How to Enhance & Colorize Black & White Videos using A.I | TopazLabs & Photoshop Tutorial
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Introduction
Colorizing old black and white material using deep learning has gained remarkable attention online in recent months. While several cloud-based and software solutions exist for colorizing still images, options for video footage are fewer and far between. In this article, we will explore a method that allows you to enhance and automatically colorize old black and white footage with zero manual intervention.
Step-by-Step Guide
Gathering Material
For this experiment, I sourced public domain movie clips from archive.org. The chosen clips feature a diverse range of subjects, including people, natural elements, vehicles, and buildings. This variety will provide insight into how AI interprets and colorizes each element.
Required Tools
This colorization method relies on two primary tools:
- Topaz Video Enhance AI: For enhancing the quality of the black and white footage.
- Adobe Photoshop: To colorize the video frames using Adobe Sensei technology.
Additionally, you will need editing software of your choice to compile everything into a final video.
Enhancing the Footage
To begin, choose one of the black and white video clips and import it into Topaz Video Enhance AI. The goal here is to improve the video quality and enhance details, which will aid the AI during colorization.
Once your video is loaded into Topaz Video Enhance AI, you will see a range of settings. It’s advisable to experiment with these settings to find the best fit for your specific video. For optimal results, set the scaling to 200%, enable grain for a natural look, and choose PNG as the output format so each frame will be exported as a separate PNG file.
Preview the upscaled footage to ensure it meets your expectations. When satisfied, start the processing, which usually takes only a few minutes.
Colorizing with Photoshop
After enhancing the video and exporting all frames, open one of the PNG files in Adobe Photoshop.
Go to the Window menu and open the Actions panel to automate the colorization process. Create a new droplet and name it as desired, then create a new action and name it "Colorize Frame".
With the action recording, navigate to Filter > Neural Filters and select the Colorize filter. If it's your first time using this feature, you might need to download it first.
Once enabled, Photoshop will automatically colorize the image based on its AI capabilities.
You can then make additional adjustments, like modifying saturation or adding a cooler tint as per your preference. After confirming the adjustments, you will notice that a colorized layer is created.
Automating Colorization for All Frames
Stop the recording once you finish the colorization of the first frame. Then, go to File Automate > Create Droplet to save your batch action. Select the action you created, choose a destination for the colorized images, and activate “Override Action 'Save As' Commands.”
To apply your action to all frames, drag the folder containing your PNG files onto the droplet file. Photoshop will launch and begin processing each frame, applying the recorded actions.
Compiling the Final Video
Once all frames are colorized, it’s time to stitch them back together using your editing software (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro). Import the first PSD frame and check “Image Sequence,” then drag it into the timeline. Finally, add the original audio track from your video, and export the project to create your final colorized video.
Conclusion
Despite the multi-step process, the quality of the output is truly impressive, especially considering no manual colorization was involved. I was particularly amazed by how naturally the AI assigned colors to various elements like sand and sea. That said, keep in mind this method may struggle with very low-quality originals or those with flickering.
A cloud-based alternative called DeOldify also offers similar capabilities but requires video uploads and has a time limit of 15 minutes. While DeOldify is efficient for quick tasks, Photoshop provides more control over the output.
Keyword
- Black and White Videos
- AI Colorization
- Topaz Video Enhance AI
- Adobe Photoshop
- Neural Filters
- Video Editing Tutorial
FAQ
1. What tools do I need to colorize black and white videos? You will need Topaz Video Enhance AI for enhancing video quality and Adobe Photoshop for colorization. An editing software of your choice is also required to compile the final video.
2. Can I colorize video frames manually? This tutorial focuses on automating the process; however, you can manually adjust colors in Photoshop if desired.
3. Is there an alternative to this method? Yes, DeOldify is a cloud-based solution that can colorize videos but has limitations like video length and requires an online upload.
4. How long does the process take? The processing time will vary depending on the video length and quality as well as your computer's hardware specifications.
5. Will the AI always colorize accurately? While the AI works impressively well with many elements, it may struggle with very low-quality inputs or flickering videos.
