American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1963)

Record Details:

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UHLER MOTION PICTURE FILM PRINTERS OPTICAL REDUCTION ENLARGER Reduce; 35mm to 16mm; enlarges 16mm to 35mm — color or B&W. 1 200 ft. capacity. 35mm 16mm model . $2,475.00 8 & 16MM CINE — $195.00 COMBINATION 8 & 1 6MM CONTACT Sound & Picture in Color or B&W . $1,777.00 UHLER (INEMACHINE (0. 15762 WYOMING AVENUE DETROIT 38, MICHIGAN Phone: UN 1-4663 Coble: UHLCIMA COLOR VERSUS B&W W0RKPRINTS The pros and cons on an oft debated question. Should you order a color workprint? Lots of people don’t. The reasons us¬ ually given are the economy of blackand-white reversal and. some say, that they prefer to save the impact of color for the acceptance screening of the answer print. Probably nobody will argue the economy angle. Black-andwhite reversal is about four cents a foot cheaper than color. That’s not much of a factor in the overall budget of a show, but if the modest difference does mean something in your size bud¬ gets, you may very well feel obliged to use the cheaper method and take a chance on the consequences. But think it over before deciding for any reason. It’s generally true that the overall qual¬ ity of color in the edited workprint won't be perfect because of the lack of scene to scene exposure correction. Even if you ordered timed prints, it won't represent the “correct” timing because timers bear in mind the adja¬ cent scenes in determining the amount of correction. But your show will be in good color and showing color to the client at the interlock may very well bring out a decision or color problem that is more easily and less expensively corrected before the final prints are made. Imagine the embarrassment of learning at the final delivery, that the beautiful action cut you made was great except for the unexplained tran¬ sition from a gray model to a yellow one, causing the client to suggest that you save your practical jokes for less important assignments. Don’t forget, too, that the black-and-white reversal stock available is color blind and will not give a panchromatic rendering of color tones. Be prepared fer reds, deep yellows and skin tones going dark or black on black-and-white reversal workprints. Color workprints are good insurance against editing-in-color mistakes, help the cameraman evaluate the printability of his exposures, give a valid print¬ ing test of the color original and help the laboratory direct its attention to timing desires and requirements. Nor¬ mally a one-light workprint is made, using the exposure setting which would be used if the original were perfectly exposed and of a normal subject. Con¬ trary to many beliefs, the quality of the workprint is as rigidly maintained as release prints. “Light nine” prints won’t vary and to prove this, we’ve seen workprints made from the same orig¬ inal over considerable spans of time and invariably there will be no notice¬ able print difference. If you experience “too light4' or “too dark” workprints, the chances are you’d better give at¬ tention to camera exposures. Kodachrome print stock, of course, has been standard for most 16mm color answer prints and workprints for many years. It’s a high quality reversal stock designed specifically for duplication from reversal color originals. Recently, a similar, but more expensive, print stock was introduced to allow Ektachrome processors to offer duplicate prints. Apart from the considerable cost differential, the Kodachrome prints are generally preferred because they are on the same stock the answer print will be, allowing a better evaluation of the original. Also, Kodachrome seems to be less sensitive to scratches during the numerous runs through viewer and pro¬ jector. Perhaps the final argument on what workprints to use is on the advisability of “inked” edgenumbers over “printedthrough" edgenumbers, the latter are made by photographically printing the edgenumbers provided outside the sprocket area during film manufacture. (Ask any “bespectacled” film editor and he’ll tell you how you may go blind trying to decipher the blasted photographic numbers! ) Recently, a show with some 500 scenes having the printed-through numbers required four times as long to match as would have been required with inked edgenumber workprints. Apart from the editor’s eyesight and the cost of labor, there’s the loss of time involved in delivery. Color workprints are an integral part of the color film system, offer a check on color quality and accuracy, and therefore ought to be used wherever the production budget will allow it. Condensed and reprinted from The Aperture, workshop publication for 16mm film pro¬ ducers published monthly by Calvin Produc¬ tions, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri. — ED. 84 AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, FEBRUARY, 1963