Bennett].
What they had done was split the original picture using masks to horizontal lines of 8 or 9 pixels high, moving them leaving 1-pixel empty lines and then filling them by interpolation.
At first it seemed to work OK although we found that some lines on the lower part of the picture still did have problems (this was due to incorrect slicing).
We also found a nuke tool doing more or less the same job with the same technique. This one looked better but still had some problematic lines (also due to incorrect slicing). One of the problems of using this method was that we don't use Nuke and didn't plan on getting it only to fix this problem.
Another problem is batch processing. The After Effects method which is our program of choice worked using a complex series of nested comps and mask slices which was awkward and time consuming and required footage replacement for each movie file we would want to process.
Not an elegant solution
NEXT: Definitive solution using Fusion. Fast and elegant

VFX Development

Test render for a VFX scene of "At Someone Else's Expense"

Facebook fan page

We are very happy that our facebook fan page has already more than 450 fans. If by any chance you aren't already a fan click here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Bedtime-Stories-X-The-Film/

Είμαστε πολύ χαρούμενοι που ξεπεράσαμε ήδη τα 450 μέλη. Σας ευχαριστούμε για τη θερμή υποδοχή σας και ελπίζουμε να πιάσουμε τους 500 πολύ σύντομα. Θα σας κρατάμε ενήμερους για την πρόοδο της ταινίας μιας και τώρα προγραμματίζουμε τα επόμενα γυρίσματα

UPDATE: 530 fans (likes)

Nikon D90 Breakthrough! Part I - The problem

While shooting with a DSLR camera has its advantages, shooting with Nikon D90 has some major disadvantages due to the fact that Nikon doesn't seem to want people using it for professional acquisition of video.
One of the major problems we have to solve is called 'stair stepping removal' (or how Nikon can make an easy task difficult). Specifically, D90's sensor captures the image and then resizes it to an anamorphic resolution of about 1280x800. Then every 10 lines just skips one or two pixels to arrive to the desired 1280x720. This in introduces the stair step effect mainly visible on diagonal lines.
Lots of solutions have been offered, none of them satisfactory. So we had to come up with our own solution.
Next: The proposed solutions and its problems and our own definitive and FAST solution!

First shoot segment finished..

Two and a half days of shooting later, the story “At someone else's' expense” (se varos kapoiou allou) was completed. First actual experience with shooting with the Nikon D90 and a minimal crew. Most aspects went well, and those that didn’t are fixable.

Photos coming soon.

Μετά από δυόμιση μέρες γυρίσματος, η πρώτη ιστορίσ (Σε βάρος κάποιου άλλου) τελείωσε! Πρώτη εμπειρία με τη Nikon D90 και μικρό συνεργείο. Σχεδόν όλα πήγαν καλά, και όσα δεν πήγαν φτιάχνονται. Καλά που δεν πάθαμε και τίποτα..

Φωτογραφίες σύντομα

Follow progress on Twitter!

twitter.com/bedtimestoriesx

Follow us and find out how the first Greek feature filmed with a DSLR is progressing!

Shoot starts on October 23d

Fuck committees – An essay by Tibor Kalman

I had read this a long time and it stayed with me. It directly involves film as it involves all art. It is unfortunately all true, but leaves a small window of hope. Strong stuff.

via ChangetheThought

FUCK COMMITTEES
(I believe in lunatics)

It’s about the struggle between individuals with jagged passion in their work and today’s faceless corporate committees, which claim to understand the needs of the mass audience, and are removing the idiosyncrasies, polishing the jags, creating a thought-free, passion-free, cultural mush that will not be hated nor loved by anyone. By now, virtually all media, architecture, product and graphic design have been freed from ideas, individual passion, and have been relegated to a role of corporate servitude, carrying out corporate strategies and increasing stock prices. Creative people are now working for the bottom line.

Magazine editors have lost their editorial independence, and work for committees of publishers (who work for committees of advertisers). TV scripts are vetted by producers, advertisers, lawyers, research specialists, layers and layers of paid executives who determine whether the scripts are dumb enough to amuse what they call the ‘lowest common denominator’. Film studios out films in front of focus groups to determine whether an ending will please target audiences. All cars look the same. Architectural decisions are made by accountants. Ads are stupid. Theater is dead.

Corporations have become the sole arbiters of cultural ideas and taste in America. Our culture is corporate culture.

Culture used to be the opposite of commerce, not a fast track to ‘content’- derived riches. Not so long ago captains of industry (no angels in the way they acquired wealth) thought that part of their responsibility was to use their millions to support culture. Carnegie built libraries, Rockefeller built art museums, Ford created his global foundation. What do we now get from our billionaires? Gates? Or Eisner? Or Redstone? Sales pitches. Junk mail. Meanwhile, creative people have their work reduced to ‘content’ or ‘intellectual property’. Magazines and films become ‘delivery systems’ for product messages.

But to be fair, the above is only 99 percent true.

I offer a modest solution: Find the cracks in the wall. There are a very few lunatic entrepreneurs who will understand that culture and design are not about fatter wallets, but about creating a future. They will understand that wealth is means, not an end. Under other circumstances they may have turned out to be like you, creative lunatics. Believe me, they’re there and when you find them, treat them well and use their money to change the world.

Tibor Kalman
New York
June 1998

Early render of the City

 

Title says it all.. It’s going to get a lot more complicated. Also, gearing up for production of the first sequence!

How to be an auteur..

Very funny article Suzanne Ballantyne (Raindance). If only it did not ring so true these days..

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/index.php?aid=182

(Pic of Jean Luc Godard)

Jim Jarmusch on originality and thievery

5 tips for filmmakers. The fifth:

Rule #5: Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”

Great advice

Quote without comment

The (television-film) business is a cruel
and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where
thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.
There's also a negative side."

Hunter S. Thompson

Independent Filmmaking Today

This article pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter..

..This is the best time to become a filmmaker. The absolute best time. We’re about ten years away from a golden age of visual storytelling. And, we get to be the ones to build the system from the ground up. Most importantly, the tools for planning, shooting, editing, distributing and promoting a movie have never been so easy to use, so affordable or so accessible.

For the first time in history, anyone can make a great movie. Not everyone will. In fact, few will answer the true calling. But, the tools are no longer the barrier.

Entire article Here

Great Article on Independent Filmmaking

Addressed to potential Independent Film Investors: 

Most filmmakers are not out to steal your money, although you may think that.  A lot of them are dedicated to their craft and do it because they love it, not because they’re getting a big paycheck, which they’re not.  Trust me on that one, independent filmmakers are scraping as much as they can together to keep a low-budget production going.  In some instances, it means deferring their pay so it goes into the production, as crazy as it is.

As an investor, you want to invest in a film but don’t want the risk.  Guess what?  All investments carry risk.  Films are no different.

Entire Article here

Facebook Page for BSX

Here: Facebook Page

Progress Report

Casting going well, considering the delays. Almost down to a final cast.
Legal matters (contracts etc) are still open.
Ordered mini Jib which was an absolute must.

General Info

Bedtime Stories X is based on a series of monologues for the stage. It was adapted in screenplay form by Thanasis Naskaris, who is also the Director.
The play appeared on stage in Prague, Dublin, London and more with the title XXX Anonymous.
The Movie consists of 11 seemingly unconnected stories, their common ground being sex, perversion and, ultimately, loneliness..
Now in the final stages of Casting and Pre production,
More to come soon.

First Post

Hi, this is a blog about the production of the feature film Bedtime Stories X. Besides the official site www.bedtimestoriesx.com , this blog will serve a a repository of progress, ideas and maybe some discussion..
More soon