Often when older movies are released on DVD or Blu-Ray, they’re marketed as being “restored”. But what does this even mean?
Most movies shot on film have negatives, but with every pass of a negative through equipment, the negative can degrade and become scratched.
In order to preserve the negatives to create a new copy of a film from them, a special liquid is used to remove any scratches. After the digital scan is made from the negatives, small issues like camera shakes and movement issues is adjusted to create a smoother film.
Colourist also eliminate any colour and contrast inconsistencies, as well as lighting issues. Sometimes lighting can change in the same scene, even from cut to cut within the same scene. The result is a much better final product that’s more clear and more vivid.
Looking for more?
For its 100th anniversary, Universal was re-releasing the movie Jaws and decided to document the process. This mini-documentary is available on Youtube and goes in-depth into the process of restoring one of our favourite films. Check it out!
*image source from http://www.vcpc.univie.ac.at