Neat Video (video noise reduction) - now available for FCPX!

[Simon Wood]

I have been using the beta trial version with FCPX for some time with great results. Today Neat Video sent out an email saying that Neat Video v3.2 for FCP has been released with support for FCPX and other improvements.

Happy noise free days!

[Craig Seeman]

I had also been using the beta.
Fantastic results. Highly recommended.

[Ned Soltz]

Neat Video gives some fantastic results but sometimes takes some fiddling (and long render times). The results are worth the effort. I also like the new Magic Bullet DeNoiser which is less fussy and somewhat faster.

[Jordan Hooper]

Just went to check them out. They really need a new website. The one they have now strains credibility. IMHO

[Simon Wood]

Originally Posted by Ned Soltz

Neat Video gives some fantastic results but sometimes takes some fiddling (and long render times). The results are worth the effort. I also like the new Magic Bullet DeNoiser which is less fussy and somewhat faster.

I'd be surprised to hear that you got DeNoiser working with FCPX (unless you have a beta)? So far as I am aware NeatVideo is the only standalone solution for video noise reduction in FCPX at the moment (and I have been searching).

Originally Posted by Jordan Hooper

Just went to check them out. They really need a new website. The one they have now strains credibility. IMHO

They do one job, and one job only. Their website kind of reflects their practical no frills approach. When you contact them you will find them to be very efficient, helpful, and straight to the point.

[Harold Brown]

I have used Neat Video in Sony Vegas for years, it is an excellent product. I also have Neat Image which works equally as well.

[John Friedman]

Just wanted to add my experience with it too. On the website it says FCPX 10.0.4 or 10.0.5 is required. I use 10.0.3 and I purchased the Neat video plug-in. It has been working for me. Because I have so many other purchased plug-ins that are working just fine for me, I've been hesitant on upgrading to 10.0.5 or 4 for that matter. It does add a lot of rendering time to a project, but the results have been worth it for me.

My only question is regarding workflow steps. Should I do my color grading then apply neat video, or apply neat video then color grade? Either way I feel like I'm getting the same results so far.

[Simon Wood]

I find its best to edit everything first (as any small changes to the clips can cause you to have to re-render neat again).
Then apply Neat.
Render.
Then apply the grade.

I was thinking about actually exporting the individual clips that need Neat, and then reimporting them back into the timeline, so that Neat is taken out of the final render? Not sure if that would improve things, or would you lose a generation visually (guess this is not such an issue with ProRes which is good for a few generations)?

[Michael Liebergot]

Simon, that's what I just did with a recent edit.
I shot a wedding in a very low lit church, and it produced a lot of noise in my images. Due to the fact that the Neat plugin takes a lot of render time, I decided to apply Neat to all of the ceremony clip and then exported each clip and re-imported them back into FCPX.

The results were great, but the render times for each clip (70 minutes each) took over 20 hours for each clip.

So for everyone it's best to use the plugin sparingly when needed. Unless you need major work then it might be best to render out clean full clips and re-import.

[Simon Wood]

I posted an email in the Neat forum, and Vlad responded pretty quickly. I will show both the Q & A here:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Q: I would like to clarify something that I am wondering about, and this is a topic that seems to come up quite a bit in other forums.
What is the best workflow using Neat Video in FCPX?

Generally I complete the edit.
Then apply Neat Video, and background render.
Then I apply the Grade, and background render.
Then export the final movie.

Is that about right?

As the render can take a long time, and because Neat is processor heavy I was wondering would it be worthwhile to do the following:

Copy the clips that need noise reduction to a new timeline.
Then apply Neat, and export the clip as ProRes.
Then reimport the clips to the original timeline.
I guess this would mean you have to do a number of smaller exports in the beginning, but the final edit does not need noise reduction filtering to take place (meaning a shorter final export)?

Would the above work (assuming ProRes is good for a few generations before you see any quality loss)?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A: That would of course work but would complicate your workflow. Using the filter a straightforward way on the other hand is simpler but may lead to time-consuming re-rendering. Both ways are valid and the choice between them would probably depend on specific project, on the way you work and your preferences.

I guess the following idea may be useful to avoid long re-rendering:
- once you set up NV in a clip and make sure the noise reduction looks good, disable the filter in that clip;
- continue to edit: perhaps add and set up other filters, make sure their results look good;
- when you are ready to render or export, re-enable NV in that clip (perhaps in several clips) and then render or export.

This way NV would be applied to the whole clip only once and you would not need to spend more time than necessary on rendering.