Peter Jackson may be known for bringing JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to the big screen, but he decided to leave fantasy behind for his latest project, titled “They Shall Not Grow Old”. It’s a World War I documentary, complete with color and digitally enhanced sound. The filmmaker sourced archival footage from The Imperial War Museum, used the original audio from BBC and the voices of war veterans. “Many hours of dramatic footage were filmed on the battlefields, capturing the realities of the conflict in remarkable and unprecedented detail. This footage provided the public at home with astonishing access to the frontline: The Battle of the Somme, a documentary film produced with the cooperation of the War Office, was seen by an estimated 20 million Britons in its first six weeks of release,” said The Imperial War Museum. Read more for another trailer and additional information.
“In addition to recoloring the film’s frames as realistically as possible, Jackson and team used computers to build interstitial frames between real ones. The technique helped get rid of twitchy movements associated with old, black-and-white footage, making the subjects feel more life-like. They also applied a moderate 3D enhancement and enlisted actors to provide voices for the film’s silent subjects: British soldiers who fought in the war,” reports Engadget.
