"Ichikawa Raizo Film Festival: A Momentary Sparkle" Restoration by Yoko Arai x Grading by Yoshiaki Abe - How was a film from over 50 years ago brought back to life? [CINEMORE ACADEMY Vol.36]

The Ichikawa Raizo Film Festival: A Momentary Sparkle is being held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his film debut. The lineup of films to be screened this time includes newly restored 4K versions of his works, such as The Tale of Genji (1961), The Army Nakano School (1966), and The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka (1967).

The staff at IMAGICA Entertainment Media Services Inc. (Imagica EMS) were the ones who gave this film made over 50 years ago a new life as 4K digital. We interviewed Arai Yoko, who was in charge of digital restoration (hereafter referred to as restoration), which involves removing scratches and repairing dirt from the scanned film, and Abe Yoshiaki, who was in charge of color grading, which adjusts the color and brightness of the restored footage. How was a film from over 50 years ago brought back to life? We spoke to them about the details of the digital restoration process.

Index

• The first step was to restore the film itself.
• How much should be erased?
• Adjusting the grain between negative and positive
• Making the most of the information contained in film

The first step was to restore the film itself.

Q: The work that Imagica EMS was in charge of this time was film scanning, restoration, and grading?

Arai: That's roughly how it goes. We receive the film from KADOKAWA, and then we're in charge of checking its condition and making any repairs.

Q: What condition was the film in when it was stored?

Arai: The films were inspected and scanned in Osaka, so I didn't see them in person, but although they are quite old, they are in good condition and appear to have been stored very carefully. All of the films were original negatives.

Q: So the remastering process also restores the film itself?

Abe: If the film is in poor condition, it may tear or break when you put it through the scanner. Also, the film's "joints" may come apart, so first of all, we need to check all the film and repair it. Another important thing is to always scan the film in a clean state.

"Nemuri Kyoshiro Enjouken" ©KADOKAWA 1965

Q: Can things like dust and hair be removed to some extent by washing?

Abe: Even so, it's not easy to remove stubborn stains. There are some stains that won't come off even if you wipe them, so in those cases, you have no choice but to deal with them based on the data.

Q: The scanned data appears to be quite large, so will it be transported on physical media from Osaka to Tokyo?

Arai: In the past, the only way to transport data was by hard disk, but now our Osaka and Tokyo offices are connected by a network, so although it takes time, we are able to transfer data.

Q: So based on the data sent, the restoration work begins with removing the scratches.

Arai: Yes, that's true. However, it depends on the case, but we often do a process called pre-grading before restoration.

Abe: If the colors are not consistent to a certain extent, it is difficult to restore the car, and when grading is done afterwards, scratches that should have disappeared may become noticeable. For this reason, I always do a certain amount of grading before starting the restoration.

How much should be erased?