My name is Tustin Larson, and I reside in Palm Springs, CA. I have been in the DV field for 4 years now. I started out doing video for City Council meetings, and other city sponsored events. Within the last year I have purchased all of my own equipment and have become a Freelance Videographer. I love my GL2 and would recommend all DV professionals to get at least one!

I created this tutorial to help all the GL2 owners out there understand the Title Mix tool. Whether you decide to use it or not, at least you will know how! If you have any questions about the tutorial, please email me at tlarson@cathedralcity.gov.

Please keep in mind that this video is 13 minutes long, so to keep the file size down the quality suffered a little bit. I have the 400+ mb
Divx file if you really want it that bad. :)

http://www.ccpronline.com/Tutorial.wmv - click here for the video

Thank you,
Tustin Larson

Very nice tutorial, I'll have to try that out when I get my GL2.

What's the setting called where you record the information that is on the lcd along with the video?

Thanks
Ryan Krga

Very nice tutorial; you can see you put some time into it. I'm sure everyone here will appreciate it--I know I do.

It's also interesting, because just a short while back I was reading another thread on this forum that mentioned how DuArt Labs in NYC recommended that if you're shooting DV for upsizing to film, to not bother with widescreen or anamorphic adapters... to just crop appropriately to the 16:9 format. I suppose this method mentioned in this tutorial would be a good way to do that yes? I mean, I doubt too many people will be using the GL2 to upsize to film, but that's not my point ;)

Tustin, since you have your 16:9 frame already created to (I'm assuming) the exact correct dimensions, would it be possible for you to post that image for us to download? I know, I'm lazy ;)

But I am also going to give it a go and have some fun trying the logo thing as you showed in the tutorial.

Thanks!

PS
I love the edit feature... Here's the url for that thread

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5101&perpage=15&highlight=duart&pagenumber=2

Imran,
If Tustin is unable to do so, I can send you a Photoshop file that features a 16:9 matte on a 720x480 frame. The center is already set as an alpha channel. (This is actually very easy to produce with nle's such as Final Cut Pro.)

Thanks for making a somewhat confusing feature seem simple!
Mark

Tustin,
Nice tutorial work.

When I follow your steps and go to Title Mix in the cam, it shows one that I created via the cam and it says there is another one but the image shows as an "X" and you can't select it.

I made sure the image size was 640x480 and am puzzled what I missed.

Any thoughts?
Thanks for your efforts.

Tustin - Great Tute! I wish all tutes came with such simple video graphics . . I'm using Veags Video - we have a few tutes that come near what you do. I like your reassuring comments in the voice-over.

Thanks again

Grazie

Ken, I tried emailing you at the address in your profile and it got bounced back to me. Is that a problem with you or me?
Thanks!

Imran (and all),
Sorry for the snafu; late night posting can be a precarious undertaking.

But meanwhile I have whipped-up an even better solution. Taking Jeff Donald's lead on a separate matter, I finally got around to setting-up my .Mac homepage for file sharing.

Simply go to http://homepage.mac.com/kentanaka1/. You'll see a folder (the only one right now) called "Handy Files for DV Editing". Click on that then click on the "16:9 Matte.psd" download button to grab the matte.

Have fun!

Love the picture of 'Grant Park' in the file...

Thanks!

Oops, forgot about that layer. <g> It's actually a frame from a short video holiday card I sent to friends and family living in warm climates. It helps remind them what seasonal changes look like. <g>

Glad you got the file and I hope it helps you out.

Please help yourselves, anyone else.

Hello Everyone,
Thank you for the comments. Thank you for taking the time to check out the tutorial, and am glad you liked it. I am at work right now... so I will have to wait to go home before I can post the letterbox bars picture. It is already set for luma keying.

Talk to you soon,
Tustin

Thanx Ken for making that great 16:9 matte file. Unfortunetly it won't work for this application. This camera keys out by Luma Keying. So where you have a transparent alpha channel, this camera needs to see RGB 000 BLACK.

I have created a 16:9 Letterbox file for all you guys. It is ready to go, all you have to do is tranfer it to the SD/MMC Card, and select title mix.

You can download it here http://www.ccpronline.com/USR00005.jpg

Thanx,
Tustin

Thank you for the template. When I turn on my 16:9 guides on the GL2 the guides don't agree with the title/mix. The guides are further into the image than the titile.

Any ideas as to why?

