Indiana Jones trilogy regrade, using the 2003 DVDs as a reference (a WIP)

This thread is dedicated to regrading the Indiana Jones trilogy, using the 2003 DVDs as a reference. Unlike the currently available HD releases/broadcasts, which were all sourced from a scan of the negative, the DVD was sourced from a color timed interpostive. Many consider the DVD color timing to be excellent, hence this project to reproduce these colors in high definition. While I will be using the bluray versions for Temple of Doom, and Last Crusade, I will be using the WOWOW broadcast for Raiders of the Lost Ark, as it is more detailed, and suffers less from DNR.

The regrade will be done, using the color matching tool I’ve developed, to ensure the colors are as close to the 35mm reference as is humanly possible:

http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Color-matching-and-prediction-color-correction-tool-v13-released/id/18128

Here’s a first regraded example frame from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Note the orange cast that pervades the color timing of the bluray.

DVD:

Bluray:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

Here’s a comparison between the WOWOW and the regrade:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/182627

clutchins said:

So for Raiders, there will be a regrade based on the 35mm print and a regrade based on the DVD?

Exactly!

Excellent work! Automation and math is the way to go. ;D

The DVD has inflated highlights (at least in this shot). It carries over into your processing and looks bad there, too. I tried a deflation on the DVD with the lower end locked and non-singular R-G-B adjustments (to put some color back in). Not perfect, but it gets the artificial glare out. (Compare it to the more natural WOWOW.) If the entire DVD is this way inflated, a preliminary, single correction should produce a superior final result.

Here’s another example. Although the WOWOW’s color timing is similar to the DVD, the DVD has warmer tones for this shot. The skin tones also tend to be less pink and more natural, than for the WOWOW.

DVD:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

Spaced Ranger said:

Excellent work! Automation and math is the way to go. ;D

The DVD has inflated highlights (at least in this shot). It carries over into your processing and looks bad there, too. I tried a deflation on the DVD with the lower end locked and non-singular R-G-B adjustments (to put some color back in). Not perfect, but it gets the artificial glare out. (Compare it to the more natural WOWOW.) If the entire DVD is this way inflated, a preliminary, single correction should produce a superior final result.

Actually, the issue with the glare can be minimized, by increasing the smoothing parameter of the algorithm, which reduces strong gradients.

Regrade before:

Regrade now:

Here’s another example. Notice, that the oranges look more like lemons for the WOWOW. Also, note the increased detail of the sand under Indy’s feet.

DVD:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

LOL Built in fix! That’s great!

If the smoothing is levels-targeted, I may suggest twice of what you just did? 1x leaves some residue (viewed when angling this laptop’s LCD screen) but 2x should eradicate it.

I noticed the glare on Belloq’s forehead, so I’m guessing this problem is throughout the DVD. Also, I see edge enhancement there, too (thick darker/lighter blue sky edging the actors). I’m amazed that faux coloring didn’t carry over to your regrade. Built in fix, too?

Spaced Ranger said:

LOL Built in fix! That’s great!

If the smoothing is levels-targeted, I may suggest twice of what you just did? 1x leaves some residue (viewed when angling this laptop’s LCD screen) but 2x should eradicate it.

I noticed the glare on Belloq’s forehead, so I’m guessing this problem is throughout the DVD. Also, I see edge enhancement there, too (thick darker/lighter blue sky edging the actors). I’m amazed that faux coloring didn’t carry over to your regrade. Built in fix, too?

Here’s the regrade with even stronger smoothing.

Regrade before:

Regrade now:

The faux coloring filter is built in, but not on purpose 😉.

Oh yeah! That stronger smoothing compares much more favorably to the original WOWOW’s picture texture.

It appears, that the bluray in some respects has more detail for this shot than the WOWOW, namely the skin and eyes, but not for the background, like the water and fog.

WOWOW matched to DVD:

Bluray matched to DVD:

DrDre said:

It appears, that the bluray in some respects has more detail for this shot than the WOWOW, namely the skin and eyes, but not for the background, like the water and fog.

WOWOW matched to DVD:

Bluray matched to DVD:

I think what you’re interpreting as detail is artificial sharpening which has made some of the deeper pores on Ford’s face more pronounced. Zoom in really close and compare the two, there are more micro-contours in the grain pattern on the WOWOW. Look at his hat. In the WOWOW it looks like, well, felt. In the bluray it has taken on this ultra-smooth, plasticy look from the degraining. This is also visible if you look at the stubble on Ford’s face. This same smooth, plastic look appears there as well, compared to the more detailed WOWOW broadcast.

Here’s another regrade example with subtle, but noticeable differences in color timing, particulary skin tones, which tend to be more pink for the WOWOW, and more bronze for the DVD.

DVD:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

This shot looks substantially different for the DVD, when compared to the WOWOW. To be honest, I think the WOWOW looks pretty awful for this shot.

DVD:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

Your tool continues to astound me, DrDre.

The DVD has the best exposure of any Raiders transfer. Skies are clear and blue, nothing in the ark opening scene is overexposed. The wowow has some issues and the blu-ray is much worse. They should actually be better since they were created from a negative scan and the DVD from a 2nd gen print. Either the scan was not done correctly or (most likely) things were overexposed during grading.

You will definitely run into some challenges trying to match the wowow to the DVD (and LPP), particularly during the ark opening.

litemakr said:

The DVD has the best exposure of any Raiders transfer. Skies are clear and blue, nothing in the ark opening scene is overexposed. The wowow has some issues and the blu-ray is much worse. They should actually be better since they were created from a negative scan and the DVD from a 2nd gen print. Either the scan was not done correctly or (most likely) things were overexposed during grading.

You will definitely run into some challenges trying to match the wowow to the DVD (and LPP), particularly during the ark opening.

Yes, it will be interesting to see what details can be retrieved from the overexposed frames of the WOWOW.

Don’t worry, I’m working on sample videos for both regrades, and they should hopefully be up soon… 😃

Hitler is a nut on the subject!

DVD:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

DrDre said:

This shot looks substantially different for the DVD, when compared to the WOWOW. To be honest, I think the WOWOW looks pretty awful for this shot.

DVD:

WOWOW:

WOWOW matched to DVD:

Just FYI I think this shot is rather perplexing in both the 35mm and the DVD, it’s like chalk and cheese to compare the two different colors.

But I do think that the DVD in this shot needs the Hue changing. That does account for quite a bit of the difference in skin tones.

It’s definitely a Cyan not Blue sky and the sand should be less red and more yellow.

But this is actually a better reference than the 35mm IMHO.

Here’s an example of the amount of detail, that can be retrieved by the color matching algorithm from a source suffering from blownout highlights, by matching the bluray to the DVD.

Bluray:

Bluray regraded:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/183092

Which of the DVD or LPP is more accurate to the original presentation?

Is there a benefit to one over the other that I’m missing that warrants two regrading projects for Raiders?

I’m just curious is all 😄

These screen caps definitely make me glad I never replaced my Indiana Jones DVDs with the Blu-rays though. Sheesh!

Shalashaska said:

Which of the DVD or LPP is more accurate to the original presentation?

Is there a benefit to one over the other that I’m missing that warrants two regrading projects for Raiders?

I’m just curious is all 😄

The LPP is more accurate to the original presentation, but since
theatrical prints of the other two entries in the trilogy are not yet available, I will use the DVDs to create better versions for those. To keep things consistent colorwise in terms of the trilogy, I decided to also do Raiders. Plus, the DVD color grading looks really good.