Johnny Smith Clean Up Progress
Added 2021-09-10 16:13:27 +0000 UTCBelow you can view or download a comparison video that shows the before and after of cleaning up the print.
The new process that I alluded to previously involves making two versions of a scene, one that's "dirty" (i.e., not yet cleaned), and a "clean" that has most noise/grain/dust removed (but which damages the animation some). These two versions are then layered (dirty on top), and a difference map is made that only retains the differences between the two versions, which is usually the dirt. This then is transformed into a "dust map" alpha channel, which is a version with all the dust cut out. Finally, it is layered on top of the "clean" version concealing any problems introduced by that process while no longer retaining the dirt.
What you see above is the image with all the dust made transparent (the white parts). This is layered on top of the version which has these areas removed via a plugin, but which also degrades the overall image. Therefore, this process allows for dirt removal while minimizing the negative effects usually caused by dust/scratch removal programs.
Comparison Video: Click Here
