Few of us would have predicted the precipitous conversion of commercial film exhibition from 35mm prints to digital media, though archives still covet photochemical prints. It has arrived with some accompanying costs-disturbed aesthetic histories, for one-but it also situates cinema, properly, as an evolving technology. A nine-film series, The Resolution Starts Now attempts to air some of the complex issues raised by the ouster of analog while enjoying laudable examples of recent 4K restorations from Sony Pictures.
But first the facts: what we see in digitally equipped movie theaters is high-definition digital cinema. It's termed 2K, meaning a picture standard that produces an image that is 1920 x 1080 pixels or just over two million bits of information. However, there is a standard beyond 2K that is used for scanning older films called 4K, which contains about eight million bits of screen info. This same 4K standard is used for film restoration because it allows for the manipulation of picture elements at a level far superior to its general exhibition format. Occasionally, as in this series, 4K is used as an exhibition format for special screenings.
Contemporary films originate on a digital platform, making digital cinema the native exhibition standard. A prickly issue arises when an older film, born photochemical, is transferred to digital for projection. Suddenly, the “film” finds itself occupying the screen in absolute stability, the subliminal flicker gone, the light values subtly altered, the contrast and depth redefined. Does this misrepresent the experience of film history? Perhaps. Or does it resurrect a history that might otherwise be lost to us? Again, perhaps.
To mine some of these matters, we've asked exemplary archivist Grover Crisp, senior vice president of asset management, film restoration and digital mastering at Sony Pictures, to come to BAM/PFA. Ever since Sony acquired Columbia Pictures, they've been involved in restoring their holdings. Under Crisp's guidance they've returned not just the blockbusters, such as On the Waterfront, Lawrence of Arabia, and Taxi Driver, to circulation, but also the more obscure titles, reaching deep into their vaults. Crisp's insights about the state of digital preservation, the technological choices driven by new models of distribution, and the thorny side of cinematic authenticity will throw light on this digital dilemma.
Steve Seid, Video Curator
For more on analog versus digital, read Steve Seid's recent blog post, DCP: Demanding Conversion Perfected.