Homemade Documentaries
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Apollo 14: A Relook
🕑 Added 2024-10-31 21:45:04 +0000 UTCHello, Patrons! This isn't what you were expecting, I know. Since I am still waiting on Shuttle footage to come in, I thought this month I might provide you with something a bit different. Let's go back to January 14, 2020 -- and explore some of the footage I used in my Apollo 14 video. Except, let us now apply some of the digital tricks and tools I now have in my arsenal to clean up some of that footage.
This month, I have a YouTube video that looks at a couple "before-after" cases of applying upscaling, degrain, and interpolation edits to some of my A14 material, so you can see with your own eyes the impact and trade-offs that it has on the raw stuff. As well, I have included a link to a google drive folder to everything so you can see it all uncompressed and completely unedited yourself.
Just a brief note: This doesn't mean there are any changes to the next video or the plan, I just wanted to give a bit of variety on a month when I had fairly little new to show regarding the Shuttle film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhY6oGIMjO0
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-V0lHRn26mAj5VDtxNCb309F4Iak7HGp?usp=drive_link
Comments
Kevin Cromarty
Hey sorry for the delay - hope you’re well! Not sure if you have it yet, but I got mine on Monday and Herb’s book is excellent. Probably the best non-astronaut book out there and I’m only a few chapters in! His stories would probably make a very good multi-part series on their own. Like Moon Machines or the Discovery channel Mission Control videos, but better. He’d likely interview for them too if asked. He’s that kind of guy. On HDR - I just remember seeing Apollo 11 from 2019 in HDR and (although it wasn’t really Apollo 11), the liftoff and close up of the F-1s and being pretty much blinded by it was amazing. It would be interesting to see how HDR would work on non-35/70mm film sources (such as STS which I believe was all 480i (or p) at 60hz). It’s ironic how advances in recording from using real film in the 60s and early 70s to video in the later 70s to the 90s actually makes the picture quality worse with color bleed and under/over exposure. Even now, people prefer full frame film on anything back to say a Hasselblad to an iPhone 16! 😂 What you’ve done to date though is excellent and while these new tools can improve picture quality and detail, it’s really about the story and video wise, you’ve got it spot on. Especially with images that likely haven’t seen the light of day since they were recorded.
Homemade Documentaries
I could use some lessons on color grading! I fully admit..though to be fair, this video was kind of a “quick and dirty” with only minor contrast/saturation enhancements and no major grading. I’ve gotten rid of some blue and green bias in the past….but I’m embarrassed to say I know very little about HDR and proper color grading. It’s all more or less done by feel. Haven’t read it…ordering now!
Kevin Cromarty
The interpolation on ascent looks awesome! The upscaling too! You can even see the detail in the venting on the right. You were right about the motion sickness thingy btw 😂 as much as I love the retro space hd uploads, I sometimes feel they look a little.. weird if you just throw them through Topaz AI unfortunately. With your images, you’ve definitely found the right balance! Now for color grading and HDR 😉 just kidding! Thanks mate! Time now for 3+ hours of LM5 Apollo 12 fun! BTW have you bought Herb Baker’s “From Apollo to Artemis” book yet? Mine is on its way - very much looking forward to it.
Mohammad C
I think upscaling works best for the rocket launches, they look great!
