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interview // 2010.06.14 08:13:33 [hh]

Tom Welsh über seinen Analog-Film-Simulator "Exposure 3": "We think our results are typically the most true to the original characteristics of the film type"

Screen2.0 sprach mit Alien Skins Entwickler Tom Welsh über seinen Analog-Film-Looks-Simulator "Exposure 3", der in Kürze erscheinen wird. Die Software erlaubt die Adaption digitaler Bilder in verschiedenen Analog-Film- und Dia-Looks, inklusive Körnung und Farbcharakteristik (wir berichteten bereits ausführlich).

Screen2.0: How exactly did you adapt the classic analog film looks to the digital world?
Tom Welsh: To imitate film stocks that were available during creation of Exposure, we did test shoots with the film and with a professional digital camera. We test-shot a special chart, and scenes with flesh tones and colorful natural objects under controlled lighting. We then measured differences between the film and digital images using custom software we created.

Screen2.0: How does the science of grains and curves work?
Welsh: Exposure 3 creates grain that clumps just like the grain found in film, whereas a standard digital grain will be evenly distributed. Curves are a graphical mechanism for displaying and adjusting color measurements of an image. The points on a color curve correspond to the pure colors in a color space.

Screen2.0: Each camera has different characteristics. Is there such a concept as an "input profile"?
Welsh: We do not try to modify the setting based on the type of input camera. Generally we have not found this to be an issue.

Screen2.0: Do you also think about supporting the simulation of purely digital looks like "DxO Optics Pro" does?
Welsh: There are 2 main components to a digital photography workflow, Exposure 3 is more about the digital darkroom than it is the digital developer.

Screen2.0: How does "Exposure 3" compare to tools like "DxO Film Looks", "Magic Bullet Looks" or "Nik Color Efex"?
Welsh: We have done a lot of research studying the details of different film types. As a result, we think our results are typically the most true to the original characteristics of the film type. Many photographers who have shot film most of their lives have complemented us on this.

Screen2.0: What was the speed increase of 64 the bit support in comparison to 32 bit?
Welsh: There is a definite speed advantage to using a 64-bit version of the product, but the amount will depend on image size and other factors. Using Exposure 2 in CS4 (32-bit) compared to Exposure 3 in CS5 (64-bit) on Windows shows a 30% boost in speed. The difference between Exposure 3 on CS5 (32-bit) and CS5 (64-bit) a 10% speed boost (mainly due to 64-bit architecture). And Exposure 2 in CS4 compared to Exposure 3 in CS5 on a MAC renders in less than half the time.

Screen2.0: Will you also support "Aperture" with your tools?
Welsh: We don’t have plans to support it, however Exposure 3 does work with the following host applications:

Screen2.0: What can be expected next from Alien Skin Software?
Welsh: Keep a lookout for Bokeh 2 at the end of summer.

 

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