Cinematic shots

[SDFULL]

Hey all, New to the forum and am looking for advice.

I've had my Mavic for about two weeks and am getting more in depth on the camera settings, and how to achieve smooth looking cinematic shots. Im shooting in 3840/2160 at 24fps. I've seen many videos on youtube and most have the "black bars" on the top and bottom. Should I be in 4096x2160? Also I'm using iMovie for editing until I make the $300 final cut investment. I've noticed during playback its slightly jumpy/skippy and looks nothing like the nice cimematic youtube videos. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[keith00]

Are you watching the playback within iMovie, or have you exported it? I was editing Mavic footage for the first time today in iMovie, and it was jumpy within the program sometimes, but it was smooth once I exported it.

 

[SDFULL]

Well I uploaded to youtube just to test it but I don't think I exported at a high enough res and It came out like crap. Ill try it again at a higher quality I guess

 

[Strafe1]

Probably best to decide what you are going to do with your footage and what devices you are going to watch them on. If you will be mixing video sources (e.g. like GoPro + Mavic), then it's best to keep them the same. Either one is excellent, and even 2.7k is good. iMovie can handle all those formats, and it will be smooth once you view the output footage, instead of within the iMovie app.

 

[keith00]

I exported at the highest quality. I shot in 2.7k and exported at 1080, and then did all the export settings at the highest options.

 

[SDFULL]

I mean I'd like to be able to watch it on my Mac without uploading to youtube too, but I can only watch it in iMovie. Where do I export it to besides youtube to watch it? Ive had this new Mac for a little while and Im still pretty green with it sorry

 

[keith00]

In the File->Share menu you can export it to File and then use Quicktime to watch it. Of course, the processor has to be able to handle the file, so an older Mac probably won't be able to watch a 4k video. And I'd suggest considering 2704x1520 at 24 fps.

 

[SDFULL]

Ok yeah ill give it a whirl. Yes I have a brand new MacBook Pro so its fast enough. But I literally just uploaded a video choose 4k this time. Then when I watch it back its terrible and defiantly not 4k

 

[stratos]

This is a good question.

• Now, check what Fps are you using 25fps , 30fps.
• what memory card are you using ( try to get one that is designed for 4K recording ie, 90read/90 write mbps speeds)
• Most YT videos there is some post to stabilize and "smooth" the shots, even applying some filters.
• do you noticed is when "turning / panning?" or straight flights? - probably you need to adjust yoru controller bias so the inputs are a bit more cinematic

 

[stratos]

Well I uploaded to youtube just to test it but I don't think I exported at a high enough res and It came out like crap. Ill try it again at a higher quality I guess

More comments:

• Dont upload it directly to YT its will compress the hell out in iMovie plus YT the quality will be terrible
• Export the video as source file
• The video preview in iMovie is that, just a preview doesnt represent final rendering quality
• Is your laptop powerful enough? I recommend at a bare minimum i7 processor and user a dedicated graphic card to help on the rendering. Plug to the power to get most of out the CPUs

 

[JoostGT3]

Ok yeah ill give it a whirl. Yes I have a brand new MacBook Pro so its fast enough. But I literally just uploaded a video choose 4k this time. Then when I watch it back its terrible and defiantly not 4k

Also know that if you upload a video to youtube, at first only low resolution is available. The 4k resolution becomes available a bit later.