Today is probably the good date to officialy announce that a scan in 4K, based on a 35mm in very good condition, is currently in progress.
And it will be done twice 😃
- a first scan (in 4K) will be processed as soon as possibly by a Parisian lab, so that I can use it to finish my ongoing despecialized edition (https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/ZigZigs-THE-PHANTOM-MENACE-Theatrical-reconstruction-1080p-V10-work-in-progress/id/61295)
- then the reels will be shared with some people from OT (I don’t know if I can name them), and a second scan will be processed with the best available scanner.
I received a few days ago from the lab in Paris a first test scan of reel 4 (made with a simple 720p scan), just to analyze the average condition of the reel before scanning it with a brand new 4K scanner. The lab scanned the entire reel… in 25 fps (the French standard) so it is not currently usable (there are ghosting artefacts and interpolated frames). Damn French people, always thinking that the world needs their own standards!
But It looks just gorgeous, even in 25 fps: the reel is in PERFECT condition, it looks like it was never projected before, the colors are perfectly preserved. The lab made NO correction at all (white balance, DNR or something else) and the rough result is astonishingly good.
The 4K scan will be obviously done in 24 fps, can’t wait to get it 😊
Happy birthday to TPM!