In Part I we went over how to turn off in camera sharpening to give us more control over the sharpening process in post-production. So now we have some beautiful, unsharpened footage. But let's face it, coming straight off most cameras, especially the HVX-200, our footage is something less than sharp. On some shots it can be so soft that the image looks out of focus.
But we can't dive into sharpening right off the bat. Sharpening should be one of the last procedures in the post-production pipeline. Editing, color grading, and fx come first.
So when we're ready for sharpening, how do we go about it? We'll be taking a look at the process in Adobe After Effects (which, with a little help from the Rebel's Guide, can be turned into a powerful grading/onlining tool).
The very first thing to do in After Effects is change the project bit depth. For some reason, AE defaults to 8-bit. While this may be fine for some applications, it's not for us. We need to be working in either 16 or 32-bit. Change this by selecting the appropriate bit depth under File>Project Settings...
Next, import your project from Premiere, your footage, etc. Do all your color and fx work. When you're ready for the sharpening stage, select the layer(s) or nested comp that you want to sharpen, and create a new adjustment layer (Layer>New>Adjustment Layer). Add the "Unsharp Mask" effect to the adjustment layer. Tweak the settings to achieve a level of sharpness that works for you (if you're unfamiliar with unsharp mask, check out this tutorial. It's for Photoshop, but gives a great overview of how the tool works, and how to use it). If you're doing something dreamy and ethereal, you may not want to do any sharpening. On the other hand, you may want the image to jump off the screen at you. Let's take a look at some examples.
Click for 720p.
Before: The already soft image from the HVX was aggravated by a half second exposure, during which the camera was not completely locked down. More sharpening than normal will be necessary here. The long exposure in combination with the color grading reveals a lot of large, blocky, pattern noise in the darkest areas of the image. Care must be taken not to sharpen the noise any more than we can help.
Click for 720p. Amount: 89.2, Radius: 0.7, Threshold: 0.
After: A balance has been found that is pleasing to me. The image is fairly sharp, with a minimum of artifacting added. You might find different settings suit your taste better. One of the situations in which you will only want to perform minimal sharpening is the interview. The final image may not be as sharp as it could be, but the talent will thank you for making them look great when they see the final product.
Click for 720p.
Before: This footage was shot on a green screen. A background has quickly been keyed in to reflect a theoretical final image. The image itself doesn't look too soft. The hair, eyelashes, etc could use a bit more definition, though.
Click for 720p. Amount: 36, Radius: 1.6, Threshold: 10.
After: A good balance has been found between defining the hair, and over sharpening the facial textures.
In the end, the important thing is to do what's right for the shot. The subject matter of certain shots will demand more sharpening than others. Adjust accordingly. Also keep in mind final viewing format and size. These will all have an effect on the amount and type of sharpening applied. Finally, make it look good. Whether it's a ton of sharpening, or none at all, do what looks best to you.
But we can't dive into sharpening right off the bat. Sharpening should be one of the last procedures in the post-production pipeline. Editing, color grading, and fx come first.
So when we're ready for sharpening, how do we go about it? We'll be taking a look at the process in Adobe After Effects (which, with a little help from the Rebel's Guide, can be turned into a powerful grading/onlining tool).
The very first thing to do in After Effects is change the project bit depth. For some reason, AE defaults to 8-bit. While this may be fine for some applications, it's not for us. We need to be working in either 16 or 32-bit. Change this by selecting the appropriate bit depth under File>Project Settings...
Next, import your project from Premiere, your footage, etc. Do all your color and fx work. When you're ready for the sharpening stage, select the layer(s) or nested comp that you want to sharpen, and create a new adjustment layer (Layer>New>Adjustment Layer). Add the "Unsharp Mask" effect to the adjustment layer. Tweak the settings to achieve a level of sharpness that works for you (if you're unfamiliar with unsharp mask, check out this tutorial. It's for Photoshop, but gives a great overview of how the tool works, and how to use it). If you're doing something dreamy and ethereal, you may not want to do any sharpening. On the other hand, you may want the image to jump off the screen at you. Let's take a look at some examples.
Click for 720p.
Before: The already soft image from the HVX was aggravated by a half second exposure, during which the camera was not completely locked down. More sharpening than normal will be necessary here. The long exposure in combination with the color grading reveals a lot of large, blocky, pattern noise in the darkest areas of the image. Care must be taken not to sharpen the noise any more than we can help.
Click for 720p. Amount: 89.2, Radius: 0.7, Threshold: 0.
After: A balance has been found that is pleasing to me. The image is fairly sharp, with a minimum of artifacting added. You might find different settings suit your taste better. One of the situations in which you will only want to perform minimal sharpening is the interview. The final image may not be as sharp as it could be, but the talent will thank you for making them look great when they see the final product.
Click for 720p.
Before: This footage was shot on a green screen. A background has quickly been keyed in to reflect a theoretical final image. The image itself doesn't look too soft. The hair, eyelashes, etc could use a bit more definition, though.
Click for 720p. Amount: 36, Radius: 1.6, Threshold: 10.
After: A good balance has been found between defining the hair, and over sharpening the facial textures.
In the end, the important thing is to do what's right for the shot. The subject matter of certain shots will demand more sharpening than others. Adjust accordingly. Also keep in mind final viewing format and size. These will all have an effect on the amount and type of sharpening applied. Finally, make it look good. Whether it's a ton of sharpening, or none at all, do what looks best to you.
