35 years after the release of Wham!’s iconic ‘Last Christmas’ music video, Sony and legendary original music video director Andy Morahan re-released the video classic in astonishing 4K.
In order to achieve exceptional clarity, Morahan unearthed the original 35mm rushes and worked closely with Cinelab Film & Digital to breathe new life into them.
Cinelab Film & Digital scanned 7 rolls of original 35mm at 4K on the DFT Scanity 4K HDR scanner and delivered digital files (4K 16bit log dpx) - allowing for maximum flexibility in the grade and edit. Cinelab Film & Digital ensured the beauty and details of the original film negative were captured in the very best way possible, capturing detail never seen before and future proofing.
Andy Morahan “It was strange for me to experience the film again in such sharpness. Over the years you get used to the softness of the original, we’re really happy with how it turned out. This project was particularly challenging as we only had 7 out of the 8 rolls of original film. This meant we had to blend 95% of the new footage with what was originally captured on Telecine. This is no easy task. Imagine trying to stretch an old tubular TV screen into widescreen. The image would get stretched and distorted. It's a similar principle taking old analogue scans and merging them with those from a 4K scanner. Thankfully, Nice Biscuits, Aidan at the Farm and Joce and Sonji at Cinelab have unrivalled experience in both analogue and digital technology.” “Last Christmas is one of the most iconic music videos of all time, the song a traditional favourite. As huge Wham fans, we all remember George Micheal at Christmas and it gave this project extra special meaning.”
36 years after it was first released Wham!'s ‘Last Christmas’ finally topped the UK singles chart for the first time in December 2020.
Archive & Restoration Services provided by Cinelab Film & Digital:
Film Preparation and ultrasonic cleaning
Scanned 7 rolls of original 35mm at 4K on the DFT Scanity 4K HDR
Delivered digital files (4K 16bit log dpx) for grade and edit
Credits
RECORD CO: Sony Music
DIRECTOR: Andy Morahan
FILM LAB & FILM SCANNING: Cinelab Film & Digital
GRADE: The Farm
EDIT & FLAME: Nice Biscuits