I need to make a decision on this in the next day or so, can anyone that wants to chip in for part of the cost of the print please send me a PM and let me know the amt, and we can see whether it is doable or not.
You can tell this is an IB TECH by the soundtrack, IB prints always have a 'grey' soundtrack area.
I don't have any other pictures at the moment, but will be getting some more.
Uncompressed, around 16-21TB for a 2 hour film.
Losslessly compressed around 10-14TB
Converted to ProRes 4:2:2 at UHD resolution, around 1TB per 2hr film.
Basically you clean the print, then feed it into the scanner :)
I have a 4K film scanner similar to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bifK7uh9sI
It works the same way, it advances the film one frame, and captures 4 images, one Red, one Greed, one Blue and one Infrared (the infrared picks up just the scratches, dirt and dust). Those are combined to make a full colour image, with the damage matte in the alpha channel.
Each frame is saved out as a sequential uncompressed .DPX file.
As for cost, to get it done at a scanning company, it usually would cost anywhere from USD$8000 - $30,000 to get done.
If a film really needs preserving due to no good preservation of it existing, then I do it for no charge other than consumables such as film cleaning fluid, postage etc.
The film is then archived and ready for restoration, I colour grade the scan to match the print, any restoration from that point forwards is the concern of the print owner.
I do this because I believe in the importance of preserving our film heritage. I'm not involved in anything other than getting a preservation scan done and matched to the print.
There are multiple sections that are blurry on the bluray that are as sharp as a tack on even the 16mm print I have here.
It was definitely a transfer problem with the BD, the out of focus sections are sharp on the prints.
I will be talkin to the print owner today, we are trying to tee up a local to view the film before pulling the trigger.
If people could PM me re helping to pay for the print, we can see if we have enough to collectively purchase it.
There has been an offer from a known forum member here, who lives in Italy to help with the transaction, so that is very much appreciated, it will make it a lot easier and safer.
The seller is in Italy, there is no vinegar smell or warping, there is no fading (it is an IB TECH so I wouldn't expect there to be) it has the mono Italian soundtrack.
It looks to be in good condition for its age. As is usual the beginning and end of each reel is a bit scratched up, but the samples I have seen look like a print in good condition. The colour is certainly gorgeous and would be perfect as a reference to check against/regrade the BD release.
Going on the edge codes it is a 1971 print, so I think it is the original theatrical release, I'm not an expert on this movie, so perhaps someone else will know.
There are a few splices, but not too many.
The postage will be around another USD$200-$250 or so.
I can scan 35mm IB Prints @ 4K.
If there is someone in Italy on the forums that could help with the transactions, that would be great.
Drop me a PM.
Lil Brutto said:
I'm more than willing to chip in dollars but not without any details. If the asking price is USD $1800 then I need to know exactly what I'm buying.
The seller is very forthcoming with screenshots and information about the film, what would you like to know?
I can put you in touch directly with the seller if you like.
I can try, but I don't think it will shift much.
I would say we could easily re-sell the print at the end of the process, although it is in Italian, which might limit the mainstream audience.
I don't know how much we would get back, but probably a reasonable amount, if not all. These things are hen's teeth.
Two more images from the IB TECH.
I need to get back to the seller, is there any interest in securing this?
If funds could be raised to secure the print, I can scan it @ 4K.
We could then register the print to the BD using Elastix, and take the chroma from the print, and apply it to the BD.
Alternatively we can use the 'match grade' function in Nuke or Resolve to pretty much automatically grade the BD to match the print, then just touch up any tricky bits.
The print can be sold when the project is done, so at least a reasonable portion of the money would be recouped.
The only real way to know would be to obtain a print really.
True, but to be fair, the gate would probably have cropped that much out in the cinema as well.
Now remember that this is a photo of the IB Tech, not a scan so the colour might not be true, but for what it is worth, here is the IB vs the BD :)
The print is scanned at 4K resolution with a damage matte, and then colour corrected to match the print. This is then archived.
After that the damage can be cleaned up, and whatever downscaling, compression done to make it viewable in 1080P or UHD resolution.
Well, it is an original release IB Technicolor print, so this print will be how it looked upon release. The audio is italian, and it is the full length original version.
Probably could do a payment plan with the seller, I have been looking for an IB of the original for a long time, this is the only one that has come up after looking at over 5000 lists in Italy (I'm not kidding).
I have found an IB Tech of the Italian original run of The Good the Bad and the Ugly, but it is USD$1800 + shipping, so it is outside my price bracket by a considerable margin.
Also this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067140/technical?ref_=tt_dt_spec
but it is even more expensive at 1900 Euros.
Aww, I was hoping they were going to be here already ;)
Classic, I do similar things for Aussie films here too.
Short answer, I have an uncensored print being held for me, images are on amps.
Ah, I see. I can grab a couple of images from the 16mm print here to compare.
I can't wait to see the final result. Jedi looks great on 16mm, this is a short segment from a 16mm print that was loaned to me, and this is straight out of the scanner, no colour correction or anything.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tcwpf9iapn4z09n/dstar.mov
I can only imagine how good the fully colour corrected version from Puggo is going to look.
I have a 16mm reduction print here, I really have to get around to viewing Grande to see if it is from the same 'master' print.
cruel1079 said:
I cleaned up two frames, they're not perfect (they only took about five minutes) These are from a quick google search. I'm still waiting for a few resources and some other thing to come together (like software). I just used the clone tool to clean it up, may not be perfect but its fast, I have seen another way of doing it and I'll try it out once I get my software, but it takes around 30 min per frame, which is incredibly tedious.
http://tinypic.com/r/1znvn2g/8
http://tinypic.com/r/20fdt1k/8
What was the source for these?
Glad to see it finally come to fruition, great work all round!
I have reel-to-reel transfer gear if anyone can get the tapes.