Original subtitles

KEN BURNS: THANKS TO BANK OF AMERICA,

OUR CORPORATE UNDERWRITER,

AND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND PBS,

WE ARE DOING A 4K RESTORATION OF THE "CIVIL WAR" SERIES.

TO ALLOW A NEW GENERATION TO SEE IT AS BEAUTIFUL AS POSSIBLE,

UM, AND TO INTRODUCE THE WAR AND THOSE CHARACTERS

AND LET THEM FEEL IT,

UH, THE WAY WE MEANT PEOPLE TO FEEL IT

WHEN WE--WHEN WE FIRST MADE IT--

I MEAN, IT STILL WORKS THAT WAY.

WHEN WE SHOT "THE CIVIL WAR,"

STANDARD TELEVISION HAD A RESOLUTION

OF 480 LINES VERTICALLY,

AND HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION IS 1,920 LINES.

WE ARE NOW TRANSFERRING THAT MATERIAL

SHOT 30 YEARS AGO INTO ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION 4K,

WHICH HAS 3,840 LINES OF RESOLUTION.

SO THE ABILITY TO TAKE THAT MATERIAL, THAT'S 30 YEARS OLD,

THAT WOULD HAVE INITIALLY BEEN TRANSFERRED AT 480 LINES

AND BRING IT TO VIEWERS AT HOME AT 3,840 LINES

IS AN INCREDIBLE TESTAMENT TO THE ARCHIVAL POWER OF THAT FILM.

NOW, WITH A CHANCE TO DO 4K RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL,

IT'S GONNA BE AMAZING TO LOOK AT ON THE BIG SCREEN

AND ON YOUR HOME TELEVISIONS.

THE FIRST STEP IN THE PRESERVATION PROCESS

IS CALLED CONSERVATION,

AND THAT'S WHERE MOTION PICTURE FILM IS SO EXTRAORDINARY.

IT IS A CARRIER OF MOVING IMAGES

THAT CAN LAST FOR A VERY LONG TIME IF IT IS PROTECTED

IN APPROPRIATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.

AT GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE, WE STORE A SAFETY FILM

IN VAULTS WITH 40 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT TEMPERATURE

AND 30% RELATIVE HUMIDITY.

OUR VAULTS HAVE CONSTANT AIR FILTERING AND CIRCULATION.

"THE CIVIL WAR" WAS SHOT IN THE LATE EIGHTIES

ON KODAK STOCK.

UM, IN THE LATE NINETIES, IT WAS THEN STORED

AT THE GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE VAULTS.

SO WHEN WE GOT THE FILM OUT OF THE VAULTS,

UH, WE FOUND OUT THAT THE FILM WAS BEAUTIFULLY CONSERVED.

THE FIRST STEP IN THE WHOLE PROCESS

WAS INSPECTING EACH REEL OF FILM AND CHECKING THAT THE SPLICES

WERE STRONG ENOUGH TO GO THROUGH THE PRESERVATION PROCESS.

THIS WAS AN EDITED NEGATIVE,

SO IT HAD A VERY HIGH NUMBER OF SPLICES THAT ARE THE JOINTS

THAT PUT TOGETHER TWO PIECES OF FILM.

OVER THE YEARS, SPLICES CAN BECOME BRITTLE AND OPEN UP,

SO WE NEEDED TO CHECK THAT THE SPLICES WOULD NOT POP OPEN

DURING THE PROCESS.

AGAIN THE FILM WAS IN GREAT CONDITION,

AND ONLY A COUPLE OF REELS NEEDED SPECIAL ATTENTION,

AND WE FIXED SPLICES USING, AGAIN, CEMENT

OR A SPECIAL TAPE FOR FILM.

"A" AND "B" CUTTING IS A VERY SMART WAY TO HIDE SPLICES

FROM, UH, THE FINAL PRINT.

BACK IN THE OLD DAYS, WHEN WE CUT THE NEGATIVE,

IN 16 MILLIMETER YOU HAD TO CREATE WHAT ARE CALLED

"A" AND "B" ROLLS.

CURRO: BASICALLY IN "A" AND "B" ROLLS,

A FILM, ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE, IS EDITED TOGETHER

WITH BLACK LEADER IN A CHECKERBOARD FASHION.

