The power of Avisynth: restoring old 8mm films.

[szabi]

I know what the input requirement, and my source is fullfill it.
I did read your linked post. It was written year 2010.
Since that, Fred implement "RemoveDirt" which active with "result1" setting.
Now I try variant of parameters how to get better output, but not easy.

bye
szabi

[johnmeyer]

If you can post a few seconds of your source film, I can try to find some settings which work better than what you are doing.

[szabi]

Yes, I appreciate your help, link sent via PM.
Hopefully it can be downloaded.
Thnx.

bye
szabi

[johnmeyer]

I've downloaded it, but I don't have the ffvh codec. I can play it in VLC, but can't edit it. I'm working on trying to get that codec without having to install a "codec pack," something that should be avoided at all costs.

I'll post again if I can get your video into my editing system.

[creaothceann]

I'm working on trying to get that codec without having to install a "codec pack," something that should be avoided at all costs.

But... why? (http://haruhichan.com/KCP )

Anyway, just convert it e.g. with mencoder.

[johnmeyer]

[url=http://haruhichan.com/KCP ]But... why?Because of dozens of posts in the Sony Vegas forum about major malware (or at least adware) issues with codec packs such as K-Lite.

I am unable to open the video or to transcode it with VLC. In order to at least do a little something with it, I'm uploading it to YouTube and then will download from there, basically using it as a transcoding engine.

[johnmeyer]

Well, I'm stumped. I can't figure out how to install the codec, or how to convert the file into something I can edit.

So, I am sorry, I won't be able to help on this one.

[creaothceann]

Even mencoder (mplayer)?

[StainlessS]

John, this will convert pretty much anything to either HuffYUV or UT_Video


setlocal

REM Where to Find ffmpeg
set FFMPEG="C:\BIN\ffmpeg.exe"

REM Where to get input file, No terminating Backslash, "." = current directory (ie where this *.BAT file is)
set INDIR="."

REM Where to place output file, No terminating Backslash.
set OUTDIR="D:\AVI"

FOR %%A IN (*.wmv *.mpg *.avi *.flv *.mov *.mp4 *.m4v *.RAM *.RM) DO (
%FFMPEG% -i "%INDIR%\%%A" -vcodec huffyuv -acodec pcm_s16le "%OUTDIR%\%%~nxA.AVI"
REM %FFMPEG% -i "%INDIR%\%%A" -vcodec utvideo -acodec pcm_s16le "%OUTDIR%\%%~nxA.AVI"

)

Pause


You can probably add a few extensions of choice to the 'FOR %%A IN'
line and if UT_Video required then REM out the HuffYUV line and un-REM the UT_Video line.
The rest should be straight forward.

[poisondeathray]

or You can probably use ffms2 to open it in avisynth

Nothing to install or convert, just a LoadPlugin for the .dll (or LoadCPlugin if using 2.6.x version)

FFVideoSource("video.avi")

[johnmeyer]

StainlessS,

Thanks for the ffmpeg info. I figured out the same thing for myself while you were posting and was able to convert the file to uncompressed.

I then did color correction in Vegas (it's really hard to do proper color correction programatically in AVISynth) and fed the result to my version of VideoFred's film restoration script, but heavily modified to deal with Polavision film. This is the instant movie film created by Polaroid in the late 1970s. The film sits in the cassette in which it was developed, and over the years, you get huge chemical stains all over the film similar to what you see in this clip. I've never published this version of the script. I significantly modified the RemoveDirtMC function. Here is a snapshot of the result:

https://i.imgur.com/gOooqOJ.jpg

[edit] Photobucket is working again, so I edited the post to include the image inside the post.

[johnmeyer]

Here is a link to the "fixed" video:

Fixed Video (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1561578/Fixed.avi)

[szabi]

Thnx, now the differences can be compared.

http://abload.de/img/originalnxbxf.pnghttp://abload.de/img/fred_result1n6bod.png
http://abload.de/img/my_variantcolr6.pnghttp://abload.de/img/johnmz9rx1.png

Last is your result.
Seems we can improve the quality but far behind of demo videos.
May I ask you to insert script here?

