Out of Focus Fix ? at DVinfo.net

Ken Beals · November 25th, 2016, 01:58 AM

A Videographer I free lance for had a clip of a conference attendee sharing her experience at that conference.

The footage was out of focus and he outsourced it to be fixed. The results were pretty stunning.

Am scratching my head as to how he pulled it off. Is there a plug in out there now that can "re-focus" footage ?

The editing platform I use is the Adobe Premiere.

This requires fixes that are outside the ability of sharpen or any built in tools that Premiere has.

Andy Wilkinson · November 25th, 2016, 03:57 AM

Ken, why don't you ask him?

(Not trying to be clever - but it seems the best way of getting the exact info).

i'd be interested to know how this was pulled off too.

Ken Beals · November 25th, 2016, 12:01 PM

It's worth a try to simply ask yet knowing the individual who did the work is not very open with his toolbox was what motivated me to post this to our community.

Will pitch the question and post if get an answer.

In meanwhile if anyone has had extraordinary success in correcting out of focus footage it would be so appreciated.

Am sure all of us has had a very unhappy client because of uncorrected focus issues.

Ofcourse the best insurance is to make sure we're in focus during the shoot.

Jim Feeley · November 26th, 2016, 02:58 PM

Check out Unsharp Mask effects, both included with (some) NLEs and in third-party plug-ins. Google up some tutorials. IME, they're not "set it and forget it" effects, but they're also not terribly hard to use. Rendering takes A WHILE, but results are often pretty impressive.

If nothing else, starting your hunt with Unsharp Mask tutorials/advice/etc will get you off on the right path, I think.

Of course, I'd love to see what others here are doing...

Jon Fairhurst · November 28th, 2016, 12:25 PM

Yes, unsharp mask is a key tool. If one creates a power mask around the critical areas, such as they eyes, and performs an unsharp mask within that window, the results can be convincing.

There are automatic means as well, but they don't necessarily know the difference between a pupil and a blemish. Also, they might sharpen the background as well as the intended focal point. So by combining a human-generated power mask with an unsharp mask process, the result can be quite good.

Chris Harding · November 28th, 2016, 06:16 PM

Sony Vegas also has a plugin called Convolution Kernel which for me (just the one time thankfully) saved a wedding ceremony where the image was decidedly soft. I first tried the unsharp mark which gave only mediocre results but the Convolution Kernel was awesome! I'm not sure though, if Adobe has something similar??

Jeff Pulera · November 29th, 2016, 08:17 AM

I used Unsharp Mask in Premiere to save three 2.5-hour dance recitals that were soft due to issues with rental camera. Took a LONG time to render, but looked great! Just be careful not to over-apply the effect, which can have adverse effects (over-sharpening).

Thanks

Jeff Pulera

Miggy Sanchez · November 30th, 2016, 02:50 AM

I like to use a little unsharp mask even on sharp footage, just to get things popping.

However, it lengthens rendering time as Jeff mentioned.

Is the longer rendering time a RAM issue? More RAM, quicker the unsharp mask render?

Ken Beals · December 6th, 2016, 11:21 PM

Appreciate everyone's input !

Jim Feeley · December 7th, 2016, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miggy Sanchez

I like to use a little unsharp mask even on sharp footage, just to get things popping.

However, it lengthens rendering time as Jeff mentioned.

Is the longer rendering time a RAM issue? More RAM, quicker the unsharp mask render?

Since IIRC unsharp masks are basically particular Gaussian blurs, I'm pretty sure the main constraint is CPU speed (and perhaps number of cores). At least, I don't think it's RAM. Don't know about deconvolution, though.

I'm more than willing to be corrected...

Bob Hart · December 24th, 2016, 01:25 AM

There is a flashback scene in the Netflix series "The Expanse" where a bunch of protesters holed up in a room are in a stand-off with the authorities and they are killed off.

I was a bit confused by the quality of the vision as to whether it had been accidentally shot soft and an unsharp mask applied to save it or was it an effect applied to define that flashback as being in the past.

There are so many different production designs and looks to define locations, ranging from luxury on Earth to dystopian colonies in "The Belt".

