Adlabs co rejigs moon footage

The startlingly refreshed images of the first landing on the moon are the handiwork of the subsidiary of an Indian firm. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has given the onerous task to remaster the footage of the 1969 moon landing to a subsidiary of Adlabs Films, owned by the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group. Nasa is to spend $230,000 to have the images restored. The ‘‘one giant step for mankind’’ is turning out to be another for digital and video entertainment. The restoration of the footage work started in May 2009 and is handled by Lowry Digital Corporation, a Hollywood film company, a 100% subsidiary of Adlabs Films. Reliance Big Entertainment had acquired Lowry Digital Images business in April 2008. Nasa unveiled restored tapes a couple of days ago to mark the 40th anniversary celebration of the landing. The images are startling: there is no fuzziness of Neil Armstrong and ‘Buzz’ Aldrin skipping across the moon and planting the US flag. And for the first time, there is a clear reflection of the lunar landscape in Armstrong’s visor.