The Process of editing 4K video

[BobW55]

I am not a video expert, nor do I plan to be one. I fly my typhoon H for my own enjoyment.
I have captured some spectacular video and stills with it. But have found the displaying the video on anything other than the ST-16 a pain.

*** PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS THREAD TO DEBATE ONE EDITING PACKAGE OVER ANOTHER ONE***

So I thought I would start some conversation on the process everyone uses to render a 4K video into something that can be shared on YouTube, social media, or just played on your home HDTV.
Not everyone has a high end PC or Laptop, let alone a 4K TV.

First thing I have found you need POWER.
By this I mean a higher end Computer. My old Acer has a AMD C-60 CPU, while it does ok at most task, it wont even attempt to play a raw 4K video. My Newer Dell has a AMD A8-7410 Quad core processor, and while I can play a raw file, it is kinda choppy. I am still playing around with some settings to see if I can improve things.

Second thing I have found is you need to CONVERT the video
As stated above, unless you have dedicated 4K equipment, you are not going to see RAW 4K footage. You will have to convert it to a 256, or a High Definition format. Some video editing software will handle this for you, some will not. There are some pieces of software out there that will only do the conversion, they provide no editing function. Right now I am playing with Filmora, which can handle both.

If you ever want to see the difference, go to a Best Buy or other store and ask them to place a HDTV next to a 4K TV, play the same 4K source on both and you will see a difference. Took some haggling to get the guy to do it.

Third Thing I have found is you need TIME
My old Acer computer would take HOURS to convert 1 five minute 4K video shot with my H to HD format.
It was a like set it to start and go do something else. My new Dell takes about 10 minutes (Major difference)
Keep in mind, we are not talking any editing, just getting it into a usable format.

So now that i have been playing with all of this, I have, and I am sure others will have questions for some of the experts we have on the forum.
For me:
1) Is it better to edit, then convert, or to convert then edit?
2) How long start to finish does it take you to convert a 5 minute 4K file to HD? (maybe I have crap equipment)
3) Unless you are doing a professional 4K video, what output format are you using? (most web sites are not going to be showing off video in 4K)
4) Would it be better to just shoot the video in a lower resolution to start with? (still have to play with this one)

Please lets try to keep this thread EDUCATIONAL.

For those who want more information on what software to use, make use of the magnifying glass at the top right of each page. Do a search on "Video Editor" you will come up with hours of reading.

 

[Steve Carr]

4) Would it be better to just shoot the video in a lower resolution to start with?

Good questions there Bob. As far as shooting lower resolutions, I used to do that because my pc wasn't up to the task. Then 2 years later after I upgraded I needed to add some of that video to a project I was putting together. Adding 1080p to a 4K video looked awful. My advice......if you are shooting a onetime event always shoot in the highest resolution. You can always downgrade but not upgrade.

Also, when I view videos full screen on Youtube, there is a significant difference with each step in the resolution.

 

[IdleLoop]

Bob,
A lot of the more advanced editing software allows for proxy editing. You import your 4k footage and it will create a lower resolution file specifically for editing and when exporting it will use the original footage to create the final file. This allows you to edit on low spec machines. The downside is the final export can take a while as the low spec machine needs to render the 4k into the target resolution.
Using this method in Lightworks I can edit 4k and 1080 footage on an i3 2Gb ram laptop running windows 10 as the proxy files are low res.
I agree with Steve, record in the highest resolution that you can as later machine upgrades mean you will have good resolution footage to work with later.

 

[BobW55]

I have found that editing (converting and final outcome) is NOT a quick process. Now that I actually have a machine that can make a decent attempt to edit anyway. Will have to play around with it more. I have found that it is a waste to have a 4K video, if the equipment you are going to show it on does not render 4K output.

 

[FlushVision]

Using Filmora on an i5 laptop with 8gig memory and an NVIDIA CUDA graphics card...

I don't normally shoot in 4K unless a client requests it since my laptop struggles with 4K. However, when I do shoot 4K I find that it's better to edit the 4K footage then render in MP4. One render back out to 4K for the client and another render to 1080 for me. I've never thought to time the 4K render but I do know that it isn't too long, and the 1080 typically takes 10 to 15 minutes for videos 2 to 4 minutes long.

The only other times I'll shoot in 4K is when I get the opportunity for that 'special' footage. I edit then render to 1080 but I still have the raw stuff for the day I get a computer that can properly handle it.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

4) Would it be better to just shoot the video in a lower resolution to start with? (still have to play with this one)

I do not recommend shooting in HD to begin with... if you shoot at 1080, that's all the resolution you will ever get.
If you shoot in 4K and downsize a copy at 1080, you can work with the smaller file size your current system can
handle. Then if you archive the original 4K files on an external drive, when you upgrade your computer in the
future to handle 4K, you will still have those original full 4K resolution files to work with.

 

[BobW55]

Some very valid points. I also think we are fooled into thinking " I have it 4k" it is the best you can have when all your equipment is sub HD.
Unless you have real high end computers and displays, it is a time consuming process.
Now that I am retired, I actually have time to sit and play with all the videos I have taken since owning my H. And yes I have saved everyone. Just wish I had done a better job of naming the folders they are in.

