Blackmagic Forum

Hi all! I’m one half of Video Village (https://videovillage.co), and the creator of Screen and Lattice - hopefully you’ve heard of one or the other by now!

We’ve just released Scatter (https://videovillage.co/scatter), a plugin for Resolve that accurately reproduces the effects of real optical diffusion filters on scene-referred footage.

We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure Scatter behaves just like the real thing. Intensity and spatial falloff are empirically mapped according to scene radiance to match a range of popular filter families and strengths. It’s color neutral, keyframe-able, mask-able, highlight-adjustable, and plays nice with VFX.

Scatter is super fast and supports all major camera color spaces along with DaVinci Intermediate and ACES.

Let me know what you think, and if you have any questions!

Greg

Link to Scatter Website: https://videovillage.co/scatter

Hej Greg

Looks very interesting and would love to give it at try. 2 questions - 1. do you have a trial version ? 2. Can you revers the effect, diffusing the blacks instead like we could by putting diffusion in the film scanner. The blacks would bleed out into the highlights.

Regards

Ian

use screen, but would also be interested on scatter, if it were not a subscription!

Mark Foster wrote:use screen, but would also be interested on scatter, if it were not a subscription!

They offer a perpetual license on the following terms (from the FAQ):

"How does the perpetual license work?

"Simply pay once, and you'll receive Scatter including any future updates."

They look pretty realistic. 500 bucks is hefty, but a whole set of real filters is not cheap either.
And you can't reduce them if you find you did too much

I would never go for a subscription, at least not one where I can't use the software any more when I stop paying (no more updates is OK for me).

Uli Plank wrote:They look pretty realistic. 500 bucks is hefty, but a whole set of real filters is not cheap either. And you can't reduce them if you find you did too much

They have a special going on right now where a 1-year subscription to Scatter is $199, which I think is a bargain. (And let me say I just bought it for that price and got no discount, and I'm just an interested user, nothing more.) Their manual is exceptionally good and it looks like a very well thought-out plug-in

I've never been impressed with the filtration effects in Boris or Sapphire, and what they're doing in Scatter is a lot closer to a Tiffen ProMist filter than I ever thought possible. This is very worth looking into.

I wonder if this plugin is still considered good.

I’m thinking about buying a set of diffusion filters, but I don’t like the idea of getting the look ‘baked in’ the footage. If diffusion can be done in post it would be much better.

(I’m not sure DVS 18 has these tools).

Is this the way to go?

HendrikvdV wrote:IIs this the way to go?

When in doubt... shoot tests. That's the best way to know if the Scatter diffusion methods are as good as the physical diffusion filters. I'd say they're not exactly the same, but you can get close to the same effect if you work at it.

The advantage from me is you can back off on the diffusion when necessary, which might be true if you get a sudden light flare or if you change lenses from (say) a 100mm lens to a 28mm lens. I also sometimes will go in and use a tracking mask to avoid diffusing the parts of the shot that don't need it, which is hard to do with a glass filter.

Marc Wielage wrote:

HendrikvdV wrote:IIs this the way to go?

When in doubt... shoot tests. That's the best way to know if the Scatter diffusion methods are as good as the physical diffusion filters. I'd say they're not exactly the same, but you can get close to the same effect if you work at it.

The advantage from me is you can back off on the diffusion when necessary, which might be true if you get a sudden light flare or if you change lenses from (say) a 100mm lens to a 28mm lens. I also sometimes will go in and use a tracking mask to avoid diffusing the parts of the shot that don't need it, which is hard to do with a glass filter.

Thank you for your reply.

Do you still use this plugin or are there better methods? If I can get the same results with DaVinci Resolve Studio then I should just work on my skills.

The things you mention are exactly why I shoot without diffusion filters. The effect is fixed and difficult to remove or change. Shoot tests would be an option, but I don’t have these filters and renting is very limited.

HendrikvdV wrote:Do you still use this plugin or are there better methods? If I can get the same results with DaVinci Resolve Studio then I should just work on my skills.

I still use it and it's a standard part of my everyday setup.

The things you mention are exactly why I shoot without diffusion filters. The effect is fixed and difficult to remove or change. Shoot tests would be an option, but I don’t have these filters and renting is very limited.

I think you could safely invest in a Tiffen Black ProMist filter, like a 1/8, and use it on damn near everything. They're not expensive -- maybe $50-$60 -- and I see them used all the time. I think it's rare you'd need the 1/4 (twice as strong), but you never know. I know quite a few people who use ProMist filters to "take the edge off" digital cameras. (Alexa cameras kind of come with some very, very mild diffusion built in.)

The DP's normal excuse for shooting with filters is, "now I know they can't undo my decision in post," and I understand that. If you're shooting very set, predictable situations, like interviews, I think a 1/8 ProMist is pretty easy. There are different kinds of diffusion out there, like GlimmerGlass and Schneider Hollywood Black Magic filters, and they provide a range of effects. Scatter can mimic some of these to a point.

Marc Wielage wrote:…

Very good points to consider. Thanks for the answer.

Hi,

I can't understand if the perpetual license is a floating license ? I'd like to purchase this option but i must be sure I can switch from a station to another.
If anyone knows that, it will be very appreciated !

Thanks a lot !

Now finally available on Windows and Linux as well!

Marc (or anyone who owns Scatter),

I am particularly interested in the Tiffen SMOQUE filter. I was looking into the real filter but it can sometimes behave in an unwanted way.

Would you say Smoque within Scatter can give the feeling of haze? I'm not looking to emulate haze itself, just the feeling that it gives, like a subtle change of atmosphere. If that makes sense.

I said this on the review video but if you are shooting on a green screen this plug-in is a game changer. Green screen shots depend on being clean and filters are just not realistic for getting a great key. Being able to take green screen footage and use them in a final virtual production image is something I will be trying next month.

Excited to try them out.

Michel Rabe wrote:Marc (or anyone who owns Scatter), I am particularly interested in the Tiffen SMOQUE filter. I was looking into the real filter but it can sometimes behave in an unwanted way.

I think it can, but the controls vary so widely, and it's so source-dependent, you'd have to experiment and try it with a particular shot and decide if it works for what you're doing.

roger.magnusson wrote:Now finally available on Windows and Linux as well!

When will the test version release？

Not sure what you mean, it's been released on all platforms for a while now. Since the end of June. If you need the Linux version it requires a license server and you need to contact support@videovillage.com for that.

If you mean a trial version, I don't think they have one for Scatter.

Marc Wielage wrote:I think it can, but the controls vary so widely, and it's so source-dependent, you'd have to experiment and try it with a particular shot and decide if it works for what you're doing.

Great, will test it out then, thank you!