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Digital Film Restoration Raises Data Quality Issues
A report in the March 16th issue of The New York Times explores whether flaws in historic films (like "Gone With The Wind") should be fixed or retained. Using digital film restoration technology, film restorers can now alter images within a frame of film. The restored film can thus be arguably "different" or "better" than the original.
Digital technology adds another element to the debate over what is appropriate in film restoration. Are old movies works of art, to be preserved in their original state? Or are they products, to be upgraded to retain their consumer appeal? With the explosion of cable and satellite channels and home video, movie studios have realized that the old films in their libraries are valuable.
Unfortunately, old films were often not properly stored, so fading and deterioration are significant problems. And the visual quality of films made for television decades ago often isn't up to today's standards, let alone tomorrow's high-definition standards.
Digital restoration involves scanning film to convert each frame into a digital image. The images can then be displayed on a computer screen and manipulated by an artist who uses a mouse or digital pen and tablet. The images are then re-recorded on film. Digital technology allows film restorers to do things that are difficult or impossible with older techniques - for example scratches can be filled by pixels "borrowed" from adjacent film frames.
Digital restoration is presently time consuming and expensive. A feature film typically has 200,000 frames and each frame can require up to 50 megabytes of storage. About 15 frames per hour can be restored with current technology. Corporations that restore films using digital techniques are trying to automate routine tasks, like repairing spots and scratches. According to the Times, digital restoration is being criticized for taking the historical context out of old films. And even at 50 megabytes per frame, digital restoration can't duplicate the richness of film.
The Times report was written by Andrew Pollack, and appears on page D1.