Hi DrDre, I’d be interested to hear more detail if you were able to share on the specific processes as to exactly how you’re carrying out this work - to confirm, are you using AI (Topaz?) to upscale the original 1080p extended edition FOTR Blu-Ray to 4k and then recolouring the film or are you just recolouring the more recent 4k release of the film?
If it is the former, I’d be keen to understand specifically why you’d upscale the original Blu Ray version of the film and then recolour it as a pose to just recolouring the newer official 4k scans - on the face of it, sounds like it would be more work, so keen to understand the benefit.
The new 4K scans are just 2K upscales with a ton of extra DNR. As a consequence they have less detail than the previous bluray releases. My process starts with regrading the film. Then I use a custom Topaz AI algo to get rid of the aliasing, which is present in the EE bluray. Finally, I use another custom Topaz AI algo to upscale the film, which enhances the detail in the film. Right now I’m about 90% with the colors, so I should be getting to step 2 pretty soon.