View Full Version : Creating a pseudo image orthicon effect


Aussie Bloke
05-01-2010, 07:02 PM
G'day all.

I've been experimenting around with video effects and recently found out how to create a pseudo image orthicon effect for my videos. It is a filter that you would find in a number of photo editing programs called "unsharp mask" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsharp_masking.

Anyways I tried this effect out and got some promising results. I then played around with some other adjustments and managed to get a picture that has similar tones to that of an IO camera. What I did was using Corel Photopaint 7, I desaturated the image to remove the colour, adjust the brightness to 10 and the contrast to -50 as it helps bring about the IO grey level tones, I than applied the unsharp mask twice to the image and that brought out the haloing and the IO tones to that similar to of a 3 inch IO tube. The results are not perfect as the effect is not sensitive to the intensity of objects reflecting light considering it's post production editing (hence no major haloing) but are pretty good in giving a half decent impression the footage was taken from an IO camera.

In the attachments are some examples of this effect applied, one of them is in colour which I guess would look a little similar to a TK-42 image considering the IO tube is used for luminance levels.

I also have done some videos applying this effect which can be viewed here on YouTube:
80s & 90s TV footage orthiconised: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbDqoSAZIG4
Sony AVC-3200CE Vidicon camera footage orthiconised: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOjhgDsXt74

I believe it can be possible for a CCD camera to be made with an inbuilt IO effect in which the light intensities can be sensed by the CCD and the halo effect applied accordingly to match that of an IO tube. I am wondering if anyone has yet attempted this?

austvarchive
05-02-2010, 09:55 AM
troy the material you shot on your vidicon camera and then "orthiconised" (you should trademark that name!) look very convincing, you just need to get some old cars or people in old fashioned clothes or something of the era and it would look the part!!

old_tv_nut
05-02-2010, 07:49 PM
These images do have the "feel" of an IMO exposed over the knee. However, the actual effect was not exactly the same as any linear filter, since it was mainly the parts of the image over the knee that caused it, plus, those parts were suppressing the brightness in parts not over the knee. I have puzzled how to really simulate those secondary electron clounds in Photoshop, and haven't figured it out.

This is the best result I've seen. Thanks for the experiments!

NewVista
05-03-2010, 12:39 PM
Skyhooks pix does look like an IO. 4" IO's made awesome pix .