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Stumbled upon a possible GH4 color enhancing trick


AaronChicago
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I took out my GH4 to a Ren Faire today testing out Portrait profile with 96fps HD. I've always used either Cine D, or Cine V, but wanted to try something different. So I shot everything with Portrait profile. After importing to Premiere CC I added Arri Alexa SL profile LUT. The colors looked really nice. I then tried just added some contrast to the original image and comparing the 2. Have a look and tell me that the Alexa LUT doesn't produce cleaner colors? Honestly do need opinions.

First is Alexa LUT. Second is Contrast only.

 

AlexaSL01.jpg

PortraitContrast01.jpg

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yeah, i shoot in the "Natural" profile. The only difference between that and "Portrait" is one step plus or minus in color saturation (i forget which). but the Alexa LUT i have is a nice tool to have for GH4 clips. Lately I've been using my own LUT generated form Davinci that used the Kodak 5207 ImpulZ LUT as a base with a bunch of my own adjustments on top of that. 

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yeah, i shoot in the "Natural" profile. The only difference between that and "Portrait" is one step plus or minus in color saturation (i forget which). but the Alexa LUT i have is a nice tool to have for GH4 clips. Lately I've been using my own LUT generated form Davinci that used the Kodak 5207 ImpulZ LUT as a base with a bunch of my own adjustments on top of that. 

Interesting. Could I send you this clip and see what that custom LUT looks like vs the Alexa LUT?

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In this frame I prefer the Alexa lut colors. Easily. That was my instant impression, and still is after close inspection.  Which comes closer to your recollection of how things actually looked?  Does it seem to produce better colors consistently?

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In this frame I prefer the Alexa lut colors. Easily. That was my instant impression, and still is after close inspection.  Which comes closer to your recollection of how things actually looked?  Does it seem to produce better colors consistently?

Yes the alexa colors are near perfect from what i remember. The Portrait colors could use more magenta, but even then it doesn't look nearly as natural.

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I was trying the Portrait Super settings for a bit and then noticed Zak's clips shot in the Natural profile...for my taste and purposes this gets to where it needs to be...still awaiting Vlogl, but I have to say these Natural profile and settings are bringing beautiful image out of the camera!!

I took out my GH4 to a Ren Faire today testing out Portrait profile with 96fps HD. I've always used either Cine D, or Cine V, but wanted to try something different. So I shot everything with Portrait profile. After importing to Premiere CC I added Arri Alexa SL profile LUT. The colors looked really nice. I then tried just added some contrast to the original image and comparing the 2. Have a look and tell me that the Alexa LUT doesn't produce cleaner colors? Honestly do need opinions.

First is Alexa LUT. Second is Contrast only.

 

AlexaSL01.jpg

PortraitContrast01.jpg

I switched to Portrait but then noticed Zak's clips shot in the Natural profile and with his settings, to me the image is now spot on...still excited about Vlogl, but if it never materialized, this gets me there!

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I would not recommend Natural mode because it turns more red things into orange. And if what Zak says about Portrait being the same as natural but with just a different level of saturation is true then I wouldn't recommend that either. Stick to Standard for the most realistic colours

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sure. zakforsman AT gmail DOT com

Thanks I sent you an email.

I would not recommend Natural mode because it turns more red things into orange. And if what Zak says about Portrait being the same as natural but with just a different level of saturation is true then I wouldn't recommend that either. Stick to Standard for the most realistic colours

This is pretty much what I encountered. As you'll see the person's hair is way more orange/yellow than red in the "Portrait" clip. Of course I could do some color tweaks to fix it but I was happy to see that simply applying the Alexa S profile brought out very realistic colors.

Another frame grab. First one is Alexa SL profile. Second is  Portrait with Contrast and slight saturation boost.

OllyAlexa.jpg

 

 

OllyPOrtrait.jpg

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Looks nice Aaron! I definitely liked the Alexa LUT better of the two. 

Did you tweak the portrait profile? I'm also trying to find the best profile/settings with the GH4 for skin tones and colors generally . On the GH3 I use natural profile with minor tweeks and it worked pretty well for me. Tried Cine V and Cine D settings from Noam Kroll but I didn't get the colors quite right. It's probably just my grading skills. 

Where did you buy the Alexa LUT btw?

 

 

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Looks nice Aaron! I definitely liked the Alexa LUT better of the two. 

Did you tweak the portrait profile? I'm also trying to find the best profile/settings with the GH4 for skin tones and colors generally . On the GH3 I use natural profile with minor tweeks and it worked pretty well for me. Tried Cine V and Cine D settings from Noam Kroll but I didn't get the colors quite right. It's probably just my grading skills. 

