Making video look more like film
Video looks different from film. Film looks softer partly because the slower frame rate and the lack of interlacing. Interlacing means that video is actually 60 fields per second (a field being either every odd or even line of a whole screen, i.e. half). Both of these make movement on video look clearer and sort of strobe-like (less movement 'blur') than on film.
Film also looks softer because it has a much greater range of contrast and color. Video looks harsher (more contrasting and starker, more primary-ish colors). In our film, we want a move film-like effect rather than a video. There are certain effects you can use to achieve a more film look. These are the basic things you can do to solve this problem, not just on final cut express but on other editing software.
Color Correct
First, get all the shots in a scene to look the same. If the white balance was wrong, the colour tone may have to be adjusted. Otherwise, fine-tune the exposure on each individual shot. Now, develop a look for the scene. Nest the entire scene into one clip and experiment with filters to see what looks good. This stage is another license to get creative. It doesn’t have to look exactly how it was shot. For example, add some green to give the scene a sickly, institutional look. Experiment with “curves” or “gamma.” The advanced will adjust the colour channels separately.
First, get all the shots in a scene to look the same. If the white balance was wrong, the colour tone may have to be adjusted. Otherwise, fine-tune the exposure on each individual shot. Now, develop a look for the scene. Nest the entire scene into one clip and experiment with filters to see what looks good. This stage is another license to get creative. It doesn’t have to look exactly how it was shot. For example, add some green to give the scene a sickly, institutional look. Experiment with “curves” or “gamma.” The advanced will adjust the colour channels separately.
Desaturate Colours
Some people think reducing the colour intensity makes video look more like film. It is a look. I have used it before, but I don’t use it in every situation. Many video editing applications have a “desaturate” filter. Experiment de- and over-saturating the image. Again, the more advanced colourist will adjust each colour separately.
Some people think reducing the colour intensity makes video look more like film. It is a look. I have used it before, but I don’t use it in every situation. Many video editing applications have a “desaturate” filter. Experiment de- and over-saturating the image. Again, the more advanced colourist will adjust each colour separately.
Crush Blacks
For whatever reason, video cameras don’t record the dark areas as black as they should (a contrast problem). Nest the scene and make the blacks blacker. This is done in the colour corrector (Final Cut Pro and Avid) by reducing the lows or with a filter called “Levels” by increasing the black input. Experiment with settings until happy.
For whatever reason, video cameras don’t record the dark areas as black as they should (a contrast problem). Nest the scene and make the blacks blacker. This is done in the colour corrector (Final Cut Pro and Avid) by reducing the lows or with a filter called “Levels” by increasing the black input. Experiment with settings until happy.
Blur the Highlights
This is a trait of some films. The very bright areas of the frame are blurry and almost bleed into the areas directly surrounding them. Duplicate the nested scene and put it on an upper video layer, perfectly aligned with the original. Add a small Gaussian blur (2-5), reduce the opacity to 3-10%, and change the composite mode to Screen.
This is a trait of some films. The very bright areas of the frame are blurry and almost bleed into the areas directly surrounding them. Duplicate the nested scene and put it on an upper video layer, perfectly aligned with the original. Add a small Gaussian blur (2-5), reduce the opacity to 3-10%, and change the composite mode to Screen.
Add Grain
Most video editors have a “noise generator” of sorts. Generate some noise that is coloured and randomly changing (under it’s settings). Put this in the timeline above the scene. Reduce opacity and experiment with composite mode (multiply might be good for this). Keep the opacity low–a little goes a long way. I should note that I almost never use this anymore because I don’t like film grain anymore than I like a video look.
Most video editors have a “noise generator” of sorts. Generate some noise that is coloured and randomly changing (under it’s settings). Put this in the timeline above the scene. Reduce opacity and experiment with composite mode (multiply might be good for this). Keep the opacity low–a little goes a long way. I should note that I almost never use this anymore because I don’t like film grain anymore than I like a video look.
Widescreen
Dramatic media, whether on TV or in a movie theater, is often presented in widescreen. This is another thing that helps convince an audience that your movie is more than just a home video. On video, add those annoying black bars on the top and bottom of the screen by putting a black colour slug on an upper video layer and add an inverted 4-point garbage matte filter. This is better than applying the "widescreen" filter because this way you can adjust headroom on the clips. If you plan on doing this, shoot accordingly–try taping black bars onto the on set video monitor.
Dramatic media, whether on TV or in a movie theater, is often presented in widescreen. This is another thing that helps convince an audience that your movie is more than just a home video. On video, add those annoying black bars on the top and bottom of the screen by putting a black colour slug on an upper video layer and add an inverted 4-point garbage matte filter. This is better than applying the "widescreen" filter because this way you can adjust headroom on the clips. If you plan on doing this, shoot accordingly–try taping black bars onto the on set video monitor.
De-Interlace
The above 6 suggestions dealt with the look of film. This attempts to make the motion more cinematic. Video is 60 interlaced fields. Film is 24 frames per second. We can take video to 30 frames progressive (sort of). Most video editing software has a de-interlace filter. Unfortunately, it cuts the vertical resolution in half. Here’s how you can maintain more of the resolution. Duplicate a nested scene onto an upper video layer perfectly aligned with the original. On the lower layer, apply the “de-interlace” filter with even fields. On the upper layer, apply the “de-interlace” filter with odd fields and reduce the opacity to 50%. If you notice jagged edges, you may consider reducing the opacity to 30-50%. If you shot with the camera in 'movie mode' this step is not needed.
The above 6 suggestions dealt with the look of film. This attempts to make the motion more cinematic. Video is 60 interlaced fields. Film is 24 frames per second. We can take video to 30 frames progressive (sort of). Most video editing software has a de-interlace filter. Unfortunately, it cuts the vertical resolution in half. Here’s how you can maintain more of the resolution. Duplicate a nested scene onto an upper video layer perfectly aligned with the original. On the lower layer, apply the “de-interlace” filter with even fields. On the upper layer, apply the “de-interlace” filter with odd fields and reduce the opacity to 50%. If you notice jagged edges, you may consider reducing the opacity to 30-50%. If you shot with the camera in 'movie mode' this step is not needed.
Maybe people have their own ways of making video look more like film using final cut express...
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