Info: My attempt at color correcting the GOUT (Outdated thread - though lots of info) — Page 4

Luke's lightsabre is blue - that must be an error,or ? Everybody knows that his lightsaber should be green or white, or white with bright cyan border, or bright white with huge cyan border or ... :-)

pittrek said:

Luke's lightsabre is blue - that must be an error,or ? Everybody knows that his lightsaber should be green or white, or white with bright cyan border, or bright white with huge cyan border or ... :-)

:)

Asaki said:

You_Too said:

Now if there was only a way to completely remove smearing!

That's what I hate about projects like this: the screen caps always look so amazing, but then I remember that seeing it in motion is where the problem lies =/

Yeah unfortunately there's nothing I can do about it. :(

You_Too said:

And here comes another sample clip from SW: http://www.multiupload.com/J9TB5L2E54

For this clip I've used the latest settings + modded g-force script.

Well I think this looks really good, the colours are naturalistic - there's no jarringly over-bright or 'odd' colours, the colour improvement has brought out more fine details and added depth of field. The whole thing stays 'in tune' across the whole sequence. Because the image is not pin sharp perhaps you lose something of the full potential of improved colours but things like Luke's jacket at the 20 second mark looks incredibly lifelike. 

The best compliment I can pay this is I keep forgetting to examine the colours as I keep just following the scene.

Thanks Frank! Well of course it's not as sharp as the raw GOUT since I added g-force's script, but I did mod it a bit to keep a some sharpness. I added his script simply to try it out, and if you guys want the same clip but without anti-aliasing and motion stabilization I can reupload it.

Are you considering a longer form release of your versions outside the forums. I think a lot of people who are disappointed with the dullness of the Gout would consider these to have a preferable look. I know lots of people myself included are waiting for Harmy's V2 to drop and see how it changes the game but my view at the moment is the highest tech version doesnt invalidate earlier versions for those people in my generation who didnt grow up with HD and can still get enjoyment out of a "beat up" version. 

You_Too said:

Thanks Frank! Well of course it's not as sharp as the raw GOUT since I added g-force's script, but I did mod it a bit to keep a some sharpness. I added his script simply to try it out, and if you guys want the same clip but without anti-aliasing and motion stabilization I can reupload it.

Yes I would like to see the difference if you dont mind doing it over again :-)

(Just so I can better understand what g-force's script adds and takes away in this case)

Yeah I'm considering a release, but I gotta ask dark_jedi first in case he wants to use my color corrections in his project blu V2, because if he does, the quality of those will be so much better that releasing mine would probably be a waste of time. :)

And yeah I'll reupload that clip later, without g-force's script.

What g-force's script does is that it analyzes the movement in the picture, stabilizes the motion and flickering, and reduces some of the worst dust, scratches and grain. Anti-aliasing is added to reduce the jaggedness of edges. The result comes out with a slightly processed look, but with much reduced dust, scratches and jagged edges.

I'm using a slightly different anti-aliasing plugin than g-force did though, and I also set it's threshold a bit lower so it would still keep a bit of sharpness.

Here are some samples. In this first shot, compare the lines on the wall and wall panels.

In the second shot, compare the edges of the lights on top of the picture. You can also see a bit of the overall difference, though note that it looks much better in motion.

In the third shot, look at Obi-Wan's clothes, the helmet hanging behind him and the right side of the picture, and see how much g-force's script reduces the dust spots.

Thanks for posting this explanation and comparison shots. Its helpful to understand this stuff more clearly now.

This is tricky: I can see pros and cons for each. Without the modified G-force script and anti-aliasing you get more grit and a much reduced presence within the image but a touch more detail amongst the grit. With the G-force and anti-aliasing you get a less distorted and more lifelike image which is pleasing to the eye in some ways but is also a little too smooth and plastic-y to the eye also. This is a tough call to make - I think I'd have to watch the same clip with each setting over and over to see which my eyes tire of/adjust to more, to have a clear either/or position on this.

Exactly the way I think. But actually I think the most "annoying" thing about the raw GOUT is the image shake, and g-force's script does a good job on stabilizing that. Maybe there is a way to tweak the script so it keeps the grain and detail but reduces the shake? Gotta ask g-force.

Anyway, here's the same clip but without g-force's additional script: http://www.multiupload.com/OEW1F4QTZZ

You_Too said:

But actually I think the most "annoying" thing about the raw GOUT is the image shake, and g-force's script does a good job on stabilizing that. Maybe there is a way to tweak the script so it keeps the grain and detail but reduces the shake? Gotta ask g-force.

