DuArt Media Services

04/12/2022

Love this photo of Irwin Young of a SMPTE past presidents reunion! #RememberingIrwin

04/07/2022

Throwback Thursday! #RemeberingIrwin

04/05/2022

Thank you Skylight for the kind tribute to Irwin. https://mailchi.mp/skylight/the-legacy-of-black-women-union-leaders

04/01/2022

Irwin Young: Film Processing History & Color Blindness

Did you know that Irwin Young was color blind?

https://categoryfivestudios.com/irwin-young-film-processing-history-color-blindness/ #RememberingIrwin

By: Mitch Jacobson, Category Five Studios | NYC The geek in me feels like a groupie today except I’m not backstage at a rock concert. I’m at the historic DuArt Film Lab Building in New…

03/30/2022

History | DuArt Media Services

Read about DuArt's 100 year history in #NYC: https://www.duart.com/history

In the last century, Academy Award Winning DuArt Media Services has evolved from a premier film lab to the high technology full service media provider it is today.

03/28/2022

Irwin Young with William Smith, 1977.

03/26/2022

Excited for #Oscars weekend? Check out this old photo and document from the archive of when Irwin Young won the Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2001! Best of luck to all of this year's nominees.

03/24/2022

#TBT to a young Irwin Young in the 1950s! #RememberingIrwin

03/23/2022

Love this photo from 1964 of the Venice Film Festival screening of "Nothing But A Man."

03/22/2022

Irwin Young: Film Processing History & Color Blindness

"He is the Les Paul of the movie industry and has a couple Oscars to prove it." https://categoryfivestudios.com/irwin-young-film-processing-history-color-blindness/

By: Mitch Jacobson, Category Five Studios | NYC The geek in me feels like a groupie today except I’m not backstage at a rock concert. I’m at the historic DuArt Film Lab Building in New…

03/19/2022

Congrats to all of the recent Gotham/IFP award winners! Here's a pic of Irwin from the awards back in the day. #rememberingirwin @thegotham

03/17/2022

Some cool closeup shots of one of DuArt's negative developing machines! #Film

03/14/2022

"My first job as a teenager was at DuArt, working for the maintenance department where they sent my nimble body down air conditioning ducts to do battle with giant dust bunnies.

By the time I was in college, I had succumbed to the irresistible pull of filmmaking. So began a lifelong dialogue with my uncle about art, technology, business, family, and life. He loved touring me through all the different machines and processes in the lab, reveling in the extreme care that was needed at every stage. When I made my first film, Irwin was all over it. Every step contained a lesson — about timing lights, synchronizers, edge numbers, contact vs optical printing — you name it. Of course, for me, special treatment at the lab was a family privilege, but I soon realized that I was not the only one being nurtured. What really made Irwin light up, I learned, was not the technology, but how it could be used to help artists make art and social commentary. His fascination began with my grandfather (a film editor and DuArt’s founder) and my father but soon spread to a diverse array of filmmakers, many of whom needed a leg-up and would go on to do great things. He didn’t always agree with their viewpoints, but for Irwin, their conviction to express themselves, or shine a light on the dark corners of society, was sacrosanct.

The first year I had a film at Sundance, I was amazed to discover that half of the films in the competition had been through DuArt. I could hear the gratitude of the filmmakers in their speeches and conversations — Irwin was there for them. Of course, he was benefitting too, but mostly on a personal level. Sometimes he would try to justify his altruism with the need to understand his customers, but the most convincing thing I ever heard him say was “it’s about doing what’s right as a human being.”

Years later, Irwin asked me if there was something I would like to contribute to DuArt. More than anything, I wanted to keep his legacy alive. He appointed me VP of Special Projects to help clients navigate new digital technologies — something I had become obsessed with in my own work. For eight years, under Irwin’s guidance, I tested new cameras, helped customers achieve a “film look” on video, and chased the elusive “next super16” that would help give voice to a new generation of filmmakers. His passion was contagious. But market forces and technological change had already undermined Irwin’s film-based business model, and it was no longer possible to help out the way he once had. It was a sad day for all of us when the last roll of film passed from the developing tank to the dryer. The magic years of independent film were over.

