Press Releases: Latest News

Kennedy Assassination: Historic Film to be Restored

--

LONDON, UK - Historic film of one of the defining events of the 20th century, the assassination of President John F Kennedy, is to be remastered and restored using the latest digital technology.

The restoration will be carried out for the footage owners, Associated Press Television News (APTN), by London facilities house Metro Broadcast using special technology developed by broadcast equipment designers Snell & Wilcox.

It will be released in January 2003, for programme makers wishing to include it in productions timed for the 40th anniversary of the assassination, which took place on November 22 1963.

APTN's copy of the film will be transferred onto a digital tape and processed through an Archangel machine at Metro. Archangel has been developed by Snell & Wilcox to digitally stabilise and restore images by removing dirt, scratches, tape tear, film weave and other imperfections in film and video.

Christopher O'Hearn, Head of Content Development at APTN said the aim of the project was to make the image more watchable. "Are we going to see a second gunman? - I doubt it. But if a programme maker is using scratched, washed-out images then viewers aren't going to be giving their full concentration, so we think it is a way of helping to tell the story."

Known as the "Muchmore film", it is one of three main sources of motion picture taken on the fateful day. The film taken by Marie Muchmore was acquired at the time by the news agency UPI and is now part of the extensive APTN Library.

It shows the President's motorcade turning into Houston Street and captures the final fatal shot to the head. It also shows the mysterious Babushka Lady filming just feet away from the President's car. That sensational film has never been retrieved and the woman never conclusively identified.

APTN decided to put the film through Archangel after seeing a demonstration at Metro. Archangel is the only technology to provide comprehensive restoration of damaged footage in real time, rather than on a frame-by-frame basis. As a result it enables broadcasters and archivists to restore damaged film and video at a practical cost.

Metro's Technical Services Manager Mike Smith is overseeing the restoration. He says care will be the main consideration. "Obviously with a film like this it is essential to make sure that nothing is lost or changed. Archangel allows us to make a very precise restoration so the picture ends up being clearer and cleaner, but it is still the same image."

Archangel was developed by Snell & Wilcox to address a growing problem among broadcasters and video libraries who find themselves with valuable assets which are literally degrading.

"Many classic television shows were recorded onto formats which are now seen as very poor quality, even unusable," said Andy Major, Snell & Wilcox product manager for Archangel. "And video libraries are finding that producers need clips that don't look out of place next to a modern digital image. Archangel solves those problems in a way that would have been far too expensive and time-consuming in the past."

The film will be released at the NATPE (National Association of Television Program Executives) trade show in New Orleans, on January 20, 2003. It will be available for ordering and licensing from APTN and special orders such as up-conversion to high definition formats will be available through Metro.

Editors note: Photos of the film transfer and restoration in progress are available.

Contacts:

APTN: Christopher O'Hearn, Head of Content Development, APTN, The Interchange, Oval Road, London NW1 7DZ. Phone +44 20 7482 7437 ; or email cohearn@ap.org

APTN Associated Press Television News (APTN) is the world's leading video news agency, serving over 500 broadcasters, major portals and web sites with video. The APTN Library is the commercial video archive of APTN. With a network of 83 bureaux covering news around the clock and throughout the world, APTN forms a vital part of the Associated Press, the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organisation.

Metro: Nicholas Taylor, Managing Director, Metro, 53 Great Suffolk Street, London SE1 0DB. Phone: +44-20-7202 2000, Fax: +44-20 7202 2001 or email: info@metrobroadcast.com

Metro Broadcast is the television facilities business of Metro, the media technology group that encompasses television facilities, live events, technology sales, engineering and new media.Metro is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the WPP Group plc, the world's No.1 ranked Communications Services group, with over 1,300 offices in 92 countries.

David Cunningham, Press Relations Manager, Snell & Wilcox, Southleigh Park, Southleigh Park House, Havant, Hampshire, UK PO9 2PE, UK

Tel: +44 23 9248 9144

Email: david.cunningham@snellwilcox.com