Go Behind The Scenes of the Criterion Collection's restoration of Alfred Hitchcock's, "Foreign Correspondent"
Go Behind-The-Scenes of the Criterion Collection's restoration of Alfred Hitchcock's, "Foreign Correspondent". Taking the negative from the Library of Congress from a 1940 print, Mr. Klein, technical director at Criterion Collection, goes over the process of taking the negative film (rare because a negative from that era often times does not exist), eliminating 'weave, flicker, light intrusion', etc. The negative is evaluated and scanned to determine restoration processes. To Mr. Klein's surprise, the negative was in excellent shape. He explain how the 2K scanning process took two days and further explains that the 4K process takes four times as long. A file for each frame of film is scanned and processed to begin the digital restoration process. Matching the director's and cinematographer's work from the time period, they are able to determine what editing and image quality the restored film should be matched too. Using a combination of scope, wave forms, and vector scopes for color, a calibrated monitor is used to touch up the image according to the aesthetic and technical specifications of the period. A comparative screen shot of before and after restoration helps us understand the undertaking of the restoration process and the achievements behind the work.
