A Comprehensive Analysis of Applied Colour Reproduction

How can silent film prints’ applied colours be appropriately translated into different modern media, whether photochemical or digital? We’re happy that Fumiko Tsuneishi, Head of Technical Department, Filmarchiv Austria, will share experiences from many years of the archive’s good work in her talk:During the last few decades a variety of technical solutions have come into use for the preservation and presentation of applied colours. This paper is going to analyse comprehensively the advantages and disadvantages of every method that has been available so far (photochemical: internegative, Desmet, chemical dye; digital: scan in colour, scan in b&w) by comparing results deriving from a single nitrate element of Die ideale Filmerzeugung (The Ideal Film Production, 1914), concluding with a digital colour reproduction process of Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City without Jews, 1924) as a pragmatic and authentic solution for archival restorations.

On the 2016 rediscovery and restoration campaign:

After launching Japan’s first digital film restoration projects at National Film Center, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Fumiko Tsuneishi joined Filmarchiv Austria in Vienna and, since 2014, is responsible for digitization, digital restoration and digital archiving of European heritage films. Her latest publications include “Digitizing 25,000 Films a year. A Challenge of Filmarchiv Austria”, Journal of Film Preservation Vol. 99, 2018. Her latest restoration works include Die Stadt ohne Juden (The City without Jews, 1924) and Orlac’s Hände (Hands of Orlac, 1924).

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