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GOUT Technicolor regrade (single pass) (* unfinished project * - lots of info) — Page 2

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Could it be that after all this time, the GOUT actually has accurate (albeit faded) color timing???

I mean, if you could reproduce the technicolor look throughout just by adding the idiosyncrasies we know come with tech prints, could it stand to reason that GOUT is actually fairly close to standard print colors?

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I don’t think the GOUT colors themselves are accurate. The skin tones are generally very red. My theory is, that the interpositive used for the GOUT master was pretty (red?) faded by 1993. So, they balanced the colors to look descent for the release.

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Even with a LUT applied, the GOUT presumably needs to be filtered before people find it watchable (unless they want just to look at the colors). Has there been any advance on g-force’s latest script since it was posted? It’s been a while.

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Chewtobacca said:

Even with a LUT applied, the GOUT presumably needs to be filtered before people find it watchable (unless they want just to look at the colors). Has there been any advance on g-force’s latest script since it was posted? It’s been a while.

I’m doing this mostly to create a good color reference. Also the color grading actually reduces the noise to an extend. So, it should be watchable, but in the end it will serve as a stepping stone for higher quality releases.

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Here are three more frames (not final, saturation & contrast may be adjusted):

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DrDre said:
I’m doing this mostly to create a good color reference.

Got it! I figured that some people will probably want to watch it through as well though, so it wouldn’t hurt to clean up the GOUT a bit in the process.

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Here are three final example frames before I go to bed (again not final) 😉:

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I’ve adjusted the contrast and saturation levels such that they are more to my liking (not final):

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Here’s the opening crawl, and a few more Tantive IV shots:

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So close. Is this just with 1 single LUT and one pass regrade?

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dlvh said:

So close. Is this just with 1 single LUT and one pass regrade?

Yes, it is.

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I think you really should have a look at the Technidisc transfer that’s available at the anatomical location. It is pretty much what you are after, that is, a saturated color version of the GOUT.

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The Bull’s Eyed Womprat said:

I think you really should have a look at the Technidisc transfer that’s available at the anatomical location. It is pretty much what you are after, that is, a saturated color version of the GOUT.

No, that’s not what I’m after. Saturation levels are still up for debate. I’m interested in reproducing the technicolor print colors, and creating a color reference for that purpose. The colors of the Technidisc are closer, but not really representative of the technicolor print colors. Also, the color balance of the earlier transfers is all over the place, and the R2 canyon scenes have been altered.

The hypothesis for this regrade is, that the colors of the GOUT, while not accurate were globally corrected. As such, they contain the color relationships of the original interpositive. As a consequence you can retrieve the entire technicolor print color timing to a good degree of accuracy, by matching a few key shots to technicolor print references with the color matching tool. My main color reference here is the Obi-Wan/Luke shot, which Mike Verta has confirmed is 98% accurate in terms of hues of a projected technicolor print, and to a lesser degree his Leia on Tantive IV color grading, and the 70mm shot of Tarkin in the Death Star conference room. The rest of the colors pretty much just come out automatically. For example the yellowish/green color in the trash compactor scene, which is seen in all technicolor print scans, is a result of this methodology, as are the blue walls of the Death Star interior, which Mike Verta maintains is how they should look.

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Yeah, as I’ve had more time to look at your screenshots, the colors are phenomenal. I see what you mean about the colors, I just thought the Technidisc was worth mentioning as you posted some corrected definitive collection LD shots. But your colors are far more accurate to a Tech as far as I can tell.

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I’m seeing a pretty decent green tint in every single correction shot Dr Dre, making the blues cyan… obi wan’s hair green, etc. It’s consistent enough that I think your green channel is just a touch too hot.

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Dreamaster said:

I’m seeing a pretty decent green tint in every single correction shot Dr Dre, making the blues cyan… obi wan’s hair green, etc. It’s consistent enough that I think your green channel is just a touch too hot.

That’s technicolor for you my friend. Technicolor prints are green shifted, and as the technicolor references for this regrade have the typical technicolor green shift, so does the regrade. It is something I don’t want to fix, as it is supposed to be present in a technicolor regrade.

Watch the Senator print photos, and you’ll notice Luke’s green hair, and the cyan walls:

…or the green in the blacks:

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Am I really the only one who LOVES the greens?

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DrDre said:

Dreamaster said:

I’m seeing a pretty decent green tint in every single correction shot Dr Dre, making the blues cyan… obi wan’s hair green, etc. It’s consistent enough that I think your green channel is just a touch too hot.

That’s technicolor for you my friend. Technicolor prints are green shifted, and as the technicolor references for this regrade have the typical technicolor green shift, so does the regrade. It is something I don’t want to fix, as it is supposed to be present in a technicolor regrade.

Watch the Senator print photos, and you’ll notice Luke’s green hair, and the cyan walls:

…or the green in the blacks:

OHHH… ok, now I get what you’re after. Completely unfaded, gamma corrected for video, 1977 Technicolor colors that are stable across the entire film. Warts and all.

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This is all quite surprising Dre! It appears that all the reels of the GOUT had the same amount of fading, and that only one color correction was applied to fix it. I’m so surprised that they didn’t re-balance all the shots, but what you’re showing here is so convincing. I really think this is an amazing discovery! Get this thing done and then get the Blu Ray matched to this!

-G

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I extracted these from the Tech IB scan sample.

The colors are similar, but no quite so much green in the shadows behind Han. And the stormtrooper armor is more a true white than yellowish.

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And while I’m at it, here are the other two shots that we have been discussing here and elsewhere.


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While very possibly technically accurate, the regrade doesn’t look enjoyable to me with that much green.
Although I guess that this topic is more about accuracy than aesthetics…

Darth Id on ‘Why “Ben”?’:

And while we’re at it, we need to figure out why they kept calling Mark Hamill’s character “Luke Skywalker,” since it’s my subjective opinion that his name is actually Schnarzle Shnuzzle.  It just doesn’t make sense!

Damn you George Lucas for never explaining why they all keep calling Schnarzle “Luke”!

Damn You!!!