GiraFX lib released! v1.01

[papagirafe]

Hiho!

At last the GiraFX lib is released! For those who may have missed my previous announcement, GiraFX is the must have library of video presets that improves significantly your video experience in Reaper, so much actually that I created an HD demo video to help grasp how much this represents a fundamental contribution.


***main features ***

• Introduction of a video mixer that make video mixing behave almost like audio
• positions & dimensions of video objects in % of the selected canvas or source size
• extremely advanced and flexible positioning system for video elements
• consistent transparency handling with non leaky crossfades
• text: shared style definition, flexible text alignment, ability to display only one line at a time out of a large text
• up to 9 sub-canvas (aka video mixers) that can sub-divide your main visual space into regions

The library is *almost* free and it also comes with a full set of tutorials (soon to be completed). You can optain it here:

*** update: the lesson "Fundamentals" is now part of the free preview, was supposed to be this way yesterday!

*** update: X-Raym added a very good description and context on Realinks.net

[papagirafe]

Great news for those who want to try GiraFX but are not quite sure they would use it all: I selected a subset of the most essential functions that are suffisant for simple to moderatly complex projects. It includes the related tutorials. Just look for the "Starter Kit" version (starting at 5$ CAD)

[lachinhan]

What is the difference between the 5ca$ and 20ca$ versions?

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by lachinhan

What is the difference between the 5ca$ and 20ca$ versions?

Very good question! I'm glad you asked. Here is a more detailed description:

The 5$ version includes only the most essential presets that are suffisant to make simpler projects yet with the following benefits:

• Consistent and non-leaky cross-fades
• Full collection of frames (aka borders)
• Easy positionning/sizing of visual elements inidividually and/or by groups
• Full text support with fully/semi transparent boxes over a background
• Text scrolling line by line from a single source for lyrics videos
• Transitions masks: enhanced horizontal/vertical wipes, vignettes
• Super easy chromakey transparency (aka green screen) in RGB mode
• Basic color/image controls

The 20$ version adds the following functionalities to the starter version:

• Advanced positionings [grid and flower] for object groups
• Textured and gradient backgrounds
• Geometry corrections and advanced size/color/contrast controls
• Video stack controls that allow reusing a source multiple times
• Chromakey (aka green screen) in YUV mode for better visual separation
• Animated transition based on b/w source video from existing libraries on the Net
• Shapes circle/polygon for visual compositions or "surgical masking"
• Full collection of FXs translated for GiraFX + Random deformations.
• Video stack analyzer

[Sumalc]

congratulations on this enormous work

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by Sumalc

congratulations on this enormous work

Thanks! Enormous is the word! I thought of giving up a some point because the time investment was too great but the appeal of the challenge won over my doubts!

[Spirit]

So far so good. But two questions:
1) I've got a video which is successfully cropped and colored etc but for the life of me I can't get the positioner to do anything. (On the upside: no color or contrast bleed between tracks which is great!)

More importantly:
2) Since the video processors need to be placed in takes, how does this system work when you've done a rough edit and chopped the various video tracks into 50 takes each ?

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by Spirit

So far so good. But two questions:
1) I've got a video which is successfully cropped and colored etc but for the life of me I can't get the positioner to do anything.

More importantly:
2) Since the video processors need to be placed in takes, how does this system work when you've done a rough edit and chopped the various video tracks into 50 takes each ?

Hi! thanks for the feedback. First I am actively working on releasing the remaining tutorials that will explain this in details and my goal is to release at least 2 this week. So to answer your questions:

1. All positioners have an ID that defaults to 0 that you may change for your needs. Then each "video source" has a "follow id" that defaults to -1, (meaning "do no follow anything". In order to "follow" a positionner, you need to change this "follow id" to the one you chose for your positionner. Also, depending on the type of positioner, the index field may be required as well. Please note that if the index is beyond the scope of the positioner parameters, index 0 will be used. And btw don't forget to set "video item visibility" to "items in higher numbered track replace lower"
2. Very good question! There is a tutorial planned just for these cases. If you place the video source on the item prior to chopping it (something I did for my first tutorial btw) , the chops will all have the "video source" repeated. There are other more clever techniques more difficult to explain without concrete examples. Please let me know if you need these advanced techniques and I will revise the release calendar for my tutorials accordingly.
   update: If you already chopped without having inserted a "video source" first, there is a way: set your track to "free item positioning" and make sure "ripple editing" is off. Select first the exact area covered by the "chops" and then "insert new midi item". On that new midi item you then insert the "video source" preset. Make sure there no holes in between chops otherwise the under track would leak. BTW I just found by accident yesterday an undocumented way of preventing such leaks but it requires further testing under various conditions before I can safely release it.

[Spirit]

Appreciate all this great info
I did watch the tutorial and saw the MIDI item in that but I like your explanation here better. I will try it.
It's certainly a new way of working but it already feels more 'solid'.

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by Spirit

Appreciate all this great info
I did watch the tutorial and saw the MIDI item in that but I like your explanation here better. I will try it.
It's certainly a new way of working but it already feels more 'solid'.

Good! I'll keep these remarks in mind when I'll do the "positioning" tutorial. GiraFX is really a radically new framework for video editing. Do not forget to put the positioner in a separate and lower track to make it visible to the "video sources". A side effect of positioners is that they generate an encoded parameters image that interfere with a video source so they have to be isolated on a separate item/track lower in the video stack. All other communcation methods I tried were impractical/limiting.