This is mine:
AVISource("8mm_test_16fps.avi",audio=false)
converttoyv12(matrix="rec709")
vectors=MSuper().MAnalyse(search=5)
globalmotion=MDepan(vectors,pixaspect=1)
DepanStabilize(data=globalmotion, mirror=15, blur=30, method=1)
super = MSuper(pel=2)
backward_vec = MAnalyse(super, search = 3, isb = true)
forward_vec = MAnalyse(super, search = 3, isb = false)
MFlowFps(super, backward_vec, forward_vec, num=25, den=1)
RemoveDirtMC(30)
DeGrainMedian(limitY=2,limitUV=3,mode=1)
ColorYUV(autowhite=true,autogain=true)
Autolevels(output_low=4, output_high=220)
Tweak(sat=1.1,cont=1.1)
LSFmod()
Blur(-0.1)
Subtitle("my variant",size=28,align=2)

bye
szabi

[videoFred]

The quality is away from the sample videos which demonstrating the power of this script (http://vimeo.com/user678523/videos).
What else did I miss?

bye
szabi

A good transfer ;)

Fred.

[joka]

@szabi

You have to apply the temporal filters (RemoveDirtMC, DeGrainMedian) before MFlowFps.

[papcom]

I experiment with autowhite in VideoFred's script. Can anyone tell me where I can have influence on the weighting of the autowhite function? I find the result has an tendency to cold colours (slightly blueish). I would like to influence the autowhite in order it tends to rather warm colors.

[szabi]

A good transfer ;)
Fred.

A picture was taken about every single frame.
These lots of picture were converted to DV-AVI.
As I know that is the best process of 8mm digitalization.

I do not have equipment for this so I had to find someone to do. (it wasn't cheap anyway)

All others I found here, doing digitalization by camcorder, which gives worse result.

@szabi
You have to apply the temporal filters (RemoveDirtMC, DeGrainMedian) before MFlowFps.

Thnx, I will check it.

bye
szabi

[videoFred]

A picture was taken about every single frame.
These lots of picture were converted to DV-AVI.
As I know that is the best process of 8mm digitalization.

With a machine vision camera with trigger, there is no need to capture an image sequence (only if you want more than 8 bits). Also, DV AVI is only 720x576 pixels. We need more pixels to capture the full quality of well made 8mm film.

Anyhow, the Avisynth build in autowhite with colorYUV(autowhite=true) is not so good. Please use Auto Adjust from Lato instead. It can be found here on the forum.

Fred.

[szabi]

Hi

I have to check what "machine vision camera with trigger" is. :cool:
I am not familiar enough with this part.
I do my part when digit is on hard drive. :)

I will check this "Auto Adjust from Lato". Thnx.

bye
szabi

[johnmeyer]

Seems we can improve the quality but far behind of demo videos.VideoFred mentioned only one of two things which are essential for a good result, namely a good transfer. However, the other major thing which lets him achieve such stellar results is to have really good film. If your film is dirty, full of chemical residue, poorly exposed, and has major color correction issues, you will not be able to get anything close to what you see in the demos.

However, you can still achieve significant improvement, and that is what you should be expecting.

For instance, here is some film that was in almost as bad shape as your film: it was filled with embedded dirt which could not be wiped off with a cloth and cleaning solution. The "after" result in this example does not look anything like the quality that VideoFred demonstrates in his clips, but compared to the original, it is a stunning improvement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gy9ZG23TTk

[papcom]

Anyhow, the Avisynth build in autowhite with colorYUV(autowhite=true) is not so good. Please use Auto Adjust from Lato instead. It can be found here on the forum. Fred.

I have "LaTo auto adjust" on my WinPC but unfortunately I have no idea how to integrate it into VideoFred's script. I would be interested in doing so but I deed some hints how and where in the script I shall put it with which commands:
AutoAdjust ( [clip], external_clip,
auto_gain,
dark_limit, bright_limit, gamma_limit,
dark_exclude, bright_exclude,
gain_mode, chroma_process, avg_safety,
input_tv, output_tv,
auto_balance,
chroma_limit, balance_str,
scd_threshold, temporal_radius, change_status,
use_interp, use_dither,
high_quality, high_bitdepth,
threads_count, asm_opt,
debug_view )

[Reel.Deel]

@papcom

I see your sig says you're still using the old AviSynth 2.5.8, if you want to use the latest AutoAdjust (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=167573)(v2.50) I strongly recommend that you update to the latest AviSynth 2.6 Alpha 5 (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=168764) (or AviSynth+ (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=168856)).
AutoAdjust dropped support for 2.5.8 a while back. If for some reason you need AviSynth 2.5.8, then there's an older version to download (v1.02) but YMMV; latest version is much more stable and includes new features, bugfixes, and definitely much faster.

