This is a quick tip article that aims to demonstrate how you can quickly and effectively “Pull” colour and flare information from Cinema footage and images. We’ve also written a short guide on How To Process Photos From Cinema Lenses which we recommend that you give a quick glance.
Generally, images captured by Cinema lenses will have a washed out look to them. There are two reasons for this; first reason being the capture codec and the second reason being the optical coatings on the Cinema lens itself. The optical coatings are designed to increase light flow which activate the colourised optical coating under bright conditions. Because an unusual amount of light is being passed through the optical system, the results can be… unsavoury. But rest assured that your Cinema lens is capturing more information than meets the eye.
We will be using a simple curves adjustment that will help to define the colours, more specifically we’ll be using the infinity curve. This is just the beginning of the editing process, from this point onwards you can begin colour grading etc. By deploying this technique, you can quickly get an idea of what your footage or images are going to look like without having to spend a lot of time colour grading only to find out that the end result isn’t all that satisfactory.
As a rule of thumb, always enhance your photos and videos in some way before being delivered. It is a very novice-like to deliver your work without some form of processing or correction.
In Photoshop…
Important note: Although we’re using Photoshop in this article, the infinity curve technique can be applied in virtually any photo and video editing any programs like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X and Adobe After Effects.
Import the image that you want to edit in Photoshop and go to IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > CURVES.
On the main channel, we’re going add and “S” curve. This is going to add some contrast to the image. The curvature of the S curve will depend on how your image was shot. If it’s on the brighter side, then the S curve will have to be inverted.
The image in this article was shot using a Purple Cinema 58 with the variable aperture fully open for that razor thin bokeh. Now the next step is to add an S curve to the RED channel of the RGB spectrum. Because the Purple coating leans more towards warmer colours than cooler ones, the low end is reduced while the higher end on the red spectrum is boosted. If you’re shooting with a coating that is on the cooler end of the colour wheel then you will need to drop the higher end of the reds and boost the lower end. Always keep that in mind.
We apply the same curve setting to the blue channel but we invert the S shape of the curve. This photo was taken on a bright and sunny day so the general temperature of the image leans towards the warm colours. This is the primary reason the blue’s were dropped from the high end and raised on the lower ends.
This is the basics of the infinity curve. We’re not going to touch the GREEN channel.
The Infinity Curve
This is technique can be a bit tricky since this is borderline colour grading. Which is why we recommend to add very subtle S curves to the RED and BLUE channel. Even slight accentuations can significantly alter the image, so bear that in mind. The more pronounced the S curves are on the RED and BLUE the more heavily graded your final product will look. This may, or may not be what you want.
It is highly recommended not to adjust the GREEN channel in the RGB spectrum. The only time we recommend adjusting the Green channel is if you have a Green Cinema lens and the flares are covering more than 30% of the image. The reason it is not recommended to adjust the Green channel of the RGB curves is because the green channel directly affects the luminosity of the image. Adjusting the green channel will not also render unsatisfactory results but also affect the exposure of the image.