American Cinematographer - September 1992 - 20

For one scene which had to be
extended from 25 seconds to 45 seconds,
the problem was thatthe original film nega¬
tive had been cut and several frames be¬
tween the two halves were destroyed. In

addition, the elements that were available
from different prints processed by dif¬
ferent labs.
"Not only was the density differ¬
were

ent, there was a

slight change of camera
position in the B side," explained Mike
Hogan, who re-edited the film for the Movie
Group. "It was slight, but it made your eye
blink."
Varitel solved the problem by
transferring the film inter-negative to D-2
video on a Rank Cintel Ursa telecine. Senior
colorist Scott Klein used primary and sec¬

ondary color correction to match color and
density between the two shots, and the
Ursa's digital effects capability to reposition
the second half of the shot to match the
first.
scene was

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Once Klein was finished, the
loaded in a Quantel Harriet, the

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subtle

more

Another change
a scene

touch-up

involved adding
original nega¬

to the film where the

tive was lost. The element Varitel had to
work with was an inter-negative made from
a

workprint. "Not only

it dirty and

was

scratched, it had considerable
to

sprocket damage,

was

weave

due

denser, and had

less detail," recalled Varitel senior vice

president of post production Steve
Wyskocil. "It looked like a different movie."
The second scene also passed
through the hands of Klein and Friedman
Harrison in a similar repair process. Again
the Ursa's unique ability to extend the con¬
trast of film enabled Klein to make a dra¬
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improvement in its look.
"The movie had

S16 & TIME CODE

a

very

distinct

look, the greens were very green and the
flesh tones ran from pink to red, and the
starkness of the contrast make the differ¬
ence in the scenes more pronounced than
it might have been otherwise," said Klein.
"But the Ursa proved up to the task. In the

end, the new scene matches the original cut
well, that no one will suspect it was a

so

later addition."
For information: Varitel Video,
3575 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles,
CA 90068, Phone (213) 850-1165.
A
American Cinematographer - September 1992

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