A sample 16mm scan from the Retroscan 2K

Regarding color correction, always correct luminance first. Then try color correction. Vector scopes are great for monitoring color. Waveform monitors are great for measuring luminance levels.

I don’t know Movavi, but there are great tools out there for free. DaVinci Resolve is the 800-pound gorilla in this area. It’s a free download from BlackMagic Design. It’s what many film restorers use to balance color, restore color, etc. It’s an industry leader, and it’s free. (They have a $300 version that adds tools for networked users, but the free version is also incredibly full featured.)

I use Apple’s Final Cut Pro X, because I have an iMac Pro. FCPX has good color tools, too, but Resolve is much more sophisticated.

To stabilize anything that was still unsteady coming off the scanner, I run it through Apple’s Motion app.

To capture sound, I use the free Mac version of AEO Light.

After using all these tools, I now know why high-end film scanners cost a fortune. They do a lot of the jobs that each of these apps does independently. You save a lot of time having one machine do most of the transfer work.

Turning a crappy piece of film into an enjoyable piece of art takes a lot of time and patience. That much I’ve learned. Learning and replicating the work flow for doing it reliably every time is still a work in progress.