old movie filter

Question

Level 2

199 points

old movie filter

Surprised that FCP doesn't come with an old movie filter effect as that's pretty standard in other editing apps. Even Imovie has it. Does anyone know of a decent filter that will do this (ideally free!) or do I need to export to Imovie and then import it again (which seems an annoying work around).

Thanks.

Imac 24" Silver Intel and 15" Intel 2.16 Ghz Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Jun 4, 2009 8:56 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 4, 2009 9:01 PM in response to Cartoonguy

http://www.nattress.com/Products/filmeffects/filmeffects.htm

http://www.chv-plugins.com/cms/Fx-Script/Film-Filter/Film-Filter.php

http://pistolerapost.com/pluginz/

Plus, QuickTime has some film dmage type filters.

-DH

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Answer 2

Jim Cookman

Level 7

23,447 points

Jun 5, 2009 7:32 AM in response to David Harbsmeier

David, I think you listed those in the wrong order...

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Answer 3

Jun 5, 2009 7:34 AM in response to Jim Cookman

Order? There's an order? I posted them in exact random order.

😉

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Answer 4

RedTruck

Level 4

2,145 points

Jun 5, 2009 8:06 AM in response to David Harbsmeier

What randomization scheme did you use...?

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Answer 5

Jun 5, 2009 8:10 AM in response to RedTruck

The same scheme as in use for the universe.

-DH

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Answer 6

D Gilmore

Level 4

3,525 points

Jun 5, 2009 8:26 AM in response to David Harbsmeier

which universe?

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Answer 7

Jun 5, 2009 8:40 AM in response to D Gilmore

The parallel one. You know...the one where we're all identical to our present selves, yet in a different order.

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Answer 8

D Gilmore

Level 4

3,525 points

Jun 5, 2009 8:54 AM in response to Kevan D. Holdsworth

Cool

In the parallel forum I've responded in great length

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Answer 9

Jun 5, 2009 8:56 AM in response to David Harbsmeier

And here is another freeware one:
http://www.cgm-online.com/eiperle/cgmaged_film_lee.html

Just remember not to use it on interlaced video (or deinterlace beforehand), it will look horrible.

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Answer 10

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

199 points

Jun 6, 2009 4:05 PM in response to Witold Oleksiak

Witold Oleksiak wrote:
And here is another freeware one:
http://www.cgm-online.com/eiperle/cgmaged_film_lee.html

Just remember not to use it on interlaced video (or deinterlace beforehand), it will look horrible.

Okay, so this raises another thing. My project is interlaced. I didn't choose that specifically, but it just is. It's NTSC video from a DV tape. How and why would I choose for it to not be interlaced (progressive, that is)? And why won't this filter work on interlaced anyway? Hope you don't mind helping with this even though it's a little off topic.

Thanks

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Answer 11

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

199 points

Jun 6, 2009 4:06 PM in response to Kevan D. Holdsworth

Kevan D. Holdsworth wrote:
The parallel one. You know...the one where we're all identical to our present selves, yet in a different order.

Well, this thread sure has become strange. I'll have to check out that parallel universe. Isn't that where Superman is actually bad and has bad skin?

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Answer 12

Jun 6, 2009 7:08 PM in response to Cartoonguy

Love Nattress. Have done some work on video with his stuff, that people looking at it thought it was 16mm from the 60's. I took all the credit of course.

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Answer 13

Jun 6, 2009 7:49 PM in response to Cartoonguy

My usual response to this topic whenever it comes up:
Unless you have a stylistic requirement to destroy your video, just remember a little old movie affectation goes a long way.
Audiences are not stupid, they get it.
If you watch real old movie film, even poorly stored or damaged film, it really doesn't look all that bad. Scratches on the emulsion are bright to white, scratches on the base and dust and hair are black, gate weave goes side to side, broken splices cause jumps but there is also a break in the action, and changes in the film stock or color rendition don't just happen all by themselves. Dust and dirt are heavier at the head and tail than in the in the middle of a reel. Scratches are usually caused by stationary objects and don't move very much from side to side.

bogiesan

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Answer 14

Jun 7, 2009 6:00 AM in response to Cartoonguy

One of the visual effects this filter adds makes image jitter (moving each frame randomly slightly up and down). Because of this it messes up field order in interlaced frames making stutter playback (you won't notice that in FCP canvas unless you have external monitor allowing you to see interlaced footage properly). Free version of this plugin gives only limited control over all its parameters and you can't disable this effect completely when using "old movie" preset. Interlaced smooth playback isn't "old film look" anyway, so deinterlacing is just a part of the process making it look different.

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Answer 15

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

199 points

Jun 7, 2009 3:36 PM in response to Witold Oleksiak

Witold Oleksiak wrote:
One of the visual effects this filter adds makes image jitter (moving each frame randomly slightly up and down). Because of this it messes up field order in interlaced frames making stutter playback (you won't notice that in FCP canvas unless you have external monitor allowing you to see interlaced footage properly). Free version of this plugin gives only limited control over all its parameters and you can't disable this effect completely when using "old movie" preset. Interlaced smooth playback isn't "old film look" anyway, so deinterlacing is just a part of the process making it look different.

Fantastic. Thank you. The CGM filter is great.

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