[szabi]

Hi

I did all recommendation.
Processing order changed, autoadjust is used now.
script:
AVISource("8mm_test_16fps.avi",audio=false)
#-----stabilisation-------------------------------------------------
converttoyv12(matrix="rec709")
vectors=MSuper().MAnalyse(search=5)
globalmotion=MDepan(vectors,pixaspect=1)
DepanStabilize(data=globalmotion, mirror=15, blur=30, method=1)
#-----remove dirt and grain---------------------------------------------
RemoveDirtMC(30)
DeGrainMedian(limitY=2,limitUV=3,mode=1)
#-----FPS conversion------------------------------------------------
super = MSuper(pel=2)
backward_vec = MAnalyse(super, search = 3, isb = true)
forward_vec = MAnalyse(super, search = 3, isb = false)
MFlowFps(super, backward_vec, forward_vec, num=25, den=1)
#-----color correction----------------------------------------------
AutoAdjust(high_quality=true, auto_gain=true, auto_balance=true)
Tweak(sat=1.1,cont=1.1)
LSFmod()
Blur(-0.1)
Subtitle("my variant2, AutoAdjust, auto_gain auto_balance", size=28, align=2)
The outcome:
http://abload.de/img/my_variant26bojf.pnghttp://abload.de/img/johnmz9rx1.png

Second picture is john's achievement.
Usage of "AutoAdjust" can not help here, due to not only 1 or 2 frame have a problem but all. :(

VideoFred mentioned only one of two things which are essential for a good result, namely a good transfer. However, the other major thing which lets him achieve such stellar results is to have really good film. If your film is dirty, full of chemical residue, poorly exposed, and has major color correction issues, you will not be able to get anything close to what you see in the demos.

However, you can still achieve significant improvement, and that is what you should be expecting.

For instance, here is some film that was in almost as bad shape as your film: it was filled with embedded dirt which could not be wiped off with a cloth and cleaning solution. The "after" result in this example does not look anything like the quality that VideoFred demonstrates in his clips, but compared to the original, it is a stunning improvement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gy9ZG23TTk

I can not reproduce this quality improvement.
Can you :script: ? ;)

bye
szabi

[papcom]

I still have visible grainy halo's around fast moving objects. I reduced the sharpness, I experimented with different dirt_strengh and with differen setting on denoising. Any way there is a certain amopunt of grainy halo's around fast moving objects. Also I tried with full HD progressive S8 sources. but the halo effects remain. I scaled it down to 720p but it's there.

The Problem is, that whe I encode the result e.g. to a DVD (Mpeg2) the halo's get more and more visible due to compression, so the result is not usable, especially visible on a large TV Screen.

[joka]

May be it helps if you change RemoveGrain(2) to RemoveGrain(4) inside RemoveDirt. RemoveGrain(2) is may be not strong enought for HD. The RemoveGrain() filters the areas restored by RestoreMotionBlock. These areas are not filtered with Clense() (= Median-Filter) and so you can see a difference.

[johnmeyer]

I still have visible grainy halo's around fast moving objects. I reduced the sharpness, I experimented with different dirt_strengh and with differen setting on denoising. Any way there is a certain amopunt of grainy halo's around fast moving objects. Also I tried with full HD progressive S8 sources. but the halo effects remain. I scaled it down to 720p but it's there.

The Problem is, that whe I encode the result e.g. to a DVD (Mpeg2) the halo's get more and more visible due to compression, so the result is not usable, especially visible on a large TV Screen.In case you missed it, I provided a link last week to my initial post in this thread where I reported similar problems, and provided some examples of those issues:

Too Much Sharpening in Film Restoration Script (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1405197#post1405197)

That post was made in response to VideoFred's initial script, and he has revised it substantially since then. However, many of the sharpening steps remain.

As a result of the conversation which followed that post, I created my own branch of VideoFred's script which was not only designed to operate faster, but also reduce the amount of sharpening. Because the sharpening is embedded in several places, you can't simply reduce the sharpening values, but instead have to change the script itself. I've had pretty good luck on old, grainy film, using my variation of VideoFred's script, but even with my version of his script, I often find myself reducing the sharpening considerably before I get a good result.

