The manipulation of pictures and video in digital form has been an established research activity for more than twenty years. It is only recently, however, that digital image and video processing equipment has been accessible to the gen eral public. This is due in part to the rapidly growing economy. of the home computer. A major contributing factor has been the marked rise in the pres ence of the non-academic user on the internet, particularly the World Wide Web (WWW). Manipulating digital imagery has become synonymous with the WWW. It is the drive to present audio and visual media to the home user in an interactive form and to increase the available range of choices, which has encouraged agreements to begin digital video television broadcasting before the turn of the century. With the increased demand for video material, there is a perceived increase in demand for material from archive sources and this has fuelled commercial interest in automatic digital restoration processes. Further more there is a continuing effort to design techniques for correcting errors in received compressed video bit streams for the purposes of live communications links over noisy channels e. g. mobile telephones and the internet. This book introduces the reader to a range of digital restoration activities beyond the well traversed areas of noise reduction and deblurring. It describes a number of problems associated with archived film and video.

This is the first book to bring together the work of a modern motion picture film laboratory together with the specialist techniques for preservation and restoration of archival film.The books data has its origins in a training programme called FILM which was written by members of the Gamma Group with funding from the EU fund Force. The committee comprised senior film archivists and technicians in charge of film conservation departments or working film laboratories within national film archives, together with technicians from commercial laboratories which specialise in archival film conservation and who do not work for national and local archives. The final group consisted of many of the most experienced individuals in their fields.Restoration of Motion Picture Film is an extremely informative, well-researched book which is an unmissable addition to the bookshelves of conservators, archivists and curators worldwide. Film history and film conservation students will also find it of great interest and use.* Only book in English on this subject* Prepared by leading specialists in their field* Includes coverage of digital technology

This is the first monograph-length work intended to enable readers with a humanities background and the general public to understand what the processes and techniques of film restoration do and do not involve, attempting to integrate systematically a discussion about related technological and cultural issues.

(Applause Books). "There is no book about Hollywood as riveting as this documentary." - Allan Carr, Vanity Fair There is no question that the 1954 version of A STAR IS BORN holds a special place in the pantheon of classic movies. It was director George Cukor's first foray into musicals, his first color film, and it was, without a doubt, Judy Garland's greatest screen performance.With incredible detail and color, Ronald Haver gives us the fascinating story of the making, marketing and restoration of this groundbreaking classic. Here is how producer Sid Luft orchestrated the deal for his wife, how Cukor was selected to direct, how James Mason was cast to co-star and how Moss Hart's script was developed. Here are the myriad techincal problems, the clashes of personalities and the shocking emotional ups and downs of the film's star. Here, finally, is the author's own mission to restore the film to its original length and glory in the 1980s.

"Commissioned for and sponsored by the National Film Preservation Board."