BARNES: AND SO THAT YOU WOULD CHECKERBOARD THE EDITS

ACROSS THE "A" AND "B" ROLLS,

SO SHOT 1 1S ON "A" ROLL, SHOT 2 ON "B" ROLL,

SHOT 3 ON "A" ROLL.

UH, SO WHILE SPLICES ARE PRESENT IN THE NEGATIVE,

ONCE THE TWO ROLLS ARE PRINTED ONE AFTER THE OTHER,

SPLICES WILL NOT BE VISIBLE IN A PRINT.

THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS WAS CLEANING FILM.

ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVES ARE USUALLY HANDLED VERY LITTLE,

AND SO THE FILM WAS VERY CLEAN.

SO THE PASS IN OUR ULTRASONIC FILM CLEANER

WAS NEEDED ONLY IN ORDER TO REMOVE

VERY FINE PARTICLES OF DUST.

THE THIRD STEP WAS SCANNING.

WE SCANNED THE FILM ON OUR ARRAY SCANNER AT 4K,

AND WE ALSO CREATED AN INFRARED MATTE

IN ORDER TO HELP THE FURTHER STEPS IN THE PROCESS.

THEY WERE ABLE TO SCAN ALL OF THAT NEGATIVE,

OVER 50,000 FEET OF 16-MILLIMETER NEGATIVE,

AND FROM THERE,

I CUT EVERY SINGLE SHOT BACK TOGETHER DIGITALLY,

UH, AND FROM THAT REMOVED ALL THE BLACK

AND THEN CUT THEM TOGETHER INTO ONE SEAMLESS LINE,

AND THIS WAS ALL BASED ON THE ORIGINAL GUIDE,

THE BROADCAST GUIDE.

CUT IT TOGETHER FRAME BY FRAME ALL THE WAY THROUGH

OVER 11 HOURS OF DOCUMENTARY FILM.

AND FROM THAT POINT, WE GO INTO WHAT'S CALLED GRADING,

WHICH IS THE COLOR CORRECTION OF THE ENTIRE SERIES.

THE NEGATIVE, WHEN IT FIRST COMES UP, IT ALMOST HAS

A BLACK-AND-WHITE MONOTONE QUALITY TO IT.

IT COMES UP VERY FLAT, AND BY "FLAT," I MEAN

JUST LIFTED BLACKS, HIGHLIGHTS ARE KIND OF SUPPRESSED,

SO IT LOOKS VERY KIND OF FLAT.

IT HAS NO CONTRAST.

WE WOULD SIMPLY START BY ADDING CONTRAST

AND SEE WHERE THE IMAGE IS NATURALLY TAKING US.

WITHIN THAT, THEN WE CAN PULL OUT THE BLACKS

AND PULL OUT THE WHITES AND SEE MORE INFORMATION WITHIN THAT

AND ALSO HAVE MORE WITHIN ALL THE COLOR.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE CANNON SHOT,

ALL THE DETAILS THAT WERE ON THE CANNON--

THERE WAS LITTLE HIGHLIGHTS ON TOP OF THE CANNON--

THAT'S BEEN RESTORED.

IT WAS IN THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVE.

IT'LL BE IN THIS NEW--NEW REDO, THE NEW, RESTORED VERSION.

BEFORE, YOU HAD PRETTY MUCH YELLOW AND A LITTLE BIT OF BLUE.

NOW YOU CAN SEE LITTLE WISPS OF PURPLE, OF PINK,

ALL THESE DIFFERENT COLORS AND SO MUCH MORE DETAIL

WITHIN EVEN THE GRASS, THE DETAILS IN THE GRASS

AND THE CANNON.

BARNES: THE INCREASED DETAIL IN THE IMAGERY

IS- IS GOING TO ACTUALLY DRAW THE AUDIENCE IN MORE.

YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE'S EYES CLEARER.

UH, YOU CAN SEE DETAILS OF THE BATTLEFIELDS MORE.

YOU CAN SEE DETAILS OF GUNS AND CLOTHING.

THE LOCATIONS ARE CLEARER.

I MEAN, YOUR EYE IS JUST TOTALLY CAPTIVATED

BY THE RICHNESS OF THE DETAIL IN THESE PHOTOGRAPHS.

BUT I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS SEEING PEOPLE'S EYES.

