kk650's Star Wars Saga: Regraded and Semi-Specialized (Released) — Page 14

towne32 said:

edit: went back and figured it out.

So, retro is similar to the V1 releases.

Technicolor is the more saturated version.

Classic is... somewhere in between?

It's nice to have options. Hopefully you're not having to do 12 releases of RoTJ (yubnub/new endings, 9gb and 16gb, 3 color gradings).

No, Retro has nothing to do with my first releases a year ago colourwise, none of these do. I completely redid the colour grading of all three OT films for these Version 2 releases to get more of a feeling of the theatrical prints.

The Retro release of Star Wars is actually already available on tehparadox and myspleen if you want to see how it looks.

It's difficult to distinguish between the three in words but i'll give it a try:

Retro is the release that most has the feeling of the Star Wars print frames that I've seen. It has a slightly desaturated matte feeling to it with a slight green fade that gives it an older more retro feel like the print.

Classic is the release that I would probably consider my prefered release and the one that I would recommend most people go with if they only check out one, its more colourful than the Retro release and it plays more to the strengths of the blu-ray transfer, with a more natural/balanced colour palette with less green fade.

The Technicolor release is the most experimental of the three, it shares the image dynamics and the more balanced/natural colour palette of the Classic release but with far punchier colours for that technicolor kick.

Here's a clip taken from the Star Wars Classic Semi-Specialised Edition:

https://mega.co.nz/#!z8J0zbAC!mudGdT1Yn9iSkOiLMjrPb5Q4VvUqEFeb3tQmUzG27cc

I'll put up a clip from the Empire Strikes Back Classic Semi-Specialised Edition and the Return of the Jedi Classic Semi-Specialised Edition as well soon.

Thanks. It's strange, the screenshots you've got above actually look more green/yellow than the clip, and even more so than the V2 release (so, retro). The problem is probably on my end, but I've got them side-by-side so I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy. I like the look in the MKV.

This may be asking a lot, but do you have the ability to render short split-screen clips of all three? I just know I'm going to end up downloading more than one to figure out which I prefer, but maybe that kind of comparison would help avoid doing that.

towne32 said:

Thanks. It's strange, the screenshots you've got above actually look more green/yellow than the clip, and even more so than the V2 release (so, retro). The problem is probably on my end, but I've got them side-by-side so I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy. I like the look in the MKV.

This may be asking a lot, but do you have the ability to render short split-screen clips of all three? I just know I'm going to end up downloading more than one to figure out which I prefer, but maybe that kind of comparison would help avoid doing that.

Nice spot! You're right, imgur for some reason turns images that you upload onto it a little green, no idea why, its pretty annoying. I used to use imageshack that didn't have these colour issues but my trial ran out. The mkv is exactly how its going to look.

Unfortunately the program I use to grade these doesn't have the ability to create split screen videos. I would say that if you feel the Classic version is too saturated for you, check out the Retro release and if you think it's not colourful enough, check out the Technicolor release. I would personally check out all three of Star Wars myself, they all offer their own distinct 'feeling' and decide which I prefer from there and download the same one of the other two.

kk650 said:

towne32 said:

Thanks. It's strange, the screenshots you've got above actually look more green/yellow than the clip, and even more so than the V2 release (so, retro). The problem is probably on my end, but I've got them side-by-side so I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy. I like the look in the MKV.

This may be asking a lot, but do you have the ability to render short split-screen clips of all three? I just know I'm going to end up downloading more than one to figure out which I prefer, but maybe that kind of comparison would help avoid doing that.

Nice spot! You're right, imgur for some reason turns images that you upload onto it a little green, no idea why, its pretty annoying. I used to use imageshack that didn't have these colour issues but my trial ran out. The mkv is exactly how its going to look.

Unfortunately the program I use to grade these doesn't have the ability to create split screen videos. I would say that if you feel the Classic version is too saturated for you, check out the Retro release and if you think it's not colourful enough, check out the Technicolor release. I would personally check out all three of Star Wars myself, they all offer their own distinct 'feeling' and decide which I prefer from there and download the same one of the other two.

 Thanks. I'm glad I checked the MKV, or I might have skipped the classic grading.

I'll probably grab the classic and technicolors. I've got the ANH 'retro' V2 and, while it looks good, it's a bit flat for my taste (whether or not it's accurate). I've been doing my own grading recently, and it's pretty frustrating. But the ones I've been happier with have been on the more saturated side.

Will this have be surround sound or stereo?

I'm so psyched for these releases!!  Was about to grab your old ones when you first started talking about the next wave of regraded releases... So I decided to wait for the new ones.  So excited!  Will be my first experience with your semi-specialized versions.  I really don't have a problem with many of the Special Edition changes.  There are a few exceptions, of course, haha...

towne32 said:

Will this have be surround sound or stereo?

The 8gb releases will all have the 2 channel pcm audio tracks that I created for my first Semi-Specialised Edition releases, based primarily off Belbucus's fantastic 1993 2 channel pcm audio tracks.

The 16gb releases should have both the 2 channel pcm audio track and Cinema DTS audio tracks.

Great! I'm sure these will be my definitive versions when I feel like watching with a bit of circa-millennial George Lucas nonsense. :)

Okay, after taking a few days break from the Star Wars, i've had a look at the classic settings and felt that it was still a touch colder than i'd like so i've changed the colour settings again slightly, hopefully for the last time, making the colours warmer.

