For those interested in why I opted to introduce more yellow in my regrade, I was inspired mostly by this color accurate photograph of a technicolor print screening by Mike Verta:
I suppose I would call mine a bit more quirky, keeping more of the imperfections in the original color timing. For example in every print scan I’ve seen the colors of the latter part of the Tantive IV sequence is cooler than the earlier part. This is the case even for 1997 SE prints. I would say my color grading overall is a bit warmer, and yellowish than Neverar’s.
Here’s a set of technicolor regrades for the Tantive sequence. I might reduce the technicolor green cast, and improve the balance between shots for the final release.
Here’s how those same shots appear on NeverarGreat’s amazing regrade:
Here’s a direct comparison:
http://www.framecompare.com/image-compare/screenshotcomparison/9FMNNN8U
Runtimes are consistent with the SE.
Poita, all the best and hopefully a speedy recovery!
Let’s start with Lost. When you create a series as intriguing as that, you really need a clear idea of where you are going. So regardless of how long Abrams was involved, the lack of an ending falls on his shoulders.
No. What the fuck, that literally makes no sense. TV shows are created all the time with no idea of what an ending might be. Abrams has nothing at all to do with whether you like the end of Lost or not. That’s just so fucking stupid.
Oh really? I know quite a few series that have very definite story lines and they story, though changed somewhat, ends pretty much as originally intended. The best example is Babylon 5. Lost setup a scenario that should have been known from the beginning. And any good writer knows that the best way for the ending to pack a punch is to know the ending when you start out. You work toward it, you have plenty of opportunity to throw in hints and foreshadowing, and really build it up. Abrams has no concept of this and that makes him incompetent. He has proven this over and over again.
I really disagree with this point of view. Many if not most series are created without knowing what the ending will be. Hell, most of the time they don’t even know how many seasons there will be, since this will depend heavily on the success of the series. Just a few highly acclaimed series that were created this way are: The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and many more. Many of the best series grow organically, without the limitations of fixed end games. You want to know why so many prequels suck? It’s because the writers have to work towards a known ending. I think the best way to create a memorable series is by creating memorable characters, and have them drive the story towards an end game.
I think many here really underestimate JJ Abrams.
We do not need to estimate anything. He made TFA and it sucked big time.
To you I suppose. Don’t see how that’s really relevant to the rest of us who enjoyed the movie, and actually have a vested interest in seeing this trilogy completed?
I think many here really underestimate JJ Abrams. Personal tastes aside, he put Star Wars back on the map in a way not even Lucas was able to do with his PT. He deliberately set out to create a story of a NEW set of characters in a familiar setting.
All Star Wars films up till TFA heavily relied on the same set of familiar faces: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Palpatine, R2-D2, C-3PO, etc. TFA was the first Star Wars film not to feature any of these characters for the first third of the film, and by the time Han and Chewie boarded the Millenium Falcon, although a welcome sight, I didn’t really miss any of these iconic characters. TFA has been criticized for being to derivative for sure, but most viewers agree they really wanted to see where these new characters are going, and I think that is a big achievement in a franchise that has been defined by the same familiar faces for the past four decades.
As far as I’m concerned JJ did have a plan for TFA, and given those parameters it worked out very well both critically and financially. I trust he will come up with a plan for episode IX.
While working on the WOWOW regrade, it seemed to me, that there’s a slight but consistent color imbalance in the scan, turning every shot slightly magenta. Do you agree?
LPP:
LPP balanced:
LPP:
LPP balanced:
LPP:
LPP balanced:
LPP:
LPP balanced:
LPP:
LPP balanced:
It appears the slight color imbalance in the frames I posted, might be caused by a color conversion issue, as it does not appear to be present in the playback of the video.
I think he meant that Disney keeps extending copyright duration so that their old titles don’t fall into the public domain.
The maximum term of copyright protection (including renewal) became 95 years in 1998 for all works published after 1964.
Ha, copyrights that run out! That’s a nice one.
https://copyright.cornell.edu/publicdomain
Copyright for Star Wars expires 95 years after publication, so in 2072.
TESB & ROTJ will expire 70 years after Lucas dies.
