Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Why I shoot Protune -- Always!

If you are reading here and you don't yet know about Protune, read this entry first : Protune

Here are some images that should speak for themselves.  This wide dynamic range scene, outside lighting to the right (frosted glass windows,) indoor shadows in the back left, showcases the improvements the Protune curve offers for color correction:

Stock mode converted within CineForm Studio 
(Premium version of Studio added the waveform.)



Protune mode automatically corrected when converted in
CineForm Studio to be similar to stock
(check out those improve highlights.)



Stock mode with contrast reduced in Studio to show the
dynamic range limitations.









Protune mode with the same contrast applied as above 
(more shadow detail, reduced highlight clipping.)







Reseting Protune to no automatic corrections with
CineForm Studio, also gives you a nice starting 
place for color correction.

P.S. I shot this with a HERO3 Black Edition.






12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Highlights are much improved. Has the Mbs been disclosed by you/GoPro for all shooting modes?

Thanks for the great work.

David said...

Shadow detail is also better. Protune bitrate is 35mb/s for HERO2/Sliver Edition and 45Mb/s for HERO3 Black Edition. Regular modes average 15Mb/s on HERO2.

Mr.Stanozol said...

HERO3 with 4K? That would be awesome

Anonymous said...

Great stuff, I'm shooting with it now in T+C for my new feature film. HOWEVER, I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of an exposure lock. If the exposure is always bumping this way and that (stepped because it's digital not analogue) there's no real way to use the footage in professional post production unless you get lucky for a few moments of the exposure not bumping.

So, am I missing something or is all this work on pro tune lost time without an exposure lock? Thanks for your input. Carl.

David said...

Exposure lock would be nice for some situations, and it is something we are considering. However, the camera's auto exposure is heavily damped, you should not see any "digital" like switching of exposure. The camera are used in huge quantities on professional productions. So short of doing an indoor to outdoor lighting change your colorist shouldn't be fighting with exposure changes. Also as Protune extended the dynamic range, any small exposure changes are much easier to handle.

Anonymous said...

I'm noticing it in slow-motion (120fps) shooting in high-contrast situations where the exposure bumps once the video is played back at 24fps. A big reason why I'm shooting with this camera is its ability to shoot slow motion. That would be a nice application of an exposure lock--not just in time lapse as it is now. Wish I had a 'hack' to make it so today...off I go filming...Carl.

David said...

It should not have exposure jumps. Please send a sample clip that does this to support@cineform.com

Unknown said...

Hey you're blog and tips are awesome, if you could check mine out and give me some pointers that would be really cool!I have sony vegas pro 12 and the free cineform software.

http://longislandgnar.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Hi, could you explain a bit what would be a simple and quick process. Let's say
1. shoot in sunny day in protune
2. convert in Cinema studio to avi
3. start editing with Protune preset

Or. if I shoot in standard mode (protune off), shoul I apply protune preset?

David said...

The preset for Protune adds sharpness and the correction LUT so that contrast is restored. If you apply the Protune correction to standard mode video it will likely be over sharpened and very contrasty -- you don't want that. Shooting Protune is to improve your dynamic range and have higher compression quality, you can't get either of these back with any filter in post.

Anonymous said...

Is protune working of photos in gopro 3+ black edition?
I see differents when I shot film but I don't see anything when i shoot photo. Can you explain me how to use protune flat option for a photo. I want make better timelapse from photo. Is it possible to improve photo like a video form protune options?

David said...

Unfortunately Hero4 was the first to had Protune Photo. On Hero4 the same benefits apply to photos. On Hero5 Black, you get RAW with is better still.