My guess is that particular look was decided upon to firmly establish the flashback scene as a past event to avoid audience confusion.

November 25th, 2016, 01:58 AM	#1
Ken Beals Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tempe, Az Posts: 172	Out of Focus Fix ? A Videographer I free lance for had a clip of a conference attendee sharing her experience at that conference. The footage was out of focus and he outsourced it to be fixed. The results were pretty stunning. Am scratching my head as to how he pulled it off. Is there a plug in out there now that can "re-focus" footage ? The editing platform I use is the Adobe Premiere. This requires fixes that are outside the ability of sharpen or any built in tools that Premiere has. __________________ Mediocrity is a disease... Last edited by Ken Beals; November 25th, 2016 at 11:54 AM.

November 25th, 2016, 03:57 AM	#2
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? Ken, why don't you ask him? (Not trying to be clever - but it seems the best way of getting the exact info). i'd be interested to know how this was pulled off too. __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

November 25th, 2016, 12:01 PM	#3
Ken Beals Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tempe, Az Posts: 172	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? It's worth a try to simply ask yet knowing the individual who did the work is not very open with his toolbox was what motivated me to post this to our community. Will pitch the question and post if get an answer. In meanwhile if anyone has had extraordinary success in correcting out of focus footage it would be so appreciated. Am sure all of us has had a very unhappy client because of uncorrected focus issues. Ofcourse the best insurance is to make sure we're in focus during the shoot. __________________ Mediocrity is a disease...

November 26th, 2016, 02:58 PM	#4
Jim Feeley Supports LPFM Radio Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Northern California USA Posts: 170	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? Check out Unsharp Mask effects, both included with (some) NLEs and in third-party plug-ins. Google up some tutorials. IME, they're not "set it and forget it" effects, but they're also not terribly hard to use. Rendering takes A WHILE, but results are often pretty impressive. If nothing else, starting your hunt with Unsharp Mask tutorials/advice/etc will get you off on the right path, I think. Of course, I'd love to see what others here are doing...

November 28th, 2016, 12:25 PM	#5
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? Yes, unsharp mask is a key tool. If one creates a power mask around the critical areas, such as they eyes, and performs an unsharp mask within that window, the results can be convincing. There are automatic means as well, but they don't necessarily know the difference between a pupil and a blemish. Also, they might sharpen the background as well as the intended focal point. So by combining a human-generated power mask with an unsharp mask process, the result can be quite good. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

November 28th, 2016, 06:16 PM	#6
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? Sony Vegas also has a plugin called Convolution Kernel which for me (just the one time thankfully) saved a wedding ceremony where the image was decidedly soft. I first tried the unsharp mark which gave only mediocre results but the Convolution Kernel was awesome! I'm not sure though, if Adobe has something similar??

November 29th, 2016, 08:17 AM	#7
Jeff Pulera Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Milwaukee WI Posts: 691	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? I used Unsharp Mask in Premiere to save three 2.5-hour dance recitals that were soft due to issues with rental camera. Took a LONG time to render, but looked great! Just be careful not to over-apply the effect, which can have adverse effects (over-sharpening). Thanks Jeff Pulera

November 30th, 2016, 02:50 AM	#8
Miggy Sanchez Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Melbourne Posts: 92	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? I like to use a little unsharp mask even on sharp footage, just to get things popping. However, it lengthens rendering time as Jeff mentioned. Is the longer rendering time a RAM issue? More RAM, quicker the unsharp mask render?

December 6th, 2016, 11:21 PM	#9
Ken Beals Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tempe, Az Posts: 172	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? Appreciate everyone's input ! __________________ Mediocrity is a disease...

December 24th, 2016, 01:25 AM	#11
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Re: Out of Focus Fix ? There is a flashback scene in the Netflix series "The Expanse" where a bunch of protesters holed up in a room are in a stand-off with the authorities and they are killed off. I was a bit confused by the quality of the vision as to whether it had been accidentally shot soft and an unsharp mask applied to save it or was it an effect applied to define that flashback as being in the past. There are so many different production designs and looks to define locations, ranging from luxury on Earth to dystopian colonies in "The Belt". My guess is that particular look was decided upon to firmly establish the flashback scene as a past event to avoid audience confusion.