For one they already made a deal, when they released the digital collection, and re-released the blurays of the SE in 2015. Secondly, Fox will own Star Wars forever, so any OOT release will need to involve Fox today, in 2020 or at any other time until the copyright runs out around 2075.
The latest shots actually show the problem with assuming a blanket color cast has been applied to a film, namely that they generally don’t exist. How well the assumption works depends on how consistently the color cast was applied across shots. In this case the shot of Indy and Marion escaping their tomb shows Indy with blue dust on his jacket for both regrades. The probable reason for this is, that the original photography was already pretty warm for this shot (it’s pretty warm for the 35mm LPP, which generally has much coolor tones than the bluray). As such it appears the shot was adjusted much more conservatively than the surrounding shots. Applying a single correction that on average removes a color cast will inevitably result in shots with overly cool tones, even when a conservative correction is applied. This simply is the nature of such “quick fix” methods.
Continuing with the screencaps for the rest of the film…
Bluray:
Bluray regraded (warm):
Bluray regraded (cool):
Also the bar fight sequence is much closer to the theatrical version for the cooler color grading.
Bluray:
Bluray regraded (warm):
Bluray regraded (cool):
I actually like them both. The cooler color grading is closer to the theatrical color timing, including the sunset shot:
Here’s a second set of regrades with the same settings.
Bluray:
Bluray regraded (warm):
Bluray regraded (cool):
Here are two regrades of the bluray both of which remove the yellow color cast. One with a warmer color grading, and another with a cooler color grading.
Bluray:
Bluray regraded (warm):
Bluray regraded (cool):
LUT (warm):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajWkppQVZtemw5bEk/view?usp=sharing
LUT (cool):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajMnNST2dFZm9FOUk/view?usp=sharing
You seem very focussed on the idea, that a character is only defined by explicit dialogue telling us how a character feels. Yet, a character is also defined by his or her belief system.
Personal inference and interpretation is a big part of film experience (for me too). However, unlike people around here, I do not use it in arguments because then it becomes as pointless as arguing which colour is prettier.
Belief system is of course an important part of the character. By far the best manifestation of it are the actions that the character does. The dialogue is less so since the character could “talk the talk but not walk the walk” but still at least it is unambiguous. The least reliable are interpretation from hints and so on, which are completely subjective and dependant on the viewer.
By the end of TESB it is very clear Luke’s belief system has been turned up side down. As such his character cannot be the same.
Well you might interpret that his belief system was turned upside down by the end of ESB and that he wanted to go back to Yoda instead of going for another friend-saving adventure. However, his action at the end of the film suggest otherwise.
Well obviously Luke’s friends still mean a great deal to him. Character development does not have to be black and white. He’s been through a harrowing experience, but one of his best friends is in mortal danger. The fact that the film ends with preperations for a rescue attempt should not be taken as evidence of Luke’s lack of character development.
He decides to make a jump that could have killed him. For example.
And how did that develop/change the character? It is just another act of recklessness…
I’ll add to Mala’s point and say I don’t think he saw it as a fall that could have killed him. I think from the look of resignation on his face, he saw it as a fall he knew would kill him. I think it’s significant character development. He sees only two ways out: death or give in to Vader. It’s subtle in its execution (to the audience) but it’s far from the reckless kid we met in Star Wars. He’s willing (and attempts) to make the ultimate sacrifice to beat Vader and he makes peace with that decision. Nowhere near reckless.
Like I said, no matter how we call it, it is the same trait we have seen many times before. Attack on the death star was an “ultimate sacrifice” and he was basically choosing a very likely death too. When it comes to ESB, he basically made the decision to sacrifice himself already on Dagobah by going to face Vader in the first place. I do not see any significant change in character at all, especially after he decides to go for another one at the very end of ESB.
Now I am not saying that this any of this makes his character bad. I actually like it. It is just that his character does not develop a lot pre-ROTJ.
- edit - What Alderaan said.
Luke deciding to go with Vader instead of jumping would actually be a change of character.
There’s a big difference between participating in a high risk operation and choosing certain death. In one case you accept the high risk associated with the mission, which you believe can be achieved, and you hope your skills and your friends will be able to get you home alive and well. In the second case you die, end of story. It was a seminal moment in the saga, where Luke after many reckless choices refused to join his father, and resigned to his fate, and Vader failed despite winning their fight with relative ease.
