[subego]

Python, JavaScript, and AppleScript all seem about the same level of “not difficult”.

[ghporter]

Yeah, Java Script is easier than straight Java, which likes to play with stuff on a hardware level (like C).

[subego]

After Effects uses JavaScript. Logic uses nothing.

My home automation software used to use AppleScript, but since Apple hates AppleScript for some reason, they ditched it for Python. I’m thankful, because if it didn’t force me to learn some basics, I’d have had no idea I could use it to brute force Logic with a string of keyboard commands

It’s the opposite of elegant, but gets the job done if I feed it right (no error checking). The worst thing about it is how long it takes to finish. I’ve put in ridiculous sleep times in case it hangs a bit opening or saving a file.

I started to learn Java at some point, and then decided I’d be happier “going native” with obj-c. Yeah, umm… kinda sorta stalled out.

[ghporter]

"Elegant" in programming is not always a good thing. Elegant code is often less efficient than "brute force" where that's appropriate.

I had a college professor demonstrate an "elegant" way to walk through a linked list in C. He used 4 lines of code to do what should have been done in a single line - the textbook example of how smooth and terse C can be - and introduced many places to make a mistake. Which he took advantage of at least once. Yes, he explicitly showed the steps involved, but...

[Thorzdad]

Sometimes you need to show students the long way around, so they can better understand the efficacy of the shortcuts. Kind of a “know the rules first, so you can break them right” thing.

[ghporter]

I agree. If he’d done it right, and not made coding errors in his demonstration.

The thing is, he was supposedly teaching “object oriented programming with C++”. He didn’t create a “linked list object” or anything like that. He just put a bunch of overly long, not-well-written code on the board….

[subego]

The big thing annoying me about it is the pauses I necessary so the script doesn’t get ahead of itself. I originally had it at 2 minutes total for extra safety. Shaved that down to a minute. It should really take 20 seconds or less.

The wildcard is the size of the movie file. The bigger it is, the longer it takes for Logic to open it and extract the audio.

[subego]

My script is now mysteriously typing a period where it shouldn’t.

There are worse places it could do that, like in a filepath, but it’s still pretty annoying.

[subego]

Aaaaand, I’m a moron.

The formula I’m using in Excel to generate a filename from the logs is adding an extra space. I looked directly at it in a monospaced font and it still didn’t register.

The period? That was MacOS autocorrect “fixing” my two spaces. Kinda surprised that’s turned on in a save dialog.

[ghporter]

Yeah. File names should NEVER be “corrected.”

[subego]

Especially with a period of all things.

[subego]

I just manually tested it to be sure it wasn’t an artifact of the Python module I’m using for keyboard input. In Monterey, in Logic Pro, it does indeed autocorrect two spaces into a period in the save dialog.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by subego 

Especially with a period of all things.

At least it didn’t put the period at the start of the filename.

[Laminar]

Ha - THAT would have been a fun one to figure out.

[subego]

I’ve been wanting to show stuff, but don’t want to ruin any surprises.

I figure the cat’s out of the bag on this one though…





Edit: Thanks again to reader for the packing peanut idea which made it possible!

[subego]

“No, no. Fire is good.”

[subego]

Sorry for the massive vertical.

Here’s a bit of a frame from YouTube in 4K:



Same bit in 2K:



Fuck you, Google.

[Laminar]

Is that just awful compression?

[subego]

Yup.

Compression can choke on grain, which makes sense because grain changes every pixel on every frame. Been an issue we’ve had to deal with for decades now. As such, we’ve been diligently putting every single shot on YouTube and checking to see if it’s a problem before we start editing with it.

My assumption was if the YouTube compressor was handling the 4K grain, their 2K downsample would handle it just as well.

The algorithm YouTube uses for the 2K downsample is optimized for speed. That gets done in about a minute. The 4K can take an hour, so it appears that’s tuned for fidelity. This was right in front of me, but I didn’t put together the implications until now. I have watched other clips we uploaded that YouTube downsampled to 2K but they were never this bad.

[subego]

Just went though everything we’ve completed. Doesn’t seem to be an issue anywhere else thankfully. This shot had more aggressive grain on it than we normally use in an effort to hide other problems.

That was scary.

[andi*pandi]

Is this why other artists use vimeo not youtube?

[subego]

FWIU, yes. They don’t put on as much compression, but you have to pay them.

We plan to do that, but assume YouTube will give us a bigger reach.

[reader50]

I haven't done anything fancy with YouTube, so this might not work.

Can you add the 4K version after the fact? ie - upload a 2K version. Perhaps with extra contrast applied to that one background. Then "discover" a 4K master, and update your video. The idea being that YT keeps the 2K version you tweaked, instead of downscaling it from the 4K.

[subego]

AFAIK, YouTube won’t let you update a video in any way other than reuploading, which puts the reupload on a brand new page.

[subego]

The Ring? What ring? I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.