recovering highlights techniques

[Brian Merlen]

Hey guys, I been playing with resolve and enjoying the manual quite a bit lately...

Wanted to know what you guys personally like to use to recover highlights...


I been doing Luma keys and adjusting the wheels a bit, playing with curves...reading google and wanted to know if any of you felt like sharing your own personal preferences on trying to unclip highlights/recover. I am not shooting raw on this project, log C alexa...so far it seems to work fairly well, but always great to talk to others and find out their own personal preferences.

 

[Matt Ryan]

I try using the soft clip in the curves tab. It can't restore highlights but it feathers it out to transition softer than a hard clip. Give it a try and see if it helps. It kind of has a low con effect for highlights.

 

[Paul Provost]

Try ACES with Alexa log. Crazy highlight recovery.

 

[Brian Merlen]

so far just been blurring the heck out of my Luma key selections and increasing the radius a lot...i will check into other options, the DP actually was the one who told me try and get good at doing it this way, so i been playing with some test shots all night and it seems to be working pretty well...always happy to try other ideas though! it was hard ot notice the the soft clip with all the blur i have, maybe i'll try deleting my nodes or doing another version with only soft clip? as for Aces I am down to try it, but I know post just wants rec709 dnxhd36 from me and intends to reconform with a professional colorist for the final locked movie, so im fairly sure its not mission critical but id have to look into aces more, never done a project that way, yet.... we are doing 4/3 2k prores 444 log c, so tons of information even when clipped it seems...its hard not to admire the camera, though i have been talking up my reds with great success all over set, trying to get some more rentals the next time around with my stuff, at least to those who are okay with using reds (even if not on this particular project)

 

[Brian Merlen]

just did the soft clip, and then the luma key after, not bad at all, esp when you combine them...

before i tried it i was using one node for contrast with primaries, then the luma key...

when i mixxed in the soft clip in the middle it seems to help a lot...its amazing how powerful this program is compared to what i used to have to settle for in my basic one lights in redcine...very inspiring stuff!

 

[Paul Provost]

Careful using soft clip in the middle of a node tree...

 

[jake blackstone]

All these exercises are just putting the lipstick on a pig.
The only proper way of highlight recovery is to debayer RAW to LIN Gamma, like in ACES with EXR. This way you preserve a full RAW image without cutting off any information. Unfortunately Resolve doesn't quite do it correctly in ACES. On the other hand, Mistika does it perfectly and magically you have no more blown out skies. Just like with Alexa

 

[Matt Ryan]

Careful using soft clip in the middle of a node tree...

Agreed, try doing it in the first node if possible. If you do it later on it is effecting all of your highlights, unless that's what you want.

I use soft clip regularly and it helps a ton.

 

[Matt Ryan]

All these exercises are just putting the lipstick on a pig.
The only proper way of highlight recovery is to debayer RAW to LIN Gamma, like in ACES with EXR. This way you preserve a full RAW image without cutting off any information. Unfortunately Resolve doesn't quite do it correctly in ACES. On the other hand, Mistika does it perfectly and magically you have no more blown out skies. Just like with Alexa

His project was captured in prores 444, so this wouldn't help him. I agree though that is the way to go if working in RAW.

How does Mistika handle olpf compensation on Dragon? Curious how detailed you can get the image without it looking artificially sharp and creating noise.

 

[jake blackstone]

His project was captured in prores 444, so this wouldn't help him. I agree though that is the way to go if working in RAW.

It works great with Alexa prores files too, but Alexa Log-C images don't need this extra work anyway. Nevertheless, using ACES with Alexa Prores is fantastic. Highly recommended…
Can't wait to get my hands on Prores XQ

 

[Paul Provost]

His project was captured in prores 444, so this wouldn't help him. I agree though that is the way to go if working in RAW.

How does Mistika handle olpf compensation on Dragon? Curious how detailed you can get the image without it looking artificially sharp and creating noise.

alexa prores 444 log + ACES = pretty amazing highlight recovery, even in Resolve

 

[Marc Wielage]

so far just been blurring the heck out of my Luma key selections and increasing the radius a lot...i will check into other options, the DP actually was the one who told me try and get good at doing it this way...

If a DP told me that, I'd tell him (respectfully) we'd have much better luck if he just underexposed 1/2 a stop. You can't expose digital the same way you did film negative. You always, always have to protect the highlights as much as possible, even when you're working with Alexa Raw or Red Raw.

 

[Jonnie Sirotek]

This technique has worked well for me when grading log footage:

(This is if your using a very simple three node structure)

Using the very first node, click over to your Log Color Wheels.
For your high range, dial that down to 0.333
Take your highlight wheel and start working it down to a level that you like

On your second node, work your contrast. This is also where you would put a LUT if you're going that route. (If you're using a LUT, in my experience it's best to leave the node solely for the LUT meaning no other corrections).

On your third note, tweak your colors/sat to find the grade you like.


All three nodes work in unison, but you may be switching back and forth between the first and second nodes to get the exposure you want.