American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

ated graininess as an inevitable concomitant of enlarging 16mm. to 35mm. Thus while enlargements from 16mm. black-and-white originals made on either reversal or 16mm. negative film have at times been made in the case of exceptional newsreel subjects, the fact that the enlarged print retained and magnified the grain-structure of the original 16mm. black-and-white silver image restricted the use of 16mm.-to-35mm. enlargements to strictly emergency subjects in which the news value of subject or action outweighed considerations of photographic quality. But in working from a Kodachrome original, this is not the case. Grain-size, for all practical purposes, simply does not enter into consideration. The original 16mm. Kodachrome is virtually grainless, for the image is formed, not of an aggregation of minute silver particles, but of virtually homogeneous deposits of chemical dyes. Therefore, there is literally no grain to be rephotographed and magnified in the enlarging process. Therefore the results on the screen are as grainless as direct 35mm. Technicolor prints. The writer took pains to inspect some of these enlargements from a point within a few feet of the screen — far closer than is possible in any theatre or auditorium. No graininess was apparent, though from the same viewing distance even a fine-grain black-and-white 35mm. scene would become a mass of bewildering grain. It can safely be said that these enlarged color-prints will not appear grainy even from the front-row seats in a large theatre. Proof of the lack of granularity in 35mm. enlargements from 16mm. Kodachrome may be found in recalling the scenes of the collapse of the Tacoma bridge released by the major newsreels last year. The greater part of this, the most sensational newsreel "story" of 1940, was captured by an amateur using 16mm. Kodachrome and enlarged to 35mm. black-and-white. It will be recalled that the photographic quality — and especially the grain-size — of these scenes compared excellently with the direct 35mm. scenes with which they were intercut. Very obviously, the success or failure of a 35mm. color enlargement must rest with the quality of the 16mm. original from which it is made. Recognizing this, Technicolor sets forth suggestions to assist in obtaining the best possible quality in the original Kodachrome. The more closely these suggestions are followed, the more likelihood there is of obtaining superior finished results on the screen in the enlarged color print. The original, first of all, must be photographed in a high-grade 16mm. camera in good mechanical condition and the lenses used must be the best obtainable, fully color-corrected. While this seems almost self-evident to the serious 16mm. commercial filmer, it is a requirement which cannot be too strongly stressed: a genuinely rigid tripod absolutely must be employed. With the possible exception of very fast follow-shots, hand-held 16mm. camerawork is so much too unsteady that it should not be enlarged under any circumstances. The lighting should, generally speaking, be front or front cross light to avoid excessive contrast and to permit full color reproduction. Back-lightings and cross-lightings may be used only if they are handled as a 35mm. professional cinematographer would in filming Technicolor — using either reflectors or booster-lights to equalize the exposurevalues between the highlight and shadow sides. Unlike the exposure for 16mm. -to16mm. Kodachrome duping, which should be on the full side, Technicolor prefers Kodachrome originals in which the exposure is just barely on the low side of normal. In this way, washed-out highlights are eliminated, while the enlarging and printing processes provide sufficient latitude to take care of the shadows and middle tones. The 16mm. Kodachrome stock used in making the original 16mm. production should be all of one emulsion number. If the production combines both exterior and interior sequences, the "Type A" emulsion should be used throughout, with of course the necessary color-balancing filter (always the same individual filter) for the exteriors. The original 16mm. Kodachrome should all be processed at the same time, to assure consistent contrast, density and color-balance. Perhaps the most important requirement of all is that once the 16mm. film has been processed, it must be considered in every way as a negative. It should not be projected even once, for even a single passage through the best projector will cause abrasions which, while perhaps unnoticeable in ordinary 16mm. projection, will be enlarged and appallingly evident in the 35mm. print. The 16mm. Kodachrome processing laboratory should therefore be instructed not to project the film for inspection, as is usually done. For editing purposes, a duplicate should immediately be made. This can be either a 16mm. Kodachrome dupe, a 16mm. black-and-white reversal dupe, or even a 35mm. black-and-white enlarged negative from which prints may be made as necessary. The original 16mm. Kodachrome should be stored in a clean negative cutting-room or vault — and the picture cut from this workprint. When cutting of the work-print is completed, the original 16mm. Kodachrome is cut to match it. Since much of the dirt and abrasion usually found in 16mm. originals is found at the splices, this original should preferably be delivered to Technicolor in a long cut, with scenes cut approximately to length, but with several extra frames On these special imbibition machines the dyes are transferred from the matrices to the final three-color Technicolor print. on both sides of each splice. The enlarged negatives are then made from the original, and precision-cut to exact frames, the splicing being done in the Technicolor laboratory, by experienced, professional negative cutters using the finest of equipment. In this connection it may be stated that edge-numbered 16mm. Kodachrome is now available to commercial producers, though it must be obtained in 10,000-foot orders. This of course simplifies the cutting of the original. From start to finish, absolute cleanliness is a prime essential in everything connected with the 16mm. Kodachrome original. Dust, finger-marks and abrasions are magnified incredibly in the enlargement, especially when the enlarged print is projected on a theatre-size screen, so much larger than anything usually attempted in direct 16mm. projection. While it is not included in the Technicolor requirements, it would seem to the writer that it might be a very logical precaution to have the 16mm. original lacquered by the process recently perfected by the Kodak Research Labora tories, even before the cutting print is made. This would tend to eliminate any traces of the handling the original must necessarily undergo in making the cutting-print and rough-cutting it to footage. If any abrasions, oil-spots, dirt or finger-marks should occur, they can usually be removed entirely by simply removing the lacquer coating before the enlarged separation-negatives arc made. Fades, lap-dissolves, wipes and optical transitions of all types can be put into the film as a part of the regular Techni (Continued on Page 440) American Cinematograph™ September, L941 115