Powerdirector smooth video

[Aaron24]

If I am recording 4k 30 frames and I want to produce nice smooth video from Powerdirector which export setting should I use? Have tried 1920 x 1030 25 frames per second and 3840 x 2160 25 frames per second and both results are crappy video that is anything but smooth.

Any help and advice please would be appreciated.

EDIT: OK I figured it out. I needed to change the setting in Powerdirector from PAL to NTSC. Now it looks great (well, to me anyway). Check it out:

 

[Jerry]

I had some problems with jerky video, I solved it by realising the limits of the device I was trying to use for replaying and editing, what devises are u using ? And are you recoding h264 or h265?

 

[Aaron24]

Edited. Please see above me edited post.

 

[rfc]

Smooth enough, but the entire piece is overexposed for my taste. Were you using auto exposure?

 

[Jerry]

Good to hear you sorted it Aaron.

 

[Aaron24]

Smooth enough, but the entire piece is overexposed for my taste. Were you using auto exposure?

Not sure actually if it was auto exposure. I will check the settings.

 

[Aaron24]

What settings should I have had on the Mavic 2 Zoom? I was using manual setting with white balance set to cloudy. ISO 100. ND16 filter.

 

[rfc]

What settings should I have had on the Mavic 2? I was using manual setting with error 3 balance set to cloudy. ISO 100. ND16 filter.

There's no pat answer to such a question. On most of the shots, the sky is "burned out", i.e. totally white. My preference is to shoot such that the sky and clouds (if any) have definition and color. If the terrain ends up somewhat underexposed, that can be corrected in post. you can never get back detail that's not there to begin with. Others may have their own opinions.

 

[kilomikebravo]

Aaron: I enjoyed your clip very much, especially the dog walkers and while I see what rfc said above but personally, I only see a hint of overexposure.

As you may have already learned, most M2P owners shoot both video and stills in Manual mode so they have complete control over the exposure. Along those lines, if you don't have any Neutral Density filters yet, you might want to consider buying some as they are a Godsend when it comes to bright, sunny or even bright overcast lighting. To use manual during the day for video, set your ISO at 100, your shutter speed at twice your video frame rate, and then adjust your aperture. Many have found that f/4 is about the sharpest with leeway of maybe a stop on either side. So, if you set the mavic on a table before you fly and do the above only to find that you have to use f/8 or f/11 to get the exposure correct, then that's when you need to put an ND filter on the lens which will restrict some of the light and allow you to get back down to f/4.

BTW, having the histogram visible while doing all this is by far the best way to avoid poor exposures, at least IMHO. Personally, I hate "the zebras." If you're unfamiliar with histograms, I'm sure Mr. Google can school you right quick.

For Stills, things are a little different and, better in many ways than shooting video. You still want to expose properly for f/4 to optimize sharpness BUT, you don't have the 180 rule for video to get in the way, i.e., you can use whatever shutter speed that will give you proper exposure at f/4 while maintaining the ISO at 100.

PolarPro has an app that can calculate the proper ND filter to use on any given day which is quite handy and time saving. But, you don't have to be using PolarPro filters to use the app and it will work with any ND filters, at least as far as I know. So, again IMHO, ND filters are an absolute must for aerial photography/videography under bright conditions.

Anyway, it looks like you have a solid grasp on Power Director and in my amateur opinion, your clip was as good as I could have produced with Premiere Pro. I especially liked your text tweaks with strokes, gradients, and drop shadows. Me thinks you have a pretty darn good graphic eye.

BTW, where are you located? I ask because NTSC is for the States and PAL is for pretty much everywhere else.

Have fun and fly, fly, fly...

Regards,

KB

 

[Aaron24]

Aaron: I enjoyed your clip very much, especially the dog walkers and while I see what rfc said above but personally, I only see a hint of overexposure.

As you may have already learned, most M2P owners shoot both video and stills in Manual mode so they have complete control over the exposure. Along those lines, if you don't have any Neutral Density filters yet, you might want to consider buying some as they are a Godsend when it comes to bright, sunny or even bright overcast lighting. To use manual during the day for video, set your ISO at 100, your shutter speed at twice your video frame rate, and then adjust your aperture. Many have found that f/4 is about the sharpest with leeway of maybe a stop on either side. So, if you set the mavic on a table before you fly and do the above only to find that you have to use f/8 or f/11 to get the exposure correct, then that's when you need to put an ND filter on the lens which will restrict some of the light and allow you to get back down to f/4.

BTW, having the histogram visible while doing all this is by far the best way to avoid poor exposures, at least IMHO. Personally, I hate "the zebras." If you're unfamiliar with histograms, I'm sure Mr. Google can school you right quick.

For Stills, things are a little different and, better in many ways than shooting video. You still want to expose properly for f/4 to optimize sharpness BUT, you don't have the 180 rule for video to get in the way, i.e., you can use whatever shutter speed that will give you proper exposure at f/4 while maintaining the ISO at 100.

PolarPro has an app that can calculate the proper ND filter to use on any given day which is quite handy and time saving. But, you don't have to be using PolarPro filters to use the app and it will work with any ND filters, at least as far as I know. So, again IMHO, ND filters are an absolute must for aerial photography/videography under bright conditions.

Anyway, it looks like you have a solid grasp on Power Director and in my amateur opinion, your clip was as good as I could have produced with Premiere Pro. I especially liked your text tweaks with strokes, gradients, and drop shadows. Me thinks you have a pretty darn good graphic eye.

BTW, where are you located? I ask because NTSC is for the States and PAL is for pretty much everywhere else.