Coming from a family of filmmakers, it’s ironic that Irwin, the humble engineer, striving to help out the struggling artist, is the one who brought home the Oscar. But it’s not surprising, as the gift he gave transcended the work of any individual artist, lifting up a generation of new voices that nurtured us all. Thank you, Uncle Butch, for doing what’s right as a human being." - Filmmaker Andy Young

03/11/2022

"Around 1997, after I’d made I Like it Like That, I went into the Spofford Correctional Facility where kids 10-16 were locked up. I wanted to teach them filmmaking. What began as one day a week turned into an intense 8-month experience. I was working with the kids nearly every day for 8 - 10 hours a day. Finally, the authorities just gave me the keys. We used my own Bolex camera to shoot their films. But how to get the films processed? I went to Irwin Young. As soon as I explained what I wanted to do, he said yes. He processed all the negatives for free and made all the prints. Rosie Perez came to our mini film festival in the prison. It was an amazing thing to watch the kids' esteem grow when they saw their work on screen. One of my former students just got out on parole after 20+ years. He was in for a juvenile murder. He says our film program “turned everything around for me.” Besides my son, I think it’s the best thing I ever did. It also influenced my next movie, Prison Song. Irwin knew the power of film to transform lives, that’s why he helped me." - Darnell Martin

03/10/2022

#TBT to 2008. Digital or Film?

03/10/2022

"I met Irwin Young in the late 1970’s, working on the independent documentaries Joe and Maxi, The War at Home, and Image Before My Eyes. I saw that DuArt had a special relationship with young filmmakers and felt a special bond with Irwin. Our professional and personal relationship lasted throughout the years, and I cherish our last lunch date, with him and Linda, in 2019, before the Covid pandemic. I remember many meetings in his office, where we explained we had a film and we had deadlines, but we didn’t have all the money. He let us know he had our backs —the film would be ready for the premiere even if the bill wasn’t paid. I’m not the only one with a story of going to DuArt on the way to the airport to pick up a print for the Sundance festival! Irwin understood the importance of getting our films out to the world, where they would have an impact on people’s hearts and minds. He treated everyone seriously, as the film artists we were, whether you were male or female." -
Susan Lazarus, Women’s Film Preservation Fund

03/08/2022

Vin Diesel Is 53 and Still Shifting Up

Did you know Vin Diesel sound mixed and screened his early films at DuArt? Read this fascinating article on the actor/director here: https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a36663682/vin-diesel-f9-interview/

The star (and creator) of F9 is an action hero, a family man, a trailblazer, and much, much more.

03/07/2022

"It’s incredible how Irwin helped so many independent filmmakers for so long. One of the last times I edited at DuArt, Irwin told me I was working in his old office [on the 11th floor by the elevator] and would regale me with the history New York filmmaking. Part of that history has passed and he will be sorely missed." - Bob Eisenhardt (Editor of Free Solo, The Rescue, etc.)

03/04/2022

"I met Irwin in 1971 when I was struggling to make my first film. I had no track record, but he was so gracious and generous, and he gave me a deep discount on all the lab services at DuArt. After that I introduced many documentary filmmakers to Irwin. As every story here will attest, he was supportive in every way he could be. So many films would never have been made without his financial and moral support. He was a self-effacing and gentle man, but a giant in the community." - Marc Weiss

03/03/2022

#TBT to 2001. DuArt always prioritized helping indie filmmakers and student filmmakers.