Well both attack on death star and going to face Vader on Bespin were similarly suicide missions. Both had very similar outcomes as well. In the first case, Luke ended up alone in the trench, facing the choice of retreat or certain death (i.e. continue the mission). He chose the second and he would certainly die if Han did not miraculously save him. In the second case, Luke ended up without hand, facing a choice of joining Vader or certain death (i.e. jumping). He chose the second and he would die if antenna did not miraculously save him.
His choices/actions are practically the same in very similar situations. In this particular respect his character did not change.
I don’t really see it to be honest. We as the audience know Luke would have died if Han didn’t come to the rescue, but it doesn’t seem to me Luke is aware of the imminent danger to the point he’s believes, he’s going to die. He’s too focussed on his mission, and Obi-Wan’s instructions. The way I view it, he still believes he has a chance to destroy the Death Star and get away before it blows.
In TESB, as far as Luke is concerned, there is no positive outcome. He will die.
Then there is the fact, that in Star Wars Luke becomes the unlikely hero. His mission is successful, and he has learned to trust his feelings. Conversly, in TESB everything he believed in has been shattered. His line “Ben, why didn’t you tell me?”, and the desperate look in his face says enough about his state of mind.
You seem very focussed on the idea, that a character is only defined by explicit dialogue telling us how a character feels. Yet, a character is also defined by his or her belief system. By the end of TESB it is very clear Luke’s belief system has been turned up side down. As such his character cannot be the same.
Alderaan said:
He started out uninformed, arrogant, and hotheaded. He ended up informed, humbled, and reflective.Isn’t that what we call change?
Nice one!
He decides to make a jump that could have killed him. For example.
And how did that develop/change the character? It is just another act of recklessness…
I’ll add to Mala’s point and say I don’t think he saw it as a fall that could have killed him. I think from the look of resignation on his face, he saw it as a fall he knew would kill him. I think it’s significant character development. He sees only two ways out: death or give in to Vader. It’s subtle in its execution (to the audience) but it’s far from the reckless kid we met in Star Wars. He’s willing (and attempts) to make the ultimate sacrifice to beat Vader and he makes peace with that decision. Nowhere near reckless.
Like I said, no matter how we call it, it is the same trait we have seen many times before. Attack on the death star was an “ultimate sacrifice” and he was basically choosing a very likely death too. When it comes to ESB, he basically made the decision to sacrifice himself already on Dagobah by going to face Vader in the first place. I do not see any significant change in character at all, especially after he decides to go for another one at the very end of ESB.
Now I am not saying that this any of this makes his character bad. I actually like it. It is just that his character does not develop a lot pre-ROTJ.
- edit - What Alderaan said.
Luke deciding to go with Vader instead of jumping would actually be a change of character.
There’s a big difference between participating in a high risk operation and choosing certain death. In one case you accept the high risk associated with the mission, which you believe can be achieved, and you hope your skills and your friends will be able to get you home alive and well. In the second case you die, end of story. It was a seminal moment in the saga, where Luke after many reckless choices refused to join his father, and resigned to his fate, and Vader failed despite winning their fight with relative ease.
It isn’t really a problem, if you don’t use the algo to adjust colors you didn’t train it to in the first place. The algo shifts high/low saturation areas to how they appear in the reference frame. This is what it is designed to do. Artifacts are usually caused by extrapolation of the curves adjustment to colors it wasn’t properly trained to deal with. If you train the algorithm on those highlights, it will work just fine, and you have the smoothing option to further smooth the gradients where necessary. Like any method it takes experience to use it correctly. If you expect you can use it like some magic wand with zero effort, you’re going to run into trouble. I’ve rarely come across a source and reference that couldn’t be accurately matched with zero artifacts by carefully tuning the parameters.
I would advice everyone who experiences artifacts or other problems, to post the source and reference frames in this thread. I will then create a correction model, which will hopefully have none of these issues, and tell you exactly how I did it.
One thing is, that the frames with the shiny objects should be used for building the model, otherwise the model will have to estimate the results for the shiny objects, which may lead to artifacts.
In principle more spaces will result in a better color match, but it’s possible if artifacts appear early on, they may get worse with each iteration. In that case increasing the smoothing parameter will prevent such artifacts.
