Filter Techniques...

disjecta

disjecta

Lucky Duck
How would you guys feel about creating either a new section or a sticky that would be devoted to tricks and tips about achieving certain looks using filters...

Shaw just gave me a great tip using the unsharp mask filter and there are lots of times people are wondering how to achieve the Private Ryan look, etc., etc.

I think there is such a vast wealth of knowledge on this board that this could become a great resource for everyone.

What do you think?
 
Re: Filter Techniques...

I like that idea, it would be very informative to have a dedicated category pertaining to all that specific information.
 
Re: Filter Techniques...

Yes an excellent idea! Too often I am in need of something specific and I cannot find it. Even when I am not sure WHAT I am looking for exactly! It would be very useful to be able to read trhough a bunch of image enhancement techniques.

For starters I'll post the unsharp mask filter setup that I suggest to Disjecta:

"Digital Haze Burn"

Unsharp mask:
Amount: 16
Radius: 40
Threshold: 0

Effect: Helps bring DV/digital imaging alive by subtly enhancing contrast between pixels. Similar to a sharpening effect, this tends to just nudge the contrast a bit without clipping any of your image data. This effect is often used in pro still photography to help alleviate dull, muddy tones.

EDIT:

Not sure if we want to use this thread or create another.. feel free to move this info elsewhere though :).
 
Re: Filter Techniques...

Just thought of a few more that may be helpful to others out there. Nothing special really and often quite obvious; just tricks I've picked up from experimenting.

Contrast Masking

Duplicate footage
Invert duplicate
Set opacity as necessary

Effect: helps pull detail from high contrast scenes.


50% Grey Fill

Create a new layer
Fill with 50% grey
Change blending mode to "Color Dodge"
Adjust opacity as desired

Effect: Helps improve the tonal range of your image.


Reduce Noise

Apply a small gaussian blur the blue channel (or whichever channel has the most noise). Something around .5 should work depending on the amount and severity of the noise.

This can also work well for chroma in general to eliminate DV artifacts

I have a bunch more that are often used for still photography that I haven't tried with video yet. I'm going to go try a bunch of them and see what results I can produce... maybe make a PDF file with before and after shots and the process used.
 
Re: Filter Techniques...

This site gets better everyday! I think its a great idea because I know nothing, either.

:)
 
Re: Filter Techniques...

What a great resource it would be. As a relative newbie I've gleened most everything I [think] I need to know except filters, especially for exteriors using available.

May I suggest that we consider further breaking it down into subcategories such as:

~GENERAL (stickies)
[*]The DVD!
[*]Filter Basics
[*]Matteboxes/Filter Holders
[*]Neutral Density and Grad ND
[*]UV/Skylight
[*]Polarizing
[*]Other Misc. Filters

~SITUATIONAL
*Interiors
  • skin tones
  • flourescents
  • useful combinations
*Exteriors
  • overcast/flat
  • bright sun
  • haze
  • skin tones
  • useful combinations
~EFFECT FILTERS

Maybe it's too much. It might make it more accessible. Someone who knows filters can probably categorize better then me.
 
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