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Getting Skin-tones this.. plastic?


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Was re-watching Avril Lavgine's first music video and they had this portrait lens close up shot

9fcf474c11b1951b9d03cdba5a1b50fd.png

How exactly could a DoP go about getting the skin tones this plasticy? Almost doll-like. Obviously the lack of blemishes is just make-up but there's a certain polish to the skin overall.

Thanks for any tips.

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The David Mullen on the right would give Avril Lavigne a run for her money! That effect is coming back to me now, back when I would DNR with a Canon t2i. Thanks for the visualization.

So would you say there was an intentional choosing of a higher ASA stock to intentionally get that look?
Or a happy accident?

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2 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

I mean the entire shot looks soft, so it's probably just a softening filter over the entire luminance channel. 

Remember that you are also looking at a film image that was telecine'd to a standard def tape format some 17 years ago (that video was released in 2002), then further compressed for the web. So it probably looked sharper in the telecine bay at the time, and would look very different if re-scanned today.

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Very much so. Bear in mind that effectively all lossy compression techniques will have some degree of noise-reducing effect.

Also, Avril was about 18 when that was shot, and she still seems to have pretty good skin now, so.

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They have still photo software that turns girls into porcelain dolls. You can see the results on the magazine covers. No pores. Maybe the same for movies. This is just one of them.

https://www.anthropics.com/portraitpro/

I never use them. I do doc work...warts and all.

Here are some before and after shots

https://www.google.com/search?q=portrait+retouching+software&sxsrf=ACYBGNSRfR3qutdsaPecYIPtyXCUHzW2kw:1571232086072&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjf_eXS76DlAhVIQ6wKHXAoCW0Q_AUIEigC&biw=1600&bih=806#imgrc=dWMIM6Ywa1CxMM:

 

 

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This still is from a video I shot a couple years ago for Maggie Lindemann. She was about 20 at the time, with flawless skin, and she had a great makeup artist 

The client still wanted a ton of beauty work done, and we ended up with this plastic doll effect.

 

846CDB83-EC28-4264-9B10-228B03C56DF4.thumb.jpeg.99421983827d8960271afe6d390951ef.jpeg

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  • 5 months later...

In music videos, there is still a lot is digital post-processing, usually done in Resolve, Nuke or After Effects (even when not really needed). One of the most ridiculous recent examples is Till Lindemann's funny video Frau & Mann, in which all people look normal and only the lead actress has very obvious, plastic digital retouching:

 

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Resolve added a facial tool kit thing that for my money is creepy as hell if you do anything beyond very subtle touches.  Partly because it’s an automated solution so it will never fit perfectly with your shot.  Great if you need to push through a lot of facial retouching fast but lord it’s so easy to go wrong. 

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Davinci Resolve has an adjustment in the Primaries toolbar (below the LGG wheels) called Midtone Detail, or "MD". Reducing this value will achieve the desired effect, and it's easy to tune to taste versus using their creepy face mask tool. I believe I just isolate the face with a power window and don't even bother qualifying the skin...

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1 hour ago, Chris Stiles said:

Davinci Resolve has an adjustment in the Primaries toolbar (below the LGG wheels) called Midtone Detail, or "MD". Reducing this value will achieve the desired effect, and it's easy to tune to taste versus using their creepy face mask tool. I believe I just isolate the face with a power window and don't even bother qualifying the skin...

This is everything I have ever wanted, thank you

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Don't forget translucent powder. I know it doesn't help if you're already in post. But a double or triple dose of translucent powder will broadly soften secular highlights and kicks off the skin. It's like fairy magic.

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