Schaumburg-based Screen Time Images, an 8-year old company that restores classic movies and TV shows, added the U.S.’ first and only HD or higher resolution telecine customized with wet gate abilities, so important for concealing scratches on vintage film.
The new film transfer/scanning suite is centered on a Cintel Millennium machine coupled with a da Vinci color corrector.
The suite offers telecine transfer in SD, HD, and high speed, high resolution data film scanning at both 2K and 4K resolutions. an important tool for concealing scratches on vintage film.
Screen Time Images is calling the new service LiquiDefinition.
The system is also fitted with audio capabilities, eliminating the traditional need to transfer optical or magnetic audio in a separate pass on a lesser machine.
STI is also the first in the world to have adopted the new E-Cinema Systems DCM23 color reference monitor in a telecine/color correction suite.
The monitor?awards Best of Show at a recent IBC convention?is touted as a next-generation replacement for the Sony CRT, maintaining its calibration over the course of most of its life, also claiming that any two monitors in the world will look identical.
STI has restored thousands of movies and TV shows, including director Luis Bunuel’s classic “Robinson Crusoe,” the stop-motion animated children’s favorite, “Davey & Goliath,” Orson Welles’ “Othello,” and dozens of old TV shows, such as a “Family Affair” “The Jack Benny Show,” and “Superman.”
Said Screen Time’s owner, Sean McKee, “Our clients understand that, although an HD transfer may serve today’s DVD market and the impending HD-DVD/Blu-Ray market, the ability to scan their films at up to 4K resolution will truly digital preservation of the full film resolution content for future generations and formats.
“After we restore the material, the 2K and 4K data can then be used for creating a new film master, or a D-Cinema distribution master for theatrical projection,” McKee noted.
Since most of STI’s clients transfer movies, said McKee, “our system gives a very pleasing, warm feel to the image, maintaining the natural organic look of film, while revealing every minute detail.
“By using the new E-Cinema Systems monitor, clients can be confident of absolutely accurate color, and it can display the full pixel-for-pixel HD scan, something the current industry standard CRT does not do,” he stated.
About STI’s senior colorists, Peter Pyskacek and Frank Sparano, McKee said, “We have clients world-wide, and many times the work is unsupervised. They can be sure that there is great talent handling their treasured classics.”
Also offered are audio restoration and other services complementary to the restored product.
Since most restored titles will end up on DVD, authoring services and motion menu and packaging design provide clients with an end-to-end solution for their titles. PSP UMD and HD-DVD/Blu-Ray authoring offer additional formats for distribution.
Screen Time Images is located at 974 Estes Ct., Schaumburg; phone, 847/534-9000. See www.screentimeimages.com.