 

[Rubik]

Here's my story:
Since we have a 4k TV and a 4k camera (CGO3+), naturally, I wanted to view the 4k aerial videos from the TH on the TV. Sooo, I bought a liquid-cooled i7 hot rod gaming computer with GTX1070 nNvidia video processor and solid state drive. It immediately became apparent that I would also need more hard disk storage and backup capacity. Slippery slope! Editing is handled with Cyberlink PowerDirector.

No, this is not a business, it's still just for fun. I'm retired, you see. My wife has been quite tolerant of the upgrades as it keeps me busy and out of trouble. I put edited videos that I am especially proud of on YouTube in 4k (see Rubik3x). YouTube automatically creates all the lower resolution files so anyone can view the videos on almost any device.

Even with this equipment, producing a 4k video is pretty slow. Editing goes pretty smoothly. I try to keep 4k output files under 10 minutes for personal use and under 4 minutes for YouTube. The attention span of YouTube viewers is pretty short. For files that I give to others without 4k capability, I produce the edited 4k program in 1080p. With Windows 10, during the video processing, the computer is still available for other tasks that are not graphic intensive, such as this forum. In fact, that's what's going on right now.

I appreciate that not everyone reading this can afford to make this kind of hardware upgrades. But, having already spent quite a chunk of change on the TH, it seemed to me like the upgrades were a logical extension of that purchase to fully realize the capabilities of our wonderful aerial camera platform.

 

[Rubik]

Just wish I had done a better job of naming the folders they are in.

Yes, file organization is critical. Create a top folder with a name like: "2017 Drone Videos". Then create sub-folders like this: "09-12 Place Name" and move all files from that day into that folder. It's a drag-n-drop process that shouldn't take too long, especially if you open 2 windows of Windows File Manager. Once you are completed, File Manager will sort everything nicely.

Don't forget to create backups on an external drive. Lately, I just keep the produced video files in the backup. If I loose the either drive, I'll still have at least the best stuff. BTW, I lost the main drive a few months ago and it was declared unrecoverable. Fortunately, the most important stuff was backed up. I'm a believer. It's also a good idea to backup the downloaded software program files so recovering from a failed hard drive is easier.

 

[IdleLoop]

One of the other advantages of 4k footage as that is gives you some room to move with cropping and zooming in post production. With 4k source footage being output to 1080 you can zoom in quite a bit without losing resolution in the final output.
If have found that finding the footage I want for a project can sometimes be a problem in all of the different folders. There are some good free Digital Asset Management programs out there that will let you tag your footage and categorise it so that finding footage is easier later on. You may have some footage that you tag "sailboats", "sport", "ocean", "sunrise".....
This makes searching for a particular category of shot much easier later on as each clip can have multiple (hierarchical if you want) tags. My software of choice for this at the moment is Daminion. They have a stand-alone free version as well as the expensive one, you just need to hunt around on their site for it.

 

[Wingshooter]

@Rubik Nice Video's on your YouTube Channel. I subscribed. I like the Train Tunnel.

 

[Rubik]

@Rubik Nice Video's on your YouTube Channel. I subscribed. I like the Train Tunnel.

Thanks!

 

[BobW55]

Going to give power director a try, have not played with that one yet.

 

[FlushVision]

@Rubik Nice Video's on your YouTube Channel. I subscribed. I like the Train Tunnel.

I just watched that too. Just how long was that train???

 

[BobW55]

Love the train video.
Screwed up something in power director, but will play with it more.
Bottom line to all of this:
It takes time.

 

[Rubik]

I just watched that too. Just how long was that train???

We never saw the whole train at once so I can't say. Or was that a rhetorical question?
The original grade (which is now the highway) was 4.5%, too steep for many trains going up and dangerous for those going down. By adding the tunnels in 1909, they cut the grade in half. There is a second spiral tunnel nearby that was not visible from the roadside pull-out. It's worth seeing if you are in the area.

 

[Rubik]

Love the train video. Screwed up something in power director, but will play with it more.
Bottom line to all of this:
It takes time.

Yup. I enjoy the process, especially when someone, like you, appreciates the results.

 

[FlushVision]

We never saw the whole train at once so I can't say. Or was that a rhetorical question?
The original grade (which is now the highway) was 4.5%, too steep for many trains going up and dangerous for those going down. By adding the tunnels in 1909, they cut the grade in half. There is a second spiral tunnel nearby that was not visible from the roadside pull-out. It's worth seeing if you are in the area.

Not a rhetorical question. From what I could tell it was a good length. Nothing like what can be seen in England

 

[Rubik]

Not a rhetorical question. From what I could tell it was a good length. Nothing like what can be seen in England

It's not unusual to see mile long "unit" trains in mid-west and western North America. We see unit trains made up entirely of grain cars or coal cars or oil tankers. I've got some aerial videos from the TH but it gets kind of boring watching the same thing go by for so long.

 

[BobW55]

Had an opportunity to upgrade from windows 7 Pro to Windows 10 Pro, so I took it.
What a difference. I can actually play raw 4K video. Still a bit choppy, but I have not tweaked any settings yet. I was getting so frustrated with having to down grade the videos to HD before I could even attempt to manipulate them.
Now to reload a few of the editors and try again.