NightWish: Dark Desires (Encoded and Shipping)

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Postby Qyot27 » Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:10 am

OtakuForLife wrote:<a href ="http://www.amvoffcenterproductions2.com/HQDARKDESIRES_TEST.avi">
250 meg Full Beta!... </a> Just making sure everybody's happy with the final project. Before I delete the individual huffy tracks and Q I think that I'm going to have to do the ssa encode cause its way to complicated to shrink it down to less then 3 gig from 7 gig and still have it look right. Don't worry in the final one I'll download lame and compress the audio.I just forgot, way to excited for my own good..

Unfortunately, due to the way the subtitles are timed (and with the required fonts, although that's a minor issue), it would be best to have me do it. And no, I don't need the audio, I have the properly time-adjusted wav/mp3 that I made from the wav in the first post. I don't mind about the size of the file; I've got more than enough HD space to deal with it.

Currently downloading the test to see exactly what I'm dealing with here...
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Postby Qyot27 » Thu Feb 09, 2006 6:12 am

Okay, my assessment:

Thematically, the project works. I don't have any qualms about that. The part where it suffers, though, is in the technical area, and the problems that haven't been fixed in the individual segments. Thankfully, some are easier to correct than others, but if I get the final huffy (or lagarith) in the state it's in now, the end result won't compress as well and the things done to fix some segments may bleed over into the adjacent ones because of the presence of the some of the transitions, and if I use the Trim() command to isolate the individual segments to clean them there may be the noticable drop from filtered to non-filtered when the transitions hit if I want to avoid bleeding the filtering to a segment that doesn't need the same treatment.

Anyway, here is the list of things on the technical side that need to be fixed for each *individual* segment. Fixing these things may also greatly help to reduce the size of the final made from the fixed segments.

0:opening intro
interlacing artifacts

3:rahxephon
interlacing artifacts

4:castle in the sky
jagged edges; rainbowing; tops of subtitles appear at 3:19, 3:30 and 3:35; letterboxing not equal

7:fma
some interlacing artifacts

9:ah! my goddess the movie
improper aspect ratio, jagged edges

11:ai yori aoshi
jagged edges, interlacing artifacts

12:saikano
extreme black borders

13: noir
improper aspect ratio

16:elfen lied
improper aspect ratio

17:outro
interlacing artifacts

General things:
Most segments would probably benefit from light smoothing
Black borders haven't been cropped on some of the fullscreen segments
There seemed to be problems with noise and color splotchiness, but that could be a side-effect of the test encode.

See if you can use the White Alpha Matte transparency with the titles, which will eliminate some of those white borders that still hang around on the edges of the letters. If that fails, you might want to add a light radial or zoom blur to the titles in the Opening and Credits to simulate anti-aliasing if you can't anti-alias as it is (I don't often work with stuff like that so I can't remember if that's an option or not).

The credits have a few things that should be fixed as well:
Shamanic Princess has two S'es
It's Kino's Journey, not Journies, at least according to the ANN Encyclopedia.
My proper alias has an ö in it, even though my Org username doesn't. The command to use that character is to press down the Alt key and hit 0246 on the right-side number pad (make sure Num Lock is on)
I'd suggest changing it from saying 'Song Subtitles' to 'Credits Subtitles', since I didn't sub the entire project.


At the end of this post, I'll put the scripts to use for those particular segments so that you can fix them on your end (you can fool Premiere by naming the fixed segments exactly the same as the ones on the timeline they're meant to replace, and then putting the fixed segment in the folder where the old one was - don't do this while Premiere is running). For some of the scripts, you'll need to use filters that I've packaged up and put on rapidshare (here is the link: http://rapidshare.de/files/12865912/nec ... s.zip.html).

Let me know if that link doesn't work.

You'll just need to unpack them in your AviSynth plugins directory and then you'll be able to use the scripts that call for advanced filtering (such as the TIsophote commands I use to correct the jagged lines, or the derainbowing filters).

