Ahsoka Show Visual Rework

What I’m doing:
I’m not sure if this will go anywhere as of yet but while I’ve been watching Ahsoka I felt there has been something missing… color!!! So much of the series has callbacks to the prequels in the way that it’s filmed but the incredible color pallet is missing.

Along with that I’ve noticed some lightsabers don’t look right (the orange ones look unique and great but the other sabers look off)

I’ve had a crack at bringing some much needed life into the Marrok and Ahsoka fight in episode 2 (at this stage I’ve only got 17 seconds of footage). I’ve heard some people criticise it but I feel the choreography is mostly there it just needs some visual impact! That’s why I’ve started at this fight scene.

I’m wanting to get some feedback as I’ve never attempted any visual edits to this degree.

The footage:
https://youtu.be/g0WCSU-myio

Changes So Far:

• Recolored Corellian Sky to be blue instead of grey.
• Reworked Marroks Lightsaber
• Cut Hera Entering Phantom 2.
• Cut Hera Shot of Hera taking the phantom 2 wheel.
• Cut Phantom 2 takeoff.
• Cut third establishing shot of Murrok and his droid
• Cut shot where droid attacks ashoka first

For those not interested in watching the video here is a before and after shot.

Original

My Version

Original

My Version

Original

My Version

Was that really the “before” color? If so, then your color work is clearly superior.

Are you planning on any other edits to the show such as cutting or rearranging?

As far as I can tell that’s how the original looks… although it could be a weird HDR thing making it look more washed out on my PC.

It definitely had a bit more color when watching on my TV (but I have that set to boost saturation).

So it may not be the most reliable before? Regardless, my edit still has higher color saturation and levels of contrast then the original.

I’ve thought about cutting the scene where Sabine gets stabbed. Still have the fight but remove that goofy moment and cut to Ashoka finding Sabine injured.

I’ve thought about making a movie cut… still undecided on cuts and rearrangements for now but I’ll see how the whole series goes!

For now though I’m focused on improving the visuals.

Haven’t watched the show, but your colours are great.
On a side note since I haven’t watched it, why do they look like NPCs? 😂

I think the sky look very blue like that kind of makes me feel like it’s a green/blue screen imho, however the rest of the colors look great and more vibrant

jadenkorr41 said:

I think the sky look very blue like that kind of makes me feel like it’s a green/blue screen imho, however the rest of the colors look great and more vibrant

I’ll keep that in mind, I might desaturate the blue a touch. Although the sky was literally that color for me the day I started this edit, so I don’t think the color is unrealistic or anything.

The main reason I’ve gone with the strong light blue is to contrast the red saber and make Ashoka white sabers more visible.

I’ve refined the sky a bit more. I think this style takes away the green/blue screeny effect but still gives me the contrast I’m after. It’s also a better screenshot for seeing the work I’ve done on the lightsabers.

Before

After

smudger9 said:

It looks like you’ve downloaded the Dolby Vision version, which has muted colours. You need to download a non-DV 4K file. There are plenty out there.

Yes! It looked like this when I saw the original. You will want to find the HDR only if it’s 4K editing

g00b said:

I’ve refined the sky a bit more. I think this style takes away the green/blue screeny effect but still gives me the contrast I’m after. It’s also a better screenshot for seeing the work I’ve done on the lightsabers.

Before

After

Hello there, I agree that the color palette is really lacking, same as other D+ Star Wars and Marvel shows, however i dont think that’s how it looked before, it seems to me you downloaded as 4K file, so you only get the true colors when having a TV or PC with HDR

smudger9 said:

It looks like you’ve downloaded the Dolby Vision version, which has muted colours. You need to download a non-DV 4K file. There are plenty out there.

Thanks for that! All my screens have Dolby Vision and I didn’t think the show looked THIS washed out when streaming from Disney+.

I’ll get some new screen shots and update them so everyone can see the real difference.

I’ve now updated my screenshots and video to reflect the changes I’ve made since updating my source file. Thanks Smudger9, gflorese3199 and jadenkorr41! 😃

g00b said:

I’ve now updated my screenshots and video to reflect the changes I’ve made since updating my source file. Thanks Smudger9, gflorese3199 and jadenkorr41! 😃

No need to thank. Just saying what I see.
In your updated version, I think colors look better however the white clouds are overly bright (based on the YT updated link).
If you could tone down the brightness of the white clouds, I think it will be much better imo

I agree with you. I was boosting the Whites of the color pallet way too much. I’ve significantly reduced that now! Thanks for the feedback 😄

I’ve also now added another screenshot to the original post which shows off the work I’m doing on Marrok’s lightsaber. In my opinion it goes from looking like a toy to a lightsaber haha.

@goob, are you going to be trimming a lot of someone moments and exposition heavy conversations? I’d say a lot should be cut but it also seems difficult to do so

g00b said:

I agree with you. I was boosting the Whites of the color pallet way too much. I’ve significantly reduced that now! Thanks for the feedback 😄

I’ve also now added another screenshot to the original post which shows off the work I’m doing on Marrok’s lightsaber. In my opinion it goes from looking like a toy to a lightsaber haha.

I think the color of the sky looks much much better. Nicely done. Can you put the original HDR or non-DV screenshot for a proper comparison. I think the saber re-work is a good idea, however, I think the middle bright white is also too bright. I like the increase in red, but I think the central white bright blade is a little too wide. Just my opinion. I do like the renewed colors though

yoshif8tures said:

@goob, are you going to be trimming a lot of someone moments and exposition heavy conversations? I’d say a lot should be cut but it also seems difficult to do so

I’ve definitely thought about it! At this stage I’m just focusing on the Corellia fight scene as this is helping advance my editing skills. That being said, I’m watching (and loving) the show and will likely be making cuts to whatever I decide to release in the end!

jadenkorr41 said:

Can you put the original HDR or non-DV screenshot for a proper comparison.

I’ve reworded the screenshots on the original post to make it clear which is the original screenshot from the show.

I think the saber re-work is a good idea, however, I think the middle bright white is also too bright. I like the increase in red, but I think the central white bright blade is a little too wide. Just my opinion. I do like the renewed colors though

I have noticed this also, there are some shots where it looks just right and other’s where it’s a little too big. For example, in second Marrok screenshot, I’ve already decreased the size of the white inside the blade. In general, I’ve been adjusting it as I go trying to get it feeling right! I’m starting off by basing the white proportions on what is presented in the original footage and I’ll then go back and tweak it once I’ve covered it all for the fight scene. 😃

losthead said:

The blue sky looks quite nice, but I’m not sure I see the difference with the lightsabers.

So the original lightsabers in the show have the color of the blade slightly bleed into the central white color. (I think this is due to how they create the lightsabers in the volume). They also can become see-through in motion. My version reinstates the pure white core and makes the outer glow closer to what you’d expect from the style of movies.

It’s a rather subtle difference and the brighter the lighting is in a shot, the more noticeable it is. For example, the lightsabers in episode 4 look how I’d expect them to but for the Corellia fight in episode 2, they do not.