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Stuttering 'pan' ... wondering about 'fixes'?

Just mastered a 1 hr film for someone. There are a couple of long long pans in the film. When my clients hit those shots in playback (in both ProRes or H264 versions) there is some serious stuttering. Of course I've checked the shots and they play fine ... when run frame by frame: no missing frames, no added frames. I'm pretty sure it's related to the processing power of their video card / processor.


The shots also stutter on my almost new MacBook Pro - NVidea GeForce GT 750M


Is there any way there could be something erratic in the bitrate on those shots ... when I mastered them out? Something that might be ameliorated with another try at mastering? Just wondering. Always something to learn.


They are off to Brazil to be screening their film in diverse locations ... some of which require that they run the show from their MacBook Pro (about two years old I think). In which case I should be asking, if they might upgrade THEIR video card?

All ears,

Ben


VRAM (Total

MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 28, 2015 8:39 AM

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8 replies

Jul 28, 2015 10:38 AM in response to Ben Low

What are the settings of your project? (1080p? 4K?)

What is the frame rate? Does it match the rate of the clips as they were shot?

How does it playback inside FCP X? One might understand if it stuttered inside FCP X, and played well when exported; if it is the other way around, it is pretty strange.


The GPU are not upgradeable, but there may be things you can do. You may, for instance, export at a smaller frame size (HD if it is 4K, 720p if its 1080p) and see how well it plays.


But there may be some other problem, which I can't fathom at the moment. You have a pretty powerful mac, and it should not stutter. Unless, maybe... where is the video stored? In the internal SSD? If it is on a slower drive (such a USB2 external disk, or - perish the thought! - in a thumb drive...) that may be the issue: the drive not being fast enough.

Jul 28, 2015 11:48 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

1080p


29.97p fps (the original was 60i) ... which I've been told regularly is really only 29.97i (but creates a 29.97fps timeline in FCPX). I output it as 29.97p.


Frame rate matches the original footage.


Shot stutters as well on the FCPX timeline. For me it's just the pan being a tad too fast. Something I try to avoid when shooting myself.


I'm playing it on my SSD in the laptop.


Just had an idea. I exported the H264 through Compressor. I may have set the bitrate higher than it should be? It was late at night. I was pooped. Whatever 'should be' is these days. I'm going to export straight out of FCPX, which I believe is a more standardized version of H264, and see if I get something smoother.


They tried running the ProRes HQ with the VLC player and it was a lot smoother apparently. But the H264 was still stuttering.


Will do a new H264 and report back. Thank you most kindly as always, for your help Luis.


Ben

Jul 29, 2015 8:32 AM in response to Ben Low

Ben Low wrote:

Just mastered a 1 hr film for someone. There are a couple of long long pans in the film. When my clients hit those shotsin playback (in both ProRes or H264 versions) there is some serious stuttering. Of course I've checked the shots and they play fine ... when run frame by frame: no missing frames, no added frames. I'm pretty sure it's related to the processing power of their video card / processor.

Ben


VRAM (Total

Pretty sure it's the playback system. Might not be the computer or the player or the graphics capabilities. Might be as simple as the monitor is set to the wrong refresh rate. Fixing these problems is often a question of what DOES work and then trying to construct the settings on that piece of video.


Panning is nothing more than a series of frames. If the frames are all there (none were skipped or dropped or blended in transcoding) then the problem is in the playback or with the screen (monitor or projector). Shooting interlaced is a different issue. You can't decide to shoot progressive or interlaced to help give smooth pans; pans are not really a factor. Motion blur, shutter speed while shooting, good technique, a good fluid head, proper transcoding, proper refreshes, good playback throughput and processing, blah-blah--those are all interactive elements in getting a smoothly displayed image on the screen.

Jul 29, 2015 9:45 AM in response to David Bogie Chq-1

Thank you David,


Most perspicacious response. Can one reset the refresh rate on the MacBook Pro Retina screen? Or whatever was there before the Retina (my client's setup is a bit older)?


Now I don't think anything was 'blended' in transcoding. The editor would have just done a straight import. Can one tell if there is frame blending by checking the master Quicktime (ProRes HQ)? Or even on the original timeline, to see if the actual clip had any fancy stuff added when imported? Which I doubt.


I did a straight out through FCPX to ProRes HQ ... which doesn't allow for any fancy stuff.

And the 'stuttering' position changes every time there is a playback. They managed to get a smooth play using the VLC Player ... going through a projector to a large screen. From her laptop. They are inexperienced filmmakers ... so there is a certain unsureness ...

Much appreciated,

Ben

Jul 29, 2015 10:49 AM in response to Ben Low

Ben Low wrote:

And the 'stuttering' position changes every time there is a playback. They managed to get a smooth play using the VLC Player ... going through a projector to a large screen. From her laptop. They are inexperienced filmmakers ... so there is a certain unsureness ...

Ben

That's it, then. The frames are all present, no weird processing or compression. Playback issues.

Stuttering 'pan' ... wondering about 'fixes'?

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