grading test

M

mattsand

Veteran
i think i've mentioned before that i'm experimenting with custom curves in order to get as flat an image as possible for easier grading. here's a test, i'm very happy that there's so much info that can be pulled out compared to, for example, hdv, and that by compressing them in the middle it seems like you get less artifacts.

/matt
 

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i don't know if it's the screen grab function or the jpeg compression, but there are actually no clipped blacks. just disregard that, the rest looks like i intended.

/matt
 
Sorry I didn`t catch what you are shooting on & format? What APP are you grading on? And what is your grading environment? Monitor etc ... Very very impressive.

Cheers,

DogDay.
 
d90, obviously. :) i'm grading with colorista and apply a "custom curve" that basically undoes the camera curve to bring back the contrast with mb looks. i'm using a calibrated sony pvm-20 for reference.

i'll post the curve when i'm done experimenting. i've recenty changed it a bit to not flatten the highlights as much, i only lost some of the range at thevery top with no real benefit with the curve you're seeing now.

/matt
 
Please do when you are ready...You have very good taste, a rare quality indeed...I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Cheers,

DogDay.
 
actually it should be called make it look a lot not like the mk2 but way flatter more like the red one so that you can make it look like the mk2 or whatever in post. :)

/matt
 
l1v32r1d3BmX said:
is that a no curve Vs. custom curve or is there some post?
Click to expand...


I believe obvious answer is the image on the left is the custom curve(amazing!), and the image on the right is an extreme colour correction to show what detail can be pulled out.

I'm impressed by how well the detail is still there.

Would you need to apply many different custom curves to get as flat image as possible or will 1 curve fit all situations? ie: a custom curve for a day light, Then another curve for night, then another for interior, tungsten, and another for low light?
 
Can someone please explain this procedure of flattening first and why that is important.


DogDay.
 
mattsand said:
actually it should be called make it look a lot not like the mk2 but way flatter
Click to expand...

??? Maybe you can explain what the images are that you uploaded. I see a before and after set of pictures where the 2nd one is much more contrasty and oddly colored than the original. Are you saying these are not before and after pictures? Are they "after and before" pictures?
 
Is the neutral preset not truly the most neutral? Or are you flattening out the heel and toe of the curves to preserve detail in the shadows and highlights?
 
bandana dan got it right, the first is directly from the camera with the custom curve and the other is after grading. i did a rather extreme grade in order to see what i could pull out of such a flat image, even if you don't like the result aesthetically you can tell that it's technically good even after that much correction. the theory is that the camera adds noise and blocking to the shadow areas and clips the highlights both due to compression and conversion from linear raw to 8-bit video gamma, and by doing this i'm trying to avoid both, plus it's always easier to grade a flatter image no matter what. the test is to see if you can recreate a contrasty image, and my result shows that yes you can. i think the result is much cleaner than if you would have shot with a high contrast to begin with.

/matt
 
Robert Altman said:
Is the neutral preset not truly the most neutral?
Click to expand...
i'm not trying to make it natural, i'm trying to create an image that's easier to grade. yes, it involves brightening the shadows and smoothing out the highlight roll off. i've worked a lot with film material before, as well as raw images from digital cameras like the red one, and i'm trying to make the "raw" d90 image resemble those. please note that this is only a good idea if you have a good eye and know how to grade, and want to, the unaltered image looks rather crappy using this curve.

/matt
 
mattsand said:
bandana dan got it right, the first is directly from the camera with the custom curve and the other is after grading. i did a rather extreme grade in order to see what i could pull out of such a flat image, even if you don't like the result aesthetically you can tell that it's technically good even after that much correction. the theory is that the camera adds noise and blocking to the shadow areas and clips the highlights both due to compression and conversion from linear raw to 8-bit video gamma, and by doing this i'm trying to avoid both, plus it's always easier to grade a flatter image no matter what. the test is to see if you can recreate a contrasty image, and my result shows that yes you can. i think the result is much cleaner than if you would have shot with a high contrast to begin with.

/matt
Click to expand...
arghhh! now you tell me. I've been shooting everything with the vivid curve with high contrast. I'm not too bothered by the artifacts as I'm gonna use Zak's trick and add noise in post.....but I do want to do some grading....oh well you live and learn.

Have you campared how much the D90 is compressing your custom curve shots vs the presets? I'm finding the bit rate on my footage varies from 7mbits to 25mbits
 
Are you making a curve that is the reverse of the normal film curve--making the black and white end of the curve steeper to leave less pixels in the extremes of contrast, then reintroducing contrast by crushing blacks and boosting highlights in post??

This makes sense to get more pixels into the safe middle zones (as long as you add the contrast back in post).
 
Robert: exactly. Thank you all for your comments. As for adding noise i do that too, really breaks up those blocks nicely. I learned this from one of the top colorists in sweden, he made an analog dub of all low quality source material like hdv before grading it because "it adds some subtle noise that i can pick up just as if it was real detail". I've found that the fcp reduce banding filter works really well too.
 
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