Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1055354
DEPARTMENT www.postmagazine.com 32 POST NOVEMBER 2018 ed graphics are interwoven. The Jim Henson Company had been a long- time client of MTI Film (www.mtifilm.com) when Henson's media archive manager, Carla DellaVedova, was checking out restoration ven- dors and was pointed in the facility's direction. Four MTI Film restoration artists and colorist Alex Chernoff ultimately spent two months on the ar- chival restoration, whose color work proved to be the biggest challenge. The original film negative of Time Piece had been lost. Out of nine available film elements, which had all been struck from the same source, MTI Film chose the three best: A very faded 1964 print, a 1966 inter-negative found in Germany and restored in 1997, and an inter-positive. "After carefully analyzing the scanned images, we con- cluded that the print retained the most definition and detail," says Wojtek Janio, MTI Film director of restoration. "All the assets were scanned to 4K using our Lasergraphics Director scanner, and thanks to its 3-flash HDR scanning mode, we were able to get way more detail in highlights and shadows than any old transfers had done. Also, since we used the oldest available print, even with its one faded channel, it contained more informa- tion and detail." Time Piece had been subject to considerable color fading over time. "In our case, the cyan dyes were mostly faded, which translated to a heavy red cast," notes Janio. "After the scan was done our colorist, Alex Chernoff, created a pre- grade in which he used just the basic grading tools to bring the white balance back and get more or less accurate skin tones. We used this version for restoration. "The print had an intense flicker problem, which MTI Film's new DRS Nova tool was able to solve and, at the same time, restore some information in the highlights and shadows. We relied a lot on our new deflicker algorithm, and our work was also made much easier by the automatic stabilization tool, which solved 70 percent of the stabilization problems with literally one touch of a button." Additionally, "a carefully set grain management algorithm helped a lot with improving the details, especially in static scenes. Once the short was fully restored, Alex created the final look." Janio notes that, "We used the Lasergraphics Director 4K because of the many unique features that make it an ideal scanner for archival mate- rials, the most important of which is its 3-flash HDR scanning ability that brings out highlights, shadows and faded colors from even fourth- or fifth-generation prints. The scanner also has a unique and very effective mechanism to flatten the frame being scanned. The gate's pressure plate mechanism locks each frame in place." He also cites the scanner's "highly diffused light that reduces the appearance of scratches on the film base and the emulsion side without softening, blurring or altering the image. The element we selected as the best source for restoration had a scratch in the center of the frame for the whole duration of the film, but the scratch was mechanical rather than printed in." MTI Film was able to remove most of the scratch with the scanner but there were many frames where it had to be removed manually using DRS Nova. The digital restoration software also came into play to handle dirt, smaller scratches and general wear and tear. The inter-negative element was tapped for the film's animated sequences. "It wasn't faded so it was easier to recreate the original colors," says Janio. "Since the animation was created using simple geometrical shapes, the slight loss in detail wasn't important." MTI Film delivered audio from three sources — a photo-chemically restored sound negative, the 1964 print and another print with audio in good condition — to John Polito of Audio Mechanics for restoration of the soundtrack. He says "the Henson team was very pleased with the work. Time Piece was screened at the NYU Orphan Film Symposium, and it looked 'amazing' according to the Henson archivists." Jim Henson's Time Piece The original negative was lost. Assets were scanned to 4K. DRS Nova resolved flicker issues. MTI Film handled the restoration.