As a service provider in the field of professional film restoration, we cover the entire spectrum:

From the examination, preparation and cleaning of the film material, through light and color determination, to digitization and re-exposure, or archiving on a wide variety of carrier media.

Since 1999 we have digitally restored numerous films, silent-era classics such as “Metropolis” or “The Loves of Pharaoh” as well as films from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Our experience – particularly with nitrocellulose film, broken and torn elements, material affected by mould or vinegar syndrome, as well as with special formats from the early days of film (from around 1895) – enables us today to take on and master any restoration challenge in 16mm, 35mm, HD or Digital Betacam.

The lasting preservation of film works in their original quality for future generations – a task we approach with full dedication.

 

The ALPHA-OMEGA Team

 

Thomas Bakels: Head of Production

Expertise: software development, digital calibration, quality control, film scanning, color correction, audio transfer and processing
Before founding ALPHA-OMEGA digital GmbH (Munich), Thomas Bakels had already worked successfully in various fields of film and television production. Since its founding, ALPHA-OMEGA digital has been committed to high-quality digital conversions – initially in SD, later in HD and 2K – to deliver restorations that last.

The company's first restoration was carried out in 1998 for the German Federal Film Archive (Bundesarchiv). Since then, Thomas Bakels has completed numerous projects, most of them in international collaborations. Particularly notable are the restorations of Fritz Lang's Metropolis (2001/2010) and the 2K preservation of John Ford's Bucking Broadway, as well as the original negatives of the Skladanowsky Brothers.

Thomas is the initiator of numerous programmes for preserving cinematic heritage, especially in South East Asia. Between 2000 and 2006 he took on important advisory roles for the Vietnamese Film Institute in Hanoi, leading the acquisition of a 2K scanner and a color-correction workstation and training local staff on site.

 

Marie Eugenie Bendl: Restorer, Digital Operator

Expertise: digital restoration, film scanning, color correction, digital sound transfer, editing, mastering
Work experience:
01/08 – 07/11: Teaching and research as a scholarship holder within the interdisciplinary graduate programme “Medial Historiographies: History of Media / Media of History” at Bauhaus University Weimar and Friedrich Schiller University Jena
07/02 – 06/03: PR and festival coordination for Amour Fou Filmproduktion (Vienna), Cannes 2003, and the Institut Culturel de France (Festival du Film Francophone de Vienne) 2003
08/05 – 12/07: Film curator, Eutopia (Vienna)

Education:
MA in Film and Media Studies (Université Paris X), Film Restoration Summer School Il Cinema Ritrovato as a guest student (Bologna), trainee at the Austrian Film Museum (Laxenburg and Krems) – focus on digital restoration, film scanning, filtering and retouching (Diamant & DustBuster), color correction (Scratch), digital calibration, and film-out transfer (ARRi Laser)