This is the power of colourization

"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy) 01/16/2020 at 07:40 • Filed to: None

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Screw the detractors—add colour to as many old photos and videos as we can.

facw > Wheelerguy 01/16/2020 at 07:46

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The thing that was interesting to me (and that I didn’t even think about until they mentioned it in the mini-documentary at the end of the movie) was that this WWI footage was all silent. They had to go in and add sound effects, get lip readers, do historical research, etc. and then have voice actors do all the speaking parts (beyond the interview narration of course ).

Wheelerguy > facw 01/16/2020 at 07:51

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It’s what impressed me the most about this film. It’s effort enough to accurately capture the colours; it’s an even more Herculean endeavour to make the whole thing sound as closely as they are to the real thing. And it drives home just how young they are—they could be my college juniors or seniors.

jimz > Wheelerguy 01/16/2020 at 08:19

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Preserve the originals, though. Make reproductions and colorize those.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Wheelerguy 01/16/2020 at 08:31

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Yup...this is on my list to watch when I get the chance...it's an immense piece of cinematography in more ways than one...

Snuze: Needs another Swede > jimz 01/16/2020 at 08:41

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I could be wrong, but don’t they digitize everything first?  I don’t think they are destroying the originals in the process.  

Wheelerguy > Snuze: Needs another Swede 01/16/2020 at 08:44

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Yes. Colorizers generally do that on digital copies.

The Ghost of Oppo > facw 01/16/2020 at 09:10

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Almost all WW2 footage you see was silent as well.  

PowderHound > Wheelerguy 01/16/2020 at 09:19

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It’s currently on HBO and fantastic! Saw it the other week and was just mesmerized the way the lead in to the colorized from the original grainy film is incredible

facw > jimz 01/16/2020 at 11:47

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For this movie, they digitized everything the Imperial War Museum had (a surprisingly small amount, something like 100 hours total) , cleaned up all of that as best they could, then selected things that fit the story they were telling and colorized those. So the museum ended up with digital copies of the originals that are less subject to degradation, copies with increased (sometime drastically) video quality, and the colorizations.

fintail > Wheelerguy 01/16/2020 at 12:38

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If you’re into this kind of thing, try to visit the Military History Museum in Vienna.  It covers all areas, but has a heavy focus on WWI, depressing.