←back to thread

AV1@Scale: Film Grain Synthesis, The Awakening

(netflixtechblog.com)
252 points CharlesW | 3 comments | 03 Jul 25 16:34 UTC | HN request time: 0.449s | source
Show context
jedbrooke ◴[03 Jul 25 16:55 UTC] No.44457031[source]▶
> This grain, formed from tiny particles during the film’s development, is more than just a visual effect. It plays a key role in storytelling by enhancing the film’s depth and contributing to its realism.

I never understood the “grain = realism” thing. my real eyes don’t have grain. I do appreciate the role of grain as an artistic tool though, so this is still cool tech

replies(20): >>44457115 #>>44457176 #>>44457190 #>>44457304 #>>44457366 #>>44457589 #>>44457682 #>>44457732 #>>44457872 #>>44457896 #>>44457993 #>>44458409 #>>44458653 #>>44459145 #>>44459768 #>>44463102 #>>44463118 #>>44464123 #>>44464590 #>>44471828 #
1. GuB-42 ◴[03 Jul 25 17:13 UTC] No.44457190[source]▶
The way I see it is that grain makes the film look more detailed than it really is, it can also hide compression artefacts and blurriness.

I don't know the psychovisuals behind that. Maybe it adds some high frequencies that compression often washes out, or maybe acts like some kind of dithering.

As for your eyes, I am pretty sure that they have grain, that's how quantum physics work, you just don't perceive it because your brain filters it out. But again, I don't know how it interacts with film grain.

replies(2): >>44457731 #>>44457913 #
2. plastic3169 ◴[03 Jul 25 18:10 UTC] No.44457731[source]▶
Video signal without the noise or grain is annoying to watch as it makes everything in the ”out of focus” zone look smooth blurry. Your eyes want to focus yet it is an illusion of depth without an actual depth. Noise texture emphasizes that this is just a 2D plane after all so your eyes can rest and the viewer doesn’t feel like they need glasses. This is just my theory of it based on observation. No research behind it.
3. dinfinity ◴[03 Jul 25 18:31 UTC] No.44457913[source]▶
> As for your eyes, I am pretty sure that they have grain

And lots of it, actually. Just close your eyes or look at any non-textured surface. Tons of noise.

The decreasing signal-to-noise ratio is also highly noticeable when it gets darker.