- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,310
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
About a week ago, I received a private message on HTF asking what I knew about the new Raiders of the Lost Ark “restoration.”
I knew nothing, and at that point had not fully read the promotional material re: the Imax presentations, although I was aware of the forthcoming Blu-ray.
Best thing to do was to go to the source, which in this case is the team responsible for restoration and mastering at Paramount. A conference call was arranged with Andrea Kalas, VP of Archives, Laura Thornburg, Exec. Dir, Restoration and Preservation, Archives, and Jeff Cava, Supervising Librarian, Restoration and Preservation, Archives. Jeff is an old friend, who had overseen the audio work with Walter Murch, updating and cleaning the original tracks for the 2007 restoration of The Godfather(s).
My initial question was “What’s being restored?” I was given a shopping list of both visual and aural work that had been performed, all with the greatest of respect for the original, and with an eye toward both the future as well as the past, in that full preservation had gone hand-in-hand with the regimen.
But was the work what I would consider to be a bona-fide “restoration?” The bottom line is that to my mind, it isn’t. But that statement alone would be unfair to the amount of work and the spirit with which it was performed.
The original negative had been scanned at 4k – full resolution – which without the analogue cover of generations of dupes from original to theatrical print, made matte lines and effects a bit more obvious than they had original been on screen. This is normal.
Color and densities were captured with more perfection and detail via the scan, and I’m told that grain was left untainted. A digital cleansing of the image, to wipe away bits of minus density and detritus, were also up to spec for a serious project. And make no mistake, this is a serious project.
For audio, Mr. Cava took counsel from Ben Burtt, the original sound designer, and the two created a newly designed mix, based with great care, upon the originals.
I make note of originals, as there were two. The first was a 6-track discreet mix, used for sounding 70mm prints, formatted L-C-R, with baby booms in positions 2 and 4, and with a monaural surround channel. 35mm prints used a 2-track Dolby encoded, toward the creation of an optical SVA track.
Mssrs. Burtt and Cava returned to the original audio units, gently bringing the audio into the 21st century.
So, how do I answer the question about a “restoration?” To my mind, this isn’t one, yet the term adds a certain amount of sizzle to the work performed. That's great for marketing, but isn't precise enough to separate work of this kind from bona fide restorations, with all their heavy lifting.
But neither is this a simple mastering or re-mastering, which could be performed from a color-corrected IP with little expense or loss of sleep.
Our little discussion group came to the opinion that possibly a new term is needed for this type of work. Not a restoration, as there’s really nothing to be restored. The elements had been well kept and highly protected over the years. The OCN is intact, and original tracks are in perfect condition. Yet, this is something highly technical, with all parties working on all 12 cylinders, and at the highest level of technical proficiency.
For the moment, and until someone can coin a better phrase, I’m going to call this a DBR, a Digital Based Re-Visualization.
That said, and now knowing what has been involved, I can’t wait to see the final results on Blu-ray. No doubt, Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures is going to be one of the Blu-ray best sellers of 2012, and deservedly so.
RAH
I knew nothing, and at that point had not fully read the promotional material re: the Imax presentations, although I was aware of the forthcoming Blu-ray.
Best thing to do was to go to the source, which in this case is the team responsible for restoration and mastering at Paramount. A conference call was arranged with Andrea Kalas, VP of Archives, Laura Thornburg, Exec. Dir, Restoration and Preservation, Archives, and Jeff Cava, Supervising Librarian, Restoration and Preservation, Archives. Jeff is an old friend, who had overseen the audio work with Walter Murch, updating and cleaning the original tracks for the 2007 restoration of The Godfather(s).
My initial question was “What’s being restored?” I was given a shopping list of both visual and aural work that had been performed, all with the greatest of respect for the original, and with an eye toward both the future as well as the past, in that full preservation had gone hand-in-hand with the regimen.
But was the work what I would consider to be a bona-fide “restoration?” The bottom line is that to my mind, it isn’t. But that statement alone would be unfair to the amount of work and the spirit with which it was performed.
The original negative had been scanned at 4k – full resolution – which without the analogue cover of generations of dupes from original to theatrical print, made matte lines and effects a bit more obvious than they had original been on screen. This is normal.
Color and densities were captured with more perfection and detail via the scan, and I’m told that grain was left untainted. A digital cleansing of the image, to wipe away bits of minus density and detritus, were also up to spec for a serious project. And make no mistake, this is a serious project.
For audio, Mr. Cava took counsel from Ben Burtt, the original sound designer, and the two created a newly designed mix, based with great care, upon the originals.
I make note of originals, as there were two. The first was a 6-track discreet mix, used for sounding 70mm prints, formatted L-C-R, with baby booms in positions 2 and 4, and with a monaural surround channel. 35mm prints used a 2-track Dolby encoded, toward the creation of an optical SVA track.
Mssrs. Burtt and Cava returned to the original audio units, gently bringing the audio into the 21st century.
So, how do I answer the question about a “restoration?” To my mind, this isn’t one, yet the term adds a certain amount of sizzle to the work performed. That's great for marketing, but isn't precise enough to separate work of this kind from bona fide restorations, with all their heavy lifting.
But neither is this a simple mastering or re-mastering, which could be performed from a color-corrected IP with little expense or loss of sleep.
Our little discussion group came to the opinion that possibly a new term is needed for this type of work. Not a restoration, as there’s really nothing to be restored. The elements had been well kept and highly protected over the years. The OCN is intact, and original tracks are in perfect condition. Yet, this is something highly technical, with all parties working on all 12 cylinders, and at the highest level of technical proficiency.
For the moment, and until someone can coin a better phrase, I’m going to call this a DBR, a Digital Based Re-Visualization.
That said, and now knowing what has been involved, I can’t wait to see the final results on Blu-ray. No doubt, Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures is going to be one of the Blu-ray best sellers of 2012, and deservedly so.
RAH