DIY Transfer...Issues With Video Contrast

[mattias]

the human eye will see much more detail in the highlights and shadow areas

not really. it has a very fast auto iris system though, which gives the same effect. :-)

/matt

[Dave Anderson]

Hi,
The rule out of this experience could be stated thusly: :?:

Expose for the highlights during capture and adjust for darks in Post.

Not to change the subject, but what would make Virtual Dub better than say Premiere at doing this sort of thing?

Dave

[MovieStuff]

the human eye will see much more detail in the highlights and shadow areas

not really. it has a very fast auto iris system though, which gives the same effect.

Not at all. With the human iris at a fixed position, the eye will perceived a much greater degree of detail in the highlights and shadows in a live scene than film or video also at a fixed iris position pointed at the same scene. Why do you think so many people are surprised when they pick up their processing and get back sillhouetted shots of their friends against a blue sky, all the while thinking,"Funny, it didn't look like that in the viewfinder?" How fast the iris of the eye reacts is not the same thing as the amount of latitude that the eye has in relationship to highlight and shadow detail. The human eye has a huge degree of latitude when compared to even the very best broadcast video camera or film.

Roger

[VideoFred]

Hi,
The rule out of this experience could be stated thusly: :?:

Expose for the highlights during capture and adjust for darks in Post.

Not to change the subject, but what would make Virtual Dub better than say Premiere at doing this sort of thing?

Dave

Above all: Virtual Dub is very fast, it loads in less then, say, one second.. It is free of charge, also... You can do batch processing.. And the quality of the filters is fine.

Fred.

[mattias]

With the human iris at a fixed position, the eye will perceived a much greater degree of detail in the highlights and shadows in a live scene than film or video also at a fixed iris position pointed at the same scene.

you're pretty much right, but my point wasn't that the eye had limited latitude but that the latitude it has in greatly increased by our automatic iris. according to the articles i've read the eye has about 10 stops of latitude. more than reversal, about the same as the best video cameras, and less than negative film. the main reason we see so much more than even negative film is that our irises constantly change when we "pan" between areas of different darkness.

/matt

[sigr]

Michael, please judge it yourself: below here is a 'before/after' picture. I did the change with Virtual Dub Mod, because it's Mpeg. I used the levels, contrast and RGB filters.

Fred, specifically which VirtualDub "levels, contrast and RGB filters" did you use? There seems to be a few of each available.

Thanks,
sigr