With the help of a colourful team from the industry, the Frame.io platform has published a comprehensive and beautifully presented post-production workflow guide . With over 100,000 words, the entire guide provides a good overview of the interrelationships between the various processes.

The chapters of the guide

From codec selection during recording to final delivery: VFXers will also find useful information to refresh their overview, including a practical summary of the ACES workflow. The content has also been visualised as workflow charts.

• 01 Capture: The first chapter deals with recording codecs, log, colour spaces and raw formats. It also deals with topics such as bit depth and compression in order to give tips on the choice for current productions.
• 02 Prep: The “Prep” chapter continues with organisation, synchronisation, handling metadata, as well as LUTs and transcoding.
• 03 Edit: In addition to organisational technical issues such as storage, proxy and LUT workflows, the individual editing stages are also listed here.
• 04 Conform deals with the subsequent process with the locked cut and original data.
• 05 VFX: Important basics on planning, delivery and the VFX process itself – including good summaries of keying methods and rotoscoping.
• 06 Colour: After an introduction to the topic of “Digital Colour”, there is information on relevant tools, colour correction workflows and finishing.
• 07 Sound: About the right choice of format, dialogue, music, sound effects and final mixing, whether for mono, stereo or VR mix.
• 08 Delivery: The final step with an overview of export, quality control and more!
• 09 Case studies round off the guide, including examples of independent film, blockbuster and YouTube projects.

Codec comparison

With a total of 552 clips, Frame.io has made an attempt to compare different codecs. Shots originally recorded at 6K and 8K were available as uncompressed 4K DPX files. The team then transcoded these into 46 codecs and compared them with the DPX clips using the Difference Blend mode. The videos are available here on Frame.io, but require registration with an email address.

For further information: To the Frame.io Workflow Guide

The post Frame.io: Free Workflow Guide first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Several years in development and now finally available: The VLC 3.0 version of Videolan‘s media player. The update is called “Vetinari” and comes with useful new features, here is a hopefully equally useful overview:

New VLC 3.0 features

While not much has changed visually in the interface itself, users can look forward to many new functions. According to Videolan, the 3.0 version will be the last with support for older platforms such as Windows XP and Vista – so watch out if you install it on your parents’, grandparents’ or authorities’ computers.

Network, HDR, 360° and Chromecast

With the new update, local network browsing is now possible, with support for SMB, FTP, SFTP and NTFS, among others. Furthermore, the player now also offers HDR thanks to new 12-bit codecs and extended colour spaces. 360° videos and 3D audio can also be viewed and listened to via VLC. Ambisonics audio and more than 8 audio channels are also supported. HD audio codecs can be forwarded directly to external systems. A long-awaited feature for many users is the stream option to Chromecast, even for formats that are not natively supported. Those who also want to watch videos in high resolutions and fps can use the automatically activated hardware decoding.

Hardware decoding & codecs

Since the update, hardware decoding is possible on all supported platforms, which means you can now watch 4K and 8K videos. The following hardware decoders, among others, have been added for acceleration:

• HEVC hardware decoding (Windows, Android, macOS, iOS)
• MPEG-2, VC1/VMV3 decoding (Android)
• New VA-API decoder and rendering for Linux

In addition to reworking the MP4, PS and TS containers, Videolan has also added support for the following codecs: Cineform, TDSC, Canopus HQX, SpeedHQ, Pixlet, QDMC and FMVC decoders, as well as experimental AV1 and Daala video decoders. A complete list can be found in the release notes.

Compatibility

VLC 3.0 Media Player is available for almost every platform. Supported platforms include Windows XP to 10 RS3, macOS 10.7 – 10.13, iOS 7 – 11, Android from 2.3 – 8.1, GNU/Linux, Ubuntu. Further information can be found here.

To the download

The post VLC 3.0 Media Player: With 8K, HDR and Chromecast support first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.