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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Softening Womens face and facial hairs

Steve DiMaggio

Steve DiMaggio

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So even in 4K with my leicas and mamiyas I have issues with womens facial hair showing up while they are getting make up done, in 6 and 8K I image it is going to be worse. What filters are recommended for this? Any particular ones work well in anyones experience, really would like to reduce the facial hair aspect.

Steve
 
Have you tried a Hollywood Black Magic, a bit heavy like maybe a 1?

I'd also try softer lenses. You just need to take the edge off a bit. The Leica's might be a bit too sharp as beautiful as they are.

Also, how the light is catching the face will affect the visibility of hairs as well.
 
You can also net the lens (though is hard to do on EF mounts, PL is way easier). Netting the lens involves putting stockings behind the rear element with some snot tape. This is a good article on it to get you started, many more online: http://nofilmschool.com/2013/12/diffusion-how-and-why-to-use-stockings-on-your-lenses

I personally don't net lenses myself but do ask ACs to for me as they're very accustomed to it. I also use Black Pro Mist sometimes and that helps soften. Hollywood Black Magic has the same effect. If you're in a "whiter/brighter" environment, consider some White Pro Mist or Diffusion FX. A day spent testing will save you soooooo much time and money in the long run. Seems like this may be a normal thing for you so it could be super valuable.
 
I find my leicas to be pretty soft actually, I rarely use the 90mm it is the 35 I am using, but the mamiyas seem to show them the most. I am gonna use some milvus this weekend and see the results. I will try the back magic for sure

steve
 
Steve DiMaggio said:
I find my leicas to be pretty soft actually, I rarely use the 90mm it is the 35 I am using, but the mamiyas seem to show them the most. I am gonna use some milvus this weekend and see the results. I will try the back magic for sure

steve
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Cool, let us know what works out.

When I do in-house beauty stuff, I rely on the MagicBullet "Cosmo" post effect. It isolates skin tones and blends pixels without losing too much sharpness (plus you can dial it in). It's a go to move when something was shot super sharp and someone asks for it to feel softer.
 
the hairs really are a big problem for me, once they get all that make up on
 
Steve DiMaggio said:
the hairs really are a big problem for me, once they get all that make up on
Click to expand...

Like facial hair? That sort of stuff is almost what cosmo was designed to do. I was doing post on a project where an incredibly high-profile celeb had noticeable small hairs in closeup (due to some poor lighting on set) and cosmo wiped those out for me.
 
Steve DiMaggio said:
Brody, nice studio, my back ground is in studio design, anyways, does that link work well for hairs? Or just aging

Steve
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Thanks Steve, ya this solution won't fix everything, but it can work for the right material. It works pretty much like an auto smoother without you having to mask anything etc. It can clean up a bit of stuff without you having to put a ton of post work into it which I like. But try the free demo first to see if it gets you closer with your footage, every shot is different.
 
Brody_B said:
http://www.toolfarm.com/buy/digital_anarchy_beauty_box_video
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Beauty Box is way over the top and too intense, from what I've seen. I think it's a quick fix for a much more complicated problem.

I think you're better off either hiring a colorist or learning to use precision defocus tools in software like Baselight, Lustre, Mistika, Nucoda, Pablo, or Resolve. The advantage is that you can isolate different areas of the face and apply different kinds of processing with different intensities. It's not unusual in a beauty-related commercial that an actor's face might have four or five simultaneous tracking windows, each designed to flatter their skin without reducing the sharpness of their eyes, hair, and lips. It takes a very delicate touch to do this right.

In some cases, breaking down the image into separate frequency ranges allows really precise control. For me, often different combinations of mist blurring vs. midrange detail vs. noise reduction generally does the trick, but for actors of a certain age, I've had to apply multiple masks and work on their neck, face, and forehead separately; sometimes, sharpening on the eyes is necessary in order to bring out those details while suppressing crow's feet a few pixels away. You'd be amazed at the major A-list actors who have had this kind of correction done over the last 10-12 years.

Dan Moran of MixingLight.com has done several tutorials where he illustrates this technique for Resolve in detail.
 
Marc Wielage said:
Beauty Box is way over the top and too intense, from what I've seen. I think it's a quick fix for a much more complicated problem.

I think you're better off either hiring a colorist or learning to use precision defocus tools in software like Baselight, Lustre, Mistika, Nucoda, Pablo, or Resolve. The advantage is that you can isolate different areas of the face and apply different kinds of processing with different intensities. It's not unusual in a beauty-related commercial that an actor's face might have four or five simultaneous tracking windows, each designed to flatter their skin without reducing the sharpness of their eyes, hair, and lips. It takes a very delicate touch to do this right.

In some cases, breaking down the image into separate frequency ranges allows really precise control. For me, often different combinations of mist blurring vs. midrange detail vs. noise reduction generally does the trick, but for actors of a certain age, I've had to apply multiple masks and work on their neck, face, and forehead separately; sometimes, sharpening on the eyes is necessary in order to bring out those details while suppressing crow's feet a few pixels away. You'd be amazed at the major A-list actors who have had this kind of correction done over the last 10-12 years.

Dan Moran of MixingLight.com has done several tutorials where he illustrates this technique for Resolve in detail.
Click to expand...

Your definitely on the spot with that one Marc. After Steve PM'd me the footage I suggested the manual blur/defocus/color approach instead. I do believe Beauty Box for when you don't have the time/budget or know how to get into the manual details, and only under certain circumstances where it can actually do close to what you want. Not in this case.

Cool link BTW.
 
Next time, use Nair before shooting. '-)
 
maybe you should buy a kippertie carbon olpf and leave that in your camera since most of your subjects likely have this problem.
 
If the lighting needs to be a certain way for the scene, or simply needs to play on things other than faces, then post tools are your savior. FWIW, I carry a light 1/4 HBM (Hollywood Black Magic) for such occasions as I find it helps with the facial detail issue without making the whole shot seem "off" compared to what it's cut in with. Strongly suggest that you make the effort to get on the same page with your makeup artist to mitigate the issue up front - and don't throw them under the bus if the talent/director/producer/etc complains.

Cheers - #19
 
if its a decent sized job there's plenty a vfx artist can do to remove them without destroying detail, I've done plenty of skin cleanup and hair removal in the past.
 
Mihnea Bi said:
Hawk v lenses, or lomo and don't back could be an answer
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yup, stay away from back light. Front soft light is your savior. Or lots of post.
 
Blair S. Paulsen said:
If the lighting needs to be a certain way for the scene, or simply needs to play on things other than faces, then post tools are your savior. FWIW, I carry a light 1/4 HBM (Hollywood Black Magic) for such occasions as I find it helps with the facial detail issue without making the whole shot seem "off" compared to what it's cut in with.
Click to expand...
Yep, Black Pro Mists can be great as well. Soft lighting, great makeup... all that stuff helps massively.
 
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