Film Archive Members headed to Cinelab London  – the Film and Digital Laboratory experts and industry leader, to witness firsthand the special craft involved in the processing, preservation and finessing of the format.

Kindly organised by Sonji Clarke – Cinelab’s Head of Client Services and Cinelab’s representative at FAUK – we were treated to a full tour with demonstrations by  experienced, professional Cinelab staff in the various Labs. These specialist staff shared decades of experience working in the industry and it made our visit all the more interesting for them to share such specialist knowledge and best practice with FAUK visitors, many of whom are working as Technicians in film archives across the UK.

The Model C 70’s Bell & Howell Printer was a popular draw with Cinelab’s Derek Collins offering a  detailed demo of threading up for Film Print Production. He explained how a number of clients are now returning to film for shooting features, commercials etc. with the demand for higher resolution and range which celluloid film can offer.

John Allaker talked us through his work in the ‘Front Room’ inspecting and evaluating films and making decisions on what to clean and repair. In the Sound Transfer and Restoration Lab, we heard from Jason Stevens about his work and manual cleaning methods rounding up in the Film Theatre as Paul Dean talked us through a colour grade and restoration project.

A big thank you to Sonji Clarke and her colleagues:

       Film Production, John Allaker + Derek Collins

       Sound Mastering & Restoration, Jason Stevens

       Head of Scan, Grade and Restoration, Paul Dean

for spending their valuable time with us all. The Cinelab Tours prompted yet more informal discussions on the subject amongst FAUK Members over lunch.