[In progress] Mortal Kombat (1995) Open Matte composite

Hey friends,

Thought I would take a stab at an open matte version using the FS DVD and 1080p blu ray. (detail preserving upscale on the SD footage > match colour to blu ray > reposition cuts )

I can't for the life of me figure out the avisynth script method to creating open mattes and the test below was made by hand with about 1 days work. I initially even tried exporting all frames and running a custom action in Photoshop to align layers but it didn't work as intended.


Audio is obviously temp so ignore that but open to hearing thoughts about proceeding and if anyone knows any other sources I should be using. To the best of my knowledge I haven't seen any HD broadcasts online with more picture information. Not all shots in the FS dvd are open so the plan is to just occasionally cut to the WS blu when needed (probably very few shots). But you can see that in my test below.

Test (if this small portion isn't allowed under the rules let me know and I'll remove, thanks!):
https://mega.nz/file/SMRn1aya#e_sGA1jfwU...SMZdle44Qw

Small tests are completely within the rules.

I'll give it a download.

[spoRv]

I'd invest some (read: A LOT OF) time to learn how to use AutoOverlay avisynth plugin: AFAIK is the only one that could do it.

Of course, it depends from the sources; if they are from the same master result is great; if they are from different masters they usually differ in geometry and/or color grading, then result could be OK-ish or even bad (at least in some shots).

it still blows my mind that this AutoOverlay plugin is the ONLY method currently to auto match footage. Like in all the adobe programs or even higher end Nuke and Autodesk VFX pipelines there is no way to do that? There must be commerical use cases that need these solutions. If they don't exist dude should package that solution up and start making money.

I honestly get lost in the methodology of using Virtual Dub, avisythc etc since I'm a very visual person and would rather see results through a GUI rather then get buried in lines and lines of code > run it > look at results > re-work code. etc

Photoshop auto-align works great for still images but when sequenced it doesn't consider the previous range of frames which was a mistake I ran into.

If anyone makes a simpler solution to auto overlay im all ears. Or even a purchasable after effects script and/or plugin would be fantastic!

Welcome to my world.

Basically nothing works automatically that I have found.

Nuke can do alignment with F_Align (or O_VerticalAligner). But I've tried many, many times and it doesn't work to a degree that is acceptable. It can hit that mark but just as often can be so far off as to look ridiculous.

I also wasted months chasing alignment down in PS. I've also tried various 3D filters used for layer alignment, picture stitching programs, etc, etc. Zippo, none of it work to a degree as to be useful.

There are simply very few tools for this because pros don't need these features. Hence a fan tool like AutoOverlay. Another fan tool that might be useful is althor1138 's Fiji tools (https://forum.fanres.com/thread-2581.html). But again those programs require work and are not automatic.

Good to know that I'm not alone in the rabbit hole I also went down trying to solve this lol!

[spoRv]

At least you spared a lot of time and efforts to find an alternative tool - this is priceless!

So, now, take a deep breath, and start to wast... spend your time on avisynth and AutoOverlay!

Just an update, im 1/4 finished this project.

Paid gigs have eaten much of my time but I'm picking away at it.

Reached the halfway mark today.

Haven't noticed anything super striking with the extra picture yet but here's a funny one. Quite obviously didn't bother with set dressing this prop and its obviously just a C-stand base

The joys of open matte, you get to see the strangest things.