I need a miracle! at DVinfo.net

Lalo Alvidrez · May 13th, 2011, 08:37 AM

Do you go with over blown video or with blurry video? Those are my two choices. My question is , is there any way to fix blurry video at all on vegas? worst video editing nightmare I have had to edit.

Chris Medico · May 13th, 2011, 09:07 AM

Well, if you are going from HD to SD there may be some sharpening when you downconvert. You may want to do a test of that to see if it improves the situation to an acceptable level for the blurry video.

How bad is and what is the nature of the blownout stuff? Strong backlighting or just overall severely overexposed?

Garrett Low · May 13th, 2011, 09:26 AM

Perhaps posting a screen grab might help.

-Garrett

Jeff Harper · May 13th, 2011, 09:41 AM

Try a bit of both ways, make a DVD, then play it on your television and see which looks best (or worse). This will help you decide.

Mike Kujbida · May 13th, 2011, 10:11 AM

Here's a suggestion for overblown video that I grabbed from the Sony Vegas forum.
Apparently it works extremely well.

Put 3 filters, a "Invert" (at 100%), "Color Corrector", "Invert" (at 100%).
Then, lift up the gamma of the color corrector in the middle.
This darkens highlights first, in the logarithmic fashion, more like a "iris closing" way.
You can also put a color corrector secondary to select reds and lower the gamma a bit.
Also remember, dark or bright may also have to add or remove a bit of saturation on the color corrector filter.

Lalo Alvidrez · May 13th, 2011, 01:18 PM

thanks all. the overexposed vid is all over. mainly a wide shot of a school program. Lost all detail in the faces. The blurry video happened because the camera was set on manual focus and never changed back. close ups are blurred and unfortunately that was the close up cam.

Dale Guthormsen · May 13th, 2011, 02:33 PM

Good afternoon,

the method mike mentioned works to a degree, its a last ditch save.

One thing I did is use the secondary color corrector to add a slight amount of color to the burnt out areas, again it is a last ditch save. Keep those clips short and as few in number as possible to keep the overall appearance a little nicer in the the big picture. You can possibly also use slightly burnt portions to tie into transitions too.

the focus, well thats just a lesson learnt the old fashioned way. sharpening can only do so much or you start getting bright outlines and such.

Good luck, hope to hear how you made out.

Jeff Harper · May 13th, 2011, 03:19 PM

You could give them their money back, and give them no video. Then offer to do the next one at half price. I would almost rather do that then give what you're describing to anyone. It will make you look bad. We know that things can happen, and customers can sometimes understand this. But they'll never get over something that looks severely bad.

Dave Blackhurst · May 15th, 2011, 02:33 PM

Would I be correct in thinking that this is someone else's footage, brought to you to "save"? That would make a difference, as they are already aware there's a "problem", and anything you manage to pull off IS by definition a miracle...

Unfortunately, unlike the crime shows on TV, you can't create what isn't there, only try to see if there's ANY salvageable data to work with, then try to devise a workable "fix". Blown out is just that, and so is "out" of focus, the data points are simply "out"side the acceptable range, and unless you're extremely lucky, no amount of tweaking sharpness, gamma, brightness, contrast and color will "restore" what simply isn't there... you can always try...

This doesn't sound like sonething where you could go B&W or put some "old time movie" effects on it and pull off an "artistic" save either...

May 13th, 2011, 08:37 AM	#1
Lalo Alvidrez Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Longview, Tx. Posts: 227	I need a miracle! Do you go with over blown video or with blurry video? Those are my two choices. My question is , is there any way to fix blurry video at all on vegas? worst video editing nightmare I have had to edit.

May 13th, 2011, 09:07 AM	#2
Chris Medico Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Efland NC, USA Posts: 2,322	Re: I need a miracle! Well, if you are going from HD to SD there may be some sharpening when you downconvert. You may want to do a test of that to see if it improves the situation to an acceptable level for the blurry video. How bad is and what is the nature of the blownout stuff? Strong backlighting or just overall severely overexposed? __________________ http://www.LandYachtMedia.com

May 13th, 2011, 09:26 AM	#3
Garrett Low Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Novato, CA Posts: 1,774	Re: I need a miracle! Perhaps posting a screen grab might help. -Garrett __________________ Garrett Low www.GLowMediaProductions.com

May 13th, 2011, 09:41 AM	#4
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: I need a miracle! Try a bit of both ways, make a DVD, then play it on your television and see which looks best (or worse). This will help you decide. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 13th, 2011, 10:11 AM	#5
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Re: I need a miracle! Here's a suggestion for overblown video that I grabbed from the Sony Vegas forum. Apparently it works extremely well. Put 3 filters, a "Invert" (at 100%), "Color Corrector", "Invert" (at 100%). Then, lift up the gamma of the color corrector in the middle. This darkens highlights first, in the logarithmic fashion, more like a "iris closing" way. You can also put a color corrector secondary to select reds and lower the gamma a bit. Also remember, dark or bright may also have to add or remove a bit of saturation on the color corrector filter.

May 13th, 2011, 01:18 PM	#6
Lalo Alvidrez Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Longview, Tx. Posts: 227	Re: I need a miracle! thanks all. the overexposed vid is all over. mainly a wide shot of a school program. Lost all detail in the faces. The blurry video happened because the camera was set on manual focus and never changed back. close ups are blurred and unfortunately that was the close up cam.

May 13th, 2011, 02:33 PM	#7
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Re: I need a miracle! Good afternoon, the method mike mentioned works to a degree, its a last ditch save. One thing I did is use the secondary color corrector to add a slight amount of color to the burnt out areas, again it is a last ditch save. Keep those clips short and as few in number as possible to keep the overall appearance a little nicer in the the big picture. You can possibly also use slightly burnt portions to tie into transitions too. the focus, well thats just a lesson learnt the old fashioned way. sharpening can only do so much or you start getting bright outlines and such. Good luck, hope to hear how you made out. __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

May 13th, 2011, 03:19 PM	#8
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: I need a miracle! You could give them their money back, and give them no video. Then offer to do the next one at half price. I would almost rather do that then give what you're describing to anyone. It will make you look bad. We know that things can happen, and customers can sometimes understand this. But they'll never get over something that looks severely bad. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 15th, 2011, 02:33 PM	#9
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Re: I need a miracle! Would I be correct in thinking that this is someone else's footage, brought to you to "save"? That would make a difference, as they are already aware there's a "problem", and anything you manage to pull off IS by definition a miracle... Unfortunately, unlike the crime shows on TV, you can't create what isn't there, only try to see if there's ANY salvageable data to work with, then try to devise a workable "fix". Blown out is just that, and so is "out" of focus, the data points are simply "out"side the acceptable range, and unless you're extremely lucky, no amount of tweaking sharpness, gamma, brightness, contrast and color will "restore" what simply isn't there... you can always try... This doesn't sound like sonething where you could go B&W or put some "old time movie" effects on it and pull off an "artistic" save either...