How To Get Best Sharpening / Is There A Sharpening Mask?

[Easy Mark]

Can you give me tips on how to sharpen videos WITHOUT it becoming very noisy and / or jaggy looking? (I am running windows 10 64-bit)

For instance: is there a way to mask the sharpening or limit the sharpening so that it only affects higher-contrast areas of a clip? (Similar to the way that lightroom allows you to mask the sarpening)?

I am not very satisfied with the built in sharpening. Is ther another FX that needs to be used in conjunction with Sharpening to make it look good? do I have to buy a plugin that costs more than the cost of Premiere elements to make the video look sharp?

I normally shoot a flatter profile with sharpening and contrast turned down.

[Steve Grisetti]

The Sharpening effect can be found in the Blu & Sharpen category of video effects.

How much you can sharpen a video depends on the video itself. The process isn't the same as using an unsharp mask in Photoshop Elements -- but on a typical 1080p video, you should be able to sharpen to about 25 without things looking too sharp.

[Easy Mark]

Thank you for your response, Steve. I appreciate it (and I appreciate your videos on youtube).

In your opinion, since it doesn't look like PE has a sophisticated sharpening system, would it make more sense to sharpen in-camera than relying on the sharpening in PE?

Or is there a plugin available for PE that doesn't cost $80

Thanks in advance.

[Ann Bens]

Best thing is to make sure your footage is sharp while filming.

There is this saying: garbage in, garbage out.

This certainly applies to unsharp footage.

BTW video is not the same as a still.

There is a little trick; might work, might not...

duplicate clip and superimpose

add sharpen to top clip

turn up value and drop opacity to 50%.

[Easy Mark]

Thank you for your suggestion, Ann;

I haven't experimented with it, but it seems that for best video IQ, a lot of people say to turn down contrast, saturation and sharpness in camera, and then add back in post.

Maybe they are expecting that it will be edited in Premiere PRO or FCP or in Resolve (instead of Premiere Elements) when they are making the suggestion to shoot with reduced contrast / reduced sharpness / reduced saturation???

[Easy Mark]

Oh... and I saw that Premiere PRO has unsharp mask feature, so I guess I was just HOPING that PE would have it, too...

I've been hoping a lot lately...

[Bill Sprague]

Easy Mark wrote:

, a lot of people say to turn down contrast, saturation and sharpness in camera, and then add back in post.

You are stepping into a complex world of "log profiles", "color grading", "LUTS", etc that I've only read about.   I don't think Premeir Elements is the right NLE for that level. 

[Easy Mark]

Thank you for your honesty.

[Ann Bens]

Maybe they are expecting that it will be edited in Premiere PRO or FCP or in Resolve (instead of Premiere Elements) when they are making the suggestion to shoot with reduced contrast / reduced sharpness / reduced saturation???

These are settings for professional NLE software.

With all due respect Elements is not.

Elements cannot do proper color correction or even grading despite the effects provided.

Most effects are auto which are good for consumer level NLE but auto effects are a big no no when it comes to professional shot footage.

keep settings in the camera simple

Which camera are we talking about?

[Easy Mark]

Hi Ann:

I understand and appreciate your comments that elements is not a PROFESSIONAL NLE.

The camera is a Sony a6300 shooting at 4K 24fps in the XAVC S format (100MBS)

It is capable of producing very beautiful footage.

THESE ARE NOT MY CLIPS (I just think they look great):

https://youtu.be/wFyVJqpTtK4

https://youtu.be/-wEVpd2tdKA?t=1m37s

I am fairly certain (though not 100%) that these were shot pretty much flat and then adjusted heavily in post.

[Bill Sprague]

These are words in the specifications for the A6300:  "Cine1-4, ITU709, S-Log2, S-Log3, S-Gamut, S-Gamut3, Cine, S-Gamut3".  Those are new words to cameras under $1000 USD.  It takes software like Premiere Pro, Apple's Final Cut, Adobe SpeedGrade, etc to use those words.   It is well beyond my pay grade to begin to understand it.  (At least for now!)   It is also beyond my pay grade to buy the necessary tools. 

Here is a pretty good demo:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sblEu4x5ug 

Google for "video color grading" and you'll have enough that you can read all day and well into the night!

From my point of view, color grading is about intentionally giving video a false tint or shade that establishes a brand, style or overall mood. 

[Ann Bens]

First one needs to understand color correction.

When one want to set a certain mood for the shot then color grading comes into action.

[Ann Bens]

I dont think Youtube is the way to observe footage from a certain camera.

[Bill Sprague]

Ann Bens wrote:

There is a little trick; might work, might not...

duplicate clip and superimpose

add sharpen to top clip

turn up value and drop opacity to 50%.

That will be fun to try!  I'm in the middle of a 4K project from a trip to Europe that will be a good test. 

Bill