Of course, if you already have TIVTC, TIsophote, MaskTools, Msharpen, FluxSmooth, Deen, DFMDeRainbow, LUTDeRainbow, and RemoveGrainS.dll RepairS.dll and SSEToolsS.dll from the RemoveGrain package, then you don't need to download that package. You should already have Msharpen, FluxSmooth, and Deen, though, as they come with the AMVApp. I can't remember if RemoveGrain or MaskTools also come with the AMVApp or not. You need to check if you have TomsMoComp, though. I don't know if that comes with the AMVApp either.


Just copy and paste these scripts into separate files and run them through VirtualDub. Make sure that VDub is set on Fast Recompress mode. Then substitute the fixed ones for the originals like I described above and reexport the final. Also, if you can, make sure that the Opening and Ending segments are run through without the titles in place, as the filtering smudges text. Let me know if AviSynth throws you any errors when handling these scripts. I don't know whether I caught all the dependencies of the plugins or not.

0:Opening
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(6,0,-8,0).BilinearResize(720,480)
TomsMoComp(1,1,1).deen("w3d",3,4,6)


1:Witch Hunter Robin
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
ConvertToRGB24().Crop(11,22,-8,-27)
LanczosResize(720,480).ConvertToYV12().deen("w3d",2,8,8)


2:Last Exile
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi").deen("w3d",2,8,8)


3:RahXephon
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(6,0,-6,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
TomsMoComp(1,1,1).deen("w3d",2,8,8)


4:Castle In The Sky
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(0,68,0,-138).BilinearResize(720,272)
LUTDeRainbow().DFMDeRainbow()
TIsophote(iterations=15).deen("w3d",2,8,8)
AddBorders(0,104,0,104)


5:Kino's Journey
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi").ConvertToRGB24()
Crop(7,0,-5,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
ConvertToYV12().deen("w3d",2,8,8)


6:Crest Of The Stars
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
ConvertToRGB24().Crop(5,0,-5,0).LanczosResize(720,480)


7:Fullmetal Alchemist
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
TomsMoComp(1,1,1).deen("w3d",2,8,8)


8:Shamanic Princess
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(10,4,-10,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
deen("w3d",2,8,8)


9:Ah! My Goddess
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(8,0,-6,0).LanczosResize(720,368)
TIsophote(iterations=10).deen("w3d",2,8,8)
AddBorders(0,56,0,56)


10:Chrono Crusade
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi").deen("w3d",2,8,8)


11:Ai Yori Aoshi
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(4,0,-8,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
TomsMoComp(1,1,1).TIsophote(iterations=15)
deen("w3d",2,8,8)


12:Saikano
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
ConvertToRGB24().Crop(35,59,-33,-59)
LanczosResize(720,368).ConvertToYV12()
deen("w3d",2,8,8).AddBorders(0,56,0,56)


13:Noir
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(4,0,-4,0).LanczosResize(720,368)
deen("w3d",2,8,8).AddBorders(0,56,0,56)


14:Princess Tutu
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(4,0,-4,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
deen("w3d",2,8,8)


15:Erementar Gerad
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi").deen("w3d",2,8,8)


16:Elfen Lied
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(4,0,4,0).LanczosResize(720,368)
deen("w3d",2,8,8).AddBorders(0,56,0,56)


17:Outro
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
Crop(8,0,-6,0).BilinearResize(720,480)
TomsMoComp(1,1,1).deen("w3d",3,4,6)
Last edited by Qyot27 on Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Kalium » Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:44 am

Qyot27 wrote:6:Crest Of The Stars
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
ConvertToRGB24().Crop(5,0,-5,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
deen("w3d",2,8,8)


Ack! I cleaned it already. More deen will probably kill it!
Code: Select all
AVIsource("<blah>")
converttoYV12()
deen("a3d",4)
msmooth()


Oh, and isn't Lanczos4Resize preferable to Lanczos?

