|
|
This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
|
|
Author
|
Topic: The King and I restored from 55mm neg screening
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Christian Appelt
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 505
From: Frankfurt, Germany
Registered: Dec 2001
|
posted 08-16-2004 09:40 AM
Reduction printing to 35mm 4-perf was the initial idea of CinemaScope 55, mostly to give 35mm exhibition a better image. Fox wanted something to compete with VistaVision's higher image quality, so they designed the oversized format (actually 55.625mm IIRC). Camera negative was 8-perf, 55mm release prints 6perf optically reduced to make room for mag tracks.
Some years ago, I talked to a former theatre owner who attended the Fox demonstration showings here in Germany in 1956, and he confirmed that they all were stunned by the low grain and extreme sharpness of the film, he thought it looked more like Todd-AO than CinemaScope.
But there seem to be KING AND I and CAROUSEL prints that were struck from old dupe negatives, not done in Dye Transfer printing. I suppose the newly restored version captures more of the image detail thanks to today's excellent dupe stocks.
I heard that the KING AND I 70mm blowup prints (made in 1961 under the name "Grandeur 70") looked quite grainy, indicating they were not produced from 55mm negative but from 35mm intermediate materials. Sadly, I have missed the screening at Bradford, but blowing up from 2.55 aspect ratio to 2,21 does not seem the best way of showing CS 55 pictures correctly.
As always, Martin Hart has it all, with beautiful pictures of 55mm film clips and a Daily Variety article:
AWSM on CinemaScope 55
Here's an summary on the restoration
CS 55 on Cinematography.com
| IP: Logged
|
|
John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
|
posted 08-16-2004 10:13 AM
I wonder if the restored 2.55:1 aspect ratio 35mm version uses the original CinemaScope image area and centerline (i.e., no optical track)? Or is it 2.55:1 in the current scope image area specified by SMPTE 195?
The Kodak VISION Color Intermediate Film 5242/2242 used for making the master positive and duplicate negative is very fine grained and sharp:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/intermediate/5242.jhtml?id=0.1.4.6.4.4&lc=en
quote:
KODAK VISION Color Intermediate Films provide a bridge between the unparalleled creativity offered by KODAK VISION Color Negative Films - and the show quality of KODAK VISION Color Print Films. They are the link in the Kodak system that enables filmmakers to tell their stories without creative compromise.
These films replace - and improve upon - Kodak's ACADEMY AWARDŽ winning intermediate films. And, like all Kodak films, they are a result of listening - and responding to - the needs of the industry.
In both the rem-jet acetate base and nonrem-jet ESTAR Base versions, these films offer improvements to the emulsion layers that result in increased sharpness for laser recording. And, because the films incorporate Kodak's patented Two-Electron Sensitizer Technology, the improved sharpness comes without the expected increase in grain.
KODAK VISION Color Intermediate Film / 2242 / 3242 / ESTAR Base does not have the traditional carbon-based rem-jet backing, which must be removed during processing. The result? Cleaner, higher quality prints with fewer dirt spots. And with a patented process-surviving anti-static layer, this film attracts less dirt during processing - and stays cleaner throughout its useful life.
Advances in these products bring benefits to everyone involved in the process of telling stories on film.
For the filmmaker, these intermediate films help to preserve all the sharpness, clarity, and color of the original images and carry them more faithfully to the final display screen.
For the laboratory, VISION Color Intermediate Films enable the production of printing elements that are closer in quality to the look of a print made directly from the original negative.
Postproduction facilities will appreciate the features of the VISION Color Intermediate Films, especially improved sharpness for digital output. They're the choice for production of masters for theatrical re-release, video and DVD release, satellite, cable or broadcast TV presentation - or use in any media of the future.
And, audiences will also see the difference - in movies that tell stories with fewer distractions, films with fewer physical imperfections.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Ron Yost
Master Film Handler
Posts: 344
From: Paso Robles, CA
Registered: Aug 2003
|
posted 08-16-2004 06:57 PM
Here's an article I found online at Digital Producer Magazine's website:
Digital Producer Magazine article on Cinemascope 55 paper
"Cineric Presents Cinemascope 55 Paper At AMIA
Paper traces restoration of two American classics, Carousel and The King & I
(June 22,2004)
Cineric, Inc., a New York postproduction facility specializing in film restoration and preservation services, will present a research paper on the CinemaScope 55 film format at the 2004 Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Joint Tech Symposium. The paper traces Cineric's restoration of two classics of American cinema, Carousel and The King & I.
"It's a privilege to work on a project like this," says Cineric president Balazs Nyari. "This project is a great example of Cineric's unmatched expertise and commitment to preserving film. We look at this work as part of Cineric's contribution to maintaining our shared artistic and cultural heritage."
The paper, titled Bringing Life Back to an Obsolete Film Format, CinemaScope 55, was written by Cineric's Simon Lund and Dan DeVincent, whose expertise in the field of optical film restoration is unsurpassed. The paper reviews the genesis of the CinemaScope 55 format and chronicles the painstaking work by Cineric to revive the films. The challenges included the creation of specially tailored sprockets and gate mechanisms adapted to the shrinkage of the original elements, optical techniques to address dye fade and scratches, and digital techniques aided by a specially adapted Oxberry scanner. The final result was a fully timed 35mm Cinemascope 2.55:1 answer print, along with a new color protection master interpositive.
DeVincent and Lund will present the paper and outline steps for working from original 55 mm camera negatives when restoring films on June 25, at 5 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Theatre (on the grounds of Victoria University.) Additionally, Schawn Belston, executive director of film preservation for 20th Century Fox, will discuss the historical significance of this restoration effort from the studio's point of view.
"The satisfaction of creating a new protection master and new prints that effectively recreated this obsolete film format was definitely worth the challenge," says Lund in the paper. "The combination of engineering and mechanical expertise, an extensive appreciation for what the filmmakers intended, and the requisite background in optics, allowed these two films to be brought back to life. To the community that cares, there may not be anything that must be obsolete forever."
About Cineric
Cineric, Inc. was founded in New York in1983. The company provides optical printing and digital imaging, titles, special effects and restoration and preservation services. The facility has worked on many independent features as well as such studio films as The Sixth Sense, Bringing Out The Dead, Goodfellas, Matewan, Philadelphia, Raging Bull, The Big Lebowski, and The Silence Of The Lambs.
Cineric was the first postproduction facility in New York to establish a digital motion picture film service bureau, offering scanning, recording, video-to-film, and specialized image processing services. Blowups and format conversions are a specialty. The facility has also restored more than 200 films including Jason and the Argonauts, The Birds, American Graffiti, A Man for All Seasons, The Man from Laramie and The Caine Mutiny. Cineric also recently restored and created 35 mm archival negatives and prints for 80 of the classic films that are part of a traveling exhibit called Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1893-1941. The exhibit has been on the road since June 2001.
For additional information, visit www.cineric.com or www.amianet.org. "
Maybe John could get a copy of the paper for us? ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Ron Yost
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
That article wasn't clear as to what the print gauge will be, but it mentioned that the only way audiences had been able to see this up 'til now was by way of 35mm reduction. The linked AMPAS page says the same thing, but doesn't specifically mention the print gauge either, though it does say "CinemaScope" which would also infer a 35mm print. So I don't quite understand what the difference will be between this new 35mm reduction and the mag-stripe roadshow prints from 1956.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic