Sure this will have been asked before...

[scoobyslippers]

... Did my first MP vids today and whilst it was FANTASTIC, despite editing in iMovie on my Macbook Pro I cannot do anything about the washed out look. I know iMovie isn't the greatest tool so please could you give me your thoughts on some of the best options (prepared to invest!)

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

maybe post the video so some of the experts can critique it.

 

[scoobyslippers]

It is so bad (flying, composition, washed out look, etc) I was trying to avoid that Anthony!!!

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

It is so bad (flying, composition, washed out look, etc) I was trying to avoid that Anthony!!!

LOL

 

[Mr. Salty]

What color profile do you have the Mavic's camera set to? That can cause the video to look washed out.

As far as correcting what you've already shot, I think iMovie is pretty dumbed down. You'll probably want a more sophisticated editing program, like Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.

 

[scoobyslippers]

Thanks Mr S! The settings are straight out of box so I will have a play there. Looking at a monthly subscription of Premier Pro - any ideas how easy it is to work with as a comparative novice please?

 

[MadValley]

Thanks Mr S! The settings are straight out of box so I will have a play there. Looking at a monthly subscription of Premier Pro - any ideas how easy it is to work with as a comparative novice please?

Unless you're already used to Adobe's weird user interface it has a learning curve that makes the Mavic's look like a gentle slope. It's incredibly powerful software but really hard to learn. I'm in the Widows environment so there's a lot more in the low-end to high-end editing spectrum to pick from. A lot of people on the forum in the Mac environment seem to like Final Cut and DaVinci. You can try downloading a trial version the various options and seeing what you think.

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

Unless you're already used to Adobe's weird user interface it has a learning curve that makes the Mavic's look like a gentle slope. It's incredibly powerful software but really hard to learn. I'm in the Widows environment so there's a lot more in the low-end to high-end editing spectrum to pick from. A lot of people on the forum in the Mac environment seem to like Final Cut and DaVinci. You can try downloading a trial version the various options and seeing what you think.

+1 I began with DaVinci and now use the Adobe suite

 

[mahkcod]

You could try adjusting your video with the 13 wheel on the front of your remote. I know that has helped me before when the video looked over exposed.

 

[Mr. Salty]

It's incredibly powerful software but really hard to learn.

Maybe if you're trying to do something really fancy, but I learned the basic functions watching a 20-minute YouTube tutorial, and the Lumetri color grading by watching another tutorial.

That said, Resolve is free, so it's not a bad first choice to see how it works.

You could try adjusting your video with the 13 wheel on the front of your remote. I know that has helped me before when the video looked over exposed.

You circled the wrong item. The wheel on the front right of the controller does adjust exposure, however.

 

[TrayBoz]

I'm no video editing expert. I'm not an experienced photographer. I have never done any color grading of any kind, but I have watched YouTube videos on how it's done and am well aware of the power of those software tools: amazing.

Having said that, I've only used iMovie to edit my videos - I just taught myself and learned through trial and error. In my experience, iMovie does NOT make a video look washed out or bad at ALL. My videos look pretty darn good using iMovie and NO color grading. I typically watch them on a new 75" Sony XBR 4K HDR television in true 4K mode. They definitely don't look washed out, they look just as good as most of the DJI videos I see on line.

I'm not a good film editor, and I'm not a good photographer, and this definitely shows in my videos. But if your picture QUALITY is not good, I can promise you that it's not because of the iMovie program.

Of course iMovie won't allow you to do sophisticated color grading, so you can't make a BAD picture look GOOD, or a GOOD picture look GREAT, the way you can with Da Vinci or a beefier program like those.

I'm just saying, I wouldn't blame iMovie for making your picture quality look poor, because my videos' picture quality is pretty spectacular in most cases and I barely know what I'm doing. I film in Normal color mode in 4K 24FPS on the Mavic, manually adjusting the white balance and exposure depending on the shot.

just my 2 cents

 

[scoobyslippers]

I'm no video editing expert. I'm not an experienced photographer. I have never done any color grading of any kind, but I have watched YouTube videos on how it's done and am well aware of the power of those software tools: amazing.

Having said that, I've only used iMovie to edit my videos - I just taught myself and learned through trial and error. In my experience, iMovie does NOT make a video look washed out or bad at ALL. My videos look pretty darn good using iMovie and NO color grading. I typically watch them on a new 75" Sony XBR 4K HDR television in true 4K mode. They definitely don't look washed out, they look just as good as most of the DJI videos I see on line.

I'm not a good film editor, and I'm not a good photographer, and this definitely shows in my videos. But if your picture QUALITY is not good, I can promise you that it's not because of the iMovie program.

Of course iMovie won't allow you to do sophisticated color grading, so you can't make a BAD picture look GOOD, or a GOOD picture look GREAT, the way you can with Da Vinci or a beefier program like those.

I'm just saying, I wouldn't blame iMovie for making your picture quality look poor, because my videos' picture quality is pretty spectacular in most cases and I barely know what I'm doing. I film in Normal color mode in 4K 24FPS on the Mavic, manually adjusting the white balance and exposure depending on the shot.

just my 2 cents

Sorry TrayBoz - I wasn't clear - the picture was already terribly washed out and I couldn't recover it with iMovie - it wasn't that iMovie caused the issue.

 

[coop64]

I had exact same experience last time I went out. It was really sunny. Leaving the setting to auto was making very dark shadows so I changed it to manual mode. Set my own EV/ISO not sure what BT played with the wheel then flew it for 20 minutes. While in flight I tried to adjust the settings so half of the video was completely washed the other half was much better. iMovie and DG4 editors didn’t help so I ended up chopping it.

I am looking to get some ND filters to help with this in the future.

 

[scoobyslippers]

Thanks coop
I have invested (in the free version!) in DaVinci Resolve. It is excellent - only issue I have is that today I filmed some sledging on GOpro 5 and DV Resolve and that software aren't compatible! When it stops raining/snowing I will be using some footage from the MP

 

[FASTFJR]

I used iMovie on the videos below, they all look pretty good

Harbison Dairy - The Milk Bottle Water Tower

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

@FASTFJR ...You must have done a LOT of editing to get the Schuylkill looking that clean!

 

[FASTFJR]

@FASTFJR ...You must have done a LOT of editing to get the Schuylkill looking that clean!

You must have missed all the algae LOL, is was thick with it

 

[Anthony Viscomi]

You must have missed all the algae LOL, is was thick with it

Saw that towards the end. Also, great video of the SS US! I've been meaning to get down that way to film. Our boat is docked at Neshaminy marina and will surely get down there in the spring

 

[FASTFJR]

Thanks! I flew from the IKEA parking lot, I made 2 passes, that was with my P3P. By the time I was done I had 3 police cars besides me. All were cool and wanted to know everything about the Phantom

 

[born2drone]

Again, I recommend you do watch tutorials on adjusting the camera for your situation, and using the ND filters as they totally cut sun reflection as over exposure especially on water.