Classic movies are rare possessions. But they are also immensely susceptible to damage due to acts of nature, decay of film stock, damage due to unforeseen conditions like X-ray fog or damage due to dust, scratches, poor storage conditions and neglect. Such issues are fairly commonplace but in the damaged films, capable of being brought back to almost their original condition through Film Restoration. Film Restoration is a process where decaying film stock is rescued and preserved through the use of technology, to embellish it and revert it, close to its original form.

Until some time back, it was only 'dirt' and 'tears' that could be addressed, however, technology has made it possible to address issues such as - fading of color, water marks, missing frames, and also correct scratches and stains which persist after physical cleaning.

Process of film restoration

Once a film is identified for restoring, its negative is first sent for Carbon Tetra Cleaning (CTC), which is a manual process to get rid of as much dirt and stain as possible. In case of tears, clear polyester tapes or splicing cement is used, which act as adhesives. After these issues have been addressed, the film undergoes machine ultra-cleaning using PERC grade E chemical. With the analysis of the film's condition and film cleaning in place, each frame is digitally transferred to the virtual arena via a film scanner.

Following the image's computer transfer, the film is restored frame-by-frame with the help of a combination of computer algorithms and manual checking of the result. He basic color corrections are done using systems like Lustre and Da Vinci.

However, the real digital restoration challenges lie ahead. Since every film has its unique problems they need to be addressed with unique software solutions. Some of the software that is used includes ‘Diamante', 'Revival' and MTI for addressing problems like scratches, blotches, stains, etc. Problems like missing frames can be revived using interpolation method, wherein information from immediate preceding and succeeding frames is put to use. Also, scratches or areas blocked by dirt and dust are restored using parts of images in other frames. Once the entire content is revived and ready, the next and final step is transferring the final version back to celluloid film, or on proper digital media. But, since most old films are restored with a view to tap into the television broadcast space, the content is transferred onto HD SR tape, the most preferred format for Indian TV channels.

Advantages of Film Restoration

There are various advantages of film restoration. The visual quality of the movie can be improved to a great extent in terms of clarity, contrast, and color enhancement. Since the film now exists the digital format (digital master), there is no limitation on the number of new prints plus it is possible to link it to various multi-media applications in most formats - from 35/16 mm film, HDTV, MPEGs to any other digital video format without affecting the resolutions.