A little sharpening goes a LONG way when you are dealing with either dirty or grainy film. VideoFred gets his fantastic results because he appears to be transferring film which is in really good shape, and relatively fine-grained.

[papcom]

thx JMH - I have exactely these Noise-Halo - issues You show in Your thread of June 2010. Actually I try with Your script on my freshly setup PC with Avisynth 2.6MT. I altered the parameters regarding sharpness , denoising and dirt but I can't get completely rid of these halo's. They are still visible and multiply as soon as I do encode the masterfile to a compressed Distribution Video..

I understand that it is also a matter of the original film resp. video source. My transfer is grainy, dirty and only 768x576 Pixel. But I have no other. This is the basematerial! ==>> Where is the Limit of this script restauration method... what is possible with the source material I have?

I have to admit, that the main grain halo is obviously visible after I encoded it to Mpeg2 on a DVD. I know that this encoding process adds oder amplifies the problem with the noise and grain. Anyway... the DVD is the destination medium I want to use. I think there should be a method to reduce the grainy halo's in the final Video.

Pls could You explain me which parameter in the following scriptstage You would adjust to which values, with dirty, grainy film as the base?

What is the difference between blocksize of 16 or 8 or 4 ...as well as blockover. I did not notice a difference?



denoising_strength= 600
block_size= 8
block_size_v= 8
block_over= 4

dirt_strength=30

#FOUR STEP SHARPENING PARAMETERS
#-----------------------------------------------------------------

PRE_sharp_ness= 80 PRE_radi_us= 3 #presharpening (UnsharpMask) just after first denoising

LSF_sharp_ness=160 LSF_radi_us=2 LSF_sub=1.5 #second sharpening parameters (LimitedSharpenFaster) sub=subsampling

Sharp_Strength = 0.1

[johnmeyer]

thx JMH - I have exactely these Noise-Halo - issues You show in Your thread of June 2010. Actually I try with Your script on my freshly setup PC with Avisynth 2.6MT. I altered the parameters regarding sharpness , denoising and dirt but I can't get completely rid of these halo's. They are still visible and multiply as soon as I do encode the masterfile to a compressed Distribution Video.. You have made at least half a dozen posts about your grain and halo issues, but you have not provided any pictures, and have not provided a short, original clip. It is therefore impossible to know whether you have a real problem, or whether you simply have expectations for improvement that are unrealistic.

So, it is impossible to give any advice without seeing your "before" and "after," shots, and without having a short clip.

[papcom]

@JMH - you're right. - I'll prepare an example with the comparison view and post it here asap.

[papcom]

Here the comparison Image. Please see the edges around the head of the left boy and see also the artefacts in the water.

[szabi]

...
However, you can still achieve significant improvement, and that is what you should be expecting.
For instance, here is some film that was in almost as bad shape as your film: it was filled with embedded dirt which could not be wiped off with a cloth and cleaning solution. The "after" result in this example does not look anything like the quality that VideoFred demonstrates in his clips, but compared to the original, it is a stunning improvement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gy9ZG23TTk

Whatever is done I could not achieve the same quality improvement like you did: click (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1697555#post1697555)
One week since I asked so again, can you help me how did you do that?

bye
szabi

[johnmeyer]

Here the comparison Image. Please see the edges around the head of the left boy and see also the artefacts in the water.Yes, I do see some minor artifacts around the boy's head. I also see a LOT of grain reduction, and also see a lot of waves which have disappeared. I don't think these are sharpening issues. Instead, I think you have the denoising (i.e., degraining) and dirt removal set too aggressively.

If you are using my version of the script, try cutting the denoising_strength value in half, from 600 to 300. Also, if you are using the default dirt_strength=23, try setting that to 15 instead. You might also experiment with the two alternative denoising sections which use smaller and larger block sizes. Sometimes these alternatives provide better results.

Always remember that your goal is to reduce the grain, not remove it. Also, you want to remove as much dirt as possible, but not if it means removing actual detail. One of the most difficult scenes for these scripts to deal with is open water. The random wave motion fools the algorithms, and you often end up with lots of detail being removed from the water.

FWIW, compared to what I showed in that old post I linked to, where I found the sharpening in the original script too strong for old, dirty film, your results actually look pretty good. I think you have done 85% of what you are likely to be able to do, even with the settings you are using now.