03/02/2022

"Irwin Young was a friend, a champion and a protector of film, filmmakers and the cinema itself. So many films of the 20th century would not have looked as beautiful without DuArt's superb processing which Irwin maintained at the highest levels throughout his tenure. So many films of the 20th century would not exist at all without Irwin's belief in so many independent filmmakers and their vision. Finally, when the original celluloid elements that had accumulated at DuArt over the decades needed to find a permanent home, Irwin worked tirelessly with film archives, like the one I oversee, to insure that these precious films survived and lived on as testaments to the artists who made them. Cinema has lost a true benefactor." - Mike Pogorzelski, Academy Film Archive

03/02/2022

Joel Coen:
"Not only was DuArt the best lab back in the day, it was the only lab that was as friendly to student filmmakers from NYU as it was studio productions from Hollywood. That was all Irwin – open to all comers, especially if you were on the fringes. It was a community lab for filmmakers, no matter who they might be." [Photo: Georges Biard]

02/28/2022

"Our first feature, Northern Lights, would not have had its success without Irwin’s generous support. He did the blowup to 35mm on the come so we could enter it in the Cannes festival, where it won the Camera d’Or. He remained a strong supporter and good friend through all our indie projects and we will miss him dearly." - John Hanson & Rob Nilsson

02/25/2022

"I only knew of Irwin through the many filmmakers with whom I worked. His dedication to their films was unwavering. The final mixes coming out of Sound One that were printed at DuArt were always true to the original. He was a legend in the industry." - Lee Dichter

02/24/2022

Watch: DuArt: History of Independent Film | Filmmaker Magazine

Check out this video of a panel discussion hosted by the Post New York Alliance - PNYA in December, 2021 featuring former DuArt employees Dominic Rom (Goldcrest), Tim Spitzer (Jigsaw Productions), Bob Mastronardi (Kodak) and Jane Tolmachyov (Goldcrest). https://filmmakermagazine.com/113272-watch-duart-history-of-independent-film/

Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources.

02/24/2022

"Irwin Young was a treasure. I shut my eyes and I see him smiling. He was the reason I was able to finish Harlan County and American Dream. He believed in me at such a young age. He gave me confidence and support and became a life-long friend. I miss you and love you, Irwin Young. You gave a community of independent filmmakers the feeling that we have potential and embraced us with generosity and goodness . Rest in power, my friend." - Barbara Kopple

02/23/2022

"Irwin Young was a mensch. As independent documentarians since, if you can believe, 1971, Pacific Street Films and Irwin Young had many, many interactions. He was always willing to make a deal, give a discount or extend credit to indie filmmakers. That’s a fact. In addition to his financial support he also ran a unique business. DuArt had its own character, from the creaking elevator that took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to arrive and bounced when you got to your floor, to the bill collecting calls from Howard Funsch. DuArt was a trip and we’re really grateful to have been part of that experience. RIP Irwin." - Steve Fischler & Joel Sucher, Pacific Street Films

02/21/2022

DuArt Spray Machine

From the vault, watch this classic video about the "DuArt Spray Machine" about the 16mm and 35mm film development process.

02/20/2022

Love this old photo of Irwin Young receiving the NYC Mayor's award. #rememberingirwin

02/17/2022

"When Leacock Pennebaker began in 1963, DuArt had already been in business for 41 years! For us, Irwin Young was DuArt. Through the decades his lab processed and printed many of our films — beginning with Don't Look Back, through the video era and on into the digital age. Irwin was a pioneer and true mensch. Always there with a big smile ready to help striving independent filmmakers and champion their movies. He will be missed." - Chris Hegedus & Frazer Pennebaker

02/16/2022

#ThrowbackThursday

02/15/2022

Irwin Young, Patron of Independent Filmmakers, Is Dead at 94

Thank you to the NYTIMES for this lovely tribute to Irwin.

As the head of a prominent film processing laboratory, he helped directors like Spike Lee, Michael Moore and Frederick Wiseman early in their careers.

02/11/2022

"The ultimate dream of most filmmakers is to make a feature motion picture film." #RememberingIrwin

02/11/2022

"I only knew of Irwin through the many filmmakers with whom I worked. His dedication to their films was unwavering. The final mixes coming out of Sound One that were printed at DuArt were always true to the original. He was a legend in the industry." - Lee Dichter #rememberingirwin

02/09/2022

Remembering the late DuArt dream team: Bob Smith, Paul Kaufman, Irwin Young, and Don Donigi in this wonderful photo. #rememberingirwin