[MonkeyBars]

This looks insanely cool! Congrats

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by MonkeyBars

This looks insanely cool! Congrats

Thanks! I wonder if superglue could be of some use in video editing like maintaining same parameters on several video fxs on an item chopped into small pieces

[Spirit]

Is there a way to crop and have a transparent background? I keep seeing the original video behind the cropped version.
Also if I mute the highest number track it disables the effects on lower tracks.

Should I post these issues somewhere else or is here good?

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by Spirit

Is there a way to crop and have a transparent background? I keep seeing the original video behind the cropped version.
Also if I mute the highest number track it disables the effects on lower tracks.

Should I post these issues somewhere else or is here good?

I would need to see the project structure to be sure about the cropping but typically the structure for one video source is the following: (exact fx list is only an example)
video item
- girafx:util/crop
- girafx:util/adjust contrast luminosity
- girafx:frame/some frame of your choice
- girafx:video source (must always be last in fx chain)
If mute higher track disables lower track thend you need to revise your tracks to comply with this basic structure. Your input is valuable! I'll definitely add these clarifications to the tutorial I am working on today

For now I think this channel for reporting issues is the best.

[deeb]

Originally Posted by MonkeyBars

This looks insanely cool! Congrats

True ! Is impressive

[lachinhan]

Originally Posted by papagirafe

Very good question! I'm glad you asked. Here is a more detailed description:

The 5$ version includes only the most essential presets that are suffisant to make simpler projects yet with the following benefits:

• Consistent and non-leaky cross-fades
• Full collection of frames (aka borders)
• Easy positionning/sizing of visual elements inidividually and/or by groups
• Full text support with fully/semi transparent boxes over a background
• Text scrolling line by line from a single source for lyrics videos
• Transitions masks: enhanced horizontal/vertical wipes, vignettes
• Super easy chromakey transparency (aka green screen) in RGB mode
• Basic color/image controls

The 20$ version adds the following functionalities to the starter version:

• Advanced positionings [grid and flower] for object groups
• Textured and gradient backgrounds
• Geometry corrections and advanced size/color/contrast controls
• Video stack controls that allow reusing a source multiple times
• Chromakey (aka green screen) in YUV mode for better visual separation
• Animated transition based on b/w source video from existing libraries on the Net
• Shapes circle/polygon for visual compositions or "surgical masking"
• Full collection of FXs translated for GiraFX + Random deformations.
• Video stack analyzer

I will buy the $20 CAD copy to support you and thank you for what you have been contributing to the Reaper community.

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by lachinhan

I will buy the $20 CAD copy to support you and thank you for what you have been contributing to the Reaper community.

Wow! thx!

[papagirafe]

I delayed a bit the release of tutorial 2 about the transparency because I was stuggling to simplify the explanation for the chromakey YUV pre-mixer. As a reminder, the chromakey or green screen filter give substantially better results in YUV colorspace than in RGBA but it does not work directly in the Girafx v/mixer hence the need for a pre-mixer. The RGBA version works as a simple Girafx mask.

But then came one of those eureka moments where I thought of a clever method to extract the transparency information from the chromakey filter in YUV mode, something normally impossible. The good news: it worked so well that I will add a new chromakey YUV in the mask section (girafx:mask/chromakey YUV) in the coming days. This mask version will be functionaly similar to the RGB version including the full compatibility with the video mixer. Obviously, the pre-mixer version will become obsolete.

[RBB]

This is going to sound like a ludicrous simple question, but do your tools allow for smooth zooming?

When I try to zoom in on the full frame with reaper using built in tools, it seems to calculate the horizontal and vertical change sequentially, giving it a really old-school ps1 style zoom in feel.

I assume your tools do zoom much more smoothly, considering how much zoom is featured in the trailer, but I just wanted to make sure before purchasing!

[papagirafe]

Originally Posted by RBB

This is going to sound like a ludicrous simple question, but do your tools allow for smooth zooming?

When I try to zoom in on the full frame with reaper using built in tools, it seems to calculate the horizontal and vertical change sequentially, giving it a really old-school ps1 style zoom in feel.

I assume your tools do zoom much more smoothly, considering how much zoom is featured in the trailer, but I just wanted to make sure before purchasing!

Hi! the short answer is a bold yes. The library achieves this in many ways:

• original source resolution is maintained as much as you want along the video fx chain until the final mix. In other words the zoom is applied once at the very last stage in the video mixer itself. Current Reaper behavior mixes sources in chain leading to quality loss in many cases.
• the smoothing filter is applied systematically by the video mixer. This choice may be debatable but IMHO it always end up looking better.
• Font size can be made relative to the box that contains it. Resize the box, the text is regenerated with the new dimensions from scratch.
• There is a weakness in the video processor primitives (precisely what you are describing) that make gradual zooms visually unstable. The GiraFX video-mixer automatically compensates for that problem
• Shapes, frames & backgrounds (aka boxes) are always generated in full resolution.

So as long as you start with suffisant video source resolution, you can always scale down or up until the precision limit and you can say goodbye to gradual zoom instabilities. See you soon!

[papagirafe]

Two good news today!



1- Tutorial 2 "Projects Guidelines & Video Mixer Transparency Magic" is released as of now.

2- During the process of creating tutorial 2, I found a long sought solution for making the "chromakey YUV" preset a mask (much simpler to use) instead of a pre-mixer. As a reminder, chromakey in YUV mode gives much better results. This solution is now the new preset called "girafx:mask/chromakey (YUV)" that makes, of course, its previous pre-mixer version obsolete. Library has been updated accordingly, v1.01