Pro Moviemaker Autumn 2018

MINI TESTS

Flicker is a phenomenon that doesn’t just affect films shot under fluorescent lights but also if you are shooting slow-motion, time-lapses or even drone footage. It’s possible to remove it, if you have the post-processing skills and many hours free to fine-tune every shot. But the latest software plug-in from Digital Anarchy makes it easier than ever to solve the age-old problem. The Flicker Free software works in Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premier Pro and After Effects, DaVinci Resolve Avid and Vegas, and loads like any normal plug-in. At the basic level, you just drag the Flicker Free correction onto the problematic clips in your timeline. There is a selection of pre-sets to choose from and in many cases, these cure the problem straight away. If you’ve struggled to get rid of flicker then it’s great to see it magically disappear without any fuss. If this doesn’t do the trick perfectly, you can manually alter the parameters of the software until the flicker is all gone, changing things like sensitivity, type of flicker or the different colour channels the software is working on. Online tutorials guide you through the process which is easy even for inexperienced editors. The only issue is that the software uses a lot of computing power, so can be a bit slow. But it is doing a lot of things behind the scenes, such as analysing footage and rendering. And it’s much faster than doing a reshoot! AD DIGITAL ANARCHY FLICKER FREE SOFTWARE £112/$149 www.digitalanarchy.com “The software uses a lot of computing power so can be a bit slow”

There is a large adjustment wheel so it’s easy to quickly dial in just the right amount of balance. First you get the balance roughly correct, then engage the CB-Plus switch to make micro- adjustments to get it just right. The camera plate clicks firmly into place on the head, then is clamped down with a large, obvious lever. There’s an illuminated spirit level to ensure the head is set level, and adjustment is via a large adjuster knob under the headwhich is intuitive to use. You can adjust the drag for the pan and tilt movements, again using two very large wheels. Setting zero is totally free-moving, while 1-5 offers an increasing amount of drag. And in use, there is no jerking at the start of a pan or bouncing at the end. It’s a top- quality head and you can feel it. The two issues with this type of tripod are in its weight, which at 7.4kg/16.3lb makes it not the lightest tripod to cart around with you. And the height range goes from 603-1693mm/23.7-66.6in. So for very low-angle shots or very high positions, you may need another option. That option could come in the form of Miller’s CX2 Solo 75-3, a three- stage carbon fibre tripod which comes with the matching CX2 fluid head in a 75mm bowl size. Instead of the multi- tube leg set-up of its big brother, it has conventional telescopic legs and no spreader. This means it can go as low as 390mm/15.4in and reach up to 2040mm/80.3in. At 5.8kg/12.8lb, it’s significantly lighter than the CX18 but of course the payload is far more limited, at precisely half. It can still handle a very respectable 8kg/17.6lb which is plenty for most users. And

it’s significantly more affordable at £2212/$2138. A lot of the weight saving comes from the legs; top-quality carbon fibre, adjusted using a twist-lock style clamp. This can be a tad slower to adjust than the clamps of the CX18 but once you get used to it, it becomes quick and easy. Legs like this are more suitable for outdoor use on rough ground, too; the feet come with rubber bumpers to protect hard surfaces and reduce vibration, but can be wound back to expose spikes for outdoor use. The head itself is like a mini version of the CX18 with a 16-position counterbalance and the CB Plus system for fine-tuning, as well as three settings of fluid drag for pan and tilt as well as free-moving. The adjustment knobs are the same, large and obvious units as on the bigger head and the feeling is similarly smooth in use. There’s no sudden jerkiness and no nasty starts or stops. It’s a top quality bit of kit that is a joy to use and is built tough to deliver for years in all conditions. The CX2 also comes in its own bag but it’s a smaller, triangular-shaped soft bag for easier transportation on the shoulder. If you can afford them, the CX2 makes an ideal tripod kit for location shooters on the move who need portability, and the CX18 is perfect for heavier cameras that don’t need to be moved around as much. They may cost a lot but should deliver for years and pay back that initial investment. AD PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 9/10 Pros: Prettymuch the best you canget Cons: The price is prohibitive formany

VERDICT: Flicker Free works surprisingly well out of the box and if it doesn’t quite get the job done, you can take manual control and get rid of the dreaded flicker. At the price, it’s a great bit of software that can really save your films. There’s a free trial download so you can give it a try before buying, too.

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AUTUMN 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER

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