Modern VideoFilm Restores Sci Fi Classic ëAliení

13-Nov-03

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the release of ìAlien,î Modern VideoFilm gave Ridley Scottís masterpiece a millennial face-lift. Using Quantelís iQ system, Modern VideoFilm digitally restored and color corrected the film for a planned fall theatrical re-release by 20th Century Fox.This is quite an undertaking for Modern VideoFilm, who began work on the project in November of 2002. ìWhat weíre doing, in the pure sense of the word, is a digital intermediate, but the interesting twist is that itís also a restoration digital intermediate process,î says Mark Smirnoff, Executive Vice President of Studio Services for Modern VideoFilm. Smirnoff and his team of artists scanned the original film elements digitally into the iQ and did a full restoration. Having been in storage for the past 25 years, these elements had suffered from the aging process. There was a lot of dirt, scratches, chemical stains and all sort of problems that had to be corrected by Modern VideoFilm, who refurbished every single frame of the original film.ìThe iQ was designed to be a server-based, resolution independent editorial and visual effects tool,î explains Ken Quain, Account Executive/Post Supervisor at Modern VideoFilm. Using the Q Paint system on the iQ, the artists at Modern VideoFilm were able to paint over dirt, scratches, splices and any other damages to the film. Adding to the uniqueness of the project, director Ridley Scott worked with colorist Skip Kimble and personally oversaw all of the color correction. Working on the iQ with a da Vinci 2K Plus, colorist Kimble color corrected and timed the film in a theatre setting at Modern VideoFilmís Glendale facility. The relationship between Scott and Kimble is very close. The two had previously worked together on several other films, including ìGladiatorî and ìThelma & Louise.îThe resulting look of the new film is astounding. Technology in the 70ís was not as advanced as it is today, and the new color corrected ìAlienî is a lot closer to what Scott originally envisioned. According to Smirnoff, Ridley recently said, ìThatís what it (the film) was supposed to look like.îThe scope of Modern VideoFilmís involvement in the ìAlienî project far exceeds just restoring the original film elements. The re-released film will contain several bonus scenes, which were cut from the original film. These extra scenes also had to be restored and color corrected. One of the many tasks Modern VideoFilm faced was ensuring uniformity between the original film and the added elements. ìIt was up to us to make sure that the bonus material dropped in flawlessly and it didnít look like there was any difference,î says Smirnoff, explaining why the color correction process was crucial. Modern VideoFilm is creating two different versions of the 25th Anniversary ìAlien,î one film print and one digital cinema version. Using the iQ allows the artists to work on the film as data, which was a great benefit to the project. ìWe are able to share our digital file, which will go to theatres that are equipped with digital cinema projection,î explains Quain. While the team at Modern VideoFilm worked on the first film in the series, ìAlien,î they also digitally remastered and restored the other films in the franchise, ìAliens,î ìAlien/,î and ìAlien: Resurrection.î All of the films will be part of a special DVD boxed-set, which Fox is tentatively scheduled to release in the winter. Adds Qauin about the special release, ìThey will be ëbranching DVDs,í which will give the viewers the option of watching the original films or the extended versions.î

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