Rendering stills at DVinfo.net

Chad Dyle · April 19th, 2008, 11:20 AM

I have a bride that called to tell me that the pictures she received from her photographer were horrible. She asked if there was any way to grab frames from the video. Obviously that isn't hard to do, but she has sent me quite a long list of stills to grab. I know that Quicktime can convert a video file to stills, but I'm having a hard time getting the video out of Vegas in a format that Quicktime player will like. I also told her to not expect anything high-res, but she said it will be better than nothing. Whew. With that said, does anyone have any suggestions at all? It was all shot in HD also.

Thanks,

Chad

Seth Bloombaum · April 19th, 2008, 12:16 PM

I'd avoid the quicktime intermediate process - don't think you need it.

You can do grabs from the timeline by first previewing at best-full, then clicking the little disk icon above the preview window.

An alternative would be to render-as "image sequence".

So there are two methods from within vegas.

"Stills were horrible" may be code for "prints from the photog are way too expensive."

Edward Troxel · April 19th, 2008, 01:14 PM

You could put markers on the frames you wish to extract and use a script to extract only those frames. It really doesn't sound like you need EVERY frame - just a bunch of scattered frames. That would make the most sense to me.

Also if you go to Tools - Scripting, there is an image sequence output script available there.

Plus you might look at Satish's frame servers plugin which now also includes an option for outputting image sequences.

Chad Dyle · April 19th, 2008, 01:39 PM

You guys rock! I am so busy editing weddings that I never have the time to actually play around inside Vegas and learn new stuff.
As for the bride not wanting to pay for stills, they actually did suck. Never, ever let a friend of your mothers, that use to be a photographer, volunteer to shoot your wedding! At one point I actually saw her reading a manual :(

Dave Blackhurst · April 19th, 2008, 03:20 PM

OUCH...

Well, the good news is that you should be able to supply her with very good to excellent stills for anything of smaller size (4x6, 5x7). In a pinch, even 8x10 can be pulled off if you're a photo editing wiz.

As already noted, set preview to the highest res, and capture the stills direct from the best frames - you can even give her some choices - I usually scroll frame by frame, pick the best one and "click".

I've used this numerous times to "fill" shots that my wife missed for whatever reason when shooting stills (and I use her stuff for fill too, it goes both ways). Once you've saved the stills, you can either get them to her as is, or have someone show knows Photoshop or Paint Shop or whatever spruce them up a bit. Most programs have deinterlace capability, and with a little light post work, you will end up with excellent results, albeit not at the greatest resolution - cropping verticals from a widescreen original isn't the best, but it can be a great "save" for an otherwise lost moment.

I had one wedding where the groom decided to "dip" the bride for the first kiss, catching EVERYONE off guard, so no "first kiss" shots of any useable sort... I caught it from 2 angles fairly well (and this was SD cameras), composited the two together, retouched agressively for an "old time" picture look, not bad for a "salvage job", though I wasn't thrilled with it. It ended up being one of their favorite shots! I guess the "artistic" result overrode the technical flaws...

You'll be the hero and save the day here, once more "Super Video Guy" to the rescue!

April 19th, 2008, 11:20 AM	#1
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	Rendering stills I have a bride that called to tell me that the pictures she received from her photographer were horrible. She asked if there was any way to grab frames from the video. Obviously that isn't hard to do, but she has sent me quite a long list of stills to grab. I know that Quicktime can convert a video file to stills, but I'm having a hard time getting the video out of Vegas in a format that Quicktime player will like. I also told her to not expect anything high-res, but she said it will be better than nothing. Whew. With that said, does anyone have any suggestions at all? It was all shot in HD also. Thanks, Chad __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

April 19th, 2008, 01:14 PM	#3
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	You could put markers on the frames you wish to extract and use a script to extract only those frames. It really doesn't sound like you need EVERY frame - just a bunch of scattered frames. That would make the most sense to me. Also if you go to Tools - Scripting, there is an image sequence output script available there. Plus you might look at Satish's frame servers plugin which now also includes an option for outputting image sequences. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

April 19th, 2008, 01:39 PM	#4
Chad Dyle Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 410	You guys rock! I am so busy editing weddings that I never have the time to actually play around inside Vegas and learn new stuff. As for the bride not wanting to pay for stills, they actually did suck. Never, ever let a friend of your mothers, that use to be a photographer, volunteer to shoot your wedding! At one point I actually saw her reading a manual :( __________________ www.chaddyle.com www.chaddyleproductions.com

April 19th, 2008, 12:16 PM	#2
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	I'd avoid the quicktime intermediate process - don't think you need it. You can do grabs from the timeline by first previewing at best-full, then clicking the little disk icon above the preview window. An alternative would be to render-as "image sequence". So there are two methods from within vegas. "Stills were horrible" may be code for "prints from the photog are way too expensive."

April 19th, 2008, 03:20 PM	#5
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	OUCH... Well, the good news is that you should be able to supply her with very good to excellent stills for anything of smaller size (4x6, 5x7). In a pinch, even 8x10 can be pulled off if you're a photo editing wiz. As already noted, set preview to the highest res, and capture the stills direct from the best frames - you can even give her some choices - I usually scroll frame by frame, pick the best one and "click". I've used this numerous times to "fill" shots that my wife missed for whatever reason when shooting stills (and I use her stuff for fill too, it goes both ways). Once you've saved the stills, you can either get them to her as is, or have someone show knows Photoshop or Paint Shop or whatever spruce them up a bit. Most programs have deinterlace capability, and with a little light post work, you will end up with excellent results, albeit not at the greatest resolution - cropping verticals from a widescreen original isn't the best, but it can be a great "save" for an otherwise lost moment. I had one wedding where the groom decided to "dip" the bride for the first kiss, catching EVERYONE off guard, so no "first kiss" shots of any useable sort... I caught it from 2 angles fairly well (and this was SD cameras), composited the two together, retouched agressively for an "old time" picture look, not bad for a "salvage job", though I wasn't thrilled with it. It ended up being one of their favorite shots! I guess the "artistic" result overrode the technical flaws... You'll be the hero and save the day here, once more "Super Video Guy" to the rescue!