Film Restoration Explained with Studio Archivist Charlotte Barker

Charlotte Barker, Director of Film Preservation and Restoration at Paramount Pictures, takes us behind the scenes of how film restoration really works. From 4K to film grain, this is an eye-opening discussion about how movies are given new life!
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[@CerealAtMidnight]

perfdamage.com/ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/perf-damage/id1637019132 Perf Damage on KZbin kzbin.info/door/9DsSRjIuXREfESd_sxsa7Q **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: amzn.to/3LAgnlt **************************************************************** Become a Member and unlock exclusive videos, early access, and much more at Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight or through KZbin Memberships at www.youtube.com/@CerealAtMidnight/membership **************************************************************** Movie Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Cereal At Midnight Swag: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite Film Restoration Explained with Studio Archivist Charlotte Barker

[@chris-gx7rs]

When does twisters come out on 4k blu ray

[@hildamontes6146]

@@CerealAtMidnight that's great thank you so much for all of the links.

[@channelserf8666]

That was too short of an interview! I worked at WB for 30 years in sound restoration and preservation so it's always great to hear about other studio's programs. Now I have to go catch up on all the Perf Damage podcasts! Thank you Heath and Charlotte.

[@morganfan]

Give us an interview about your stories

[@pplepiew1]

Did you work on the latest Anatomy of a Murder 4k restoration by any chance? I'm still amazed at the sound mix for a movie of that vintage. Whoever worked on it deserves serious kudos.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Man, Heath you are getting more on the inside of the biz every week. Keep it up.

[@KevinTRod]

This interview really should be viewed by all film fans so they can see why film restoration is so difficult (and expensive).

[@cannonballkid]

This is what sets your channel apart. Love seeing these interviews.

[@randylevy]

What a great conversation -- that 43 minutes just flew by! Hopefully Charlotte will be back -- there are so many topics to dig into. Once Upon a Time in the West 🍿

[@dc_animal]

Heath, This was a FANTASTIC interview. Your questions were on point and Charlotte's answers were very honest. I'm mad at myself for not watching it sooner. I think we'd love to see another interview like this from archivists at another studio (but, to be honest, we all know you're already working on that!). Great job Heath!

[@CaptinNabil7]

Seeing good people like Charlotte handling restorations, some of which are stunning to the eyes, is all the more reason I love and support great studios putting dedicated quality efforts into Physical Media. Like Sony, or especially Paramount.

[@devonbrooks246]

Heath you interview the coolest people. Film restoration would be a fun and frustrating job.

[@MyFireVideos]

Heath, Wow! This may be my favorite episode/guest ever! I hope she comes back again! My other top favorite episode of yours is the Star Trek The Motion Picture Director’s Edition 4K.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

He's knocking it out the park. Great interview for sure.

[@josejaviersoloveracano1558]

It is always a pleasure to listen to a person who is knowledgeable, articulate & passionate about who she/he does. Charlotte is one of them. Thanks for the video.

[@Badger_Scott]

Heath, thank you, thank you, thank you! Awesome interview. This is the kind of stuff nobody else does. I hope you have Charlotte back on, in the future. It was very interesting, hearing her details on what goes into restoration. I loved the anecdote about the “wires” from War of the Worlds. It’s great they take restoration so seriously. I previously thought it was only about the dollars, and what bosses “wanted”, in order to sell the most product. Keep up the excellent work Heath!

[@davidarmstrong7549]

The restoration of the 1953 The War of the Worlds is absolutely amazing, both in terms of the stunning picture but also the 5.1 surround sound mix, which is brilliant. I just love this film anyway but the restoration is...out of this world!

[@denniskristos3800]

Agreed, the Blu-ray was stunning both visually and aurally, but the Aussie [Imprint] slipcase edition which I missed out on, had a couple more and different bonus features included than those of Criterion's version. Both were single disc issues as well... [Imprint] also released George Pal's "When Worlds Collide" on Blu-ray the next year after "TWOTW". Apparently, that issue had an excellent transfer and included a fair number of bonus features beyond what was on Paramount's original DVD.

