Colorized Footage Shows Downtown Los Angeles In The 1930s

One of our favorite semi-recent social media trends has to do with all of the colorized photos and footage from decades past.

There is something to be said for having the chance to check out “the good old days” in living color. It adds a modern twist to photos and videos that might otherwise look hopelessly outdated. Now, you will have the chance to see 1930s Los Angeles in a whole new light.

Video restorer NASS has come into some footage of a 1930s Los Angeles street, enhancing the general appearance for today’s audiences. The color and sound changes that have been made are absolutely incredible.

The process is painstaking, as the footage is sped up to 60 fps and the resolution is refined for high definition viewing. The color and sound are added for ambiance, while the brightness of the scene is also improved.

“Fantastic shots of Los Angeles 1930s, we can clearly see what is happening in broad daylight, Scene Street,” the description reads. It is amazing to think about all of the older videos and pictures that can be digitally altered like this. The possibilities are truly endless, aren’t they? According to NASS, the colorization techniques are not necessarily historically accurate.

It is all about providing the necessary context, though. “Please, be aware that colorization colors are not real and fake, colorization was made only for the ambiance and do not represent real historical data,” NASS says. This is an important distinction to make but it does not detract from the excellence that is on full display here.

The black and white footage that was initially used for the clip comes from the good folks over at A/V Geeks. We appreciate the time and effort that NASS put in, though. Thanks to clips like these, we are able to view our past through a whole new lens, literally. It also gives us a greater appreciation for the level of technology that we have access to in the present day.

Check out the video for yourself below: