video Any way to correct/filter out noise caused by digital zoom?

[jenjen171995]

Hello guys, I filmed some interviews using these cheap Coke can video cameras my boss bought not long ago (he pretty much just saw "4k" at less than $100 and clicked Buy Now). I knew digital zoom is horrendous but it was the only way we could film the interview without the camera being right in their face. I really wish now that I had chosen to just zoom in during post instead, that would have at least given me more room to work in. But now I have this footage that is really grainy and blurred. My boss doesn't seem to care too much, since this is all we have and we already knew we couldn't reshoot. So if this is the way i have to work with this footage, I'll accept my losses as a learning moment and move on. But the perfectionist in me is still screaming that there must be a way to at least make it blend better than just multicolored, popcorn-bouncing pixels everywhere. I've tried de-noise filters, grain fixes, smoothing, etc. Nothing even touches it. And I have no idea how it happened, but the resolution is also set at 3840x2160. I had to set the quality to 1080p (I couldnt work with 4k in these cameras due to extreme flicker issues with the lighting we had).
I may sound like a complete dummy to some, but I just need to make sure i have thought of every single thing i could maneuver through and then accept defeat.
95% of the time I am working in FCPX, but I also have Premiere Pro I mostly use for more in-tune fixes.
If anyone can provide any helpful advice, it would be very much appreciated!

 

[CelticRambler]

I've thought long and hard about this question since yesterday and ... ... ... nope, if you've tried the basic noise-removal tools, there's probably not much more you can do to get clean footage. You might be able to get a less distracting image by desaturating it, perhaps to the point of going fully monochrome, but chances are that'll just give you a really old-CCTV-grainy look.

The other option would be to drastically reduce the resolution and tell your boss that it's 480p or nothing. In this case, you might be able to cheat a bit and make up a grid of four smaller images, or surround the clips with a PowerPoint type presentation.
Failing that, go mad with your VFX, add noise (the more psychedelic, the better! ) and set it to a hyperactive techno beat ...

There are some techniques used in processing still images that can repair this kind of artefact, but you'd be looking at dealing with it almost frame by frame. If your boss buys cheap gear and isn't bothered by the roughness of the rough cut, it wouldn't be worth traumatising your retinas over it!

 

[Sweetie]

As a general rule. Garbage in = garbage out.

If the easy and cheap fixes don't work, then you're up for the expensive fixes. I'd just cut the shot or use something else.

If the client doesn't care, you need to learn to let it go and move on to the next project. I've had a client about an hour into an edit demand to see what's done. He approved a pulldown as a "Yep, that's good. Upload it as is, thanks" I was horrified... for about 2 seconds. Exported, uploaded, got paid and moved on. It's part of an editors life.