***Before you go any further - this is for Windows installation only.

My ongoing experiments with incorporating the Python-based image processing software, VapourSynth, into my color management and restoration pipeline has resulted in compiling a stable package which Windows users may use for further experimentation. I’m using this package specifically because it has thus far been compatible with Python 3.6.8 thus meeting the compatibility requirements of Davinci Resolve Studio 17.2.

I would also like to credit my friend and colleague Hamid Sadeghi for his Python kung-fu and for helping me with this project.

Download Here —> VapourSynth R44 Install Package

Install Package Contents:

Primary Installation:

python 3.6.8 portable
VapourSynth64-Portable-R44
VapourSynthEditor-r19-64bit

Plugins:

ffms2-2.40-msvc (ffms2-v2.23 also works)
fmtconv-r22 (fmtconv-r20 works also)
vapoursynth-mvtools-v23-win64 (vapoursynth-mvtools-v22-win64 works also)
vapoursynth-nnedi3-v12-win64
Also included is the required nnedi3_weights.bin file

Python Modules:

havsfunc-r33 (havsfunc-r33 works also)
mvsfunc-r8
vapoursynth-adjust-v1
VapourSynth-script-master-v1

Basic VapourSynth Script:

This is a basic script for transforming the color primaries of a Rec.601 .avi file which has been captured from a mini-DV archival tape with 4:1:1 chroma subsampling and 8-bit precision into a Rec.709 4:2:2 media file with 10-bit precision. The QTGMC plugin is used to deinterlace and field interpolate. It does a remarkable job bypassing the vertical resolution loss of a standard deinterlacer by interpolating the missing field lines when constructing the progressive frame. The core.resize.Spline36 changes the PAR to 1:1 within a standardized 540 vertical.

  
    import vapoursynth as vs
import havsfunc as haf
core = vs.get_core()
clip = core.ffms2.Source(source='E:\Captured_Archival\\your_video.avi')
clip = vs.core.resize.Point(clip, format = vs.YUV422P10)
clip = haf.QTGMC(clip, Preset='Slower', TFF=False)
clip = core.resize.Spline36(clip, 720, 540)
clip.set_output()

  
  

Vapoursynth Community:

Below is a growing list of developers and repositories for VapourSynth:

VapourSynth 3000! - Good resource for the latest release of VS.
VapourSynth Database - The one-stop shop supercenter for VS plugins.
Steak Under Water’s forum WE SUCK LESS - a great forum for Fusion and Resolve dev community which is quite active.
Huge shout out to Andrew Swan for making a detailed tutorial on how to install VapourSynth on Windows. This is a good video along with blogged instructions for beginners.
Meatwad - a wonderful place to learn more about VS plugins and how they’re used to remove specific artifacts from video. There are also some handy Avisynth tips too.
Igor Riđanović - Post professional with a YouTube channel including How-to vids.
Kageru - Coder and blogger with some interesting things to say about the VS community.
Black Magic Design’s Fusion Forum - More Fusion and Resolve specific community.

February 9, 2021

Deconvolutional Upscaling for Legacy Media

MCM Creative in NYC reached out to Magic Lantern and asked if it was possible to clean up and upscale his feature doc Shelter Island prior to an Amazon streaming distribution sale. Unfortunately, the original media was no longer available and the master had already gone through various unknown encodes.

February 2, 2021

Superior Deinterlacing and Upscaling With Machine Learning

Typically, filmmakers use the deinterlacing tool provided for free within their NLE or Davinci Resolve. This article will demonstrate why this approach can be destructive to the image and will offer a better alternative.

January 28, 2021

Rendering With JPEG Compression(ism)

A collection of photos taken with a cell phone at full magnification yields interesting results. Although the discrete cosine transform compression still has a significant effect in the image, by magnifying the image in camera prior to the encode, these images take on a hybrid of pixilation and compression decimation. There is also a slight halation ghosting around the higher contrast edges which get encoded into a pleasant glow.

Color and the Physiological Response - A Colorist's Exploration

Colors, generally speaking, are instinctively associated with emotions. Working as a colorist and having to manipulate color everyday – I feel that most directors and cinematographers intuitively ask for specific colors to enhance specific emotions on special scenes without even realizing it. Here is a little help on how to actually use color in film making to activate – or not – a physical reaction in your audience.