Thanks again,

Tom

Howdy from Texas,

<< The guides are further into the image than the title. >>

That's just Canon playing it safe. I wouldn't be concerned about it.

What should we use when we want to edit 16:9 footage in NLE software?
This title mix function with the black borders or the 16:9 mode on the GL2/XM2? (or adapter lens)

And what if we want to export to an analog tape? I suppose the 16:9 setting on the cam isn't a good idea then.
Because the image on the tape will then be "shrinked" when played on a 4:3 monitor ....

It all depends on what your output is... will this be viewed on a 4:3 monitor or a 16:9 monitor?

On a 4:3 monitor, if you want it fast -- use the title mix function, because the output is letterbox, no post processing required.

On a 16:9 monitor, if you want it fast -- shoot in 16:9 mode, because the output is wide screen, no post processing required.

If you want the best possible image quality, use an anamorphic adapter on the lens and process the image in post production (must NLE software can do this) if your output is 4:3. If your output is for a 16:9 monitor, no processing required.

As you can see, it all depends on what kind of monitor this will be viewed on... standard 4:3 or widescreen 16:9

Hello everyone...
The 16:9 letterbox image (USR00005.jpg) that I made the other day was not correct to the 16:9 Guides on the camera (Thanx Tom) so I made a new CORRECT image. You can download it here.

http://www.ccpronline.com/USR00004.jpg

Tustin

To take some of the heat off of Tustin's server, this tutorial is now mirrored at DV Info Net: www.dvinfo.net/canongl2/media/titlemix.wmv

Thanx alot Chris. We were getting really hammered for a few days... I was the recipient of our IT Dept. "Dirty Look of the Month" award. I have been really busy, but I am still working on the Text version for all those GL2 users out there.

Thanx,
Tustin

Hi Tustin, I'm out of town right now, in NYC for a tradeshow, but will get the link up to the mirrored site from the GL2 Watchdog as soon as I can. I knew you'd get slammed, that's why it needs to be served from my end. Thanks again,

Tustin - for your time and effort in producing such a clear and user friendly and the HUMAN touch you gave to your tute.

Chris - For making available to others this very informative piece of "work".

I think you both achieved a level of "acknowledgement" of the value of this cyberspace activity, which clearly demonstrates the whole purpose of Internet distance learning

If one did exsist - what with the Golden Globes and our UK BAFTA awards - I'd nominated the pair of you for the . .. . "BERNERS-LEE" award to distance learning!

Cheers! - Let the Tutorials spread around the World!

Grazie

Now added to the Son of Watchdog front page: http://www.dvinfo.net/canongl2/index.php

Brill! Read it yesterday.

Grazie

Thank you for your support Chris. Without dvinfo.net... I would not have been able to display this information to the people who really need it. You would not believe the emails I am getting about this tutorial. I am so happy that all of the proud GL2 owners out there are getting to use their cams to their full extent. I mean you paid alot of money for it, might as well use all the features - right.

Please feel free to email me with any questions/comments you may have. I am here for you. =)

Tustin Larson

Hey Tustin if you get any good email or if you get frequent questions, please post them here so that a.) every one can benefit from the public discussion and b.) you don't have to keep answering F.A.Q.'s all the time -- thanks!

"I am so happy that all of the proud GL2 owners ", and XM2 owners! Don't forget PAL-land in Europe..... hee hee ;-)

Grazie

Due to the amount of emails I am recieving about the Letterbox matte I created not matching the 16x9 Guides.... I took a screen capture of the lcd screen w/ the 16x9 guides turned on. I created a new file and matched the letterbox matte to the guides. It should match perfectly now, at least on my GL2. =)

I will not be able to upload the file to my server until monday... if you want it sooner.. please email me... i will send it to you.

Thanx,
Tustin


P.S. I did not forget about my XM friends abroad, Grazie =)

I have come up with a text version of the tutorial for anyone who wants it...

http://www.ccpronline.com/TMF.rtf

Have fun.
Tustin Larson

p.s. I forgot the 16x9 matte file at home... so I can't post it until tomorrow...

Tustin has forwarded the article to me, so you can also look for it on the GL2 Son of Watchdog site pretty soon.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Talley : Tustin,
Nice tutorial work.

When I follow your steps and go to Title Mix in the cam, it shows one that I created via the cam and it says there is another one but the image shows as an "X" and you can't select it.

I made sure the image size was 640x480 and am puzzled what I missed.

