Topic: Making digital look like 16mm film

I am trying to get some footage from my camcorder [Sony NEX VG20] to match some 16mm reversal.  I have not had much success beyond overlaying a simple grain plate, and the results are not too stunning.

Anybody have any experience with this, know of any good resources, wanna take a stab at it? etc.

Digital and 16mm stills below.

http://imageshack.us/a/img802/5889/screenshot20121226at111.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img585/5889/screenshot20121226at111.png

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

Big gamma shift, a bit of a saturation bump and then the grain. Mix to taste.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/29628015/dvdcdr-cc2.png
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/29628015/dvdcdr-cc2.png

Last edited by drewjmore (2012-12-27 06:37:39)

(UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

If possible get a gradient ND filter or avoid directly showing the sky as that white blown out highlights look is a very 'digital' look.

Extended Edition - 146 - The Rise Of Skywalker
VFX Reel | Twitter | IMDB | Blog

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

Yeahh, looks like this shot is just going to have to get cut.  Most of the others in the scene were fine, but as you said...too bright here, too much sky.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

If you've the means/time, do a sky replacement, maybe?

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

The big issue is the background -- it's not a problem it's blown out to white (the sky is white in the 16mm frame too), it's that it's too sharp. If you add a subtle "bloom" to the highlights it will soften the image and make it feel less "digital."

In addition, the shadows in the 16mm have a blue tint to them. The saturation is higher, the contrast is harsher, and the leaves are very green whereas in the digital frame they're almost yellow.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

Yeah, last week I tried softening the highlights and changing the tree color.  Got ehh results, there is definitely more to do.  Here were the results:

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/6714/screenshot20130107at807.png

I will probably go back to this shot at some point, but by and large the darker shots have been much nicer to me.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

Looks nice, dude.

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: Making digital look like 16mm film

lol...good one.

Thumbs up Thumbs down