[johnmeyer]

Whatever is done I could not achieve the same quality improvement like you did: click (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1697555#post1697555)
One week since I asked so again, can you help me how did you do that?I didn't answer via another post because I already answered your question in my previous post. To repeat what I said, I did the color correction in Sony Vegas (my video editing program), not in the script.

I have not seen any "autowhite" function in AVISynth that can produce good color correction and in fact, they are all quite bad. If you want good color, you have to do the "color grading" yourself within your video editing program. This is especially true with faded film, such as you have, where one or more of the color layers have faded, leaving mostly just the yellow, blue or, most often, the red layer.

As for the dirt removal, I also responded to you about that in the same post above: I used a variation of my script which I modified for Polavision film, a technology that is grotesquely mottled with chemical stains from the development process. Since I have previously posted that version of the script in this thread, I didn't think I needed to do so again.

(Remember, the search function is your friend ...) :)

However, to save you from having to use the search function, here is a link to that post:

Modifications to my version of the script to salvage extraordinarily dirty film (http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1654018&postcount=760)

[szabi]

I didn't answer via another post because I already answered your question in my previous post. To repeat what I said, I did the color correction in Sony Vegas (my video editing program), not in the script.

I have not seen any "autowhite" function in AVISynth that can produce good color correction and in fact, they are all quite bad. If you want good color, you have to do the "color grading" yourself within your video editing program. This is especially true with faded film, such as you have, where one or more of the color layers have faded, leaving mostly just the yellow, blue or, most often, the red layer.

Hi

Seems you are right.
Whatever I tried for color correction via script, the result is not good.
I missed you used sony vegas.


As for the dirt removal, I also responded to you about that in the same post above: I used a variation of my script which I modified for Polavision film, a technology that is grotesquely mottled with chemical stains from the development process. Since I have previously posted that version of the script in this thread, I didn't think I needed to do so again.

(Remember, the search function is your friend ...) :)

However, to save you from having to use the search function, here is a link to that post:

Modifications to my version of the script to salvage extraordinarily dirty film (http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1654018&postcount=760)

I did not find your modified RemoveDirtMC, thnx.
But something else was found what gives a satisfactory result. Your modified script (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1698105#post1698105)
It works without oversharpening and noise removal is better, additionally stabilisation is working with less lost of original scene.
It should have been linked earlier. ;)
If you still have an other hidden everyproblemsolved script do not hesitate to post it. :)

bye
szabi

[johnmeyer]

If you still have an other hidden everyproblemsolved script do not hesitate to post it.Yes, I have exactly the function you want:AVISournce("myvideo.avi")
RemoveAllTheBadStuff()

[papcom]

@johnmeyer - I tried a lot of different parameters, lowered the dirt_strength, lowered sharpening to almost zero, and took the denoising strenght down to 150 ...but I cannot get an artefact free zone around the faster moving objects.

Here another pic of my actual try. (pls don't judge the color... I will do this in FCPX as soon as the video is clean)

[StainlessS]

Papcom, try eg PhotoBucket.com next time, saves a lot of time waiting for a moderator to wake up :)
EDIT: You have to have an account (I think), takes just a couple of mins to create, upload pic, insert URL into post and et voila.

John, thats sounds like a very useful function, where can I get it or are you keeping it all to yourself ?

@Feisty2 below:
Now you're just being silly, best keep as separate functions for maximum flexibility ie

RemoveAllTheBadStuff().MakeAllTheGoodStuffBetter().ConvertToImax()

is better option.

[feisty2]

clearly removeallthebadstuff aint good enough
shouldn't "converttoimax" be even better?
:p

[creaothceann]

Papcom, try eg PhotoBucket.com next time, saves a lot of time waiting for a moderator to wake up :)
EDIT: You have to have an account (I think), takes just a couple of mins to create, upload pic, insert URL into post and et voila.
Or imgur: no account required, just upload or drag & drop a file / Ctrl+V bitmap in clipboard / Ctrl+V URL in clipboard.

[johnmeyer]

Since I can't view your image, for the reasons given in the posts above, I can't comment on the problems you are seeing.

