Film Restoration
Comparing Analog Capture to Digital Capture
VHS Capture 1980s
This is a frame grab from a 1976 Super 8 film. This is exactly as it was captured from the the old method of projection onto a screen and video taped on a VHS camcorder. This was captured in the late 1980s. Comparing it to the digital captures below you will notice this image is missing detail and has a smaller image area (not all of the filmed image has been captured). Visible in the picture are scratches and on the right there is some mold embedded into the film.
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Digital Capture 2009
This is the same frame as shown above in the VHS capture but captured digitally. This is exactly as it was digitally captured from the film. You can see the shift in color to red that has occurred over the years (compare to the VHS capture above done 20 years earlier) . There is also considerable grain and although the film was been cleaned the embedded mold cannot be physically removed from the film.
For digital capture the film projector has been modified to enlarge the gate so more of the filmed image can be seen. The the image is projected directly onto the camera CCD (not onto a screen). Notice that the mold can now be seen very clearly and it is obvious that the mold is on top of the film. Now you can ready easily the Exit sign in the upper left portion of the picture.
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Digital Capture with Fixes Applied
This is the same image with phase 1 of the restoration complete. The grain has been removed and the color corrected to give a more natural appearance. The shadows were highlighted to improve the picture without creating an unpleasant appearance to the overall image. Notice there has been a slight loss in sharpness as a result of the correction process. This will be gained back later in the process.
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Digital Restoration Complete
The final phase of restoration using computer graphics has digitally removed the mold and scratch marks that have occurred over the years and as a result of dozens of projections. This is a labor intensive process requiring hours of work for a few seconds of film. Notice the sharpness of the image has returned, the mold and scratches have been removed and nothing remains in the image to distract the viewer from the action taking place.
It would be very expensive and a lengthy process to fix the entire film in this manor so most people opt for repair of extreme damage or an important area of the film.
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Mold and Scratches Visible
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Final Restored Version
Follow this Link to see another example of film to video restoration.