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What are your methods for softening 4k video?


Inazuma
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So it looks like I might be moving to 4k soon. I have used the LX100 a bit and there's definitely something to be said for 4k. It's like looking at real life. It's a surreal feeling actually. But anyway, in certain situations I do think a softer image is more appropriate. I find that when shooting 1080p as opposed to 4k with the same camera you lose a little bit of the noise performance, colour pot and dynamic range. So what do you guys do soften the image? What filters? Post production methods?

BTW I also wanted to mention that I have developed some LUTs for the LX100. The camera has a different colour science to other Panasonic cameras and so must be treated differently. My LUTs create a more neutral look for footage from the camera, which can be used alone or with other stylistic looks (which usually make the footage look nuclear if used alone). I will be releasing it at a later time.

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EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

Well, for me there is one answer: Tiffen Dfx!

It's a bundle - indeed a LARGE bundle - of digital filters as plugins hosted by Premiere, Avid, FCP X and Resolve (with or without own GUI) or as stand alone app. It's not exactly cheap, but it does better than any glass filter by the same brand. Because you can very subtly choose the luma/chroma range for each of them in post, they have many parameters to tweak, and there simply isn't anything comparable on the market. In this webinar, jump to 52" to see how you can deal with skintones:

For my taste, the filters applied here are almost too crude. These are extreme examples for the audience to see what's going on. I shot a restaurant scene that was way too bright and lacked any atmosphere. There are incredible light effects in Dfx that let you make the candles in the scene appear as if they were the sole light source (fall-off, shape, skin-protection, what have you). Highly recommended. There is a trial too.

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So many discussion about this - 4K too sharp sometimes.

Filters on your camera/lens - all sorts out there.

There's a really good topic/s on the RED/Scarlet forum, with lots of info from David Mullen:

http://www.scarletuser.com/showthread.php?t=5941

The next one is long, but sooo useful for a number of things:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?2714-Ask-David-Mullen-ANYTHING

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1 hour ago, Geoff CB said:

Yeah running the Trial version of the Tiffen set for Premiere. Had an imprompu interview the other day and really needed to soften it. With about 10 minutes of tweaking i'm getting pretty great results. This is the pro mist filter.

before.jpg

promist.jpg

Wow. Not bad. It seems to help with falloff pretty nicely. And it really makes your subject pop.  

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7 hours ago, Inazuma said:

BTW I also wanted to mention that I have developed some LUTs for the LX100. The camera has a different colour science to other Panasonic cameras and so must be treated differently. My LUTs create a more neutral look for footage from the camera, which can be used alone or with other stylistic looks (which usually make the footage look nuclear if used alone). I will be releasing it at a later time.

I'm really interested in your thoughts on the LX100 and how you get the best out of the camera.  Also, how the image/colour compares to the Gx7/G7.  I find it strange that the colour would differ significantly between Panasonic cameras, but I've not really tried mixing LX100/G7 video yet.  Back in January I did play with your Panasonic LUT (Canon/pleasing) on some shots from my LX100 (neutral), and it did something weird with the contrast.

I didn't mean to hijack your softening thread, just looking forward to your LX100/LUT thread!  I really like that little camera.

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1 hour ago, sgreszcz said:

I'm really interested in your thoughts on the LX100 and how you get the best out of the camera.  Also, how the image/colour compares to the Gx7/G7.  I find it strange that the colour would differ significantly between Panasonic cameras, but I've not really tried mixing LX100/G7 video yet.  Back in January I did play with your Panasonic LUT (Canon/pleasing) on some shots from my LX100 (neutral), and it did something weird with the contrast.

I didn't mean to hijack your softening thread, just looking forward to your LX100/LUT thread!  I really like that little camera.

Thanks, I was hoping for more feedback like this actually. Can you explain further what you mean about the contrast?

I haven't actually used the lx100 that much but the process for getting the nicest image is the same as with any other Panasonic camera really. I usually dial the standard profile down and put the highlight curve to -5. 

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Question re: Tiffen DFx

You see, I'm interested in a color correction app as well and this provides that.... I really want an all-in-one solution.

How is this compared to Resolve? Anyone use Red Giant Looks? How does it compare to Looks? (Cause I've been using Looks).

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1 hour ago, mkabi said:

Question re: Tiffen DFx

You see, I'm interested in a color correction app as well and this provides that.... I really want an all-in-one solution.

How is this compared to Resolve? Anyone use Red Giant Looks? How does it compare to Looks? (Cause I've been using Looks).

Do not use it for general color correction. It does not offer anywhere close to real time playback on my machine unless I drop to 1/4 quality. Resolve, looks, FilmConvert all run in real time.

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1 hour ago, mkabi said:

Question re: Tiffen DFx

You see, I'm interested in a color correction app as well and this provides that.... I really want an all-in-one solution.

How is this compared to Resolve? Anyone use Red Giant Looks? How does it compare to Looks? (Cause I've been using Looks).

 

35 minutes ago, Geoff CB said:

Do not use it for general color correction. It does not offer anywhere close to real time playback on my machine unless I drop to 1/4 quality. Resolve, looks, FilmConvert all run in real time.

Honestly, being somebody with little correcting/grading skills, I would highly recommend FilmConvert to any beginner. Simple tools, simple interface... Great results, with little fuss. 

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9 hours ago, AaronChicago said:

I use a Tiffen Digital Diffusion FX filter on every 4K shoot that I do. Sometimes Pro Mist if it's on female talent or a beauty(ish) shoot.

I've done tests with the filter vs post diffusion and there's definitely a difference. I haven't tried the Tiffen version above though. Maybe it's great.

I use the 1/4 black pro mist to take the edge off sometimes. I like what it does for the highlights with rolloff and blooms. I got an 82mm one for 17.50 used :) 
Yoga Rebuild.jpg

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