5th International Conference Colour in Film

VeCoScan (VErsatile COlor film SCANner) is an ERC Proof of Concept project conducted at the department of Film Studies of the University of Zurich. The scope was to develop and test a multi-spectral and versatile film scanner prototype that is able to capture a wide range of historical film colors. The scanner allows screening the colors of film prints via digital projection without further adjustments by color grading. This constitutes a scientifically proven workflow, which is in line with restoration ethical guidelines. The versatility of the scanner also allows extracting the color information of negatives and faded film in the most efficient way, thus improving the result of digital restoration. The multispectral image acquisition is combined with a modular structure which offers a flexible geometrical arrangement of the illumination, owing to the way film is illuminated in analog projection. The working prototype was tested with a variety of historical color film processes and the results were evaluated in parallel analog/digital projection by a group of experts in the field (film scholars and archivists, colorists and scientists). We are happy to share the results of the project at CiF 2020.