How to: Soft looking video and film look

[Tclark]

Some people may argue this point but I love converting my video shot in 60i to 24 frames per second. I think this makes a drastic change. It definitly takes the soap opera look away. If 24p looks to rough to you try deinterlacing which makes it a little smoother.

Of course it takes good compositions and lighting but I think this method helps tremendously.

Try DVFilm maker. Their software is 99.00 opposed to Magic Bullet which is around 700.00. Magic bullet does have better results but it takes FOREVER to render. DVFilm maker is really fast and does give good results.

[Tcindie]

As far as a soft look goes, you might be able to achieve what you’re after with a radial blur set to 1 or 2, and the Luma Curve.. it will probably involve a fair amount of tweaking, but that would be a good place to start. Ideally, if you’re after that look you should probably shoot the footage with a filter on the camera, maybe a Pro-mist or a black mist.

As for the “film look” I assume you mean something like 24p. Film look in and of itself has more to do with lighting and composition than it does with frame rates. If you light your scenes in the manner that you would for film; key, fill, etc.. you’ll be well on your way to achieving a filmic look. For 24p, however, you’ll need to use a third party application or plugin. Magic Bullet will do conversion to 24p (in After Effects, I believe the Premiere plugin only does the ‘look suite’ portion) Also, there’s DVFilm Maker that will convert standard HDV, HD, or NTSC footage to 24p.

[Eric Jurgenson]

Copy the video to an upper track; turn the opacity to around 50% and add a blur filter. Tweak the opacity and the blur amount to taste. As an alternative, try adding the blur filter to the lower track instead. Keep the tracks in sync, otherwise you could blow your mind.