2017-05-30, 02:28 AM
(2017-05-29, 10:00 PM)PDB Wrote: Looks like a great selection of movies Falcon. Glad someone is working on some more classic films, especially the Hammer films which I'm a big fan of also.Happy that there are other Hammer fans around as well. Really rough release history, especially stateside.
(2017-05-29, 10:00 PM)PDB Wrote: Is the German master of Brides (my favorite Hammer) based off the old master? Not the 2.00 one currently in bd.
The German master is unfortunately the same as the 2.00 one, except in a 1.78 aspect ratio. It's got the same issues- too dark, oversharpened, and magenta pushed, likely a carry-over from the LD-era.
My version is a color regrade, similar to the master used on the DVD set. For the sake of uniformity with Dracula, I'm cropping the picture to 1.66 (a slight loss on the sides which isn't beyond the realm of possibility for prints); then, I'm also softening the image slightly to mitigate the harshness of the EE, which makes the grain noisy. For those who take opposition to the crop and the softening, I'm also releasing a color-corrected version that keeps the 1.78 ratio and the sharpness as-is, EE and all.
Unfortunately, the apparently restored master used for the DVD was lost in a Universal backlot fire a few years back.
(2017-05-29, 10:00 PM)PDB Wrote: What are going to do for the color of Dracula (HOD)? Stick with the U.K. blue or go with the redder/warmer of the US?
I'm actually going to do something in between. Personally, I think the US master looks way off. Looking like it was taken from a low-contrast IP (probably was), it is too bright, too undercontrasted, not nearly saturated enough, and magenta shifted. That being said, the U.K. looks like it does go a bit too far with the blue.
Working from the UK master, I took out the blanket aspects of the tint, so flesh tones become natural once more. Then, I added a healthy amount of saturation.
Thread to come for both this and Brides later.
(2017-05-29, 10:00 PM)PDB Wrote: What colors are you using for 1979? I started some work fixing the old NTSC/Ld master based on the 35mm trailer to use as a color guide but didn't to far. Looked nice with all the blues.
I was planning to not rely on the LD master entirely, which looks a bit too warm, and just try a more straightforward increase in brightness and saturation using the 35mm trailer as a rough reference. Truth be told, I'm not overly familiar with the film and, if the initial tests don't look good enough, I may swap it out for another project- another Hammer title or, more likely, a 1960s Bond film.
