How Machines Restore Archival Film — or, at least, are trying to
posted March 3, 2020
Film restoration is a painstaking endeavor. It involves much careful observation of archival film, repair of any damage, and preservation from future ravages of time. The tools for doing all that are increasingly sophisticated. Specialists certainly can relate as much, but it may interest the general film enthusiast to hear a little about what the modern-day process of digital restoration entails.
2019 National Film Registry Additions Announced
posted December 12, 2019
United States Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has announced the annual addition of influential American motion pictures to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Twenty five films are being added for their cultural, historic, and aesthetic importance: Among them are blockbusters, documentaries, silent movies, animation, and independent films.
Joel Archer’s Quest for Film Revival
posted June 27, 2016
In Queensland, Joel Archer brings elderly audiences alive with the movies of their heydays – then he goes out and scours aging or abandoned cinemas for missing screen gems. And he has found some memorable ones.
Reproducing Film Colors, and Their Significances
posted March 17, 2016
Barbara Flueckiger is figuring out how best to determine the colors that films have had, throughout cinema history. She is developing means to replicate the colors in digital restorations. Her huge challenge: to understand not only the properties of film colors, but also their origin in cultural tastes for particular color palettes. Her work is shading film interpretation and film history.
A Scheme that Made Film Flourish Amidst Apartheid
posted May 17, 2015
A Cape Town production company is reviving a surprising flourishing of film-making featuring black actors and African languages in 1980s apartheid-era South Africa.
Google Up, for a Free Online Symposium
posted November 1, 2014
For insights into the core considerations and possibilities for the preservation and restoration of moving-image media, you can tune in online to a free symposium of restoration and archiving experts on Sunday 2 November 2014 at 3pm US West Coast Time (GST-7hr)