American Cinematographer - April 2013 - K2

means that highly ﬂammable nitrate materials are not exposed
to any heat during the scan. Dry-and wet-gate scanning are also
options, depending on the type and condition of the materials.
Sometimes a “double-ﬂash” technique was used to better capture
the rich tonal range on the nitrate material.
The next stage was a 2K digital intermediate, graded by Deluxe
restoration colorists Stephen Bearman and Trevor Brown, again
with supervision by the BFI. The graded, conformed scans were
then digitally restored to remove defects such as scratches,
warping, ﬂuctuations, mold and frame damage. Newly re-created
polyester inter-titles were incorporated based on existing prints
and extensive research.
Three of the ﬁlms were originally released as tinted and toned
prints. Tinting and toning were early color processes used to add
expressive colors to black-and-white images. In the days before
color ﬁlm, these colors were applied by dyes and toning baths
after the printing stage. “We worked to reproduce those colors in
the digital grade and the color management translated them to
intermediate negative and new prints,” says Kieron Webb, ﬁlm
conservation manager for the BFI.

curatorial research, gathering elements from its own archives
as well as from various collections around the world. Under the
direction of the BFI, Deluxe carefully catalogued the images
from delicate and irreplaceable source material, and assembled
versions based on the best scholarship.
Deluxe used cutting edge restoration and preservation
technology and a staff of two senior graders and eight digital
restoration artists. Some of the ﬁlms were scanned by the BFI
itself, and others were digitized at Deluxe’s London restoration
facility. The task was made more delicate by some highly
ﬂammable nitrate negatives. Elements gathered also included
nitrate, acetate and polyester ﬁne grain positives, and nitrate
prints. After examination, preparation and cleaning, each element
was scanned through ARRISCAN or Spirit 4K scanners to create
2K data ﬁles (in DPX format). BFI archivists reconstructed the
ﬁlms shot by shot.
“As would be expected with ﬁlms made on nitrate and other
unstable ﬁlms stocks of that era, the original source material had
seen a fair amount of wear and tear as prints were repeatedly
made from the original negative,” says Deluxe’s Paul Collard. “The
celluloid had degraded and parts of the ﬁlm were either lost or
unusable. In places where the original celluloid had deteriorated
too far, we seamlessly replaced it with copy material. The key was
not to try to improve or enhance the original in any way, but to
present it authentically, in the way it would have been seen by our
grandparents and great-grandparents.”
The ARRISCAN scanner has a number of adaptations that
make it perfect for this delicate work. The registration
pin can be disabled and the LED illumination

After a ﬁnal review screening with the BFI, a 35mm fully
restored color or black-and-white polyester digital negative
was recorded out to KODAK Film frame-by-frame on the latest
ARRILASER ﬁlm recorders. Show prints of the new restorations
were made along with a 2K data archive of all scans and restored
ﬁles, a digital cinema package and television masters.
Webb says that several restoration masters were produced,
including ﬁlm, digital cinema, HD video and data. “In our full
restoration projects, we always make a new ﬁlm negative,”
says Webb. “This is important not only for the long-term
conservation of the ﬁlm and the restoration work, in addition
to the preservation data, but also for the creation of excellent
35mm show prints which are screened internationally. Early
in the Hitchcock project, we carried out extensive comparison
tests in conjunction with Deluxe of the various blackand-white intermediate stocks. Deluxe recorded the new
negatives on their ARRILASERs and we processed and printed
them in the archive’s lab.
Echoing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Digital Dilemma reports, Collard notes the challenges of
storing and archiving larger and larger data ﬁles as the demand
grows for 4K and greater resolution in feature ﬁlms. “What
better permanent, low-cost solution could you have than a ﬁlm
recording of the ﬁnal 4K master data onto black-and-white
separation masters, ready for re-scanning back to data up to 200
years into the future?” he asks.
In June and July 2012, The Pleasure Garden, Blackmail,
The Ring and The Lodger were presented with specially
commissioned scores in a series of screenings during the
London 2012 Festival, part of the Cultural Olympiad. Newly
restored prints of those ﬁlms, as well as Downhill, Easy
Virtue, Champagne, The Farmer’s Wife and The Manxman were
presented as part of a major Hitchcock retrospective at BFI
Southbank from August to October 2012.
“Archives are working incredibly hard to ensure our
moving image heritage is reproduced as accurately as
possible,” says Webb. “And there’s always something very
reassuring about being happy with the new print at
the conclusion of a restoration
project.”

Photos – Cover – Top: The Ring,
Right: All from The Pleasure Garden
This page – Top: The Lodger Bottom
left: The Lodger, Bottom middle:
Blackmail, Bottom right: The Pleasure
Garden. (All Photos: BFI National
Archive)

American Cinematographer - April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2013