Also, for the record, I wound up using entirely Banner of the Stars II.
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Postby Qyot27 » Thu Feb 09, 2006 10:25 am

Kalium wrote:
Qyot27 wrote:6:Crest Of The Stars
Code: Select all
AVISource("filename.avi")
ConvertToRGB24().Crop(5,0,-5,0).LanczosResize(720,480)
deen("w3d",2,8,8)


Ack! I cleaned it already. More deen will probably kill it!
Code: Select all
AVIsource("<blah>")
converttoYV12()
deen("a3d",4)
msmooth()


Okay. I wasn't entirely sure, and the compression artifacts from the test encode didn't really help much. Even with my own videos if I use deen on some portions I end up using the w3d mode 2,8,8 settings during postprocessing since that lightly does a once-over. Looking back over the scripts I did post, I can't believe the amount of times I used ConvertToRGB24() in order to correct uneven borders, and didn't call ConvertToYV12() so deen would be able to run. I'll edit that stuff now.

Oh, and isn't Lanczos4Resize preferable to Lanczos?

Also, for the record, I wound up using entirely Banner of the Stars II.

I'd judge it depending on the circumstances. LanczosResize and Lanczos4Resize perceptually don't look too dissimilar (if I can remember that part of Read ErMaC & AbsoluteDestiny's Friendly AMV Guides correctly), and I generally reserve Lanczos4 for especially clean sources, which some of the segments in here are, but others aren't. I used LanczosResize for all but the Opening and Ending (and the Castle In The Sky segment, due to it being the most filtered of all the tracks) to keep it consistent. Some of the segments I didn't really want to use something as sharp as Lanczos on because the quality was borderline if doing upsizing (the Saikano track, for instance, I contemplated using Bilinear on instead).
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Postby OtakuForLife » Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:44 pm

Wow Q your figging intense...
Glad I used this beta this before-hand, looks like most
of it can be fixed quicky with AVS filtering and switching
huffys with each other. As for the castle in the sky track
, sorry about the huge letterboxing. Friggin burned in subs are
a pain the ass to remove correctly. Even using clip, I need to
move up the bottom clipping anthor 2 pixels (becuase I can see
them at one point.) Btw the test screening for non-editors
(at my house) was given 2 thumbs up ... So, overall besides
a gitch here and there we're doing fairly well.. Oh if anyone
wants to make a release poster for this project, that would be
awsome... Also, I'm going to add Q to the credits as encoder
cuase he friggin deserves it for putting up with me :)

Anymore suggestions cuase I want everybody to be happy with the
final product?

Hopefully I'll get to most of this tonight been a little sick lately.
Btw those that want to tune into my radio show tonight, can do
so. I'll be talking/coughing about Nightwish Dark Desires plus
playing alot of good music... (you can tune in on www.ricradio.org
at 4-6pm EST) Now to take a nap inbetween my classes :)
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Postby thistledown » Thu Feb 09, 2006 1:09 pm

I can make the changes to wishmaster, no problem. I'll load it in tonight.

Unfortunetly, I don't have access to the Noir dvd's anymore. If somebody does, and can send me the .vob's for disks 1, 4, 6, &7; I have the premiere files and scripts still, so it should be easy enough to recombile then.
The sword, it thirsts to drink of man,
The sword at last must win,
Today is gone, and yesterday,
Must echo in the wind.
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Postby Qyot27 » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:03 pm

OtakuForLife wrote:Anymore suggestions cuase I want everybody to be happy with the final product?

Another thing I forgot to mention: the Subtitling credit almost collides with the subtitles themselves. There's only a couple of pixels between the two. Maybe that and the encoding credit should go on a new page.

Let's see if I can concisely word that monster of a post I made up there:

1) Download the plugin package I made available on Rapidshare
2) Unpack it in the AviSynth plugins directory (usually C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins)
3) Use the scripts I posted to correct the individual huffies. If either the scripts don't work or AviSynth throws you an error at this point, let me know.
4) Switch the fixed huffies out with the originals and start Premiere
5) Check the anti-aliasing of the titles/credits, try to use the White Alpha Matte transparency, and if that fails use a radial or zoom blur on those title cards.
6) Refer to the list of credits proofing in the other post, the note Kalium made about only using Banner Of The Stars II, and the suggestion I made further up this post about putting those two credit lines on a new page so they don't collide with the subtitles.
7) Reexport from Premiere at 23.98fps, making sure that the 'Always recompress' option is checked.
8) Use the script I gave for the audio-less Lagarith file on page 25 (I think it was page 25) on the new final export.
9) Get it onto the FTP or whatever so I can download it and do the XviD and whatever else encodes, since it looks like it might be high enough quality to warrant it, should all these other steps go well.
10) This would be the step where I make the XviD encode, hardsubbing the subtitles and putting in the time-corrected audio.
11) I'll upload the final XviD to the FTP so you can then upload it to the Donut or whatever else; that's the first priority. Since I'll still have the lossless final master, audio, and ssa script, if I do any other encodes they'll come afterward, probably after the XviD is already available for download.

I think that's about it.
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Postby thistledown » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:05 pm

Yeah, I can still see some subtitles at 3:34 during Laputa. You might be able to get away with a still-pic overlay on the first camera angle, but I don't think it'd work on the second one. Otherwise, some of the audio transitions were a little strange... minor tempo shifts can be more unsettling than major ones.

Only two real editing issues were on the begining of Last Exile and the transition into Saikano. For Exile, maybe making the book a bit more centered, or having something going on in the other corner (pen writting, something simple, etc.)(Love the way it leaves the book though).
For Saikano, it almost sounds like two different song merges... once at 9:39, and another at 9:42. No clue what to do about it really. The footage is fine, but the audio just bugs me.

-Just played both songs, it's actually Everdream untill 9:42. Any chance the Ai Yori Aoshi footage can cover till then or have a longer transition?
The sword, it thirsts to drink of man,
The sword at last must win,
Today is gone, and yesterday,
Must echo in the wind.
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Postby inthesto » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:19 pm

Fast suggestion: Wouldn't it be a lot nicer on the eyes to fade one track into the next rather than going for hard cuts?
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Postby Qyot27 » Thu Feb 09, 2006 2:36 pm

thistledown wrote:Yeah, I can still see some subtitles at 3:34 during Laputa. You might be able to get away with a still-pic overlay on the first camera angle, but I don't think it'd work on the second one.

The script I gave for it takes care of that. It crops away that area and all of the black and replaces it with equal-sized letterboxing.
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Postby OtakuForLife » Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:02 am

I keep getting the error message "deen needs YV12 input"
for the opening beta. If I remove the deen from the script
it works just fine.
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Postby Qyot27 » Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:09 am

OtakuForLife wrote:I keep getting the error message "deen needs YV12 input"
for the opening beta. If I remove the deen from the script
it works just fine.

Then add ConvertToYV12() right before deen. That'll take care of it.
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Postby OtakuForLife » Fri Feb 10, 2006 6:50 pm

::saw how awsome the final product looks:: *almost cried

Ok Q heres the run-down..
I fixed everything fixable with your scripts, replaced the huffies in primere
and adjusted the credits accordingly.. I'm exporting the final huffy now, soon you'll have your final lag copy and it'll be ready for it's main showing.. I just wanted to thank all the people who stayed with this project and took on extra tracks when they didn't have to. It's with your help that this project survived. Hopefully everyone will be happy with this project and come to understand as it well as those who put it together... So, time to party!!!
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Postby Kalium » Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:03 pm

So... should we write individual blurbs for the video description?
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Postby OtakuForLife » Fri Feb 10, 2006 11:57 pm

Sure, feel free to leave comments..
I'll post them in the video description for the donut.
By-The-Way uploading the lag file as we speak... Q it will be ready to
download in couple of hours.. Sorry to thisledown who
tried to submit his new track. But, I was already in progress
with the finishing stuff..

Thats about it, btw the big torch has been lit...
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