By: Mark Toscano

Mark Toscano
Mon, 23 Feb 2015 20:11:37 +0000

Film restoration is not always a digital process as suggested by this article. In fact, Suzan Pitt's films were NOT restored digitally, but using traditional (and still extraordinarily high quality and viable) laboratory techniques, the same that have been used for decades. The best surviving elements for each film were photochemically printed, processed, color corrected, etc., all analog, and the results have been beautiful, thanks to the excellent work of the lab (FotoKem in this case) and their amazing staff (especially the fantastic color timer Doug Ledin). Audio was modestly restored digitally, but then shot back to an analog optical soundtrack negative for printing. For my part, particularly with independent artists' films, for which the original medium often plays an important aesthetic or even conceptual role, digital is a tool usually employed ONLY if necessary (e.g. bad color fading, damage, elaborate reconstruction), though this may sadly and inevitably change with the gradual phasing out of the necessary film stocks. But I'm thrilled to say that the overwhelming majority of artists' films I've worked on restoring (including Suzan's) have been done photochemically, on film.