Messages

Thanks! When grading I tried to keep everything cool except the skin tones. If you shoot during the sunset you will get this effect automagically if color balance properly. Smooth lighting and good make up is a starting base for the good skintones. Moreover I tried to use soft warm bounce on the talents so they appear warmer then the background, with Reolve I pushed this effect even further.

Some additional info, regarding anamorphic high frame reate shooting!
We all know that when shooting 60 fps ML vertically  squeezes the liveview. The thing is quite uncomfortable, it becomes hard to find a good framing, move object inside the shot etc.
But it can be easily fixed in liveview if true anamorphic lens is used. Since anamorphic lens squeezes the picture horizontally it will compensate the 60 fps ML's vertical squeeze. In other words, the 1.8x or 2x anamorhic lenses optically normalize the image when shooting high frame rates. That means no post processing scaling is needed, you get the final image right in camera which is kinda cool.

Hi! Here is the no budget music video I shot for my sister. Even though it is no budget production it came out quite nice. She is very talented singer and music composer so check it out.
Regarding the production...The whole crew was me and my wife. She made a great makeup for the talents.
I used 5d mark III with 85mm 1.8 lens and compact  isco anamorphic adapter which gave me the true CinemaScope with all anamorphic aesthetics coming along.
The video was shot in two evenings on one lens. Due to no budget nature of the production there are many flaws that as the professional I would be ashamed of if I had necessary resources that I usually have when shooting TVCs. I used two 64gb SanDisk cards which can take 1920 4:3 ratio at 25 fps. I haven't had any lights so I shaped and manipulated natural light, that was a lot of pain...
The post production was flawless. I took the shot material at a studio I work, so I had all post production toys at my finger tips. Since it is not good to work on a personal projects during the work time I worked during late evenings and weekends.
MLV files were converted with custom in-house python app that at core uses ML's mlvdump. I wrote the app my self some time ago. The first draft version of the app can be found on this forum, it is available as a source code, since that time it consolidated quite a bit, but I haven't updated it on the forum.
The finishing was done in 4K in Resolve system on a professional cinema grade ref monitor. After unsqueezing the anamorphic material it naturally becomes 4k, and it doesn't loose any quality since all the range of details which was compressed horizontally now becomes normal. The unsqueezed 4k raw anamorphic video looked really amazing. Seen all kinds of footage from all kinds of pro digital film cameras on the reference monitor i can say that ML video holds up well. For the final output I sampled video to 1080p keeping the original CinemaScope style  ratio.
Comments and questions are welcome! If you like the music video please let Maydees know about it by putting the Like on Youtube.
So here is a final piece, I hope you'll  enjoy the song.

Hi! I see there is much hustle around AXIOM camera development and there are few updates in ML changelog. It looks like ML will not have support and dynamics as before, which makes me fill sad (there is a slow down already). I understand that development of a new camera can turn into profit in the future,  but there is wonderful ML community here don't leave it alone!

Hi, sometimes I have to switch between different frame rates,resolutions and aspect ratios and that involves a lot of back and forth inside menus. It would be great to have some presets or settings that the user can group on the separate layout (kinda the thing that native Canon menu has).
Moreover sometimes ML crashes and I have to pull out the battery, and some of the settings just get lost. There is never enough time on a shoot to double check all of the settings. A lot of times something is missed or set incorrectly. It would be great to have some user defined presets that can be activated in one click, even after the camera crashed.

[the sound should be enabled by default]

HI! I had a shoot today. And I used ML raw. UNFORTUNATELY THIS SHOOT WAS MY  FIRST EVER FUCKUP!
I setup all necessary settings in camera before the shoot and I always double check it..Once we started recording, ML crashed and I had to pull out the battery, and all of my settings got canceled. So I had to reset the camera and set some of my settings back from zero, I was in a hurry as the sun was going down. I loaded sound module but forgot to turn on the sound (my fault) For some reason instinctively I was thinking, that if I load the MLV sound the sound should be enabled by default, but it wasn't!
I think this thing must be changed...

Moreover I'am planning to add some MLV_DUMP features such as compression and bit depth.

[ML convert]

Hi everyone!
Since recently we've started to use ML on some production shoots this led us to develop ML convert a little open source python app that batch converts MLV files to DNGs. 
The app has been tested on Windows platform and works flawlessly. It should work on Mac too, but since I don't have a Mac around I can't test it.
ML convert is just a text file with open python code that you are free to modify and adopt for your own needs.
In order to run the ML convert all you have to do is to install the Python language from official python website, here is a download link https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-341/
Since the ML convert is based on Magic Lantern's MLV_DUMP you have to copy MLV_DUMP.exe to C:/Program Files/ or if you are a Mac user copy MLV_DUMP.osx to /usr/local/bin
That's it!
Check out some screenshots of the simple workflow with ML convert.


And here is the app itself! Just copy the provided code into the text file and save it as ML convert.py
That's it. I hope someone will find it useful. Cheers!

