new user - image processing variation

Hi,

I am trying to process a png image sequence.

The problem I am having is that some images result in a different outcome - as if they are being processed slightly differently.

The result is that a section of the image (the top right) appears to flicker when played back. The problem image has less black in the top right and it doesn't seem to match the source image ie it seems to be making stuff up?

This happens with more than 1 operation type but I am mainly concerned with image operation-> adaptive filter 2 which I used for the example below.

This is a source image of a good item:

and its result:

And this is the next item in the sequence (the one causing the flicker):

and its result:

I can see this happening when processing the images manually ( as I did with the examples above)

I have tried editing the settings but the inconsistency remains.

I not sure if the problem is with the source image, studio artist, or just the settings I'm using or something else?

Could the alpha in the source png be causing a problem?

As stated in the title, I'm fairly new to studio artist (I'm using version 4.05 on Windows 8.1 64 bit) so I may have missed something?

Any help appreciated

Thanks

You need to be a member of Studio Artist to add comments!

Join Studio Artist

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • The adaptive filter ip op effect is extremely configurable. So depending on the settings you are working with, it can be doing all kinds of different adaptive filtering effects. Many of which are non-linear. And depending on the Modulation option, the filter locally self adjusts (adapts) based on that specified modulation signal.

    That effect can also be configured so that you might be processing the source image, but be modulating the adaptation based on attributes of the canvas. If that's the case, then what is in the canvas is going to greatly affect the outcome of the processing for a given frame. So without looking at the specific preset or the control parameters for what you are working with, it's hard to speculate.

    So the ip op effect is not 'making stuff up'. It's doing whatever you have it configured to do, based on it's parameter settings. The effect is not working with alpha, so i doubt that alpha in the png images is a factor, at least as far as the processing is concerned.

    If you want to attach a preset, or a screen shot of the parameter settings, i can comment further on what the adaptive filter ip op is configured to be doing in your particular situation.

    Flicker associated with movie processing is caused by temporal variations in sequential frames. Some ip op effects generate a lot of temporal variation, others do not. So you have to experiment with what works or doesn't work for movie processing. Effects that work well for processing single images may not necessarily translate to processing movies without introducing some flicker.

    Depending on what you are doing with the adaptive filter effect, perhaps using something like the Smooth ip op on the input signal to the adaptive filter might help. Another thing some people do is frame averaging as a way to reduce flicker with some processing effects.

    • There has been a lot of discussion concerning flicker reduction over the years here on the user forum. So you might want to do some searching for previous conversations associated with that topic. I quickly did a quick search to provide a few links below to some previous discussions about flicker. 

      Here's one post.

      Here's another post.

      Here's another post.

      Here's some discussion concerning different paint animation strategies.

    • Thanks for your reply John.

      I am just using the default setting 'AdaptiveFilter2' and that causes the issue. When processing in a PAS I have just 2 steps

      1-Set Canvas -White and

      2-AdaptiveFilter2 - with the _Ip source set to 'Current Layer'

      I have since converted the png sequence in to a mov file and when that was processed the issue did not occur. 

      By the sound of what you have said, there is obviously a lot for me to learn about this but it does seem odd that the presumably lower quality images in the mov file remove the problem -  does that sound possible?

      I will have a play with the smooth operator and look up frame averaging as these sound like useful things to know.

      Thanks for your help

      • You are adaptive modulating based on inverse source texture, so if the movie frames are compressed, then the derived source texture might be somewhat different than the original png  image frames (which would have more fine detail, hence a more fine detail texture field associated with them). And you are modulating the orientation and the size of the adaptive filter based on that derived source texture (actually the inverse of it), so local changes in the source texture will cause local modulation of the filters orientation as well as it's size.

This reply was deleted.

On the closure of the User Forum : An open letter to John Dalton

Hi John I have no idea what you are going through. However the impact you have made not to continue with the user forum and your desire keep it as a permanent feature as promised in the past is a big shock. It also betrays the faith and love we have shown in you and Studio Artist.  Bluntly spoken, it sucks. That you have chosen to follow this direction in silence, allowing no compassion or understanding on our part is a betrayal of the deepest level. What is going on? This is not the John…

Read more…
4 Replies · Reply by Paul Perlow 2 hours ago

Interdimensional Coincidence Control

Hi everyone, I am glad the site is still here! Here is a new short video I made. All made in Studio Artist, several separate videos with alpha channels, then combined in layers with the music in Blender. A lot of MSG running through brushes, with several of the brush Path Starts being controlled by the MSG Scan Generator in the Generator part of the Path Start in the Paint Synthesizer. Also some MSG running through a brush, then making a video of that with an alpha channel, then making that a…

Read more…
3 Replies · Reply by Thor Johnson Mar 22

Whats going on with this site?

Has anyone else gotten a warning about this site disappearing? An email form just popped up, asking me to contract the owner and leave a message to let them know that they may loose their "network"Did Synthetik forget to pay it's bills, or is something else going on?I think 8 months is more than enough vacation time. Is anyone at Synthetik doing any development work at all? 

Read more…
7 Replies · Reply by Alf 10 hours ago