Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4585
"It is always rewarding to restore a classic such as North By Northwest and present a film as the film- maker intended it to be exhibited on the big screen," says Yarbrough. J U B A L Based in Valencia, CA, the Cinetech (www.cinetech. com) film laboratory (an Ascent Media Company) is fairly new to the digital restoration arena. For nearly two decades the company's core business has been motion picture preser vation and restoration from a photochemical standpoint. The lab has copied films from nitrate- and safety-based stocks to polyester film to ensure their longevity and marketability. But in the last 18 months, Cinetech has transitioned to digital restoration as well. Last summer Cinetech/Ascent Media completed the restoration of Jubal, director Delmer Daves' Oth- ello-themed Western, which the London Film Festival just screened in its Treasures from the Archives series. The film, a Columbia Pictures 1956 release, was sent to the lab for traditional photochemical preservation several years back, but because of the poor condition of the elements, it ultimately became a perfect candi- date for digital restoration. "The Eastman color negative showed all the typical dye fading problems," reports Joe Olivier, Cinetech's VP of film restoration and lab services. "The original cam- era negative was missing some footage, so Sony Pic- tures sent along a set of YCM separation masters made in 1956 and a color master positive made in 1970 to possibly use for replacements, but because these elements had their own problems, they could- n't help solve all the issues negative. Nothing gave us good complete photo-chemical The London Film Festival's triggered a quick-turnaround commenced by creating the available film elements used, Olivier explains. Elements FilmLight's Northlight scanner and converting to 4K raw "The negative was so had trouble capturing all low/blue layer, which had "Ascent Media engineer land created a proprietary ten in The Foundr y's Nuke This script was applied to to expand the image's dynamic orist Scott Ostrowsky greater color back to its original The "color matrix" script handle fading on 1959's Century Fox, he notes. "You settings for either more had to turn it up for Jubal," After that was done, 2K for