Magic Bullet2 vs Rendering Time at DVinfo.net

Richard Wakefield · August 18th, 2006, 02:38 AM

I've been trying to achieve Magic Bullet-esque presets for my wedding videos, but they are never 'quite' the same, so now i'll admit defeat and say I prefer the 'Bullet' look!!!

Ok, I know the score with Magic Bullet2 being apparantly 'quicker' with rendering than version1, and can acheive real-time previews with high-end graphics cards but here is my question:

Does a high end graphics card speed up the actual rendering time or is that solely down to your main processor? (I have a 3.2ghz PC, with Radeon 9800 pro... I will upgrade to nVidia soon!)

cheers (and thanks to Marc Peters for additional advice on this)

Richard

Mike Oveson · August 18th, 2006, 07:55 AM

From what I have read/seen/etc the render time is still mostly the same. Red Giant claims much faster render times, but when it comes to real world performance I've never seen anything significantly quicker than v1.

I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but you can achieve very nice (similar) looks to Magic Bullet using color correction in your NLE. Vegas can render extremely nice looking effects without the huge render hit that MB has. Just something to think about. I like MB too for certain things, but it generally depends on how much render time is available.

Peter Jefferson · August 19th, 2006, 04:29 AM

i agree with mike, on the outset, technically speaking, it SHOULD be faster, however from all the reports ive heard from people specifically upgrading their GFX cards and SW to PCIe + MB2, the additional render time is really substandard.

IMO, there are many filter chain possibilites with almost every NLE.. for teh Misfire film look, Edius has the BEST old film filter. It also has a nice soft focus filter, however this is overused...
For glows and soft colours, blurs, slowmotion as well as curves, levels and correction, Vegas rules the roost. For colour change and colour range, PP2, runs @10 bit, so gradation should theoretically be improved upon the rest of the NLEs in this range. I hardly ever use MB now, as i took some time out to create chains basd on specific looks which i use quite often.
I also use MB Misfire on teh odd occasion, however, as mentioned Edius Pro 3 has a film filter which allows for a similar type of manipualtion of colour and gradation/age of the film.

Rick Steele · August 19th, 2006, 10:31 AM

In my opinion... the quest for the true "film look" is a pipe dream. It's still digital - will always look digital to me. MB does excels at color "trickery" but nothing most NLE's can't achieve with some patience. It's certainly not worth the 24+ hour rendering times to me.

Just my opinion mind you...

John McManimie · August 19th, 2006, 10:59 PM

It seems that people are confusing two products, "Magic Bullet Suite 2" and "Magic Bullet Editors 2"

Magic Bullet Suite performs changes to the frame-rate (deinterlacing to 24P/30P) and look characteristics (Look Suite color control and presets) to mimic the look of film.

Magic Bullet Editors provides the film-look color control and presets from the Magic Bullet Look Suite plug-in in your NLE.

Magic Bullet Editors (Look Suite) is indeed a LOT faster with the right video adapter. The non-color-control functions such as deinterlacing and deartifacting still take a long time.

Mike Oveson · August 21st, 2006, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John McManimie

It seems that people are confusing two products, "Magic Bullet Suite 2" and "Magic Bullet Editors 2"

Magic Bullet Editors (Look Suite) is indeed a LOT faster with the right video adapter. The non-color-control functions such as deinterlacing and deartifacting still take a long time.

I appreciate your separation of the two products, but I've still found the color grading from MB to take quite a while, regardless of whether you're using the Editors or the Suite version. I have After Effects and have compared the render times from the Suite to the render times using Vegas and the Editors version and they're about the same. Just to clarify, that is only doing the color grading, not any frame rate changes or deinterlacing/deartifacting. Personally I think Peter has the right idea. Use your CC tools in your NLE and create similar looks. You'll save render time AND learn much more about what is actually creating a certain look, making you a better artist.

Richard Wakefield · August 21st, 2006, 09:12 AM

hi all, thanks for the advice and comparisons....

i think for the moment I have been disuaded from buying Magic Bullet (Suite/Editor) until a super-dooper fast version is released (hmmm.)

