Whitlam Dismissal: Scanning the footage

Camera operator Bob Wilesmith shot the only surviving original film at Parliament House on 11 November 1975, when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his government from office.  

In 2015, the NFSA digitally scanned the footage to capture and present the original quality of the film recording. The film is over-scanned to ensure that we capture the maximum amount of image detail. The two white areas at top and bottom left are the film’s sprocket holes.

Other work completed during this process includes basic dust removal, gamma correction and a primary grade to the image. The preservation files from the scanner are then converted and combined with the audio file to create a viewable file. The overscanned image can then be cropped so that it better reflects how the film was originally viewed.

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