Imagine if you were forced to see Gone With the Wind in only "green" with all of the Technicolor missing, or imagine if you could only view the Mona Lisa as a black and white postcard measuring 3x5 inches so that the famous smile was barely a quarter of an inch long.
Unless serious steps are taken rapidly, this is the way nearly 75 years of the World's Priceless Motion Picture Treasures will be seen by coming generations.
In response to this threat, The Digital Nitrate Prize will award a cash prize to the first organization, group or individual who exactly duplicates the appearance of theatrically projected high-silver nitrate motion picture film using completely digital means such that, in a simultaneous side-by-side comparison, the original film and the digitally projected image are indistinguishable. Organized in a manner similar to the X-Prize, the Digital Nitrate Prize intends to encourage innovative technological development in the service of authentically preserving the unique look of nitrate and other early motion picture films.
Background
For approximately 80 years, the majority of motion picture film was made from cellulose nitrate (Nitrate Film), a highly flammable film stock. The emulsions of black and white film contained extremely high levels of silver. Because of the unique optical properties of Nitrate Film, the fine grain of the emulsion, and the density and tonal range of these films Nitrate Motion pictures can produce an truly extraordinary and beautiful image. Nitrate film was also projected with Carbon Arc light. Carbon Arc is produced by burning pure carbon, and it produces a pure white, full-spectrum light. The combination of these three factors (Nitrate Film, fine-grain high silver emulsion, and carbon arc light) produces the most stunning motion picture image from the classics of motion picture history.
By the 1950s, Safety Film (an non-flammable, acetate base) universally replaced Nitrate Film. Safety Film, however, has a different quality of light transmission than Nitrate Film. Further, Xenon light sources replaced carbon arc. Xenon lamps produce a white light with a limited spectrum: it is shifted toward certain colors and is not pure white. The resulting image, while satisfactory, does not reveal the true quality of motion picture film, especially the early films which were intended to be printed on nitrate stock and projected with carbon arc.
We are now in the midst of the digital revolution. Motion pictures are being scanned by various methods and with various resolutions into digital formats. Substantial amounts of information or data from the original film image is being lost in this scanning process. And the resulting digital "movies" are being projected with a variety of projectors: DLP, Analog, LCD and others. None of these projection methods is physically capable at the present time of reproducing the full detail, contrast range or light values of the Nitrate Film/Carbon Arc/Fine-grain, high silver motion picture print/projection combination. At best, they are acceptible. At worst, they are "better than nothing."
The Current Tragedy in the Making
Tragically, few have really noticed the dangers of this loss. The number of living people outside of specialists in closely guarded and access restricted archives have ever seen Nitrate Film projected with carbon arc light. Lacking the visceral experience of seeing the world's classic motion picture heritage presented as it was intended to be seen, it is difficult -- especially for younger archivists -- to appreciate what is being lost. It is difficult, in fact, to describe this experience to someone who hasn't seen it. It's rather like trying to explain color to a blind person. And to compare it to the difference between regular and high-definition television is to do an injustice to the true beauty of these films properly shown.
Because of the high costs, scarce funding, and lack of knowledge, priorities within the archival community are polarized upon preservation vs total loss. It is matter of transferring a film either to another piece of film (with attendant loss of quality) or to some form of digitzed image (also with a loss of detail and other qualities).
The X-Prize has been successful in inspiring the development and construction of practical, earth-orbiting vehicles.
In the same way, the Digital Nitrate Prize hopes to encourage the development of a modern, practical digitally based system that will preserve the true experience of viewing classic motion pictures in all their glory.
It is clear in 2007 that the manufacture of motion picture film of any kind will cease within a generation. The existing stores of film will be depleted. And the films stored in archives around the world will, for the most part become inaccessible for viewing or will disintegrate completely.
As you are reading these words, in fact, thousands of feet of nitrate motion picture film are turning to powder and goo and have become permanently lost to history.
