1933 Thylacine footage colourised

Crowthorne

Crowthorne

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A newly colourised version of the Fleay 1933 footage of the Thylacine 'Benjamin' at the Hobart Zoo has been released by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. As part of the process, the original nitrate negative was re-scanned in high-definition, so the image is much clearer and sharper then many other versions of the footage available (and considering how highly flammable and prone to degradation nitrate film is, it's a wonder the original is still available in such excellent condition!). It's also been presented at a more natural speed than the 'sped-up' versions that seem to have been available so far.

Personally, I'm not usually a fan of colourising B+W footage, but in this case it really does add to the poignancy of this important piece of film.

Colourised Footage of the Last Tasmanian Tiger | NFSA
 
On a more serious note... this does feel much more "alive" than the original footage, I'm sure the colouration is helping but I think its also the change in frame speed (or whatever the word is). Either way, it feels a lot more "real".
 
Mayki said:
On a more serious note... this does feel much more "alive" than the original footage, I'm sure the colouration is helping but I think its also the change in frame speed (or whatever the word is). Either way, it feels a lot more "real".
Click to expand...

Yes, the projection frame-rate has been changed, and for the better. In silent filming, because there was no need to worry about an associated sound-track embedded in the film itself, film could be recorded and projected at pretty much any speed desired (well, depending on how fast/slow you could hand-crank the camera during recording anyway). Silent comedians knew this and used different recording and projection speeds for comedic effect. Unfortunately, with the advent of sound film had to be recorded and projected at a standard speed, which often results in some old silent film being projected at completely the wrong speed, which is probably why the Thylacine footage has so far been shown at a speed which was too fast.
 
Crowthorne said:
, which is probably why the Thylacine footage has so far been shown at a speed which was too fast.
Click to expand...

The faster speed always made the Thylacine in David Fleay's film look rather nervous- which it wasn't, as Fleay recorded that the curator Arthur Reid who was in the enclosure with him during the filming had to ward the curious animal off 'with a paling'( fence support). The new colourised version at different speed does make it look more relaxed.
 
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