Anamorphic Filmclip Scans
Several years ago, Lincoln Enterprises sold 35mm filmclips from the various "Star Trek" motion pictures. At first, it was thought that the clips would be from flat, normal appearing prints. However, Lincoln could apparently only obtain anamorphic prints instead, which require a special lens to view correctly. I have a number of these clips, and for a long time I figured they were basically unusable. However, I have found that scans of these clips can be corrected in the computer. See the examples below:
Above is an untouched scan of an anamorphic film clip from "Star Trek II."
However, by reducing the height of the scene by 50% in the computer, the scene can be made to appear letterbox normal. (You don't want to increase the width of the scene as it can give a fuzzy appearance.)
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Mixed in with the "SEARCH" filmclips has been this scene below:
The cars looked squeezed to me, so I decreased the height by 50% and came up with the scene below:
My guess is that this is footage from a Warner Bros. movie such as "Dirty Harry." Does this look familiar to anyone and was it used in any SEARCH episode that anyone can recall? The vertical lighted white sign at the center of the scene says "Embassy." The horizontal neon red sign beneath it says "Embassy Restaurant."
--by Don Harden