u/maxekmek — reddlx

Why do people go half the speed limit on the A4232/Cardiff Bay Link Rd?

This has bugged me for so long now and I genuinely can't get my head around why so many people are dangerously slow on the dual carriageway, particularly on the bridge going over Cardiff Bay. I'd understand if once in a while someone didn't realise the speed limit was no longer 50 when exiting the tunnel, but there are plenty of reminders. That doesn't explain why someone was doing 35mph just now, nor why so many are doing 40-50 in the opposite direction. It drives me insane - someone please make it make sense.

reddit.com

u/maxekmek — 13 days ago

▲ 4 r/VR180Film

Is there a way to fake spatial audio for an interview film?

Hi there,

I have been shooting interviews as part of a VR series in 180 3D, and I've been struggling to find a way to situate the interviewee's position in space relative to the viewer, even if it's just pinning them to a particular direction.

Has anyone found a way to do this? I thought there was a way to do it in Audition (I'm editing the film in Premiere), but no luck so far. I'd like the interview mic to behave like a spatial audio mic that would normally be on the camera, so that if the viewer looks to the left, they hear the speaker to their right.

The current mono setup hasn't been a dealbreaker, but it does fall short of my own hopes/expectations. I rather hope I'm missing some simple workaround that hasn't occurred to me yet.

Thanks!

Edit: I think I've found a solution, though I haven't got as far as testing the export phase yet or on a headset.

It turns out I needed a plugin to convert the stereo/mono signal into ambisonics, and then a Premiere effect that's applied to the mix to let me test the spatial effect in stereo headphones.

That plugin is called StereoEncoder and it's part of a whole pack that seems to be available for free (Sennheiser and another company used to make a bunch, but they're all discontinued and I couldn't get them to work). I might test two or three others for reverb, that sort of thing. If the sequence you're creating for your VR film is multi-channel, 4 channel, adaptive, you can put a mono/stereo audio track on there and then apply these effects at track (rather than clip) level.

I didn't have to configure anything in the plugin itself once it had been applied, except changing the ambisonic 'order' - it needs to be at "1st" for four channels. If you listen to the track at this stage, it will sound messy and high-gain, but it's because it isn't set up to be listened to in this way. For previewing and doing your cleanup, you need to add the effect called "Binauralizer - Ambisonics" which is under the "Special" sub-menu of the track effects list.

If you turn the pan wheel that appears when you've selected the Binauralizer effect, the speaker will sound like they're coming from the opposite direction; if you pan (look) to the right, the speaker goes more and more to the left.

When it comes to exporting, you have to remember to deactivate this effect (apparently Premiere warns you to).

u/maxekmek — 1 month ago

▲ 3 r/VR180Film

Looking for the right field monitor

Hi everyone!

We're shooting on the Canon R5 MkII, and while I requested a Shinobi I think when we were building the wishlist, the budget has meant we're just using my much cheaper monitor that I use on my A7III. For a cheap monitor, it does plenty that I'm happy with, such as false colour, peaking, zoom with two axis controls, de-logging etc.

Where it falls short, and I suspect it isn't unusual in this, is VR-friendly features.

The films we're making are technically simple - just sat down interviews with very little movement, so I can reliably focus at the start by opening up, use the focus assist, then stop down a bit until I'm happy with exposure. I might know it's in focus, but if I want to zoom in, I'm basically zooming into the 1080p image coming in over HDMI, so it doesn't look great and is certainly far from ideal for my director. It doesn't de-squeeze the fisheye view, doesn't offer 3D playback using an anaglyph mode, nor can it just display one eye.

Now I don't know if there's a monitor out there that even does one of those features; my assumption right now is that we'd be better off with a larger 4K (input - as opposed to 1080p which I think my current cheapie is limited to) monitor considering the R5 supports that output over HDMI, but I'd appreciate any suggestions in this area. Are you all just using 4K or 1080p standard monitors? Or have you found something a bit more specific/niche that caters more to 3D/VR filmmaking?

Just had another look, and it sounds like the Atomos Shinobi 7 RX might be the best bet for an upgrade, but still having a look around. Having camera control is quite a tempting feature considering the body is at the other end of an extension pole.

Cheers!

Edit: I checked the model of my existing monitor to confirm the specs; it's an Osee T5+, 5.5" screen with 4K input, so I was wrong on that front. I'm not sure how much improvement I can expect from a 7" monitor considering the format I'm working in, but I'm having a browse anyway.

reddit.com

u/maxekmek — 2 months ago

▲ 5 r/UbereatsUK

Has anyone been less busy since the verify your bag prompt?

I don't know if I'm being paranoid or impatient, but the day after I was informed that my 40L insulated bag wasn't correct, I've been sat here for 40 minutes with no trips, despite living in a hotspot with several supermarkets and fast food places in walking distance and other places a few minutes' drive away.

Has anyone noticed a change?

reddit.com

u/maxekmek — 2 months ago

▲ 16 r/UbereatsUK

Am I wasting time taking McDonald's orders?

The only business to make me wait so far, and it's horrendous. I get the fare, but almost always end up waiting for at least 15-20 minutes. The orders are flagged as not ready, but I don't know exactly how that benefits me if I'm just sat here when I could be doing other drops.

If it matters, I'm a driver and this has been consistent across several McDo branches.

reddit.com

u/maxekmek — 2 months ago