Where did you buy the Alexa LUT btw?

 

 

I'm too lazy to open Premiere and look but I suspect it's one of the default LUTs that comes with Premiere. I know Resolve comes with an Alexa LUT, I think the latest CC Premiere does too.

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I had good results with the Arri profiles in Film Covert as well.

Premiere CC 2015 Lumetri Color is a good step forward but I am not sure I 100% trust the built in profiles yet.

Have you seen the train wreak it makes of S-LOG 2?

Select the SLOG2 - SL - PROFILE LUT with your A7S / A7R II footage and have fun trying to get that to look good!!! Two tints... too yellow or too pink, take your choice :)

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I'm too lazy to open Premiere and look but I suspect it's one of the default LUTs that comes with Premiere. I know Resolve comes with an Alexa LUT, I think the latest CC Premiere does too.

Thanks! I only have FCPX but I did try the Alexa LogC to Rec709 LUT that comes with Color Finale and LUT utility. It works pretty well at 10% I think. Have to do some more testing in different conditions but it seems promising!

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I think it looks great. But I have a newbie question... When you use a LUT, does it automatically set the levels, or is it just a guideline that you have to match your footage to in whatever color program you use?

Also, for LUTS, do you recommend Color Finale or FilmConvert for the easiest results?

I downloaded the trials of both programs, didn't mess with LUTS, and found I liked FilmConvert better, but like the price of Color Finale. I realize, they're not a hundred percent comparable, but they do seem to share some similarities. 

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okay, here is the LUT I made for clips that I shoot in the GH4's Natural profile, applied to the "Portrait" camera original that Aaron sent me this morning. From here I would normally continue to tweak based on the needs of the scene or shot. But this gets me closer to the look I like by cooling things off a bit, especially the shadows, pulling the yellow out of the skin and balancing the skintones, and making the highlights a little creamier than straight white. 

this isn't meant to challenge the look of the Alexa LUT that Aaron used earlier. it's just an ever-evolving starting point. I see things in it I would nudge here and there already.

n65ddOy.jpg

EDIT: took some of the intensity of the blue in her outfit away.

N845ZDz.jpg

 

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Looks nice Aaron! I definitely liked the Alexa LUT better of the two. 

Did you tweak the portrait profile? I'm also trying to find the best profile/settings with the GH4 for skin tones and colors generally . On the GH3 I use natural profile with minor tweeks and it worked pretty well for me. Tried Cine V and Cine D settings from Noam Kroll but I didn't get the colors quite right. It's probably just my grading skills. 

Where did you buy the Alexa LUT btw?

 

 

thanks man. The Alexa SL LUT is part of Premiere Lumetri.

In the second example the alexa lut again looks better.  In the second one, the baby looks like a ghoul from 'I am legend'.   Its a shame that the bottle top is blown out. Was it like that before any adjustment?

it was on the edge if clipping. The contrast pushed it over.

I think it looks great. But I have a newbie question... When you use a LUT, does it automatically set the levels, or is it just a guideline that you have to match your footage to in whatever color program you use?

Also, for LUTS, do you recommend Color Finale or FilmConvert for the easiest results?

I downloaded the trials of both programs, didn't mess with LUTS, and found I liked FilmConvert better, but like the price of Color Finale. I realize, they're not a hundred percent comparable, but they do seem to share some similarities. 

they vary. This particular LUT adds contrast and color to the GH4 profile.

I had good results with the Arri profiles in Film Covert as well.

Premiere CC 2015 Lumetri Color is a good step forward but I am not sure I 100% trust the built in profiles yet.

Have you seen the train wreak it makes of S-LOG 2?

Select the SLOG2 - SL - PROFILE LUT with your A7S / A7R II footage and have fun trying to get that to look good!!! Two tints... too yellow or too pink, take your choice :)

yep I've had shitty results with the other LUTS like Blackmagic. I just tested this one on a whim and was shocked.

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okay, here is the LUT I made for clips that I shoot in the GH4's Natural profile, applied to the "Portrait" camera original that Aaron sent me this morning. From here I would normally continue to tweak based on the needs of the scene or shot. But this gets me closer to the look I like by cooling things off a bit, especially the shadows, pulling the yellow out of the skin and balancing the skintones, and making the highlights a little creamier than straight white. 

this isn't meant to challenge the look of the Alexa LUT that Aaron used earlier. it's just an ever-evolving starting point. I see things in it I would nudge here and there already.

n65ddOy.jpg

EDIT: took some of the intensity of the blue in her outfit away.

N845ZDz.jpg

 

thanks for doing that. I'm outside today and it's hard to judge colors in the sun on my iphone but will definitely check it later.

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