David Martin, a Spaniard who lives in Bilbao, restores the Lumière brothers' films using an artificial intelligence process to make them more attractive to young audiences.

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YouTube

  • David Martin, 49-year-old Spaniard, passionate about classic films, restores, in his spare time, the first films of the Lumière brothers.

  • The objective: to give them a more current appearance, without distorting the work, to appeal to the youngest.

For a little over a year, he has devoted all his free time to his passion.

Passionate about technology, computers and cinema, David Martin, a 49 year old Spaniard, set out to restore, through an artificial intelligence process, old films that had fallen into the public domain.

And more particularly those of the Lyon brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière, inventors of cinema.

“The aim is to give them a more up-to-date appearance so that they speak more to the younger generations,” explains the father who lives in Bilbao and works in an electricity company.

“Most young people today, starting with my teenage daughter, have lost touch with the masterpieces of the 7th art, simply because they don't look chic or modern enough.

Suddenly, that does not interest them and these films fall into oblivion, ”he regrets.

Retrieve inconspicuous details

He therefore set out on a quest to give them a little boost without altering the original work.

One of the first steps in this long, meticulous work is to increase the number of frames per second, from 25 to 50. “This produces a 'Soap Opera' effect, that is to say a more realistic effect with much smoother movements, argues David.

This practice has become a norm in recent years, even if it is despised by film professionals and amateurs.

In any case, it appeals to young people who like its rendering ”.

Leaning over his computer, this father then sets out to colorize each sequence and increase the resolution of the images up to 4K.

“This allows you to recover details that were not appreciated in the original and improve visual acuity,” he says.

The last step is devoted to "the finish": "I add sounds, period music.

I also apply filters and make a few corrections to keep the contrasts, ”explains David, who estimates at around thirty hours the time spent to restore a three-minute film.

Compare the two versions

Some of his creations, posted on his YouTube channel, have been included in the Lumière catalog, an Internet site devoted to the cinematographic work of the Lumière brothers.

What gives him a "certain pride", he concedes however humbly.

And to add: “The goal is to get people, especially young people, to compare the original version and the one I made.

It is to encourage them to discover these films ”.

This four-year-old was captivated by the work of the Lumière brothers.

“The sequences show scenes from life like a documentary.

The composition of each scene, the place of the camera… It was all extremely well thought out, very creative.

When I watch these films, it's as if I were at the Musée d'Orsay observing Impressionist paintings, ”he explains.

Today, he has restored about 30 of them and intends to continue his mission.

"I hope I can continue for years ... If my wife allows me," he concludes with a smile.

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  • Lyon

  • Artificial intelligence

  • Youtube

  • Spain

  • High-Tech

  • Cinema

  • Culture