Power of Video Frame Grab

Last Sunday we were at Te Papa for a Chinese New Year cultural performance and we had the rare chance to watch and listen to Ms Zhang Lei performing on her Guzheng. To say she is very good would be an understatement! Sweet sound from heaven indeed!

Would you believe this was the only shot I took of her with my DSLR? Why? Because I was busy filming her in video mode, with my Canon G9 point and shoot!


When I came home and watch the video, I was disappointed; the sound of music was a far cry from what I heard! And the NOISE from the audience was drowning out the music! But wait! Why don't I use some pictures from the video!

Listen up boys and girls, this is how I did it ;)

I open the movie in my QuickTime player (I use Mac), I stop the movie playing and go back to the beginning.

I drag the corner of the QT player to make it as large as possible.

Using the "home" and "end" keys I am able to advance or rewind the movie ONE FRAME at a time.

I look for frame that I like, making sure it is not blur; this is a MOVING PICTURES after all... DUH!

Once I found a frame I like, I hit the command+shift+3 keys on my Mac keyboard. This keys combo will launch my Snapz Pro X which allow me to draw a selection on the frame and "grab" it.

If you do not have Snapz Pro X, you can use the grab utility that came with the OS.

Here are my results:












 
Do you see the power of video frame grabbing now?

Famous Last Words:

My frame grab technique provided my neighbour the only colour prints record of their daughter's Christianising ceremony. The photographer who was taking photos at the event lost his camera! Jut as well I was shooting video with my little G9!

If the G9 can get those results, think of what a DSLR like the Canon 5D Mk2 can do! :)

Footnote:

Zhang Lei, graduated from Tianjin Conservatory of Music in 1998, majoring in Guzheng Performance and obtained her Master’s Degree of Guzheng. Performance and Teaching in Tianjin Conservatory of Music in 2005, being the first postgraduate student majoring in Guzheng in Fujian Province.

She has given performances in many countries and region such as the United States, Russia, Japan, Indonesia, Turkey, Germany, Poland and Hong Kong. In 2006 she was invited to play solo at the Concert Commemorative of the 70th Anniversary of the Death of Mr. Lu Xun in Tohoku University.

In 2007 she gave a performance at the invitation of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Indonesia and the Penta’s Music School. In 2008 she went to Middle East Technical University in Turkey and University of Wroclaw in Poland to perform the Chinese ancient music solo at the plaque unveiling ceremony of the Confucius Institute.

In 2003 she threw a Zhang Lei Guzheng Recital and in 2005 a Zhang Lei Concert with Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, which was conducted by the famous Conductor Mdm. Zheng Xiaoying.

And here is the short 20 second video I used for those frame grabs.