Joe’s Filters : Joe’s Levels Noise

Joe’s Levels Noise can be used to add grain and color correct an image in one step. The effect applies a levels adjustment to random noise pixels in the image, creating grain through subtle modification of existing pixel colors. Originally this was going to be a just Gamma noise filter, but I couldn’t see any reason not to add the rest of the image correction controls from Joe’s Levels.

Two key components of making video look more like film are grain and contrast. Joe’s Levels Noise can save a lot of time when creating a film look by combining these effects in one filter.

This filter uses the same efficient noise engine as the other Joe’s Noise filters for faster rendering and smoother results.

Example Images

Original Image

Input Black:	0
Gamma:	1.5
Input White:	255
Output Black:	Output White: 255
Target:	RGB
Scale Noise:	200%
Soft Noise:	0
Opacity:	100

Input Black:	50
Gamma:	1.7
Input White:	200
Output Black:	0
Output White:	220
Target:	RGB
Scale Noise:	200%
Soft Noise:	0
Opacity:	100

Input Black:	15
Gamma:	1.0
Input White:	150
Output Black:	0
Output White:	255
Target:	YUV
Scale Noise:	200%
Soft Noise:	0.25
Opacity:	100

When applying high-contrast or other significant corrections, softening the noise particles or reducing the opacity can help the resulting image to appear more naturalistic. Single pixel noise is a purely digital effect and may introduce compression artifacts.

The Controls

Input Black, Gamma, Input White, Output Black, Output White, Target: Basic Levels controls, see Joe’s Levels for explanations of these controls.
Scale Noise (100 – 1000%): Increases the size of the noise particles.
Soft Noise (0 – 10): Blurs the noise before compositing it back into the image. A slight blur can prevent noise particles from shimmering on a video monitor.
Fixed Noise: Determines whether the noise changes on every frame or stays fixed for the duration of the effect.
Opacity: Sets the intensity of the adjusted noise pixels.