I MEAN, YOU CAN REALLY SEE INTO GRANT'S FACE

OR LINCOLN'S FACE,

AND THERE'S SOMETHING MUCH MORE EMOTIONALLY TELLING

THAT'S COMING THROUGH IN PEOPLE'S EXPRESSIONS

BECAUSE OF THE DETAIL, UH, IN THE FACES,

AND I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST CHANGE THAT--THAT--

THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE.

16 1S IN SOME WAYS A DIFFICULT MEDIUM TO DEAL WITH

IN CONTEMPORARY USAGE, BOTH FOR BROADCAST AND FOR THE CINEMA,

AND SO THE FACT THAT THE PROJECT WAS DONE IN 16.

EVEN THOUGH IT WAS EXQUISITELY MADE AT THE TIME,

IT WAS--IT'S SUBJECT TO ALL THE LIMITATIONS

OF 16 MILLIMETER PHOTOGRAPHY.

AND PARTICULARLY, IMAGE STABILITY WE FOUND TO BE

SOMETHING WHERE WE--BOTH THERE WERE CHALLENGES,

AND THERE WAS ALSO THE OPPORTUNITY

TO MAKE THE PROGRAM, UH, TO REVEAL QUALITIES IN THE PROGRAM

THAT HAD NEVER BEEN VISIBLE BEFORE,

BECAUSE DYNAMIC RESOLUTION IS AFFECTED

BY IMAGE STABILITY, AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO TEASE OUT

OF BUDDY'S, YOU KNOW, BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY

MORE DETAIL AND MORE CONTENT, ACTUALLY,

BECAUSE WE HAD A ROCK-SOLID, STABLE IMAGE

AND WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO DO FURTHER STABILIZATION.

AND THAT'S--IT HAS BOTH BEEN TRICKY AND ALSO VERY REVEALING,

AND, UM, I'VE BEEN VERY PLEASED

WITH THE WAY THAT IT'S TURNED OUT.

WE ARE BASICALLY TRANSFORMING, AND WE'RE STABILIZING AN IMAGE

THAT ONCE, BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF 16 MILLIMETER,

TENDED TO BOUNCE, AND YOU DON'T NOTICE IT

IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT ACTION IN A FILM,

BUT IF YOU'RE SHOOTING AN ARCHIVE--

OH, BY THE WAY, THAT'S 90% OF OUR FILM--

THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOUNCE, UM, AND NOW IT'S ALL STABILIZED,

AND THE IMAGES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER

WITH A KIND OF PRECISENESS.

THEY'RE MUCH CLEARER AND SHARPER.

THEY'RE--THEY'RE BETWEEN WHAT I SHOT

AND WHAT I HELD IN MY HAND NOW, AND THAT'S MIND-BLOWING.

THE ARCHIVES JUST JUMP OUT AT YOU.

THE DETAILS ARE BETTER. THE WHITES ARE WHITER.

THE BLACKS ARE RICHER AND DEEPER AND MORE INVITING.

THE GRAIN IS--IS DIMINISHED A LITTLE BIT,

AND IT IS A REVOLUTION.

I MEAN, IT'S SO MOVING THAT I'VE CRIED SEVERAL TIMES

JUST LOOKING AT THINGS--

THE FAMOUS ICONIC CANNON SHOT AT SUNSET

THAT ALLEN MOORE TOOK

IS NOW THE WAY WE SAW IT, YOU KNOW?

IT'S THE WAY WE EXPERIENCED THOSE THINGS.

LEWARS: AND SO THERE'S THIS ONE SHOT IN PARTICULAR--

IT'S THE BRIDGE AT ANTIETAM, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT,

AND YOU'RE JUST, LIKE, YOU KNOW, IS THIS REAL?

AND THEN SUDDENLY YOU SEE WATER MOVE,

AND YOU SEE LEAVES BLOWING IN THE WIND,

AND YOU SEE A BIRD FLY BY,

AND WE'LL SWITCH BACK-- WE HAVE THE OLD REFERENCE,

THE--THE ORIGINAL PASS,

AND NOW--JUST TO COMPARE IT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THE 4K,

UPDATED PASS, AND IT IS JUST STUNNING.

IT'S LIKE ALL THE DETAIL, YOU GET BACK.

