Edius 4 to 5 upgrade and Mercalli

[tom hardwick]

I had DVC upgrade my Edius from 4 to 5 but I've just noticed that in this new v5 I don't have access to Prodad's Mercalli, Videoshaker, Procoder3 express or Adorage. I'm sure they used to be under 'effects - video filters' in Edius, underneath the video noise filter. Can anyone check this on their system please?

I've looked in my C drive/ prog files/ Canopus/ Edius 4/ plug in and they're all there, but none of these appear in the Edius 5/ plug in folder, so is it just a matter of copying and pasting these files into the Edius5/ plug in folder?

Or is it more complex than this - do I need to load them from my original Prodad CD or from my Edius 5 upgrade DVD? And if the latter, is there anything I should look out for?

tom.

[Geoff Addis]

They are here and work on my PC, but if I remember correctly, I had to install them from the V4 software package.

Geoff

[col lamb]

Tom

Whilst I use Neo at present I had to download them from the Mercalli website and install them to get them working properly in Neo

Hope this helps

[tom hardwick]

I've reinstalled Mercalli into Edius 5 from the original disc, but now it tells me it isn't registered (it is) and puts a big cross through every scene. More hassle with Prodad to come, I fear.

But what a simply remarkable tool this is. It's not often I get my wife to 'come in here and take a look'. But I got the bride and groom to run across the lawn on Friday, hand in hand and giggling like kids. I ran behind them and wanted to film in real-time so as to catch the audio (filming in slo-mo is mute on the NX5), but they ran so fast that I had difficulty keeping the camera steady as I followed them.

Mercalli to the rescue. Turns my bumpy ride over the lawn into a fluid Steadycam track. I look at the screen in awe.

tom.

[Geoff Addis]

Tom,

Make sure that you download the latest version update from the GV site. If I remember correctly, that will then re-register the program for you, but you must have the latest version for it to run in E5.

Not even PP has this superb plugin!!!

geoff

[tom hardwick]

Thanks for your help Geoff. I've downloaded Edius 5.51 from GV's site but it won't update my v5 because I get a popup box that declares that, 'Some applications under starting. Please terminate these applications (XD select.exe).'

Does this mean anything to you?

tom.

[Geoff Addis]

Hi Tom,

The problem you're experiencing is due to the dreaded XDCAM Select being active. When you launch Edius, the XDCAM Select automatically switches on and, in fact, delays the launch of Edius. You will see a small camera icon on the RHS of the toolbar at the bottom of the screen, the one having the START button on it, right click on the camera icon and turn off the XDCAM software - its a darn nuisance and I've yet to find anyone who uses this function. Once you have done that you should be able to update.

Good luck,

Geoff

[tom hardwick]

Thanks Geoff - slowly getting there. I now have Edius 5.51 on the pc and of course want to install Mercalli. They've sent me a web link saying 'Just execute the Mini-Setup file and the Key will be installed fully automatically into Mercalli.'

So I click on the link and I'm told, 'Internet Explorer has blocked the site from downloading files onto your computer to protect your security'. More sighing this end. Any way I can turn off IE's fanaticism just for this download?

tom.

[tom hardwick]

All sorted I'm pleased to say, and I now have Edius 5.51 along with the miraculous Mercalli up and running. But what a lot of hours spent on IT work when I should have been editing. And for the first time I have the distinct feeling that DVC should have taken more care to check that all was up and running perfectly - after all, they had my PC for an entire day and charged me real money to upgrade from v4.

tom.

[Geoff Addis]

I've just downloaded Mercalli v.2 for use in PP CS5, but it also included a plug-in for Edius. The outcome of this new software is an even better result that is achieved more easily than before, although not quite so fast in processing. It's interesting to note that even on an i7 950 + 12GB RAM + GTX460 CUDA graphics card machine 32bit Edius still outperforms 64bit PP in real time performance of fx, transitions and rendering! (not as much as it did CS4, though). Edius also has the advantage that you may adjust the filter characteristics whilst watching real time playback of the clip unlike PP in which you have to exit the Mercalli setup drop down menu before previewing.

Edius 6 is due shortly and includes some interesting additions including tracking mat and it will come with Mercalli v.2.

happy editing!

Geoff

[Mike Shaw]

Big thing about Mercalli 2 (apart from the huge improvements (IMO) in ease of use and the way the degree of stabilisation can be better selected and controlled) is that it comes as a standalone as well - you can either get just the standalone version or go for the full caboodle which will plug into a whole range of editors. The standalone version would be of interest to those who use 'other' editors - like Casablanca (and also have access to a PC or Mac of course! ).

Soon, they tell me, it will also plug into Avid's Media Composer - of interest to all the Liquid people who took advantage of the Avid offer.

The new version will now stabilise in the 'Z' plane making it better for correcting dodgy tilts and zooms, and it can also corrects the rotating shutter effect inherent in CMOS sensors (noticeable on fast pans or side-shooting from a moving vehicle).

[tom hardwick]

Yes, I saw that Mercalli 2 was available and improved. I've got version 1 and am impressed, but I've done an interesting test to see what the best stabilisation method is for filming objects such as table decorations (in my job as a wedding filmaker).

Take the top table flowers. Rather than just film them from a tripod (steady but boring) I like to track around them, moving the perspective and the shadows.

Of course I could buy a camcorder steadying rig but generally there's no time in the day for such niceties. If I'm filming flowers, place names, sparking glasses and so on I'm not where I should be - filming the guests.

So I can track around the flowers hand-holding the NX5. Generally you're forced to use the wide-angle end of the zoom to minimise camera shake, and I do a few takes (time consuming) so that I can pick the smoothest in post.

I can switch on Sony's very powerful Super Steadyshot which loses me some wide-angle and a bit of picture quality, but it does help to smooth out the bumps of my footfalls.

I can use Mercalli later which again zooms into the frame slightly and consequently loses some picture quality - though there are other options available that 'whoosh' the edges somewhat.

Or, and best of all this, I can film using slow-motion. The NX5 films at 100fps using a shutter speed of 1/215th sec, so you need good light. But every take's a winner. I can shoot in telephoto to defocus the background. Even if I bump the camera, the bump is slowed down 4 times, and is sine-waved smooth.

There is a picture quality hit, but the downconvert for DVD is a great equaliser, and it's very hard to spot the loss of resolution. To say I'm impressed is an understatement.

tom.

[Mike Shaw]

Download a demo/trial version of Version 2 Tom - you may be surprised at how much easier it is to get even better results - though I doubt whether the rolling shutter effect inherent in CMOS sensors will affect your wedding videos much!

[tom hardwick]

The rolling shutter effects that come free with the NX5's CMOS chips affects my wedding films hugely, and the flash banding is just horrible. I've written about this at length in Positive Image, but I've had to bite the bullet and go with CMOS because what else is there available apart from the Panasonic 151?

The jello effect of CMOS readout (which I presume is the only failing that Mercalli 2 is addressing) is also present in my films, and a zip pan can be made to look quite silly when the bottom of the frame is so obviously lagging behind the top.

tom.

[Mike Shaw]

Ooops ... sorry! I figured there wouldn't be too much 'heavy' or rapid movement in a wedding! ( I figured the effect was most noticeable where large movement is concerned).

From the demos I've seen, the lag - slanting effect - that occurs between the top and bottom of a panned frame is corrected by Mercalli 2 (though I do believe I see a slight 'wobble' in the correction). They demo a shot taken through the side window of a fast moving car - the seemingly leaning walls of the buildings are made upright. Impressive.