As I said, I can achieve very similar results using Premiere with colour correcting etc if I really try, so I guess I'll carry on that way....

I wait long enough to render the weddings as it is...i mean I even managed to get through a weeks+ of ironing while I waited for the last one to finish!!!

cheers

August 18th, 2006, 02:38 AM	#1
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	Magic Bullet2 vs Rendering Time I've been trying to achieve Magic Bullet-esque presets for my wedding videos, but they are never 'quite' the same, so now i'll admit defeat and say I prefer the 'Bullet' look!!! Ok, I know the score with Magic Bullet2 being apparantly 'quicker' with rendering than version1, and can acheive real-time previews with high-end graphics cards but here is my question: Does a high end graphics card speed up the actual rendering time or is that solely down to your main processor? (I have a 3.2ghz PC, with Radeon 9800 pro... I will upgrade to nVidia soon!) cheers (and thanks to Marc Peters for additional advice on this) Richard

August 19th, 2006, 10:59 PM	#5
John McManimie Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 314	It seems that people are confusing two products, "Magic Bullet Suite 2" and "Magic Bullet Editors 2" Magic Bullet Suite performs changes to the frame-rate (deinterlacing to 24P/30P) and look characteristics (Look Suite color control and presets) to mimic the look of film. Magic Bullet Editors provides the film-look color control and presets from the Magic Bullet Look Suite plug-in in your NLE. Magic Bullet Editors (Look Suite) is indeed a LOT faster with the right video adapter. The non-color-control functions such as deinterlacing and deartifacting still take a long time. Last edited by John McManimie; August 20th, 2006 at 03:52 PM.

August 18th, 2006, 07:55 AM	#2
Mike Oveson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ogden, UT Posts: 349	From what I have read/seen/etc the render time is still mostly the same. Red Giant claims much faster render times, but when it comes to real world performance I've never seen anything significantly quicker than v1. I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but you can achieve very nice (similar) looks to Magic Bullet using color correction in your NLE. Vegas can render extremely nice looking effects without the huge render hit that MB has. Just something to think about. I like MB too for certain things, but it generally depends on how much render time is available.

August 19th, 2006, 04:29 AM	#3
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	i agree with mike, on the outset, technically speaking, it SHOULD be faster, however from all the reports ive heard from people specifically upgrading their GFX cards and SW to PCIe + MB2, the additional render time is really substandard. IMO, there are many filter chain possibilites with almost every NLE.. for teh Misfire film look, Edius has the BEST old film filter. It also has a nice soft focus filter, however this is overused... For glows and soft colours, blurs, slowmotion as well as curves, levels and correction, Vegas rules the roost. For colour change and colour range, PP2, runs @10 bit, so gradation should theoretically be improved upon the rest of the NLEs in this range. I hardly ever use MB now, as i took some time out to create chains basd on specific looks which i use quite often. I also use MB Misfire on teh odd occasion, however, as mentioned Edius Pro 3 has a film filter which allows for a similar type of manipualtion of colour and gradation/age of the film.

August 19th, 2006, 10:31 AM	#4
Rick Steele Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Denver, Colorado USA Posts: 654	In my opinion... the quest for the true "film look" is a pipe dream. It's still digital - will always look digital to me. MB does excels at color "trickery" but nothing most NLE's can't achieve with some patience. It's certainly not worth the 24+ hour rendering times to me. Just my opinion mind you...

August 21st, 2006, 09:12 AM	#7
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	hi all, thanks for the advice and comparisons.... i think for the moment I have been disuaded from buying Magic Bullet (Suite/Editor) until a super-dooper fast version is released (hmmm.) As I said, I can achieve very similar results using Premiere with colour correcting etc if I really try, so I guess I'll carry on that way.... I wait long enough to render the weddings as it is...i mean I even managed to get through a weeks+ of ironing while I waited for the last one to finish!!! cheers