The Beverly Hilton Hotel is a 5-star hotel located in Beverly Hills, the largest affluent area in California, USA.
A documentary film of the history of the hotel's design and opening has been restored and digitized.
Starting the Project
While working at a local broadcasting station, where digitizing and restoring analog films and tapes was a significant part of the job, a hotel official who remembered my work environment contacted me personally.
βI found a box full of film negatives while cleaning the hotel basementβ
As someone who loves working with old videos, especially film, I rushed to see what films had been discovered. The films waiting for me were documentary movies about the hotel's design and opening, titled "Hotel is Born." Despite being about the famous Hilton Hotel brand, no one had restored or digitized these films, so no hotel official knew of their existence.
The 16mm film negatives (developed plastic films) have a storage lifespan of about 50 years, but since they had been left in a basement without proper humidity and temperature control, I quickly brought the films to the workstation.
Accidentally Discovered Film Preserving History
I carefully opened the film canisters. Since they were 16mm film canisters about 12 inches in diameter, they likely contained around 30-40 minutes of footage.
Considering the films were over 50 years old, they were in surprisingly good condition. There was a strong vinegar-like chemical smell, a typical feature of old movie films. The plastic was not deteriorated, and there were no tears or bending marks, so I could work with them in optimal condition.
Before scanning, as part of the preparation process, I treated the films with a special solution and used a scanning service from a partner company. Having worked on film projects for many years, I leveraged my existing network.
Selecting a film scanning company is crucial for the following reasons:
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Few remaining professional companies
Since the industry handling films is not as large as it used to be, there are fewer professional companies outside the western United States. This is a global trend, making it increasingly difficult to find such services.
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Quality difference depending on the scanner's performance
Professional scanners are extremely expensive, and some companies use home or semi-professional scanners, or even upscale the resolution to 4K-5K. The skill of the scanner operator is also an important consideration.
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Ability to scan the original without clumsy color grading
I prefer to handle color grading and post-processing myself to ensure consistency and high quality, as promised to clients.
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Many companies have poor communication skills
Many companies are small-scale and have poor communication skills. While quality can sometimes excuse this, it is still crucial to meet client deadlines.
Completion and Delivery
The project took about a month from the client meeting to the final video delivery. Although it was a long time for completing one video, I worked meticulously given the significance of the footage.
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Week 1: Met with hotel executives and the media department, who had no knowledge about the film, to discuss where the film was found and how the digitized video would be used. We decided on the appropriate video format.
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Week 2: Selected a partner company, issued the purchase order, and sent the film negatives.
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Week 3: Quickly received the raw scan from the partner company and proceeded with color grading and post-processing.
The completed "Hotel Is Born" documentary film can be viewed through the YouTube link above or at the Beverly Hilton Hotel lobby!