[@davidarmstrong7549]

@denniskristos3800 I am a huge fan of TWOTW. I got the Imprint lenticular 4k box set release. It's beautiful. I'm sure it's still available to buy if you do a Google search. When it was first released on 4k blu-ray I bought the paramount release. I had previously also bought it on blu-ray and dvd. As I say, I'm a huge fan!

[@michaelkuhlman883]

I agree--the 5.1 mix is so layered, with different Martian death rays coming from different channels, and that slinky sound when the Martians' periscope first appears from the rear channels to get a good look at the hapless onlookers approaching waving a white flag royally gives me the creeps! The 5.1 upsamples really nicely to Atmos through Neural X too! When the church is lasered at the end, you feel like the church is collapsing on your head!

[@davidarmstrong7549]

@michaelkuhlman883 I do have an atmos set up, and it's certainly rather good 👍

[@denniskristos3800]

@@michaelkuhlman883 The unscrewing of the cylinder, punctuated by the cover hitting the ground and its decaying "clang" effect, was quite startling too.

[@Mrmoviemax05]

Great conversation. It feels so good when you hear information from the people that is working today on the movie industry. Thanks Heath.

[@RockOfVictory]

I really appreciate the discussion about film grain at 11:49. I've often wondered the same thing, about the artificial grain added after. Essentially, we just have to trust that the restoration staff is doing a competent job with their decisions about grain.

[@SuperThebillybob]

This was a great interview!

[@365cineArg]

This interview is pure gold, thanks Heath!

[@andylindsey]

Awesome interview! This has helped improved my perspective on film restorations. I wish there were more people in this particular industry speaking to the public about this. Getting us some cool information right from the source, versus the usual rumors and misinformation that circulates on the internet about film restorations and 4K transfers.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

So cool that Charlotte has restored Ragtime, one the greatest films that nobody ever talks about anymore. I saw it on release in 1981 and reviewed it for the college newspaper and just loved it. Also saw Dragonslayer on the big screen that year.

[@Morecheeeeese]

👍👍 So good to hear from someone who actually does the work, thanks both of you for a great discussion please have Charlotte back to continue if that's possible and she can spare the time

[@marcoesquandolez4737]

Great interview Heath! Thank you Charlotte! I could have listened for another hour. Please do another one ASAP

[@HoudiniWild]

Great interview! I was not aware of the Ragtime Blu-ray. Just bought it. I've also subscribed to Charlotte's channel and have already enjoyed their Technicolor episode. Keep up the great work, Charlotte!

[@kelownatechkid]

This work is so important! Thanks for highlighting it by interviewing Ms Barker!

[@strumdogg1]

Great talk, and very informative. It's folks like Charlotte I'm sure a lot of film fans like to hear from. Thanks for sharing Heath & Charlotte!!

[@MyFireVideos]

One of the most interesting things about this was how she said sometimes they hide wires (wotw), but not all wires, or do grain management that reviewers have not detected... I think my one ask would be that there be a detailed restoration feature about each movie, even if it is just a write up.

[@CerealAtMidnight]

Maybe we can address that in a future discussion.

[@TucoRope2Tight]

I'm curious about which grain management exactly, because some reviewers have turned really incompetent (or weirdly lenient) towards recent grain REMOVED (management is a euphemism, marketing) restorations. You have to turn to forums to get more competent or honest reviews, and there people have caught on.

[@CerealAtMidnight]

@TucoRope2Tight Just remember that what you see in any online review is an opinion, never a fact. The only person who can speak to the facts are those who worked on the film. Reviewers, including myself, make educated guesses about what they see, but we're often wrong, or we're stating our opinion and preference. More and more, I'm seeing misinformation passed around as a solid, verified fact when that's not the case. This goes for the major review sites all the way down to the Blu-ray dot com forums and even Reddit. Take anything you read anywhere with a grain of salt.