When trying to track down the cause of an unwanted artifact, it usually helps to temporarily modify the script to return video at some intermediate point in the process. If you are using my version of the script, I would temporarily replace the Eval(result) line with one of the following, starting with the first one:

Return Source1 #This shouldn't show any artifacts whatsoever, and should look identical to your original video. If it doesn't, then something is really wrong.

Return stab #If depanstabilize is causing problems, you will see artifacts here

Return stabcrop #If RemoveDirt is causing problems, you will see artifacts here

Return denoised #If MDegrain is causing problems, you will see artifacts here

Return sharp1 #If the sharpening is the problem, you will see artifacts here

Make sure to pick a specific frame where you see the worst problems, and do this test by looking at the results of the script in VirtualDub (or whatever you use to look at the results of the script) before you encode the video.

Do it in the order I just gave, and when you see the artifacts, but didn't see them with the previous Return statement, you will have pinpointed the cause of the problem.

[szabi]

Yes, I have exactly the function you want:AVISournce("myvideo.avi")
RemoveAllTheBadStuff()
That is I looked for. :D

Anyway, I read your script was a MT supported one, but who linked it removed that.
I tried to insert back, but doing something wrong because all time get a crash.
Can you be so kind to insert the original one?
Or if you have any updated version since (2012 october) it would be even better. :)
:thanks:

ADD:
Here you can see papcom's picture:
http://abload.de/img/attachmentjqr8b.jpg

bye
szabi

[joka]

@papcom

The artifacts are produced by RemoveDirt. This is the first degraining step. RemoveDirt is a heavy (lossy) temporal filter. If the previouse and following frame are different (often in case of motion, the motion compensation can not compensate all motion) the areas will be restored by RestoreMotionBlocks with the spatial (RemoveGrain(2)) degrained original. You can clearly see this areas. They have more grain than the others. You have to use a more strong spatial filter instead of RemoveGrain(2) inside RemoveDirt to reduce the grain.

The stronger filter will make the difference of the grain less visible. The bad news - a spatial filter cannot remove the dirt in this areas.

For demonstating the effect you can add
.blur(1.5).blur(1.5).blur(1.5)
to the RemoveGrain inside RemoveDirt().

[papcom]

hi everyone - before I continue, I think I have a basic problem with uploading Images?!

I did upload the Picture by the help of the "attach files" function here in this forum. Is this wrong?

Why do some People see the pic and others not. I can see it in all browsers and platforms, everywhere, also my fellows here in the area can see the pics. Why it is unvisible for some of You?

Thank You for Your explanation

[creaothceann]

Use imgur.com or minus.com.

[papcom]

Here is a link to 3 secs of the grainy, false colored raw-videofile, which is in ProRes422HQ-576p

https://www.dropbox.com/s/28ew4nrrm82mvog/papcoS8_runner_falsecolor.mov?dl=0

[videoFred]

Papcom,

I assume this is old Agfa film, right?

Anyhow, what you realy need is a good transfer. ;)

Fred.

[papcom]

Papcom,

I assume this is old Agfa film, right?

Anyhow, what you realy need is a good transfer. ;)

Fred.

What is not ok with this transfer, besides it is an SD Transfer and the film is damaged?

[johnmeyer]

You simply need to turn down the sharpening. I used my version of the script, and kept the Degraining parameters the same as the defaults, but reduced the several sharpening parameters down to 25-50% of the defaults. I did the color correction outside of the script (see my previous posts on why auto-color correction doesn't work well for faded film). Here is a before/after for frame 15:

https://i.imgur.com/IHoEV0e.jpg

Here is a small portion of that same frame:

https://i.imgur.com/qYEBOC4.jpg

You can see that the grain has been reduced but, at least to my eye, I don't see any halos or sharpening artifacts.

[papcom]

You simply need to turn down the sharpening. I used my version of the script, and kept the Degraining parameters the same as the defaults, but reduced the several sharpening parameters down to 25-50% of the defaults.


Which values did You use for Degraining?
Which value for Dirt_Strength?
What do You mean with "several sharpening parameters"?
I only have:
PRE_sharp_ness= 40 PRE_radi_us= 3
and
Sharp_Strength = 0.0
and nothing more... did You mean these?

[papcom]

Here is frame 15 in original size (768x576) with denoising_strength=300 / dirt_strength=25 / pre_sharp_ness=10 / sharp_strenth=0 in JMH's Scipt Version
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vibrmd5gbgw9sq6/runner_degrained.JPG?dl=0