American Cinematographer - May 2000 - 103

time, is staged in an

all-white room
early in the film. Mina recalls, "We
showed Victor how

we were

able

to

causing

[cinematographers] believe it is
us to be involved in
restoration projects." Sure enough,

are

bring out all the details on the origi¬
nal negative; you could even see
details in the street outside the only

important for

window in the

the grocery scene to make
feel more beautiful and

horrified when

room.

we

Victor

showed him

was

our

original restoration of that scene! He
explained that the white set and
bright light were intended to wash
out

all other details. He wanted the

white as possible,
gives the scene an ethe¬
real feeling, which makes the concept

background

as

because that
much

more

believable."

In another

early

scene,

staged

a mess, so it must be
removed before further procedures

might have a different feeling
about the character. That's why we
ences

the color timer balanced the colors in

it look and
appealing,
like a well-lit 1990s supermarket. It
was a pretty picture, but off-base
until Kemper provided guidance.
Mina says Warner Bros,
provided the original negative of Oh,
God! and requested a new interposi¬
tive that would restore the original
colors and correct other damage
caused by handling and chemical

"Chances are, if the

nuances

will

be missed when films
are

After the

inspection, the nega¬
tive from Oh, God! was printed using
the supplied timing lights, and then
evaluated for dye fade. "The yellow,
magenta and cyan records had faded
to various degrees, but not severely
enough to require specialized dyerestoration

"In

this

restored."
ASC President
Victor J. Kemper

-

a

number of other labs

in

a
grocery store, Reiner wanted to
establish that Denver's character is

no

special. (As God explains,

one

better than

and

"You

are

than

others") Kemper washed the

scene

in

some

worse

greenish light motivated by
sources to visually punctu¬

overhead
ate

the idea that the character is

an

living an unglamsomething the
audience sees," Kemper explains. "It
is something they feel on a sublimi¬
nal level, but it helps to establish the
ordinary
orous

person

life. "It's not

character, the mood and

a sense

of

time and

place. Chances are, if the
cinematographer isn't involved,
nuances

films

like this will be missed when

are

restored, and future audi¬

case,

were

we

able to

compensate for dye fade by reducing
the red, green or blue exposure of the

negative." The timers make visual
judgments of the amount of light
needed to correct the scene, and rely
on their experience to match the
After

look of the film.

timing,

an answer

the restored

negative, which is essen¬
tially free of physical defects and
boasts corrected dye fade. Once the
answer print is approved by the
customer, Mina says, a new element
is printed using the same lights that
were used to make the answer print.
new

itive,

set

However, he concedes there

general condition of the film, repairs
any tears and rips, and reinforces
weak splices to ensure that the nega¬
tive is robust enough to be printed.
The negative is also checked for the
presence of lacquers, which might
have been coated on the negative to

certain types

negative is re-washed or printed on a
printer," Mina explains.
"The lacquer may partially dissolve,

wet-gate

Halloween. The
landmark horror
film was restored
for DVD release
last year. This
page:

Laurie

(Jamie Lee Curtis)
prepares to
defend herself
with

a

knitting

needle. "There
are

very
deliberate
moments when
this film is all
about light and

shadows," says

cinematographer
Dean R. Cundey,
features both

a

pan-and-scan and
an anamorphic
version of the

film, and Cundey

he is
particularly
pleased with the

says

latter.

both.

lab technician, who evaluates the

tion of wet-gate printing. "The prob¬
lem occurs if a lacquer-coated

the

an interpos¬
of YCM separations,

or

scratches before the introduc¬

vengeance in
1978 chiller

element can be

a new

specialize in
photochemical restoration. The first
stage of restoration is the inspection
of the negative, which has to be in
good enough shape to withstand
being run through a printer. Mina
says Technicolor prefers working
with the original negative whenever
possible to minimize generational
losses. The negative is inspected by a

cover

Michael Myers
wreaks

ASC. The DVD

print

is made that reflects the condition of

The
deterioration. Technicolor and

techniques," Mina recalls.

scene-to-scene

cinematographer isn't
involved,

attempted."

Opposite:

Mina says that Technicolor
prefers the photochemical process
for restoration because of the depth

of color and

contrast

information

on

the

negative. He's not convinced that
even a 4K scan captures all of that
image information during film-todigital conversion, especially nuances
in

colors, textures and contrast.
are

of fixes - including the
repair of scratches, tears and anom¬
alies ingrained in the negative, such
as fog - that can be handled more
effectively in a digital suite. "When
we were working on the restoration
of

Rear

Window

Studios, there
scene

for

Universal

important
Kelly kissed

was a very

in which Grace

Jimmy Stewart," he recalls. "That
piece of negative had ingrained dirt,
scratches and other damage that we
couldn't fix as effectively photoAmerican

Cinematographer 97
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