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Old Kodachrome look
Hi
Would love to get some feedback on how to achieve a faded old kodachrome look, like these library of congress photos on flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2178246047/in/set-72157603671370361
https://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/sets/72157603671370361/
Is there a general set of guidelines to follow?
What curve adjustments would you suggest as a starting point?Local is the new global
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12 Replies
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What is faded about those photos?
Nothing…
they look almost exactly as they did when they were shot.
The single thing you need to know about trying to emulate the Kodachrome look is that it is actually B&W film in three layers with a color (gel) filter for each layer. The actual color (the dyes) were added in the processing.
To attempt to get the Kodachrome look I would start with isolating each color so there is no crosstalk and then punch up the red layer and put a slight curve on the blue. Then add contrast the older Kodachrome stocks were 12ASA and contrasty.
Lastly I would add some soft clipping for each channel as the top end of the Kodachrome has a soft but fast blowout in the hilites.
It will never look like real Kodachrome but you can try…
-Rob-
Robert Houllahan
Director / Colorist
Cinelab Inc.
http://www.cinelab.comMAHC-PRO 6-Core 3X GTX285 20Tb SAS Wave Panel Panny 11UK SDI Plasma.
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Very good tip, indeed.
And now everyone, lets watch Aviator again and then the Making of.
The film that made me want to become a colorist 🙂A slice of color…
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The Aviator, one of the originators of the teal/orange combo. An awesome film by the way.
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Those are some really nice photos to look at.
They have a “crispness” about them that reminds me a bit of “sharpening” you see from Photoshop. I’ve never liked sharpening very much but it might add to the look.
Also I notice a bit of vignetting from the older cameras in some of the blue skies. Alexis Hurkman’s website had an article on that effect.
I bought Aviator years ago, long before thinking about color. I’ll have to watch it tonight 🙂
I’ve been watching “Legend of the Seeker”. I’ve been noticing they do some interesting things with color. At least by episode 30, which was when I started to notice it.
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Mmm, here I thought Michael Bay pioneered the famous orange teal in bad boys! 🙂
Since we’re reminissing a bit – has anyone watched the first season of TV show Castle? When it came out it was far and away the best color corrected show on (american) television. Unfortunately about halfway through the season they must have changed their colorist or something because it went back to looking merely good.
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I just happen to be transferring some 16mm Kodachrome from 1937 today…featuring the “Gas House Gang” (the Cincinnati Cardinals) and FRD and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Family films…
-Rob-
Robert Houllahan
Director / Colorist
Cinelab Inc.
http://www.cinelab.comMAHC-PRO 6-Core 3X GTX285 20Tb SAS Wave Panel Panny 11UK SDI Plasma.
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The channel mixing tab in 8 can get you started on some of these looks, since they are rooted in dyes that were inaccurate by today’s RGB standards (as I understand it, I am certainly no expert).
For instance, taking some green channel OUT of green channel and replacing with blue will move you towards a 2-strip Technicolor look.
Anyway, I’d start there, and then move to color casts, vignetting, black tints and such.
Nate Weaver
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There is some devolution free plugins from Photoshop that you could use for inspiration and try to emulate in the Almighty Resolve.
https://www.alienskin.com/exposure/index.aspx
https://www.fredmiranda.com/VelviaVision/The God Of Color Of The Universe Will Rise Again!
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I don’t know if a dye could be considered “inaccurate” Kodachrome dyes certainly have their own special look though.
Red is very pronounced in Kodachrome and Blue is somewhat muted I would tend towards adding some saturation to the red channel and maybe a little mid-high curve boost, and then using the curves to change how the Blue and green channels look, maybe with a bit of a bow down with both but not of the same amount or shape.
And Kodachrome (Like all reversal stocks) have a relatively fast overexposure in the hilites but unlike video it tends to be soft instead of a hard clip.
-Rob-
Robert Houllahan
Director / Colorist
Cinelab Inc.
http://www.cinelab.comMAHC-PRO 6-Core 3X GTX285 20Tb SAS Wave Panel Panny 11UK SDI Plasma.
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Alienskin has some Video Tutorials like Color Film Presets and Video Workflow
If you want to give it a try make sure to do contrast and color balance before the plugin effects.https://www.alienskin.com/exposure/videos.aspx
The God Of Color Of The Universe Will Rise Again!
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