FILM RESTORATION SUMMER SCHOOL
FIAF SUMMER SCHOOL - BOLOGNA 2007

The training is conceived for an international target group, and will be taught by an international panel of the best experts from different countries. The Film Restoration Summer School / FIAF Summer School is conceived both for archivists and staff working at FIAF archives, and students. The aim is to foster a shared knowledge in the field for current and future generations, and film archives worldwide. Special attention will be given to participants coming from countries with less developed traditions of restoration. Classes will be in English and French.

Where and When
Training will take place at the Cineteca di Bologna’s screening theatres and library, while the internship will be organized at the laboratory L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna. Training will last 3 weeks, from Monday 9 July through Sunday 29 July 2007, and will be preceded by the Cinema Ritrovato film festival [30 June to 7 July 2007 – 1 week, optional], and a two-month online distance learning experience on restoration technologies with a weekly update.

Training programme
The Immagine Ritrovata laboratory’s highly specialized staff will be closely involved in the intensive 3-week training programme and internship. Participants will be divided into six groups, and will work in each department of the laboratory:

1. analog restoration

2. printing and processing

3. sound restoration

4. digital restoration (part 1)

5. digital restoration (part 2)

6. video format

The Film Restoration Summer School / FIAF Summer School is structured along three main lines of interest:

1. Theory Lessons on Film Restoration
(distance learning, 2 months, 2 May – 29 June 2007)

2. Introduction and attendance at the Cinema Ritrovato festival (1 week, optional)

3. Restoration Practice
(3 weeks, compulsory)

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1. Theory Lessons on Film Restoration
(distance learning, 2 months, 2 May – 29 June 2007)

For 2 months preceding the classes in Bologna, participants will be provided with theory lessons, downloadable weekly on their computer at www.immagineritrovata.it. This distance-learning preparation will include lessons on new digital film restoration, access, and conservation. These online lessons will run from 2 May until 29 June 2007.

2. Introduction and attendance at the Cinema Ritrovato festival (1 week, optional)

The first week will be entirely devoted to the XXI edition of the Cinema Ritrovato film festival, which is the Cineteca di Bologna’s main international event. Since 1987, the festival has investigated the most obscure territories of cinema history, screening the best of “Recovered and Restored Films” from archives around the world.
Students will be free to attend the festival at their discretion. Some screenings will be compulsory.

Daily meetings of 2 hours or more with international specialists will be organized for all participants.

During the week of the festival, these meetings will analyse in detail restoration practice from a theoretical point of view, dealing in particular with film courses in a film restoration laboratory. These theoretical meetings will be an introduction and an in-depth study preceding the 3 weeks of internship; daily topics will therefore reflect laboratory stages.

Basically, the two main directions to be followed will consist of:

1. Analog and digital processing, for both picture and sound, will form an in-depth course in theory, supported by study cases. A brief section dedicated to fundamental principles of film restoration will introduce specific topics, such as film and its treatment in printing and processing. An extensive theoretical schedule will be proposed on digital restoration, with the presence of main experts in this field.

2. Partnership with the audio-visual industry plays a key role in the project, and will be developed through both the direct involvement of the main companies in the production of software and equipment for digital and analog restoration, and an internship at the restoration laboratory L’Immagine Ritrovata.
During the classes, several representatives from the main companies manufacturing software and restoration equipment will be invited to present their strategies.

3. Restoration Practice / Internship
(3 weeks, compulsory)

During the internship, participants will be supervised by international experts and laboratory staff to put into practice what they have learned during their first week of theory.

A considerable amount of time will be devoted to restoration practices. For 3 weeks, students will be offered hands-on experience, working in each department of the laboratory.
During the internship, the laboratory L’Immagine Ritrovata will suspend all restorations in order to follow completely all the activities scheduled by the Film Restoration Summer School / FIAF Summer School 2007, to allow participants to benefit fully from its staff and facilities.

For the 3 weeks of the internship, participants will occupy the premises of the laboratory L’Immagine Ritrovata for 8 hours per day for 15 days. Participants will have access to all departments of the laboratory.
Each department will accommodate a maximum of 5 participants. This is considered the right ratio of students per piece of equipment, so that each student will be able to interact directly.

Analog Restoration: Film handling and inspection; repairing film to prepare it for cleaning and printing.

Printing and Processing: Principles of optical and contact printing; study of different printers, film sensitivity, printer loading and use.
Rudiments of development and parameters analysis of mutual relations between printing and development. Use of Video Colour Analyser to set printing parameters from negative to positive copy; application of Lad, Strip, and other quality-control tools to check the correct operation of printing and development. Desmet colour and its use. Quality control.

Sound Restoration: Soundtrack restoration, with dedicated plug-in for editing.

Digital Restoration 1: Scanning a motion picture image to a digital file, and digital treatment by computer programmes in order to restore a film.

Digital Restoration 2: The computer processes data for film reconstruction and restoration. The final aim of this stage will be the transfer of data onto film base or digital support, using special software for digital restoration.

Video Format (DigitalBetacam, DVD, etc.): digitalization and data processing to make a copy of a film on digital support.