[Canceled] Die Hard 2 35mm Regrade (The 35 Project)

[PDB]

That looks about right. The feel of it reminded me of the green/blue samples of Face/Off that THXita posted on OT.com:
http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/FACEOFF...D/id/54581

Also, the very beginning, the city landscape shots on "Summer in the City" are way too red on video. Actually, the trailer in the bonus section is closer (just like the picture of the title you just posted), though some city shots (at least one) in that trailer lack a touch of red.

I'm going to whip together some test images for DH3 and let's see if they are anywhere near what you describe Beber.

[PDB]

OK a quick and simple test:

BD/Regrade


I adjusted the skins tones, changed the picture to overall cooler, added in some blues and greens, removed the pink tint, added some contrast, punched the shadows down and highlights up with a curve. I didn't push the colors too hard for this first test.

Am I anywhere close you saw Beber?

[Stamper]

Looks good! Too much green for me though, also I think it now looks like video and not nicely photographed as the film is. Pink tint gone is good, but you need to keep some of the warm and orange skintones. Natural skintones make it look like video.

[Beber]

PDB, you certainly are close to what I saw. I disagree with Stamper: to me, your regrade looks more filmlike.
Obviously, I couldn't tell you shot for shot what is dead-on and what is not, but overall, you managed to capture the mood, which is quite astonishing since you made it based on words from a foreign guy and not from pictures. Are you sure you haven't seen it yourself?
The title card looks quite all right. The inside of the cop van where McClane takes aspirin is pretty good. I seem to remember the background being a greener gray. Maybe it needs an increase in saturation. The outside in Harlem definitely rings a bell. Your regrade makes it look darker and that's what surprised me when seing the print, especially the Zeus side, so that's good. The Cobb shots look pretty good. The shot of Lambert and Charlie, too. Zeus holding the phone in the precinct is fine, but I'm not so thrilled about McClane's skintone. I remember it being browner. And since Zeus is already very brown, for obvious reasons, I recall him being shinier. I think, it could use a touch of brown and golden hue.

[CSchmidlapp]

I think it looks great PDB. Certainly a great improvement on the disc as is.
It sounds like the Trailer is indeed close to the Theatrical color timings.

I understand Stampers view on the green, but with beber watching it recently in 35mm and viewing it with an eye on the Colour Timings. Id say his opinion's on it are the best reference one can get beyond attending a screening or better yet a 35mm print.

DH2 was certainly a worthwhile project and that was created from similar references.

Interesting how a lot of Theatrical Timings are showing to have a much larger push towards teal / green.
Objections to some titles on BR for revisionist color meddling my have been in error

[Stamper]

OK watched it on a 1080p monitor. Looks filmic indeed, but not on a macbook pro. Make it teal!

[spoRv]

PDB, green seems quite spot on; I'd increase a bit the saturation.

[PDB]

PDB, you certainly are close to what I saw. I disagree with Stamper: to me, your regrade looks more filmlike.
Obviously, I couldn't tell you shot for shot what is dead-on and what is not, but overall, you managed to capture the mood, which is quite astonishing since you made it based on words from a foreign guy and not from pictures. Are you sure you haven't seen it yourself?

Cool beans! That's great to hear that I was close.

I wouldn't expect to be able to do a shot-by-shot without direct reference material so it will really end up being one color correction/LUT for the whole thing.

Haven't seen the movie on 35mm in 20+ years but at this point I've gotten a feel for what 35mm film should look like. Also referencing the Face/Off pics gave me the direction to go.

The title card looks quite all right. The inside of the cop van where McClane takes aspirin is pretty good. I seem to remember the background being a greener gray. Maybe it needs an increase in saturation. The outside in Harlem definitely rings a bell. Your regrade makes it look darker and that's what surprised me when seing the print, especially the Zeus side, so that's good. The Cobb shots look pretty good. The shot of Lambert and Charlie, too. Zeus holding the phone in the precinct is fine, but I'm not so thrilled about McClane's skintone. I remember it being browner. And since Zeus is already very brown, for obvious reasons, I recall him being shinier. I think, it could use a touch of brown and golden hue.

Is it just McClane skintones in that one scene or throughout the picture itself? I think I might be able to hit that target. Let me experiment a little.

I think it looks great PDB. Certainly a great improvement on the disc as is.
It sounds like the Trailer is indeed close to the Theatrical color timings.

Thanks Cschmidlapp!

Is this trailer on youtube or does someone have a copy? More reference never hurts.

I understand Stampers view on the green, but with beber watching it recently in 35mm and viewing it with an eye on the Colour Timings. Id say his opinion's on it are the best reference one can get beyond attending a screening or better yet a 35mm print.

DH2 was certainly a worthwhile project and that was created from similar references.

Interesting how a lot of Theatrical Timings are showing to have a much larger push towards teal / green.
Objections to some titles on BR for revisionist color meddling my have been in error

I can understand Stampers view also. If I was doing what I personally thought looked good I would balance white to be "white" and not green or pink. But at this point I've seen a lot of 35mm prints with that green look, so when Beber describes the film as looking like that, I instantly know what he is talking about.

Still want to get a trailer to scan....

Part of me has always suspected that the green look on some 35mm prints is not so much from the color timing itself but maybe, possibly the theatrical film stock it is printed on. Particularly, certain Kodak film stocks. The 35mm prints I have seen that are very green always turn out to be certain Kodak LPP stocks.

It's a working theory I have, only backed up with circumstantial evidence. In this case, unless Berber asked, being a French print it could be anything, Kodak, Fuji, agfa, etc.

PDB, green seems quite spot on; I'd increase a bit the saturation.

Thanks and can do spoRv

[CSchmidlapp]

Part of me has always suspected that the green look on some 35mm prints is not so much from the color timing itself but maybe, possibly the theatrical film stock it is printed on. Particularly, certain Kodak film stocks. The 35mm prints I have seen that are very green always turn out to be certain Kodak LPP stocks.

It's a working theory I have, only backed up with circumstantial evidence. In this case, unless Berber asked, being a French print it could be anything, Kodak, Fuji, agfa, etc.

Great point.
And well worth exploring

[Beber]

PDB, you can reduce the pink skintone on McClane in the police van, increase saturation so that the back "wall" looks more greenish gray. In the precinct, after coming back from Harlem, you can add more brown to his skintone, especially on the wider shot that still looks too pink and you can add a touch of gold so that Zeus glows with that increasing browns. Also, not a scene that you have shown us yet, but I recall the scene inside the Feds' van when the agents show McClane and Zeus pictures of Targo and Peter Krieg. You have a panning shot from McClane to Zeus shaking their heads to answer "no": that panning shot doesn't show a pink guy, then a brown guy. It shows 2 shades of brown skintones, Zeus being far more brown obviously and McClane being dirty after the subway bombing.

It would be interesting to see how it'd look with your instinct of balancing the whites.