[@higguana851972]

This was just superb,Charlotte was great and a blessing in sharing this with us.Another great insight from those behind the scenes which helps flesh out the very thing that we love and enjoy.Blessings again to you Mr Heath,you are reaping the fruit of your labours.

[@thebradc]

I really enjoyed this discussion ! Both your love of movies is so obvious and contagious. A respectful and positive discussion about loving an art and preserving it. Great to watch.

[@gregorpfueller6659]

Dragonslayer has one of the best atmos remixes ever outside of sony‘s incredible catalogue. And the picture looks absolutely incredible… Thank you Charlotte for making it happen!❤️ Keep on not degraining films!

[@Fuuntag]

I appreciated the discussion about the directors intent vs output of a restoration job. Additionally with film grain, I think the original production grain should be preserved not removed and then replaced with some generated nonsense. ❤

[@stevoflohu1]

Such a great interview! I learned so much. It is great to see and hear two people passionately discuss film.

[@SpartanBPA]

Heath! This was awesome! I want more! I would love a round 2, this was such a great conversation… Thank you both for doing this. And if an opportunity arises I would love a part 2. I kept wanting to raise my hand and ask more questions 😂

[@CerealAtMidnight]

If you've got some questions, ask them below and we'll do our best to get to them in a future chat!

[@MattBloggs]

​@CerealAtMidnight I'd like to hear a discussion around the links between the archive team and the team creating the discs (internal and the boutiques licensing). Do the disc team request a restoration made? Or does the restoration come first? How much of the work do the boutiques do? Do they ever borrow and scan the films for example? Can they request a restoration to be made? And what work do the archive team complete outside preparing material for disc/stream release?

[@MattBloggs]

Another area I would like to hear a discussion around is the lost movies. Are Paramount involved at all in hunting for their lost material? How often does the archive receive previously lost material back and how exciting is that for Charlotte? What are Charlotte's personal most wanted lost Paramounts?

[@staceytoon8364]

Thanks so much. Its reassuring that people like Charlotte cares so much about author's intent.

[@michaeldee3380]

So glad I stumbled on this video. Not only is Charlotte very knowledgeable and passionate, but she is very articulate, making this an excellent interview.

[@andrewbrown3070]

Great interview, Heath. I love her attitude to her work. I think the future is bright with her saving films for the future. I will definitely be subscribing to her channel.

[@PerfDamagePodcast]

Thank you!! This means so much.

[@benjaminyoon4253]

Great video-I love stuff like this. The behind-the-scenes and technical side of filmmaking has always been fascinating to me. The Matthew Robbins story about Dragonslayer is much like allowing Robert Wise to go back and finish Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

[@SnakeNel]

Great conversation! Charlotte is doing the Lord's work!

[@Carlos-gc4hb]

Fantastic interview thank you Heath and Charlotte!

[@scaps2200]

Great interview! So much knowledge exchanged. Just subscribed to perf damage.

[@LaughMuBai]

She worked on Once Upon a Time in the West! What an amazing experience that must have been, and cool project!

[@Jizag123]

This was a great interview

[@alik5895]

Thanks so much for that. A terrific guest, terrific questions and a great atmosphere in that interview. Lots to chew on for an old photo archivist like me.

[@hildamontes6146]

Cool to be with likewise movie lovers talking your hearts out to us. If only we can all be together. Infact when I see a film at the BFI in London and it's usually packed what a joy you can just feel the arditorium buzzing with people who love the cinema and films from the ages.🎉

[@slate49]

Dude! Thnx for this awesome interview! I found it so interesting

[@alj6194]

Wow. What an amazing interview. This was very elucidating and educational!

[@Malvito]

It is so wonderful to hear an interview with someone who has such enthusiasm for their work. I have the DRAGONSLAYER disc (Blu, because we are not yet set up for 4K ... I can already feel my wife rolling her eyes ... ), but we do not yet have RAGTIME, and this interview has placed it further up on my list. I had seen it upon its original release, but hadn't really looked at it again until I was performing in a local production of the musical. (Upon which it was startling how little screen time contains Mandy Patinkin, in opposition to the amount of stage time for the stage version of the character.) The story of convincing her husband to watch Westerns was amusing. My wife exposed me via TOMBSTONE; she convinced me (a SciFi kid to the core) to look at it not as a Western but as a Costume pic (OK, yeah, because also a Rennie and a Theatre geek). That was all it took to push me down the Western Rabbit Hole.