Any thoughts?
Thanks for your efforts. -->>>

I am having the same problem Rob mentions above, with the unselectable
"X"-file. Is there a solution to this? The truth is out there...

We figured it out... It took a few days.. But N. Aldoroty got the Title Mix working on his cam. Here is our email conversation.......

Tustin,

Good news. A friend and I figured out the glitch. We didn't have our
photoshop image saved in RGB color mode. That was the kicker. Once we
changed it to RGB, it worked just great. You sample image was a big
help though, thank you.

Thanks for all your time and help. Success at last...

:)
Noka


On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 04:16 PM, Tustin Larson wrote:

> Thank you for the detailed description. I am sending a .jpg file for
> you to test. This file has red text with a drop shadow and stroke
> (both RGB12). I have already named it accordingly. All you have to
> do is drop it in the title folder, and activate the title mix. If for
> some reason this does not work... there may be something wrong with
> the camera... or the SD/MMC card. Please let me know the result of
> your test with this file.
>
> Thanks,
> Tustin Larson
>
>
>
> Tustin~
>
> Thanks for your offer to help. Here is what I did, which resulted in
> the "X"- file.
>
> NOTE: I am using a Macintosh computer. Not sure if that has anything
> to
>
> do with it, but thought I'd mention it.
>
> Okay, so...
>
> - I created my Matte image in Photoshop and saved it as JPG file.
> - I then connected my camera to my computer, then dragged the file
> into the "Title" folder on the camera.
> - Next I renamed the file as USR00004.jpg Under this name, the file
> did
>
> not show up at all, so I deleted the "jpg" extension and tried again.
> No luck again, so I created a title inside the camera to see what the
> file name looked like and noticed it had a "TTL" extension on it. So
> I named my file "USR00004.TTL".
>
> With this file name, my camera recognized for the first time that the
> file existed, however the thumbnail image did not preview the image.
> Instead, it showed a blue box, with a white "X" in the center. The
> camera also would not allow me to actually select this title file.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Noka
>
>
>
>
>
> On Monday, February 24, 2003, at 09:15 PM, Tustin Larson wrote:
>
>> I have not encountered this X. I would really like to help you.
> Could
>> you please tell me what you did exactly so I might be of some help to
>> you.
>>
>> Thanx,
>> Tustin
>>
>> >>
>>
>>
>> Hi Tustin,
>>
>> Thanks for your offer to troubleshoot the any title mix question we might have...in fact, I just posted one to the DVnet site just before I saw your email address posted. The question I have is this: (as phrased in my post)...
>>
>> <<<-- Originally posted by N Aldoroty :
>> <<<-- Originally posted by Rob Talley : Tustin,
>> Nice tutorial work.
>>
>> When I follow your steps and go to Title Mix in the cam, it shows one that I created via the cam and it says there is another one but the image shows as an "X" and you can't select it.
>>
>> I made sure the image size was 640x480 and am puzzled what I missed.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>> Thanks for your efforts. -->>>
>>
>> I am having the same problem Rob mentions above, with the unselectable "X"-file. Is there a solution to this? The truth is out there...
>> Would love your help with this if you have a few moments.
> Thanks
>> again
>> for the helpful tutorial. It'll be a very useful feature once I get it to work!
>>
>> :)
>> Noka




I hope this info is useful to those who are having an issue with this feature.

Tustin

I bought a GL2 a couple of days ago (woohoo) and I think I found out the problem with the mysterious "X" when the Title doens't show up in the camera. Be sure that after you save the document as a .JPG, you are then prompted to save the file at a certain quality. I choose the best quality (12). Then before you click OK, be sure to select "Standard". My photoshop files were always set to progressive scan. If you guys already figured this out, then Well done! If not then I hope this helps someone!

It is late for me right now, so if this didn't make any sense then I'm sorry =)

Thanks for the great tip Jonny.

Tustin Larson

If you ever were to save that into a quicktime file it would be greatly appreciated by the mac using community.

I am pleased to announce that I now have a Quicktime version available as well as a plain text version available for you to download/read.

I have emailed Chris with the links, so hopefully we will see links on the SOWGL2 site.

I was not able to keep the file size of the QT movie down, so I split it into 2 parts.

http://www.ccpronline.com/tutorial/titlemixpart1.mov 16.7mb
http://www.ccpronline.com/tutorial/titlemixpart2.mov 20.6mb

The text file can be downloaded here:
http://www.ccpronline.com/tutorial/Title Mix Function Tutorial.rtf 8.5kb

I have also moved all of the other TMF stuff into this new /tutorial folder.