Code Select Expand


#title                :ML_convert
#version              :Beta
#description          :The program converts MLV files to DNG sequence. In order to use ML_convert, copy MLV_DUMP program to Win C:/Program Files/ or Mac /usr/local/bin
#date                 :July 22 2014
#python_version       :3.4
#notes                :Please use at your own risk.
import os
import shutil
from tkinter import *
from tkinter.filedialog import askopenfilenames

class ml_converter:
    p = ''
    exe = ''
    winexe = 'C:/Program Files/mlv_dump.exe'
    macexe = '/usr/local/bin/mlv_dump.osx'
    testexe = 'C:/mlv_dump.exe'
    result = ''
   
    def find_mlv_dump(self):
        self.exe = self.winexe
        if not os.path.isfile(self.winexe):
            self.exe = self.macexe
        if os.path.isfile(self.exe):
            return True
        else:
            return False
       
    def convert(self,mlv_file):
        #dir = os.path.dirname(mlv_file)
        ext = os.path.splitext(mlv_file)[-1].lower()
        if ext==".mlv":
            direct,f = os.path.split(mlv_file)
            filename = f[:-4]
            newdir = (direct+("/"+filename))
            if not os.path.exists(newdir):
                os.mkdir(newdir)
                newdir = shutil.move(mlv_file,newdir)
            else:
                print ("Directory already exists,the file moved into already existing folder")
                newdir = shutil.move(mlv_file,newdir)
            os.system("\""+"\""+ self.exe+"\"" + ' --dng' + " \""+ newdir +"\""+"\"")
            shutil.move(newdir,mlv_file)
            self.result = 1
            return self.result
        else:
            print (" not supported file format")
            self.result = 0
            return self.result
       

class ml_ui(Frame, ml_converter):
    def __init__(self,mlc):
        Frame.__init__(self)
        self.mlv_files = []
        self.mlv_file = ''
        self.str = ''
        self.exe = 1
        self.result = ''
        self.i = 0
        self.master.title("MLV convert")
        self.pack()
        self.browse_btn = Button(self, text="Browse MLV", command=self.load_file, width=20)
        self.browse_btn.pack(side = "top")
        self.convert_btn = Button(self,text="Convert to DNG",command=lambda: self.conv(), width=20)
        self.convert_btn.pack(side = "top")
        self.log = Text(self)
        self.log.pack(side="top")

    def load_file(self):
        self.mlv_files = askopenfilenames()
    def conv(self):
        self.exedir = self.find_mlv_dump()
        if self.exedir ==True:
            self.i = 0
            size = len(self.mlv_files)
            print (size)
            self.log.delete('1.0',END)
            for self.mlv_file in self.mlv_files:
                self.result = self.convert(self.mlv_file)
                self.i+=1
                if (self.result != 0):
                    self.log.insert(INSERT,str(self.mlv_file)+"    Done!"+"\n") #### fix needed, UI shows non MLV files processed
                    self.str = '%i out of %i \n'%(self.i,size)
                    self.log.insert(INSERT,self.str)
                else:
                    self.log.insert(INSERT,str(self.mlv_file)+" is not MLV file!"+"\n")
                    self.str = '%i out of %i \n'%(self.i,size)
                    self.log.insert(INSERT,self.str)
                    ml_ui.update(self)
        else:
            self.log.insert(INSERT," MLV_DUMP program is not found \n Copy the MLV_DUMP into C:/Program Files/ or /usr/local/bin \n" )
            print('not found')

if __name__ == "__main__":
    mlc = ml_converter()
    ui = ml_ui(mlc)
    ui.mainloop()


I was thinking camera 2 was Canon... I'am surprised how low the DR is on 5d. I can bear with burned highlights, but those crashed edgy pitch black shadows on the girl's hair and guy's jeans are just horrible. But may be the blacks were crashed during grading.

I can send you my field monitor for as long time as it necessary to make HDMI work perfectly.

[sound system]

same here, my current "implementation tasks":
- sound system: try to unify audio IC access for canon-configuration-finetuning, recording and playback
- mlv video: changes that improve experience (e.g. playback with sound)

concept work:
- understanding and checking generating color matrices
- understanding raw/yuv/jpeg paths (aim: playback raw in realtime by feeding EDMACs like in LV)

plus there are a lot of things that i started but not finished, like module unloading and some visual improvement.

but if someone sends me a small HDMI monitor, i can try to understand that RAW/YUV/BMP/HDMI positioning construct.
maybe i can fix your issues. although playback through EDMAC would make this task unnecessary

G3ggo!
Where are you from? may be I can help you with the monitor.

Yes I agree. Some weeks ago I posted all the listing of the interface bugs. You are right, if you are on a real production, you are using 1, 2 or even 3 monitors at once, and it is paramount that the functionality is ok.

I don't know if to make a feature request or something, because it should be a high priority! I also do not know the reason behind this, because maybe if the interface is rewritten a bit the screen "copy" could be natively ok in the monitor.... aanyway. I'm really happy about the drop frame playback.. and it is much faster too!

Hey Tony, did you test new builds? I dont have my 5d at the mo.