[@SB0780]

Fantastic interview. Great insight on the film grain too.

[@MatthewBrannickWilliam]

Such awesome guests and insight on this channel

[@neilsmoviechannel3199]

Hi Heath. A really interesting interview and a timely one. I’m just back from the UK where I got to visit the BFI archive, which was an amazing experience. I’m working on a video about it now, which I hope to have up in the next few days. Nice to hear Charlotte talk about collaborating with the likes of the BFI. All the work they do is awe-inspiring

[@duaneswarts5522]

What an amazing interview. I was hooked. Restoring film sounds like a great job.

[@Diego-p9z1e]

This was fantastic! Thanks Heath 👏

[@elp6321]

Fantastic interview! It made me a new subscriber to your channel - thanks!!

[@brenttichenor3302]

Great episode!!

[@denniskristos3800]

The "Dragonslayer" Blu-ray is nothing short of perfection. Beautiful job, Charlotte. Thank you from this member of the cult... 🤗

[@PerfDamagePodcast]

Thank you!!❤

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Just hit Barnes & Noble and picked up the restoration of Ragtime on Blu Ray that Charlotte showed us here. It was more than I normally pay for a film, but it has been a hard-to-find title, and I'm heeding the call to support physical media and restoration. Looking forward to giving it a view tonight. Again, Heath, you are a great resource on KZbin.

[@DeadToTheWorld92]

A really interesting interview. Thanks!

[@MattBloggs]

Really interesting interview. Thanks both! Would love to see an interview with the Disney equivalent. Now they dont let boutiques licence the Disney and Fox titles, and they haven't added anything archive to Disney+ in ages, I wonder what their archivists actually do.

[@PerfDamagePodcast]

I have several friends on the Disney Archive team, and they do very similar work. Keep in mind that Archives and Home Media/Licensing are two completely separate entities within huge corporations. Just because titles aren’t being released, doesn’t mean they’re not being cared for!

[@MattBloggs]

@PerfDamagePodcast That's actually very good to hear. I just wish Disney would find more outlets for their work to be appreciated

[@mrtea7562]

Very interesting interview

[@darkomilicevic9900]

Great interview. Very informative. 👍

[@jasonprice4219]

LOVED THIS

[@TheAlexZorba]

Great stuff. Just great.

[@TrevUk]

Blind buy dragonslayer, great interview 👍

[@michaelkuhlman883]

Fascinating!

[@thegrasshopperliesheavy]

great interview

[@itsanogo]

The fire reflection in the water for the movie Dragonslayer is at 1h30 into the film. 😅

[@PerfDamagePodcast]

I knew someone would know!

[@MosesWine]

This was a great interview! Charlotte seems like one of the good ones. I appreciate her approach to grain management (i.e,. minimal). I do think some Paramount titles, presumably done by others, go a little too far the other way. As a friendly suggestion from a fellow classic film lover, perhaps she could pass along to the audio department that along with faithful video transfers "as the filmakers intended" we would like original audio mixes included with these films. New 5.1 and Atmos sound is really cool as a bonus, but excluding the original mono or stereo is a huge bummer and not inline with filmakers intentions. They should be preserved as well.😊 Encoding could be improved too, but Im sure shes heard THAT complaint a million times already, so I'll leave it at that. Thanks again for a terrific interview!

[@PerfDamagePodcast]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that when we restore a film we ALWAYS preserve the original audio mix. Now, whether that ends up on the disc is completely out of my control (as is the encoding), as this is handled by a separate department. Just know that the original mixes along with the picture are always being preserved. (Personally, I’d love to see a Perspecta audio track make it to disc someday!)

