Morecambe and Wise salvage

[Paul Hayes]

This three-part BBC R&D blog on attempts to salvage material from a stuck-together print of a 1968 BBC Morecambe and Wise episode is fascinating. It's like magic to a non-techie like me!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2017-12-mo ... estoration
http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2017-12-mo ... tomography
http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2017-12-mo ... -algorithm

[brigham]

Amazing.
Looks as if R&D is still alive and well, then. I'd naturally assumed it had been 'outsourced' like everything else.

[Mark]

Fascinating stuff, a bit spooky seeing those ghostly images from a lump of decayed plastic.

[fatcat]

Something philosophical going on here perhaps. that when things are neglected and forgotten about, they just disappear eventually (childhood teddy bear/AR archive anyone?)
Also interesting is the relationship between the film and the can which is also disintegrating making 'the greens' proclamation that plastic does not decay questionable....Possibly if it had been kept in a good old rusty film can such a relationship of mutual destruction may not have developed ?

ramble over

[Brian F]

Vinegar syndrome affects films in steel cans also but the more air tight the can is the worst it gets. So slightly buckled metal may allow a little air circulation and delay the process where tight fitting plastic may speed it up. Heat and humidity are the worst enemies of acetate film, I believe.

[Paul Hayes]

You can now see a bit of the episode in this report:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology ... -lost-film

I'd still love to know where the audio comes from. It sounds far too clean to have been salvaged from an optical track on that print. Radio version of the same sketch? Off-air home recording of the episode?

[Brian F]

Yes I did read that the audio does exist in an off air recording.

[Brian F]

Yes I did read that the audio does exist in an off air home recording.

[Spiny Norman]

You can now see a bit of the episode in this report:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology ... -lost-film

I'd still love to know where the audio comes from. It sounds far too clean to have been salvaged from an optical track on that print. Radio version of the same sketch? Off-air home recording of the episode?

A comedy fan in Australia - the editor of laughterlog.com - recorded many soundtracks using a line-out: Frost Report, Till Death, Misleading Cases, and also this series of M&W. These tracks were eventually returned to the authorities.
In fact it seems the print found was the same one that had been in Australia for him to record the audio from.

[Paul Hayes]

A comedy fan in Australia - the editor of laughterlog.com - recorded many soundtracks using a line-out: Frost Report, Till Death, Misleading Cases, and also this series of M&W. These tracks were eventually returned to the authorities.
In fact it seems the print found was the same one that had been in Australia for him to record the audio from.

I see - thank you!

[Spiny Norman]

A comedy fan in Australia - the editor of laughterlog.com - recorded many soundtracks using a line-out: Frost Report, Till Death, Misleading Cases, and also this series of M&W. These tracks were eventually returned to the authorities.
In fact it seems the print found was the same one that had been in Australia for him to record the audio from.

I see - thank you!

The funny thing is, I played a small part in their return - the only contribution I've ever made - but ironically I absolutely can't stand morecambe & wise.