The technique breaks down as it currently is implemented on video since as the image's change over time, the algorithm continually adapts the current frame using the same technique. In the sample you provide, the waves and large rocks shift in color/tone/brightness as the camera is panned. Obviously this isn't what the viewer expects.

An improvement would be to lock the conversion down on the first frame of a sequence, and allow it to maintain the existing conversion matrix for the whole sequence. Problems may arrise when new colors/tones that were not accounted for in the first frame's conversion are entered into the scene. Having not looked at the method completely, I'm not sure what would happen, but perhaps it could interpolate the expected tones from the existing conversion.

Very cool stuff, especially for still images, some of the results were fantastic! Throw this into a stand alone app, or plugin for lightroom, and I'd pay you $50 for it right now!

@pwc This is exactly what I need for grading still images. I looked at the pdf and its way over my head as it would be for most artists's / creatives I reckon. Did you create a droplet or a Photoshop plug in to undertake your test? I am very interested. I have 100's of shots that are taken under differing lighting circumstances over a long period of time and need to grade all the images so that they complete a seamless image suite. Your help or advise would be very much appreciated.

@mozes, it works if you capitalize Photolook

@pwc

Any reason to have password on all videos?

Very cool. I've seen something like this before in The Foundry's Furnace for Shake, a node called MatchGrade. But these results seem more impressive! Of course, it might come down to the flexibility of the video footage, but overall, really neat.

And @Phenixone, that's a very good point. Maybe the plugin could have a secondary keyer to holdout skintones to keep them from getting too funky if that isn't the desired effect.

pwc

wow, interesting and great results. I wonder how it will hold up on 8 bit video footage, looking forward to your tests. Thx for sharing!

@pwc I see, this could make up for a awesome grading tool. You grade a master look for every scene on a symbolic and easy to grade image and the tool matches all your difficult shots and grades the look into it in one pass ... ... and you can cross fade you master looks to deal with light changes within a take. So you will have a "look layer" on top of your edit and you just have to deal with your basic look idea. The color science is done by the plugin :-)

@Tomaso nice find! now someone needs to code a plugin for a video app :-)

in Photoshop (I'm on CS5) you load all your images, select the one to change and go to Image->Adjustments->Match Color ... There you select the image you want to pick the look from. Adjust the sliders. Done.

really impressive results!

I think it is fun and interesting.

Do you have link to this paper?

Or may be to your utility?