Cade Skywalker

brash_stryker said:

Avatar said:

what ever happened to...Cade Skywalker and his fantastic color corrections

I second this. His colour corrections were amazing. I'd love to know exactly what he did so I can do the same in my edit. I'm going to be starting from scratch in another program soon, so doing a global colour correction first before getting stuck in seems like a good idea.

Again, it's something I don't understand enough about though. I need an idiot's guide!

I'm still alive. I just don't have time to do this since college. I promise to post a detailed howto (it's not really that difficult, those were some of my first color corrections ever) when I have some time.

dark_jedi said:

bkev said:

Great news!  Now to wait for a torrent...

 

Here we go again.

Not trying to be a smart ass or anything(well maybe I am)but why not get it the same way we all are and have it way sooner?

Newsgroups = $$$

Torrent = free

mrbenja0618 said:

Cade Skywalker said:

So, based on that trailer still, this is (roughly) how the scene must have looked before that orange tint:

 

 

It could use some further work, but I think overall it's an improvement. Opinions?

PS: video will follow whenever my computer completes the rendering...

While I think the orange tint was intentional, I do like the gray Yoda like I've said before. However the wide shot as a good bit of noise in it. Have you ever heard of Neat Video... It's the best grain reducer I've seen. You should try it on these.

 

While maybe not so extreme, I kinda like the grain: it feels like a film instead of a blurry digital video.

vbangle said:

What's not to like.

Have you given any thought to doing this to the HD brodcast...if you don't have it I'm sure someone here could get it to you...

You're right up there with the other super talented people on this board...it would be regrettable if your talents only went towards the DVD when your work could be much more evident on the HD version....just saying.

I will be testing to use these as source (as soon as I have my new computer, the current one can't even play 720p!!), but later distribution would be a problem. If I were to do this on the HD versions, an AVCHD file would be the only decent way to share, but it would take years for me to upload... 

PS: Just watched that clone boarding scenes in the trailer Davnes007 sent me (thanks!!), and that one needs different correction, I simply let the Jedi Temple adjustments for that scene.

So, based on that trailer still, this is (roughly) how the scene must have looked before that orange tint:

It could use some further work, but I think overall it's an improvement. Opinions?

PS: video will follow whenever my computer completes the rendering...

BarBar Jinkx said:

Cade is there any chance you could do your magic on the 

 

"begun the Clone war has" scene at the end of the movie 

 

& the other yoda scene (forward command center)

I was avoiding that particular scene because of how messed up it is. Just to show how difficult this scene is:

In the the lower correction I was just trying to get the greys and lightning somewhat right, it looks very pale and will need a second, additional color pass.

That trailer still looks simply right... I wonder how the hell this color job even got approved and copies were sent to theaters...

BTW, I'm still looking for those AotC trailers. I can't rip them from the extras dvd for some reason. Would someone be kind enough to do so?

dark_jedi said:

mrbenja0618 said:

Cade I need to learn how you're doing this.... Settings and all. Amazing.

 

I second what he said,how are you doing this,and are you only doing single images or the video?

You have a PM.

Does someone know where to find the trailers for AotC? For some reason I can't rip the DVD files and they would be very valuable, since they provide a great reference of the original colors (that is, pre-orange tint).

EDIT: some new screens

theslime said:

The Geonosis scenes are a huge improvement, but I also think the sky in the other scenes suffers from this treatment. In fact, the colour in those non-corrected screenshots don't bother me at all, as they don't have that orange tint which is so prevalent in most of Attack of the Clones.

The sky desaturation is deliberate. The first scene in the movie is full of fog and has a somber tone, which foreshadows the mystery that surrounds the whole plot of the movie. Then, suddenly, we are some miles away and the sky is clear and bright. The tone is too cartoony considering the dark times this movie is supposed to be set in. But that's just my $0.02.

Here are some more screens I had posted in the prequel redux ideas thread:

A few days ago I started toying with the colors of RotS and AotC, only to realize how wrong they were. It may seem like a minor thing, but it really detracts from the dramatic value of many of the scenes.

I’m beginning with AotC in my effort to try to fix this and ultimately release this as a resource for edits, since it’s the one that’s most messed up. This is what’s wrong in general:

(Straight from the PAL DVD)

• It looks blurry
• The blacks aren’t black, they’re reddish
• The reds are way oversaturated
• Some other colors could use a lower saturation too
• Specific: Yoda looks too green, there’s radioactive Twi’lek

So, first step is to sharpen the image:

Now, I must say this sharpening looks better when the picture is scaled down. The ideal thing would be to take the 1080p copy running around and release it in 720p. I’m buying a new computer soon, but I don’t know whether it’ll be able to handle color correction in 1080p. In any case, 720p to PAL & NTSC DVD would be a good resource too.

Second step: correct those blacks and magenta-ish reds:

Looking better, huh?

Last step: making the blue-ish furniture grey more in line with the OT, Yoda less green and cure that poor radioactive Twi’lek, she’s suffering and no one notices…

Now go back to the original picture and compare.

This particular example is relatively easy not very radical. Other scenes, however, require a more drastic alternation IMO. I’ve been working on the Geonosis scenes and this is what I’ve got so far:

I’m hoping to regularly produce some tests and ideally get some good feedback that will help me. The definitive color correction will start once I have my new computer so I will be able to work at a greater resolution and with much better rendering times for preview.

