GH5 to Alexa Conversion

[mercer]

47 minutes ago, Sage said:

Ouch. Yea, I've got one too - I wrote that response on it At least it's a lot better than other laptops - my work laptop is pure blue

I love it for writing and even editing isn’t too bad. FCPX, cuts through ProRes 444 like butter, but it isn’t the most calibrated of screens. Sometimes I wonder if the screen is color blind.

[JeremyDulac]

A few more stills - this time no print luts...just 16mm grain and a slight curve per Alex's document recommendation. The more I look at these images and watch 16mm films on Vimeo, the more I feel like the color characteristics are really reminiscent of 16mm. Pretty neat! Not to say the images don't model the Alexa well, but the Alexa is also modeling film for the most part. I can't get over how good your highlight roll off is in this lut. My one question would be, do you recommend un-ganging the rgb curve in Resolve and just doing a luma curve, or should I keep it ganged??

I saw this 16mm film this morning:

[JeremyDulac]

These two have Grain plates instead of FilmConvert grain because FC softens the image.

[Sage]

Hey Jeremy, those look great! In terms of RGB curves, you can leaved them ganged (for Pdf purposes). If you start grading for a look, then feel free to use them as desired

How are you setting WB? I think neutrality might be off a touch (you can confirm the effectiveness of an eyedrop correction while looking at the Vectorscope) Eyedropping different areas of a white object can achieve different results; the ideal being to choose an area that is most representative of the nature of light in the scene, or on the main subject

[JeremyDulac]

Definitely not super neutral on those second two...the people are in doors under fluorescents but right next to a large doorway so it is a weird balance for sure, plus i wasnt able to set a custom wb(i usually don’t have the luxury with work) so i tried to stay closer to daylight as we shooting near the doorway a lot and outdoors. So do you not recommend using wheels to balance the entire image in this situation? Is it still better suited to use the wb sliders?

[Sage]

16 minutes ago, JeremyDulac said:

Definitely not super neutral on those second two...the people are in doors under fluorescents but right next to a large doorway so it is a weird balance for sure, plus i wasnt able to set a custom wb(i usually don’t have the luxury with work) so i tried to stay closer to daylight as we shooting near the doorway a lot and outdoors. So do you not recommend using wheels to balance the entire image in this situation? Is it still better suited to use the wb sliders?

Oh yes; definitely the WB sliders (or eyedropper); it a whole different bit o' code

[JeremyDulac]

Ahh i see - I guess i didn't realize the wb sliders were that complex. Will do going forward. In the case where I can't regularly use a grey or white card to balance, do you recommend the presets, or dialing in the temp manually? I assume the presets may have green and magenta shifts?

It is also worth mentioning those second two shots were HLG..I have since decided to start shooting vlog.

[Sage]

The presets will do (Emotion 2), as long as WB is corrected in post if need be (using true white objects in the frame etc.)

When WB is accurate, the conversion 'locks in', and everything snaps into place

[Sage]

Great stills from David today; he just got Firecrest NDs, which are the reference choice for full spectrum NDs (how the conversion was done), and shoots All-I 4K to a new Angelbird V90 SD card

[JeremyDulac]

Very lovely stills!

[Sage]

6 minutes ago, JeremyDulac said:

Very lovely stills!

Here's what he said about the Firecrests:

"I noticed that skintones tend to be less pinkish with the Firecrest on, nature’s green is deeper and less yellowish (less red in the green, making it look a bit bluer and truer).

Blacks are also very neutral."

Compared to his old ND, green seems to have locked in, in my opinion

I use 3 and 6 stop Firecrests with magnetic Xume adapters, he uses 2 and 4, with a stack to 6

[mercer]

I recently found this little trick for WB in post. In the tutorial, Larry Jordan uses FCPX but it can be used with any editor that has a vectorscope.

https://larryjordan.com/articles/fcp-x-a-simple-but-amazing-color-correction-trick-video/

Scroll down to see the video. 

[Sage]

12 minutes ago, mercer said:

I recently found this little trick for WB in post. In the tutorial, Larry Jordan uses FCPX but it can be used with any editor that has a vectorscope.

https://larryjordan.com/articles/fcp-x-a-simple-but-amazing-color-correction-trick-video/

Scroll down to see the video. 

That's a solid approach! Most especially if you have recorded a reference WB card, you can get perfect WB. Its key to make sure the card is representative of the key light cast (for GHa)

[tihon84]

On 6/4/2018 at 4:53 PM, JeremyDulac said:

These two have Grain plates instead of FilmConvert grain because FC softens the image.

 

Hi,  maybe you can share you 16 mm grain footage, please? Also, i wish to know what opacity settings did you use?

 

And one more thing.

I think your stills looks great, but need a little CC and contrast. If you like it, here a PSD file with adjustment layers https://yadi.sk/i/qGqI558H3XBKJg

 

 

[JeremyDulac]

3 hours ago, tihon84 said:

Hi,  maybe you can share you 16 mm grain footage, please? Also, i wish to know what opacity settings did you use?

 

And one more thing.

I think your stills looks great, but need a little CC and contrast. If you like it, here a PSD file with adjustment layers https://yadi.sk/i/qGqI558H3XBKJg

 

 

Hey thanks! I definitely dig the contrast you have added and will take a look at those adjustment layers..suppose it was just a taste thing when i was exporting. Im constantly trying to shape a look for myself ha. 

As far as the grain goes, i use gorilla grain. For these its at 100% opacity, but i use the hsl qualifier in resolve and key the grain out of the shadows which helps it be less overwhelming and is actually more how true film grain responds.

[Sage]

20 hours ago, tihon84 said:

but need a little CC

When there is no reference white, this is actually a good way to tell if WB neutrality (before the conversion) needs an adjustment. After the conversion, there shouldn't be a need to correct for color balance (rosiness of cheeks, brown rather than green hair). This visual judgement check on results is limited by the accuracy of the monitor, but it is a good indicator. Vectorscope is always a good objective assessment.  And when WB is on point, the conversion can really lock in.

WB will not only incorporate the nature of the source, but also the reflected alteration to the source. For example, if you are standing in a yellow wall paper room with window sky daylight providing general illumination, this will be a distinct white balance from the GH5 day WB preset

[tihon84]

1 hour ago, Sage said:

When there is no reference white, this is actually a good way to tell if WB neutrality (before the conversion) needs an adjustment. After the conversion, there shouldn't be a need to correct for color balance (rosiness of cheeks, brown rather than green hair). This visual judgement check on results is limited by the accuracy of the monitor, but it is a good indicator. Vectorscope is always a good objective assessment.  And when WB is on point, the conversion can really lock in.

WB will not only incorporate the nature of the source, but also the reflected alteration to the source. For example, if you are standing in a yellow wall paper room with window sky daylight providing general illumination, this will be a distinct white balance from the GH5 day WB preset

Hi, you are right.

Your LUT is really accurate in terms of color e.t.c, I just posted my view on possible grading to achieve more 16mm look (like in video reference) 

[JeremyDulac]

On another note about browser accuracy...someone posted this in the fb color grading group.

Could be of some help, but haven’t tried it yet.

 

[Sage]

29 minutes ago, tihon84 said:

Hi, you are right.

Your LUT is really accurate in terms of color e.t.c, I just posted my view on possible grading to achieve more 16mm look (like in video reference) 

I thought your corrections were on point; the reason they were just what was needed was a WB neutrality situation. When the pre WB is correct, it will look like your post grade. And for the post grade, a green 'Matrix'-like cast or any other stylization may be added after the conversion (and the core Alexa color will be correct)

[deezid]

21 minutes ago, JeremyDulac said:

On another note about browser accuracy...someone posted this in the fb color grading group.

Could be of some help, but haven’t tried it yet.

 

Yep, turned that on months ago.