Guys, please check out these clips from two scenes, one clip with the old settings and one with my latest settings, and let me know which you prefer, the clips using the older settings or the latest settings:

Scene 1 - older settings

https://mega.co.nz/#!b0An3aDZ!Ekqm1WAicGhpagrQ3wvDiVXkN-CB8NW3i3WcMgjWXT0

Scene 1 - latest settings

https://mega.co.nz/#!C0A32YwL!W_lKWpAgDvdvmepk-uiOdA2V-3Ca8EM__T5_jDOGsjY

Scene 2 - older settings

https://mega.co.nz/#!DxImiAKB!mudGdT1Yn9iSkOiLMjrPb5Q4VvUqEFeb3tQmUzG27cc

Scene 2 - latest settings

https://mega.co.nz/#!3sQRxLoa!SEVyOLpBTQs3-fXrULMIWq6ESjl_piQ-QHmWMH2FHiA

I've talked to kk a bit about the settings via PM. But might as well discuss here too.

I agree about the walls in clip 1. I think that's the main indicator that settings could be a bit too far, and the old settings are "safer" in turn. But I see what he was trying to do, which is remove the last bit of blue 'shine' that was left in the old settings. And I would certainly say he succeeded in doing so. As I said to kk, I really don't like the coloring of Han's face in that second clip in the blu-ray or any revised grading using that source. And when we start removing that ugly blue, we're left with something pretty yellow looking. But in general, I think the flesh tones look good in the new color scheme, but maybe I don't have a great eye for color.

I see why the 'older' settings appeal. But it's very close to the retro coloring, I think. So i we're having two versions, the new settings on classic coloring might be more of a second option. When I see the whole film, the retro coloring may be my favorite if the classic goes overboard too much. Hard to say.

Do you think we could take a look at the closing ceremony? That's another scene I like to look at to get an idea of how green/blue my settings have made things.

_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

Maybe in the newer settings the blue is gone, but the red and green are a bit too much present and noticeable, while in the older settings I haven't noticed too much blue; again, this apply of course to the latest two test clips posted; don't know if there will be any difference in other scenes, but I'd like to watch some Hoth's snow shots, the worst offenders, the ones with the bluest blue snow you could find... is it possible?

 Perhaps you're right. But for ANH, one of the worst "offenders" for off colors is the clip #1 that we just saw. And it looks pretty good to me.

Have you seen the retro release? (his semi v2) Don't you think it's quite similar to the older settings for this classic color scheme?

Thank you for your thoughts guys. You've given me a lot to think about. I'll put up clips for the classic settings for Hoth and the closing ceremony using both the older settings and  the latest settings so you can tell me what you think.

towne32, you're right that the older classic settings are very similar to the retro settings in terms of colour, the main difference is the saturation level which is a fair bit lower on the retro settings and the contrast is slightly lower as well.

Okay, after much comparing using screencap comparisons, the newer settings do go a little too far in trying to remove the blue shine that me and towne32 have noticed with the older settings, so I've gone back to the older settings but i've found another far more subtle way to remove that blue shine but keeps the rest of the colours pretty much intact. I'm 100% satisfied now with how it looks and have finalised the Retro, Classic and Technicolor settings for all three films.

If anybody wants to see how a certain part will look from Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi with one of the three settings, let me know the timecode from the blu-ray and i'll put up a 1 minute regraded clip from that part so you can see how it'll look on these Semi-Specialised editions.

_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

I'm happy you finally found the right settings; I know how hard could be these kind of tasks...

Congratulations, good job, as usual! Now, the only problem for me is to choose the version I will like most... advice?

Andrea, your honest and constructive feedback has been incredibly helpful in getting me to this point,  thank you! :)

Hmm, if I had to guess i'd say that the majority of people will like the classic settings the most. I'd imagine that you will as well. It's the 'safest' of the three settings and the one I recommend you and people in general check out first and if they want punchier colours, go with the technicolor and if they find the colours too strong on the classic, the retro release is the one to go for.

The retro setting has a very interesting matte filmic feeling to it, poita said that the Star Wars print is not as saturated as we've been led to believe in recent years and the retro settings very much reflect that. The retro release already out there is almost the same as the final settings so everybody can check that one out on myspleen/tehparadox to see what I mean, see whether they like that distinctive 'look'.

The technicolor I expect to be the least popular of the three, its the least 'safe'. The colours are very punchy, I have tried to get a nice technicolor 'kick' without going overboard with the saturation.

I hope that helps you decide. If in doubt, go classic. :)

_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

Let me be for a moment a fan restoration archeologist... (^^,) from my own OUT laserdisc based project:

I'd like to watch the version with the color grading similar to this one - in particular, grey wall on the Death Star...

My main computer is in the middle of encoding The Good, the Bad and the Ugly so I can't check the colours for you right now but if the Death Star walls being as grey as possible is a priority, I imagine the Retro release will be the one that you will prefer most.

When it finishes encoding tomorrow i'll check the colours of those scenes with the different settings and let you know which is closest in colour to those screencaps you posted.

pittrek said:

The regraded prequels sound interesting. Would somebody upload it to a certain spleen ?

I'm seconding this request.

So far, only the 8gb version of ANH is on the 'spleen.  I would love to see the 16gb versions.

kane1138 said:

pittrek said:

The regraded prequels sound interesting. Would somebody upload it to a certain spleen ?

I'm seconding this request.

So far, only the 8gb version of ANH is on the 'spleen.  I would love to see the 16gb versions.

 They're not out yet.

edit: To be more specific, the regraded versions, and "V2" of any sort aren't out. I finally managed to get the 16gb V1 copies, but it seems pointless to upload those now. (but I haven't gotten the prequels, pittrek)

Are there any comparison pics of ROTS? The colors on the blu look good to me so I'm surprised to hear that there's apparently a green tint.