Making HD video look like black and white film - Version 2

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Scotness
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Making HD video look like black and white film - Version 2

Post by Scotness »

Okay for everyone who remembers this thread
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23288

here's my second attempt - I've added a grain effect which looks alright - but the youtube compression pretty well kills it all :-(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRe5g97YMUM

it also seems to mess with the contrast as well -- I'll post a frame grab to give a better idea:

Image

but you can see from this I probably haven't got the contrast right anyway - what I'm going for is something really durgey though, to suit the tone of the film - it doesn't have to replicate exactly black and white 16mm film - but it does have to have a stark raw quality

Anyway any thoughts appreciated

Scot
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Re: Making HD video look like black and white film - Version

Post by Scotness »

The process for the grain is exactly what I used on Hold Me TIght - detailed here

http://www.mango-a-gogo.com/hold/post.htm

-- also right click on that image above and press view image to see the whole thing - it's actually a 2.4:1 image

Scot
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Re: Making HD video look like black and white film - Version

Post by BrentPowers »

Not bad, really. If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd believe it was a very high quality 35mm film, at least viewing it on my little Mac. I'll try it again later on the HD TV. Last night I watched Guy Maddin's beautiul Dracula, which he had obviously shot using digital, then applied an app like the one I've tried with iMovie. Completely unconvincing, escpecially in scenes where he has obviously used film (super 8?) and cut them in with the digital. Of course there is a bit of the post modernist in Maddin. He wants you to be aware of the materials, and does a lot of pastiche and recherche stuff looking back on silent film. Even so, I love his work.
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Re: Making HD video look like black and white film - Version

Post by Andersens Tears »

Can you do anything about loosing the etxra video field?
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Re: Making HD video look like black and white film - Version

Post by Scotness »

Thanks Brent :-)
Andersens - yes I've got to find a different programme to do the mts->avi conversion -- I just haven't looked into it yet - the one I'm using seems to assume that the input is always interlaced (even though I shot progressive) and seems to automatically do some kind of frame blending to de-interlace it. I'll have a look around - anyone have any reccomendations too?

Also I need to do something about the contrast after that grain is added - while the image is still in colour -- it seems to look a bit tinny (for want of a better way of putting it) and this seems to come through to the final black and white as well. I think the problem could be that my grain layer is all greys - if I just made it a bit more contrasty before adding it to the original it might do away with that problem -- I'll try anyway

Thanks for looking

Scot
Read my science fiction novel The Forest of Life at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D38AV4K
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