G3gg0,
You can plug any HDMI monitor be it tv or lcd display for pc.
Where do you live btw? I might help you with that.

I don't know if to make a feature request or something, because it should be a high priority!

You are damn right!

I am testing right now. I gotta say it's a great improvement! It looks a lot faster even though it drops frames on the 7D.

Couple of things:

- Couldnt tell the difference between "all" and "exact"
- If the preview is Fast, the playback goes WAY faster and exceeds the set framerate (that's very good! )
- One problem that bugged me forever with mlv_play is that it starts playing and it doesnt reproduce the frames in order. For example first it plays from frame 0 to 300. Then it jumps back to frame 50 and continues to 600. Then it comes back to 300 and goes to 500. And so on... values are referencial of course. I understand that the camera records frames out of order, that's why the .idx is there for. This is on the 7D, I never said anything cause I thought it was normal, is it? Because, with the improvements that you just made, and playing frames in order, it's a gamechanger, really.
- Sound, you mentioned you were working on a new soundsystem? Well that would be amazing.
- As noted, on the 7D I dont have realtime playback on full color, but it's usable.
- Another thing, the color playback. I noticed it has something like a "rolling shutter". The frames do not seem to refresh fully but they go refreshing line by line and it's slow. And that causes rolling shutter in the playback, it's a bit distracting.
- If I have only one clip on the card, the << button does not bring me to its beggining.
- On HDMI, the playback GUI is completely messed up!

I hope I could be of some use but I'm sure you know most of this things. Gonna test it out more now.
Let me know if you need anything please!

Thank you!

EDIT:
All and Exact is doing what's supposed to be doing now. :S
And I just tested with lower resolutions and I'm getting realtime playback on Fast.
With full res in Fast i think it's realtime or almost realtime.

All the way back to january I was suggesting to make the drop frame playback, finally it is here! Bravo g3ggo!
The HDMI playback is the most important feature for a serious production and it is the most buggy and unstable ML feature so far.

Hi, Alex! It is been a while since I tryed new builds. I'will test playback this week!

We cannot simply increase frame rate. Decoding already uses 100% CPU time.
playback will follow later on.

That perfectly makes sense!
What if you frame skip? I mean, playback every second frame and hold it twice long on the screen for 24/25 fps??? That will male playback faster, because this way you read only 12 frames per second. And if this can sustain real time speed it would be GREAT!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish everyone new interesting film/video projects and stable builds from ML team  this year
During the Holidays I had time to play with new builds. The problems that I have been reporting several times are still there The HDMI playback crashes every single time when I exit from the playback. It crashes when I try to switch to another video file. The weird overlays are still there too.
And sadly my suggestions about frame rate playback improvement was left without any attention.
It is the beginning  of 2014 and there are plenty projects that are coming this year, and I really want to give a try to 5d ML on a professional shoot, but without stable HDMI playback my 5D is just a toy for shooting trees, dogs,cats and some family members. Come on guys, give a little bit of attention to the most needed thing in production! I really really hope that you will fix HDMI playback once and forever.
Cheers!!!

[5d III crashes every time I want to exit the playback.]

By the way I tested HDMI, it has got really bad...
1) 5d III crashes every time I want to exit the playback. I have to pull out the battery.
2) There is overlay "no image" bar again that overlays the playback.
3) The weird lines on the top and bottom of the frame are now colored and have some strange flickering with strange  pink blinks.
4) There is the offset toward the left side of the screen of overall playback window.
I did not try to offload the video I've shot while I was testing HDMI, so can't tell if there are any buggy frames.

Hi!
I was digging the playback, and I've noticed that the playback is faster at 24 fps... So I thought what if frame skipping functionality could be done for 25 fps. I suggest to  playback only 20  actual frames per second plus 5 that are duplicates(holds) of every 4th frame. This way camera has to read only 20 frames out of 25 frames.
This technic is used in some 2d animation, when there are 12 actual drawings and every drawing is repeated twice to achieve 24 fps.
What do you think guys?

Hi, guys!
I see there were some more changes in MLV Play module. Hopefully I will test it during the week.
I still have some hopes regarding the real time color playback  Is it possible??? Come on that would be another miracle you guys do.

Hi,g3ggo!
I took time to run some HDMI tests on the latest build.
So this what I found:
1. No more strange "no image" overlay in playback.
2. There is the shift of the whole image to the left side of the screen on the playback.
3.There are still white noise and lines on the top and the bottom of the screen when playback. Very distracting btw.
4. On some field monitors custom res like 1600x900 give strange overlays in liveview (recording mode).
5. And most important thing... I had several crashes after I tried to exit the HDMI playback. I would say that it is less stable comparing to previous builds.
6.Detaching HDMI cable can freeze the camera.

can you do me favor? just make a guess why the playback is that slow.

Are you trying to say it is too much for the camera to process the raw files? 

Hi, g3ggo!
I mean now the playback is arround 2-3 fps in color mode. I wonder if it is possible to make the playback at a correct speed of 24/25/30 fps?

Great!
Is it possible to get real time color playback?