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Renew:03/28/07
Searching the Traces: Archival Study of Short-lived Film Formats
Opening
Keynote Lecture
Session 1: Film in Variety
Session 2: Made in Japan
Session 3: Artifacts or Facts of Art
Keynote Lecture
Saturday, April 7, 9:30 -10:30
Jean-Pierre Verscheure
(Cinévolution, Mons)
THE CONSERVATION OF THE HERITAGEOF THE FILM SPECTACLE
The theme of the symposium of Tokyo 2007 puts in evidence the importance of a dimension generally disregarded by researchers and historians of the movies: the relationship between form and content of the 7th art.
The technology evolution made the form of the film spectacle progress, and is therefore an integral part of the aesthetic and artistic dimension of the movies.
It is at the service of the narration of which it is inseparable. How should we then preserve these forms of spectacles which are even most ephemeral?
A rigorous and exact survey of the history of the movies requires us to see and to hear the movies in their original forms.
Are film archives able to present the movies precisely as the directors conceived them at the time? It supposes that they must possess an original print to identify the picture and sound system, and possess an original equipment of the time to assure a presentation on screen with an appropriate dimension screen.
Otherwise, the film is presented in a truncated and erroneous version without respect of the real dimension chosen by the director.How should we keep and restore the work for the future generations while respecting the choices of the form of spectacle chosen by the director?
The rights owner or the producers are business men concerned with the economic aspect of the problem, archivists are concerned with the safeguard of a heritage.
But archivists are generally concerned with the content or essence of the movies and not so much with the form. In any case, it is important for everybody to understand the relationship between content and form of all the movies.
This is a priority matter. The festival 'Il cinema ritrovato' in Bologna demonstrated the importance of the respect of the original format of the films lately while presenting the first movies in CinemaScope 2.55 with 4 magnetic tracks notably.
The organization of comparative projections was decisive. These projections convinced not only historians and researchers but also leaders of the 20th Century Fox to restore films in their exact formats in the future.
The future is to digital cinema that can permit the projection of films in all picture and sound formats but it imposes a precise knowledge of the different processes. To define the rules of a precise methodology of research is indispensable. To collect the special equipments that allow the film spectacle to develop for more than one century is also the only means to keep the memory of it.
But what equipments should be kept, where and how?All questions put by the symposium find here their relevance and their reason to be.
On the other hand, what about experimental systems never marketed of which the equipment and positive prints still survive? And what about short-lived systems that we cannot accept but that become a part of the motion picture history (the commercial restoration of Gone with the Wind in 70mm and 6 track stereophonic sound, for example), etc.
All of these impose us a real 'archival study' and an archaeological reflection of the problem.The projections of movies clips in shorts-lived formats will illustrate the theme of the symposium and will put in evidence a set of the difficulties and problems.
A classification of the systems is also indispensable but the problem is vast and complex. Prominent specialists are present in order to make us share their methods of research. For my part, the Center of Studies and Research of Cinévolution in Belgium has classified more than 90 sound systems.
We have also collected original prints and sound equipments in 55 systems. The major interest of the symposium of Tokyo will be a comparative survey of the methods used by each especially to share them in the common interest.
The symposium of Tokyo has an objective to analyze the solutions that exist and the necessary means in order to assure the preservation of this heritage and to make become aware definitely the importance of the relationship between form and content in the global appreciation of film.
That is because this heritage is a universal heritage which is worth preserving for the future generations.
Tentative list of the clips and their data
Clip No.1
Title: Dickson Violin(Edison, April 1895).
Justification: First short-lived sound film system. First Edison experimental sound film.
Pic. Format: 35mm silent aperture 1.33:1.
Time: 30 second approx.
Clip No.2
Title: Marius(Alexander Korda, 1931, Paramount).
Justification: Short-lived reproduction system with particular sound.
One of the first European Western Electric sound recordings reproduced first Western Electric loudspeaker type 16-A with 555w driver.
Pic. Format: 35mm Academy aperture 1.37:1.
Sound: Mono
Time: 3 minutes approx.
Clip No.3
Title: Citizen Kane(Orson Welles, 1941, RKO).
Justification: Short-lived non-standard sound system.
Pic. Format: 35mm Academy aperture 1.37:1.
Sound: Mono & special recommendation.
Time: 4 minutes approx.
Clip No.4
Title: Gone with the Wind(Victor Fleming, 1939, MGM).
Justification: Short-lived system for commercial restoration in 70mm and 6 track stereophonic sound!!! (special trailer)
Pic. Format: 35mm Academy aperture 1.37:1.
Sound: Mono
Time: 2 minutes 30 seconds approx.
Clip No.5
Title: Ben-Hur(William Wyler, 1959, MGM).
Justification: Short-lived non-standard anamorphic compression ratio.
Pic. Format: 70mm ULTRA PANAVISION anamorphic print (1.25 compression ratio) 2.76:1
Sound: Conventional 70mm 6 track sound.
Time: 3 minutes 30 seconds approx.
Clip No.6
Title: Same clip as above but without compression ratio of 1.25.
Pic. Format: 70mm Standard Todd-AO picture 2.21:1.
Sound: Conventional 70mm 6 track sound.
Time: 3 minutes 30 seconds approx.
Clip No.7
Title: Around the World in 80 Days(Michael Anderson, 1956, UA).
Justification: Short-lived non-standard anamorphic compression ratio and non-standard 4 track magnetic sound.
Pic. Format: 35mm anamorphic print (1.57 compression ratio) 2:1.
Sound: 4 track magnetic with Perspecta encoded surround track.
Time: 3 minutes 30 seconds approx.
Clip No.8
Title: Polyester(John Waters, 1981, NLC).
Justification: Short-lived ODORAMA system (trailer).
Pic. Format: 35mm wide-screen 1.85:1.
Sound: Mono.
Time: 2 minutes 30 seconds approx.
Clip No.9
Title: A Bridge Too Far(Richard Attenborough, 1977, UA)
Justification: Short-lived experimental sound system never marketed of which the equipment and positive print survive.
Pic. Format: 35mm anamorphic 2.35:1.
Sound: Colortek system (1978). 4 track optical playable in mono academy (experimental sound version).
Time: 2 minutes approx.
Clip No.10
Title: The Sound of Music(Robert Wise, 1965, FOX)
Justification: Short-lived experimental sound system never marketed of which the equipment and positive print survive.
Pic. Format: 35mm anamorphic 2.35:1.
Sound: Comtrak system (1980). 7 track optical playable in mono academy (proposed for the re-issue version).
Time: 2 minutes approx.
10:35 – 10:45 Break
Next / Session 1: Film in Variety >>
Searching the Traces: Archival Study of Short-lived Film Formats
Opening
Keynote Lecture
Session 1: Film in Variety
Session 2: Made in Japan
Session 3: Artifacts or Facts of Art
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