I'm sorry if the question is stupid, but will these have any advantage over the g-forced GOUT when cleaned up/processed/etc?

Bingowings said:

Dooku looks good in black.

Though I've said it before colour alteration (and sharpness) is only really applicable to this thread when it changes the story elements in a radical way.

Great as these are Cade they don't really alter the mood of the films or the story (though they often improve the look of the shots).

Angel has posted changes that change the nature of the locations and the mood of the shots, I'd love to see you have a go at some of that sort of thing.

 

I have to disagree on the mood point, I think these alterations definitely alter the mood of the films. But I was going to start a new thread anyway, so I'll be moving the demos there.

Josh said:
Cade Skywalker said:
Some Geonosis work-in-progress screens:

I get the feeling I might have gone too far with this one, but the more scenes I go through, the more I realize just how wrong they feel.

Holy shit cakes, that looks great! Maybe you could help with color correction of Troopermans Shroud of the Dark side.
 

Well, I was actually thinking I might to a full color correction on the movie and just release it as source for anyone who might want to use it for their edit, then maybe do my own.

Some Geonosis work-in-progress screens:

I get the feeling I might have gone too far with this one, but the more scenes I go through, the more I realize just how wrong they feel.

To answer some of the questions: yes, this is from the AotC DVD. It's the PAL version, so I guess there's some more detail in it. The Yoda details were always there, I just "uncovered" them with a sharpening filter. It's a dirty trick, but it works in this movie, since everything is slightly blurry. About Yoda, he does look brownish in that screenshot, but fine in the video, must be something about the color profile of the screenies. In any case, I don't remember him that green. :D

I'm currently working on the Geonosis scenes, giving it a war movie tone (I think it works, let's see what you all have to say about it). I'll upload something later.

EyeShotFirst said:

Your palpatine colour correction makes it more convincing that his ROTJ state was caused by aging and living off of his dark side powers. Way to go.

Yes, that was a nice touch in AotC, but it's all for nothing when you see RotS's young and shiny Palpatine...

Rhikter said:

Cade Skywalker said:

50MB split screen

I would have uploaded this to YouTube but this time I also applied a sharpening filter (with moderate settings, I hope), since it was bugging me to see that the whole movie was just blurry for no reason. It's a 2500kbps MP4, that way you'll be able to notice the sharpening and the details.

Is this the same split screen you posted earlier?  I have satellite internet with a low download speed and a bandwidth cap, so I'd rather not download this if I don't have to.  I hate to ignore someone's hard work, but do you think I'd be alright without seeing it?

Some screenies for you (and whoever doesn't want to download a 50MB video)

Guess I'll have to open a thread soon.

50MB split screen

I would have uploaded this to YouTube but this time I also applied a sharpening filter (with moderate settings, I hope), since it was bugging me to see that the whole movie was just blurry for no reason. It's a 2500kbps MP4, that way you'll be able to notice the sharpening and the details.

As requested, split screen and audio.

Video of the previous scene

Oh and, before you say anything about R2, I noticed it too. :D

I decided to start my color correction tests with AotC since it's the most messed up colorwise. Starting at the beginning:

I always felt this scene was particularly off, it feels extremly oversaturated (look at Padmé's lips!) and cartoony. The color "corrected" stills look far better IMO, the second one even has an OT feel to it.

I will post a video later, rendering times aren't precisely speedy in my old iMac...

Just dreaming of what could have been... plus this thread is in the need of mockups since vaderios has exams. :D

    Cade Skywalker said:

 

    RotS Anakin-Dooku

 

    Another test clip. This one is a little rough: you can slightly hear the original music, but hey, I'm just messing around. :-)

 

Watched and rated.  I kinda felt that the color work in this one didn't pop like the other did.  Honestly, I didn't feel like color alternation was necessary.  It came off to me as like a bright coloring book, which feels inappropriate for that scene.

 

I also didn't feel like the music fit.  I have to second what Davnes007 said about the music stealing the stage, and I felt like the only emotional beat that the music acknowledged was the beheading of Dooku; it completely overlooked all the smaller ones that came before that, which the original track does not.

Completely agreed on the music. I rushed this one quite a bit. And again completely agreed on the volume of the music, I just listened it with earphones and I completely went overboard. I'm deleting it and will reupload a better version.

Funny you mention the color work, because this one was completely untouched. That's why it looked like a "bright color book", just like the rest of RotS does.

(Will reupload when reworked)

Another test clip. This one is a little rough: you can slightly hear the original music, but hey, I'm just messing around. :-)

vaderios said:

Docta Nick said:

The 1st shot may be a lil too orange for some people, I think it's better than the change version. It's suposed to be a dark scene were Anakin turns to the dark side right? I think it's good orange, idk that's just me.

 

That shot is from AOTC and its orange glory.

I tried to make it with more ROTS colors tho. IT WORKED :)

SilverKey said:

And oh yeah, the scene is tinted in orange...because the sun is setting!

There is a thin line between orange mood and ONLY orange.

See:

ROTS is at sunset but it has the correct sharpness, the correct tones, VARIATION of tones and never messed up colors.

 

-Angel

Is that straight from the DVD? Because this is what I get in ROTS:

It's definitely better than AOTC, but the tint is clearly still there, even considering the sunset.

BTW, thanks for all comments on the scene. I will be making some tests to see whether I can pull this off prequel-wide.