Have fun and fly, fly, fly...

Regards,

KB

Many thanks kilomikebravo for your kind words. I am on the Mavic 2 Zoom so I cannot change the aperture. I am keen to learn how I can improve. I was using the manual setting, ISO set to 100 and shutter speed twice my framerate as you mentioned as I have watched a few Youtube tutorials to learn these things. I was also using an ND16 ND filter on the day i shot the above video.

Can you please let me know what else I could have done to have a nicer result. I do not like how the sky is completely white now that I look at it again.

I am in Australia and I know we use PAL here but in Powerdirector I could not export my video in 30 frames per second using the settings in Powerdirector PAL (only 25 frames per second was available). But when I changed it to NTSC I could choose 4k 30 frames per second export settings and I get a nice smooth video out of it.

 

[Wacker2611]

I'm in the UK. where PAL is prevalent. To be honest these days it doesn't really matter what standard you use as you're presumably never going to going to play your vids on a CRT. I always use NTSC as it does give better results.

 

[GavieboyDji]

Many thanks kilomikebravo for your kind words. I am on the Mavic 2 Zoom so I cannot change the aperture. I am keen to learn how I can improve. I was using the manual setting, ISO set to 100 and shutter speed twice my framerate as you mentioned as I have watched a few Youtube tutorials to learn these things. I was also using an ND16 ND filter on the day i shot the above video.

Can you please let me know what else I could have done to have a nicer result. I do not like how the sky is completely white now that I look at it again.

I am in Australia and I know we use PAL here but in Powerdirector I could not export my video in 30 frames per second using the settings in Powerdirector PAL (only 25 frames per second was available). But when I changed it to NTSC I could choose 4k 30 frames per second export settings and I get a nice smooth video out of it.

Get some gradient filters they are a must for any drone flyer

 

[kilomikebravo]

I am on the Mavic 2 Zoom

Aaron: Obviously, I missed the fact that you have an M2Z, sorry about that. When you jump around on these boards, it's often difficult to remember what section you are reading.

Gavey's idea is a good one, i.e. to suggest that you get some gradient filters. However, since you're on a Zoom with no aperture control, it is MOST important to get some straight Neutral Density filters, at least an ND8, ND16, and ND32. (TONS of threads on here about ND filters.)

For bright daytime video recording, these are essential if you want to avoid blowing out highlights while maintaining 100 ISO and your shutter speed at twice your frame rate. This is the main reason for using ND filters as you don't want to use an ISO higher than 100 if at all possible and equally important is maintaining that 2X frame rate for your shutter speed.

Once you get some experience using ND filters you'll figure the whole equation out easily and it will become second nature. Then, after you achieve the video results you want with the correct ND filter, you can start thinking about using a gradient ND filter which will reduce the light in the upper half of your shot, where the sky is normally overexposed, while not affecting the lower half of the frame with the polarization. Think of them as variable sunglasses with the darkest portion of the lens at the top, and gradually decreasing to less filtering at the bottom of the frame. Tthe gradients come in the same flavors as straight ND filters so one could JUST use those all the time but you might get odd results depending on your direction of flight relative to the sun. That's why I suggest first getting straight ND filters.

BTW, since you are on a Zoom, even your still photography will benefit from the ND filters on very bright days but they are much more important for video and this applies to both straight, gradient, or polarized filters.

So that's my suggestion, get at least those three ND filters to start with and have a go with them. Believe me, you'll be glad you did as they really are essential for bright days with an M2Z just as they are for an M1P.

KB

 

[Ian in London]

If I am recording 4k 30 frames and I want to produce nice smooth video from Powerdirector which export setting should I use? Have tried 1920 x 1030 25 frames per second and 3840 x 2160 25 frames per second and both results are crappy video that is anything but smooth.

Any help and advice please would be appreciated.

EDIT: OK I figured it out. I needed to change the setting in Powerdirector from PAL to NTSC. Now it looks great (well, to me anyway). Check it out:

Hi there,
As whacker posted above, I'm unsure why changing from PAL to NTSC or vice versa would make any difference? All that's doing is offering different framerates for your output video from PD, and as whacker says, unless you're watching on an old fashioned cathode ray TV, it shouldn't make any difference as all LCD and LED screens can handle both PAL or NTSC framerates....

Either way, as long as you're happy with the output now, it's all good.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Aaron24]

It could be something to do with Powerditector. I recorded in 30 frames per second but using PAL settings there was no option to export in 30 frames per second. Only 30 frames per second became available in NTSC.

 

[Ian in London]

It could be something to do with Powerditector. I recorded in 30 frames per second but using PAL settings there was no option to export in 30 frames per second. Only 30 frames per second became available in NTSC.

That's the point. NTSC offers 30 fps, as that's what NTSC is. And PAL offers 25 fps, as that's PAL's frame rate specification. And that is the main difference between the two settings in PowerDirector, hence my confusion as to why changing this fixed the OP's issue.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Wacker2611]

It could be something to do with Powerditector. I recorded in 30 frames per second but using PAL settings there was no option to export in 30 frames per second. Only 30 frames per second became available in NTSC.

Hi Aaron

It’s all down to personal preference really. Many people prefer 25 as they feel it gives a more cinematic feel, in which case use PAL and set output to 25. I prefer 30 FPS so I record in NTSC which defaults to 30 (or multiples of) . As long as they match your output settings you should get smooth video. I’m probably oversimplifying but it works for me!

 

[Sawadee]

Enjoyed your video. Wonderful park.