I am putting together a .zip file with some template style lower thirds, and some other titling backgrounds for you. All you will have to do is transfer them to the card.

Please send me some designs if you want. The more the merry-er!!

If you have any questions please email me, tlarson@cathedralcity.gov

Keep on title-mixing,
Tustin Larson

I was reminded last night by email that I have not uploaded the correct 16:9 matte yet. So this morning I finally did. You can find it here http://www.ccpronline.com/tutorial/USR00002.jpg

Thanx,
Tustin

P.S.
Chris,
Just wondering if you are interested in hosting the Title Mix QT files? The IT guys are starting to grumble again. =)

Hello everyone,

My position with the City that I work for will be coming to a screeching halt come June 13 (due to budget cuts). I would like to thank all of you for the emails you have sent regarding the Title Mix Function. I will continue to answer questions/comments about the Tutorial, But you will have to reach me at my new address:

homevideo2dvd@hotmail.com

On a lighter note, the decision to downsize me has built quite a fire under my britches for getting my own company started. So, www.tklproductions.com will be coming soon. YaaaaY!

Thanks again everyone, and keep those emails coming!

Tustin Larson
TKL Productions

Sorry to hear of your troubles, Tustin. But, if it's any consolation, such incidents keep us from becoming stale and often lead to more interesting challenges.

Don't forget to change the email address in your "User CP", above.

Ho! Been there done that! - If you're involved in the arts - guilty - this goes with the territory. Not saying you were or have been, but I've found the options to challenge myself and where I want to be sometimes - not often - far more rewarding. - Sorry matey . . . keep in touch with us . . .

Oh yeah . . "Downsize This!" a nifty book by that scrouge of the Corp.Inc. countryside, Michael Moore. Get and at leasat have a few "Oh yes sireees!!"

Grazie

Is the Quicktime version of this available any more? Or the text file?

Thanks!

Tustin has been away from the forum since July, 2003 and it looks like his server is gone, too.

We still have the .WMV version here at the link posted by Chris earlier in this thread.

I recreated all 3 of the letterbox mattes but used 720x480 instead of 640x480 as the video says. The 16:9 matte match the guides EXACTLY. Worked great. So your mattes do not have to be 640 x480 in order for them to work. In fact, the ones you can download from Canon come in at 768 x 576 (which is the same ratio as 640x480).

Ok, while creating the 16:9 matte in 720 x 480 made it match perfectly, you do need to create mattes other than black bars in the 640x480 (1.333) ratio (same as canon provides). Creating a logo in 720x480 will make it appear squashed on the video while 640x480 maintains the correct aspect. I have shot tape with the 720x480 16:9 matte and it is beautiful! So... for letterbox, either way works, for logos or text, use 640x480.

Sounds cool. . . So you can use the matte as a guide when shooting in 16:9 mode? Have you tested it? Is it accurate (frame-wise)? Can you post it somewhere for download somewhere?

Thanks!

I don't have a spot to post them, but will gladly e-mail them to anyone.

Please send them to me, Marty, and I'll put 'em on the site for public downloading. Many thanks!

Here's a download link for all 3 files Marty created:

http://group101sf.com/gl2_ntsc_title_letterbox.zip

I'll leave them there indefinitely . . .

Marty's instructions:

When using these templates don't shoot in 16:9 mode. Just shoot in normal mode and use the title mix function to add them to your shot. It works great. If you open this file it will at first appear all black. The upper and lower bars are RGB 12,12,12 but the middle is RGB 0,0,0,. The GL2 will key out the center section.

Thanks!

This looks good while you shoot and while you edit, however I ran into trouble.

After I exported my video out of Vegas in Widescreen mode.

AKA - Render - DVD - 24P Widescreen

The footage that used the title mix function comes out completely wrong. Basically it shows on my 16x9 Sony HDTV as a 4x3 letterboxed movie, unlike the rest of the movie, like titles and such. which fills the entire television as it should.

So, all in all I have to use the 16x9 ratio in Vegas on top of the title mix anyways, so I don't see the benefit of using the title mix function. I have to crop off the footage anyhow, ya see.

the benefit would be better framing... instead of shooting with a horridly looking stretched image on the LCD or Viewfinder, you can shoot with the correct image proportion while shooting... of course you should crop it in post :)

but then again, you can also use the 16:9 guides instead of this (title mix) option...