Converting Charts to Dye Sim Numbers
The Secret is in the Curve… How i’m currently as of 9.16.24 reading and applying the charts to get these looks.
Prerequisite Downloads
If you plan on trying to follow along. Here are some free plugins and tools and other things that will be referenced
Powergrade & More Folder:
If there are any issues with these, let me know, and I’ll try to update them.
Dye Simulator:
https://github.com/thatcherfreeman/utility-dctls/blob/main/Effects/Dye%20Simulator.dctl
https://github.com/thatcherfreeman/utility-dctls/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file#dye-simulator-dctl
Git Hub DRTs:
https://github.com/jedypod/open-display-transform/tree/main
https://github.com/JuanPabloZambrano/DCTL/tree/main/2499_DRT
Linear Grade DCTL: https://github.com/jedypod/open-display-transform/blob/main/look-transforms/tools/resolve/LinearGrade.dctl
Reading the Charts
There are two different kinds of film stocks… A negative capture and the print stock. As the artist, you can choose just about any combination but as a reference. I’ve picked a couple to chat and talk about. Now the charts on Kodak usually have a Spectral Sensitivity chart and a peak normalized one with a Visual Neutral Curve. The Visual Neutral curve is adjusted in the Dye Sim by the Silver ratio, Max and Lft Right. The Dye Sim adjusts the Silver by the peaks of of the individual dies.
What I’ve found is that since the Dye Sim draws the CMY curves closer to the Peak Normalized chart it can create issues with how the silver relates to it. So I set my CMY Min’s, Mean, and Left Right based off the Peak normalized chart but the highest points set the Maxs on the Spectral Sensitvity chart.
The only way to get the Visual Neutral to trace in the Dye Sim like it is on the right is to match the peaks on the left. So that Yellow is much higher than Magenta which is higher than cyan
Here’s how I would draw the curves for Vision 3 5213… I might make tweaks from there depending on the finished look and which node tree I’m using but you can see how the midscale neutral is a much better match if you blend elements of both charts together
In the Double Dye Sim trees this would be your first stock setting… If using the 3x you would also zero out the Max and Min of the RGB channels not being used ie. for the Red Channel you would zero out the Magenta and Yellow max and Min’s… This is something you only do for the negative stocks not the print stocks.
When your using the 3X sim model - in the neg stock you can make more individualistic adjustments to get an average version of the Silver Midscale neutral and my suggestion would be start with something you know for all three and make tweaks from there.
Changing the Silver numbers has the biggest effect on exposure and Mid Grey targets. Where everything has larger impacts on hue
Kodak Vision 3 5213 Color Negative
Other Stock Settings I Like
5247 Color Negative to 5384 Print stock would be the closest notion to what films like Indiana Jones and the last crusade were filmed and presented on.
5293 Color Negative to 2383 would be the path to soemthing like the Joker… As a note your road testing with these numbers might lead you down another path… It’s kinda wild wild west situation I feel. I hope you enjoy though.
Below are a couple looks using the 3X method with straight from camera log footage no DRT or CST on the way out. Only adjusments would be global HDR before the initial clamp
