[Frameworks] De-dusting scanned film footage

[Ken Paul Rosenthal]

More than 100 rolls of b/w super and about 15 rolls of color negative super 8 were processed by Alpha Cine Lab for my film Crooked Beauty, then went straight to telecine prep, including ultrasonic cleaning. My layman's explanation of sonic cleaning involves being run through a bath with some sort of vibration that 'shakes' off any particles that might be clinging to the film. The film is then dried with 'air knives' akin to what many public bathrooms have nowadays.

And yet, there was still far more dust on the surface of the film than I wanted for that particular project. So my colorist and another friend, David T, did a significant amount of 'dust busting' in Final Cut Pro. Their methods differed slightly, and though a bit time consuming, were 100% effective. I wasn't present for David's work, but I observed my colorist's efforts at great length. While I cannot describe it in technical detail, I can share what I observed:

A circle matte no larger than the size of the dust particle was made, then a piece of the frame just before or after the dust spot--in its exact position--was captured then laid over the offending piece of dust. That's it! Worked like a charm. Perhaps David T can weigh in on his method?

If you'd like to see how beautifully this worked (not to mention the stellar scanning work of Pro 8), Crooked Beauty DVD's are now available 2 for the price of 1 at  www.crookedbeauty.com

Ken

www.kenpaulrosenthal.comwww.crookedbeauty.comwww.maddancementalhealthfilmtrilogy.com 		 	   		  
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