THE THINGS YOU CAN SEE IN THE TREE

AND THE LEAVES AND THE WATER, AND YOU JUST SIT THERE,

AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, I'M WORKING WITH DAN IN THE ROOM,

AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO TAKE A BEAT, TAKE A BREATH,

AND WE'LL JUST SIT THERE AND ENJOY THE IMAGE FOR A MINUTE.

YOU KNOW, WE'LL TAKE A PAUSE FROM WORK,

AND WE'LL LOOK AT IT AND TAKE IT IN

AND JUST REALIZE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE

IS REALLY ADDING TO OUR HISTORY

FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

WE'LL BE LONG GONE AND DEAD, AND PEOPLE WILL STILL

BE WATCHING THIS REMASTERED VERSION,

WHICH I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT.

UH, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT FILM THAT'S SO MAGICAL,

SO WE STILL ARE OUT.

UH, WE'RE WORKING ON A SERIES ON THE VIETNAM WAR

TO COMPLETE A TRILOGY OF THE CIVIL WAR,

THE WAR ABOUT--THE SECOND WORLD WAR, AND NOW THE VIETNAM WAR,

AND--AND ALLEN MOORE IS STILL WORKING ON IT,

BUDDY SQUIRES--WE'RE STILL SHOOTING FILM, MOST OF THE TIME

TO GET THE KIND OF QUALITY THAT WE WANT,

AND WHILE GEORGE LUCAS HIMSELF ONCE SAT ME DOWN

AND TRIED TO PROVE TO ME THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE

AND IN FACT I COULDN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE,

I--1 STILL FEEL THE DIFFERENCE ABOUT IT,

AND SO THAT'S WHAT MATTERS.

WE'VE CONVERTED MOSTLY TO DIGITAL EVERYTHING,

INCLUDING SHOOTING, BUT WE HOLD ON TO A LITTLE BIT OF-

OF THE OLD FORM, JUST AS, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO JUST

NOT DO EVERYTHING ON A-- ON A--SOME COMPUTER PROGRAM.

YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE YOUR BRUSH AND DIP IT IN PAINT.

KEN HAS JUST CREATED THIS AMAZING BODY OF WORK

ABOUT WHO WE ARE AS AMERICANS

AND--AND WHAT AMERICA IS AS A COUNTRY.

IF YOU LOOK AT HIS BODY OF WORK AS A WHOLE,

IT'S AN AMAZING PORTRAIT OF WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE

AND AS A NATION,

UM, AND I THINK EACH ONE OF THOSE FILMS

IS A KIND OF PART OF A LARGE MOSAIC THAT HE'S BEEN CREATING

OVER HIS CAREER IN TERMS OF

WHAT THIS AMERICAN DEMOCRACY IS ALL ABOUT

AND WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE AND AS A NATION.

KEN BURNS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS OF OUR TIME.

THIS IS THE REASON WHY GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE IS SO PROUD

TO BE PRESERVING HIS WORK.

"THE CIVIL WAR" IS ONE OF HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS.

IT IS THE ULTIMATE VISUAL HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR,

SO IT IS ONLY NATURAL FOR US TO CONSIDER THE PRESERVATION

OF THIS FILM AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CULTURAL HERITAGE

OF OUR TIME.

PRESERVING "THE CIVIL WAR"

IS, IN A WAY, PRESERVING A BIT OF HISTORY.

IT IS A MODERN INTERPRETATION, A MODERN ANALYSIS

OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS

IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

MAN: FORGIVE MY MANY FAULTS

AND THE MANY PAINS I HAVE CAUSED YOU.

HOW THOUGHTLESS, HOW FOOLISH I HAVE SOMETIMES BEEN.

BUT, OH, SARAH, IF THE DEAD CAN COME BACK TO THIS EARTH

AND FLIT UNSEEN AROUND THOSE THEY LOVE,

I SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU, ON THE BRIGHTEST DAY

AND THE DARKEST NIGHT--

ALWAYS, ALWAYS.

AND WHEN THE SOFT BREEZE FANS YOUR CHEEK,

IT SHALL BE MY BREATH,;

OR THE COOL AIR, YOUR THROBBING TEMPLE--

IT SHALL BE MY SPIRIT PASSING BY.

SARAH, DO NOT MOURN ME DEAD.

THINK I AM GONE AND WAIT FOR ME,

FOR WE SHALL MEET AGAIN.