[@MosesWine]

@PerfDamagePodcast I figured it was likely out of your department, but please let those others know we DO want them on disc (if possible). And yes to Perspecta! Thanks so much for responding. I'll check out the podcast too.

[@film_thomsen]

@@PerfDamagePodcast​​⁠​⁠ I would love to have perspecta audio Included on more discs as well. The perspecta audio track Robert A. Harris got included on the 4k release of The Man Who Knew Too Much from Universal sound amazing!

[@joshua2814]

I love film preservation and restoration. Part of me would love to do that, but I’m probably hindered by not having touched film since I took photography in HS 26 years ago and not really wanting to move out of suburban NJ.

[@davidalbee5039]

Well you got me to purchase the dragon slayer 4k

[@ragnar-tl4fl]

The puppy in the t p is something 🤘🐕🤘

[@peanutbutterjeff5364]

I wonder if the re-application of grain is something that’s been muddied by people not directly involved in a film’s restoration. I don’t doubt that there’s a chance some sort of artificial grain filter has been applied to at least one release, but that’s not what I’ve understood to be a common practice. What I have heard of is complete DNR during the cleanup process. Team Negative 1 who are responsible for the fan restorations of Star Wars do this. They remove the grain layer during cleanup so that flaws are easier to spot. Then once cleanup is done, the re-apply the SAME grain layer along with any small details the software removed with the grain. It’s still the original grain from the print, and no details were lost. I think that’s what the actual process is, but I could be wrong.

[@bahet1061]

I want hear someone talk about Saturday Night Fever and Footloose. Two movies I love and two 4K transfers that I hate. If someone from the restoration team could speak on why they look the way they do would go so far for me in excepting them for what they are. It is the lack of information from studios that causes so much negative feedback on certain things. IMHO

[@hvxcolors396]

The current restoration process is limitted at 4k because that is more or less what 35mm film can resolve. If you want to go further I think that films should be analysed via an AI tool to object files, just like that is done with digital maps. The lines you see on your gps are a representation of road objects, they are not mere pixels. Instead of just pixel files (light intensity and color) you record to object files like in a 3d architecture program. In fact I think that we are not far from recording in an object format because it provides a lot more capabilities in post processing. It would be a killer application for of a metaverse. Imagine watching Snow White and being the prince or watching from the sideline. Btw, Once Upon a Time in the West is an Italian production filmed in Rome and Spain.

[@konowd]

Dragonslayer is great fun, it should have had a comeback with Game of Thrones

[@murrtubereal]

12:45 - I've heard a rumor that this was done for the Indiana Jones 4Ks?

[@rickg8015]

I clicked for Dragonslayer🐉.. I stayed for Charlotte👌🏼..

[@michaelmcgee8543]

Yes, Charlotte helped Kino Lorber secure the rights of the 3D versions of money from home for restoration as much as the man who was not there.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

You can transfer a digitally restored film back to film stock.

[@tracyotrhuiskamp1012]

I hope Paramount starts to release Paramounts early (1920s-1950s). titles. Out of all the studios Paramount seems to release the least amount of classicsz

[@PerfDamagePodcast]

Sadly Paramount doesn't own most of these films anymore. They were sold to MCA/Universal in the 1950s.

[@CerealAtMidnight]

I'll add to what Charlotte said and say that Universal has put many of those 1930s and 1940s Paramount films (now MCA/Universal titles) on Blu-ray through Kino Lorber at a rate of several a month for the last few years.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

She must have helped Kino Lorber and Bob Fermanek to be able to restore Money from home.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

You are dealing with people who are not fans of film history going back to the beginning of the film.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

Not Under a Texas moon yet.

[@19film80]

Spaghetti Westerns are better than American westerns.

[@CerealAtMidnight]

Whatever floats your boat.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

How about classic films that reflect murderous bigoted dictatorships, like the films m, made under Stalin, Hilter, and Mao.

[@capybara2671]

16k or nothing.

[@Daniel_B_23]

First