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Overexposed film – balancing color

In this example, we have some outdoor footage that is severely overexposed and tinted blue. We decreased the highlights and blue levels while adding some mid-range. We go from washed out to blue skies and color that appears lost returns. We’re not always able to make this much of an improvement but it’s certainly a great demonstration of what is possible with the right tools and skilled professionals to use them.

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Faded Blue Film

Whenever we transfer film for a client we always use the DaVinci color correction system to balance color levels. Sometimes we get a film that’s severely faded and needs intense correction to look normal.

A client sent us some skydiving footage where the film had gone almost completely blue, as you can see in the picture below:

Before Color Correction
Faded blue film

 

Using the DaVinci color correction system we were able to balance the levels and restore the image:

After Color Correction
Restored Image
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Correcting Faded Red Film

We recently transferred some films for the Luehrmann family. The film, titledĀ “Timeshared Computer Graphics”, details Arthur Luehrmann’s early work with computer-generated imagery, commonly referred to as C.G.I. these days.

The film was badly faded and red, which is an issue we see frequently with prints from the 1960s and ’70s. Using the DaVinci color correction system we’re able to add back some of the faded blue/green to balance the film’s color so that it more closely resembles the original appearance. Check out the video below to see the difference!

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Fender Factory footage featured by Guitar World

Check out what Guitar World had to say about the Fender Guitar Factory footage transferred by CinePost:

http://www.guitarworld.com/gear-viral-videos/forgotten-guitar-inside-look-fender-factory-1959/28649

 

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Cleaning up moldy film

CinePost recently had a client with some film that suffered from mold/fungus. It shows up as spidery snowflakes/spots and is very distracting. The results are never guaranteed, but we’ve developed a method of soaking the film in a cleaning agent for several days, and then hand cleaning after to remove the mold/fungus. In this case we were able to remove the mold almost entirely! The untreated film is on the left with the cleaned up film on the right.

 

Mold on Super 8mm Film shown Side by Side: Removed on Right by CinePost from CinePost on Vimeo.

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Turner Classic Movies presents: Hal Roach – Comedic Shorts

TCM worked together with CinePost and composer Robert Israel to showcase a collection of short comedy films done by Hal Roach studios in the 1930’s. The films were scanned at 2k resolution before being extensively edited by the team at CinePost. The restoration work included de-flickering, dirt concealment, and numerous efforts to present the material in its original form without showing film damage or deterioration.
Robert Israel composed brand new original scores for all 5 shorts and traveled to Czech to record them with an orchestra. His attention to detail is evident and brings another dimension to these silent films.

TCM – Hal Roach Trailer of the 2k Restoration Project by CinePost from CinePost on Vimeo.

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White Zombie – Back from the Dead

Cary Roan has chosen CinePost to restore his new 2K version of “White Zombie” (1932). Over 150 hours of restoration went into this project. The team at CinePost performed extensive editing, color correction, and audio treatment to produce a stunning version of the first zombie film ever created.

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How we achieved full aperture 8mm in High Definition

At CinePost we are always experimenting with new techniques that enable us to provide what our clients ask for. Many times we push our machines to the limit and tread in uncharted territory.

Recently we had a client who wanted to see if we would be able to scan all the way to the very edge of the 8mm frame, including sprocket holes. In many cases there is no picture in the first place, but some cameras did in fact expose this area which is normally not visible. For purists and those involved with archival restoration this process is of great interest. Being able to do a full aperture scan of 8mm reveals a significant portion of the image which would normally be lost. In the example footage you can see the school children on the left side of the frame that would be cut off if we were only showing the centered 4:3 area of the frame.

Using the Rank Cintel Turbo we zoom out and frame the image to 16:9 and then capture in high definition as ProRes 422 HQ (1920 x 1080). The resulting exposed frame shows the entire viewable area of what was shot on the original film, and it fits perfectly into the 16:9 frame. If there had been a way advance the film through the camera without sprocket holes then consumers would have been shooting 16:9 on 8mm film. From an archival standpoint, transferring 8mm film full aperture has to be considered a viable option.

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Dizzy Daniels – The Four-Eyed Bandit: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE!!

Outtakes taken from the first version of A SELF-MADE FAILURE shot on Super 8, starring “Dizzy” Daniels. After shooting 80 minutes of footage everything was scraped, and re-shot in 16MM (like CLERKS and EL MARIACHI), with all new actors. Some of these scenes were never re-shot for the feature length version of the film. The transfer from film to HD was done by CinePost.

 

The Four-Eyed Bandit: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE!! from Alien_PROdukt on Vimeo.

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Steve Holzer’s ‘Machine Deva’

Steve Holzer’s ‘Machine Deva’ is an experimental art film created using multiple unique methods of interacting with film. “Created directly on 16mm film, by intervening on found footage, with hand coloring, scratching, and transfer of printed images. An abstract sequence of imagery and sound suggests a story of opposites, love, probability and mysterious forces.”

The project was funded through Kickstarter, the online funding platform. Steve reached out to the community and people pledged at varying levels to cover the cost of film transfer, musicians, sound mastering, DVD duplication and publishing.

Steve travelled to Marietta from Texas to participate in the process of digitizing the film. We experimented during telecine and wound up with some unexpected results. The footage was then edited and put together with music and screened at the 2012 CineMarfa Film Festival – attendees were blown away. The DVD should be available shortly.

Check out Steve’s website & Kickstarter page for more information:

http://steveholzer.com/

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1886603128/machine-deva-an-experimental-art-film