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By: Bayani San Diego Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 5, 2012
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Two decades ago, it would have cost P15 million
to restore an old movie; but with digital technology, the cost of saving our
cinematic gems has become less prohibitive.
Leo
Katigbak, head of ABS-CBN Film Archives, had always wanted to upgrade the
network’s library, home to such classics as Peque Gallaga’s “Oro, Plata, Mata”
and Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala.” He recalled, “It always boiled down to a
question of costs.”
Then
he met with Manet Dayrit, head of Central Digital Lab, who had taken up as a
pet project the digital restoration of “Himala.”
Solution
“For years, we had been doing tests,
figuring out ways to make the process less expensive, less time-consuming and
less labor-intensive,” Dayrit related.
Last
year, the team found the solution.
ABS-CBN
and Central Digital Lab plan to digitize and restore some 3,000 titles in the
network’s film vaults—beginning with “Himala,” starring Nora Aunor, which marks
its 30th anniversary this year, said Katigbak.
To
mark the occasion, the film’s restored and High-Definition version will have
its world premiere at the Venice film fest this month. “We have big plans,”
Katigbak said. “Since it’s now on HD and DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format,
we can release ‘Himala’ theatrically, too.” Eventually, it can be shown on pay
TV and cable, and released on DVD as part of something like a “Criterion
Collection for local films,” Katigbak added.
Technicians
worked on “Himala” for 700 hours.
Frame by frame
The
process started by scanning the 35mm prints frame by frame, Dayrit explained.
“We scanned from two or three different prints, using the machine Cintel
Millennium 2. Some prints had missing scenes. Some were damaged. We had to look
for the best reels.”
Two
senior restoration artists (Ana Bilbao and Tiqui del Rosario) and a color
correction expert (Richard Francia) then commenced work. First, Katigbak said,
“they removed fingerprint marks and scratches.”
Restoration
experts also need to watch out for molds. Dayrit added, “Luckily, since
‘Himala’ was properly stored in the ABS-CBN Archives, we didn’t have a major
mold problem.”
The
colorists used the machine DaVinci Resolve, she said. “Colors fade over time.
But we took extra care not to tamper with the filmmaker’s original intention.”
The
result: In the film’s climax, the red robes of the Virgin Mary statue look more
deeply colored; the devotees’ white dresses, newly bleached; the Ilocos sky,
bluer; and La Aunor’s brown skin, duskier.
With
Protools, audio engineers (Arnold Reodica and Ronald de Asis) worked on the
sound— making sure to eradicate pops and whistles. “We also needed to sync some
lines of dialogue,” Dayrit said.
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