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PFClean Documentation | Remaster |
Basic re-mastering
The first stage of re-mastering is to define a re-mastering format. The Master Format section controls the target format. The Format Preset drop down allows you to select from a standard list of formats. It is also possible to create a custom format if your target format is not shown. When selecting a standard format the other fields will be automatically filled in. If any of these are altered you will create a Custom format by default.
New standard formats can be added to the "Format Preset" drop down as described in the User Defined File Formats chapter of this manual.
In order to create a custom format select Custom from the drop down list and then enter the required resolution, pixel aspect and frame rate in the fields below the drop down.
You can also provide progressive or interlaced (field based) output. The method of interlacing can be selected if the "Fields" option is selected from the drop down.
The "Aspect ratio handling" section contains drop down that allows the switching of the pixel aspect ratio from the clip's default to 1:1. Changing this drop down will alter the way the clip is displayed
in the Cinema. In most cases you will want to leave the "Pixel Mapping" to "Clip" as this will maintain the original look of the clip.
The next two sections allow you to define the Timecode and/or Frame number for the start of the sequence. By default these are set to 0. In some cases you may want to set the starting frame number or starting time code to something other than zero. These settings are independent to provide maximum flexibly.
The Output section controls how PFClean will calculate the final rendered output. As a general rule the higher the selected option is to the top of the list the faster the display will be. A number of retiming and scaling algorithms are provided full details of these can be found at the end of this section. The "Preview" section at the top has the same controls as above but controls how displays the re-mastered clip within the Cinema.
You may wish to select lower quality preview settings to allow faster working while setting the final output setting to a higher quality.
As in most cases you will be altering the resolution and aspect ratio of a clip during re-mastering, Pan and Scan tools are provided within PFClean to remap the original clip image to the new format before export.
Pan and Scan
Pan and Scan is the process of scaling, translating and rotating an image to provide the correct visual focus when moving from one format to another. For example, a 2K frame re-mastered to HD will be larger than the target aperture so in order to accommodate the entire image it will have to be scaled. Simple scaling may not be suitable in many cases as the aspect ratio of the original and the new format will often not be the same. In this case the user has to make a creative choice, present the entire image with borders or re-frame the image to provide a full aperture image. Pan and Scan is often used to convert movies originally produced for cinema to 4:3 television. The quality of the results are mixed, however used well can maintain the feel of the original if not the visual quality.
The issues are shown below with the relative sizes of common video formats:
To activate the Pan and Scan tool, check Enable in the Pan and Scan secion shown below:
You will notice a red line surrounds the image in the Cinema. You will also notice a white dotted line, this may be within or outside of the red line dependent of the source and target formats. The red line shows the master format aperture and the dotted line shows the extent of the source image. Below you can see an 2K source mapped to a HD master format:
When transforming your image within the master aperture you are able to set key-frames for each parameter. This allows you to vary or animate effects in time. For example you could create a pan effect using Horizontal transformation and then include a zoom using the Scale Image parameter. By default automatic key-frame creation is switched off, to activate it single click on the Auto button.
Each transformation and scaling parameter has a K button next to it. These allow you to manually create key-frames. The K button will appear green when no key-frame is present on the current frame and red when one is. To create a key-frame, simply alter a parameter within the image and press the K button (assuming auto key-framing is off otherwise there is no need to press the button). Parameters can be altered using numerical input or by using the handles within the main Cinema display window. To animate an effect simple move to another frame and create a new key-frame. PFClean will automatically interpolate to build the animation. You can use the R buttons to reset individual parameters.
Key-frame locations are also indicated by a blue marker in the frame scrubber and you can jump to the previous and next key-frame location using the <
A set of basic scaling options is shown in the "Snap To" panel. These allow you to quickly set up the image within the aperture. These provide a good starting point for your final output.
The <- and -> navigation buttons allow you to quickly move to the previous and clip in your sequence.
Pan and Scan operations are automatically saved and once you are finished you can export your clip via the Export Panel.