[Frameworks] OUR NIXON and small-format, high-resolution film scanning

[Jeff Kreines]

The new film OUR NIXON, by Penny Lane and Brian Frye, consists only of archival film, and about 80% of it is the Super-8 home movies shot by HR Haldeman, Dwight Chapin, and Bob Erlichman (all of Watergate fame).

Rather than accept the conventional wisdom -- that HD is more than adequate for such a small format -- Penny and Brian decided to scan the original Super-8 film at 3296 x 2472 x 12 bits -- over five times the resolution of pillarboxed HD.  It made a huge difference.  With lower resolution scans, there are not enough pixels to properly reproduce the grain, and the grain is essentially beating against the pixels, which turns grain into an ugly video-like noise with none of the organic feeling real grain has.

There was a problem with scanning this original footage -- it couldn't leave the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California.  But the archivist, Ryan Pettigrew, realized that researchers were permitted to scan original documents with their own scanners in the reference room -- and the rule did not prohibit film scanners.

So, fascinated by the project, I drove out to Yorba Linda with a Kinetta Archival Scanner in the trunk of my car, and scanned over 22 hours of Super-8 in the reference room (where we had to whisper!). We were able to capture the full dynamic range of the reversal original without compromising either shadows or highlights, which makes a huge difference. 

A portion of the footage only existed as very contrasty Super-8 contact prints, which obviously stand apart from scans from the original footage.  Also, a lot of the shooting is, in Variety-ese, subpar.  But given those limitations I was very pleased when I finally saw it last week at a press screening at MoMA.

Our Nixon closes the New York Film Festival New Films/New Directors festival on March 31 at Lincoln Center.  Below is a list of other showings.
SCREENINGS

Hot Docs, Toronto Canada (April 2013)
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham NC (April 2013)
Independent Film Festival Boston, Boston MA (April 2013)
New Directors/New Films, NYC (March 2013)
Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta GA (March 2013)
Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor MI (March 2013)
SXSW Film Festiva, Austin TX (March 2013)
International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands (January 2013) 


There's more information at the Our Nixon and Kinetta websites.  Let me know if you have any other questions.

I should note we also did scans (with As'Image in Paris) of the Super-8 footage in Jane Weiner's recent film Ricky on Leacock.  Resolution and bit depth and dynamic range are important and shouldn't be sacrificed!  HD is a delivery format, not a good capture format, IMHO.


Jeff Kreines
Kinetta
kinetta.com
jeff at kinetta.com


Disclaimer:  I designed and built the Kinetta Archival Scanner, and it reflects my philosophy of how film should be scanned.  Your opinion may differ.
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