 

Well I've played the clips over a few times, switching between sections and for me the post-processing is an acceptable trade-off, the extra presence and easiness-on-the-eye trumps the more detailed/organic texture of its raw state. The thing is in its raw state it may be more natural but its just a bit too flat and lifeless, like trying to watch through a dirty window.

Putting aside the presence accurate colour settings add, in your judgement what adds the greater presence in the post-processing stage - is it the stabilization or the dirt removal - or both equally?

frank678 said:

Putting aside the presence accurate colour settings add, in your judgement what adds the greater presence in the post-processing stage - is it the stabilization or the dirt removal - or both equally?

I'd say the stabilization alone makes the movie much more pleasant. I have a 40" tv so it's not THAT much of a big deal to me, but on bigger screens I bet most people would find the shake distracting.

And about presence, I'd say if there was a way to remove dirt and scratches but leave grain intact, that would be the ultimate thing, since there's a lot of detail that gets lost when reducing grain. We'll see what solutions I'll find.

And Asaki, thanks for Stab. It seems that's the very script g-force had implemented in his stabilization.

Awesome! it would be good if you released some DVD-5 version.

You_Too said:

frank678 said:

Putting aside the presence accurate colour settings add, in your judgement what adds the greater presence in the post-processing stage - is it the stabilization or the dirt removal - or both equally?

I'd say the stabilization alone makes the movie much more pleasant. I have a 40" tv so it's not THAT much of a big deal to me, but on bigger screens I bet most people would find the shake distracting.

And about presence, I'd say if there was a way to remove dirt and scratches but leave grain intact, that would be the ultimate thing, since there's a lot of detail that gets lost when reducing grain. We'll see what solutions I'll find.

And Asaki, thanks for Stab. It seems that's the very script g-force had implemented in his stabilization.

One in the same. One of my few contributions to the avisynth world...

Update: After doing some research, I've found out that at least the NTSC version of SW is less cropped and has more fine detail than the PAL version. Maybe this is common knowledge? Either way, I'm going to try and get my hands on those instead, and base my scripts on them.

Darth Mallwalker said:

Consensus has been
NTSC SW & ESB,
PAL ROTJ

I believe G's lastest [published] scripts are that way

This is correct.

And now I suddenly feel like a newbie again... haha

Btw, it sounds weird to me that ROTJ would look better in PAL if the others look better in NTSC. Any idea of what exact differences there is? Maybe somebody could point to an old thread somewhere, because I don't seem to find anything.

msycamore said:

It has been talked about in several threads since its release, here is one of them: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/GOUT-improved-versions/post/405901/#TopicPost405901

Thanks! Interesting, ROTJ is cropped differently in each version too, but here the PAL version has more detail.

What can I say? Lucasfilm sure knows how to mess their releases up.

You_Too, I was going to ask you if the recent photos of the 70s-projection-look Mike posted in the Despecialized thread made you think if this effect would be able to be replicated with your colour toolbox.

This is not a new project request, just an 'in theory' question (!)

Well, first of all the GOUT is not sourced from technicolor prints. Actually only SW was ever printed by technicolor. What I'm trying to do is bring back the original look of the prints that the GOUT is sourced from, or at least bring back the life in them and correct them as good as I can, without any real professional knowledge about the prints.

Unfortunately, the skin tones in SW are a bit more pink-tinted than in the other 2 movies, and because of that, it's impossible for me to get everything to look as good as Mike's pics. If I correct the skin tones, everything that's supposed to be red turns orange. I gotta say though that the current result looks very good, just don't expect a technicolor look!

Anyway, I won't be posting more samples here now, since me and dark_jedi have started to work on a "surprise" for you guys. :)

You_Too said:

Well, first of all the GOUT is not sourced from technicolor prints. Actually only SW was ever printed by technicolor. What I'm trying to do is bring back the original look of the prints that the GOUT is sourced from, or at least bring back the life in them and correct them as good as I can, without any real professional knowledge about the prints.

Unfortunately, the skin tones in SW are a bit more pink-tinted than in the other 2 movies, and because of that, it's impossible for me to get everything to look as good as Mike's pics. If I correct the skin tones, everything that's supposed to be red turns orange.

Yeah this was my sense of what the scope for improvement was - working back to the copy source whilst trying to undo as much of the colour shifts as possible

 

I gotta say though that the current result looks very good, just don't expect a technicolor look!

 

It looks brilliant, everyone keeps raising the bar - I think I was thinking a bit too impractically about what the Gout source is actually capable of yielding.

Anyway, I won't be posting more samples here now, since me and dark_jedi have started to work on a "surprise" for you guys. :)

Yay!