Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

295 commercial film lab? The answer is: in the printing phases of a lab's work. For the film printing operation may be adapted to many other uses besides the creation of monochrome positive prints. And all of them, at one time or another, may serve the amateur well. DUPLICATE PRINTS Most often, if the amateur producer wants anything beyond his original reversal, what it will be is a copy of that original. And, although he has no negative of that original, a copy of his picture may easily be made. The process is a simple one. His original reversal film is threaded into a film printing machine. Threaded with it will be a similar length of another reversal emulsion, especially designed by the film manufacturer to have characteristics adapted to printing. A suitable amount of light is then projected, frame by frame, through the original and onto the printing stock, carrying with it in each case the exact image of the frame being projected. The printed film, since it is of the reversal type, is then sent to its manufacturer for processing. The result of this printing operation is called a duplicate, a duplicate print, or more casually a dupe. The operation itself is called duplication, and it may be performed with equal success for the following reversal emulsions: color to color; color to black and white; black and white to black and white. Such duplicate printing services are, of course, offered by both the manufacturers of major color stocks — Ansco and the Eastman Kodak Company. But they also are offered by commercial film labs across the country — and on occasion the local lab service may be the more convenient. Furthermore, among the film makers Ansco limits its color duplicating service to the 16mm. stock only, while Kodak will undertake to duplicate 8mm. Kodachrome only in a black and white copy. A number of commercial labs, on the other hand, specialize in duping 8mm. films color to color. Plinl»iir«l'li» from I'r.i i»i.,n lilm Labi DEVELOPING: Fully automatic machines, here nearly 30 feet in length, are used in the development of b/w sound and pictures. Ztfk. SOLUTIONS: Huge mixing vats of stainless metal and giant rotary mixers are required in the preparation of lab solutions. ADVANTAGES OF DUPLICATION While the duplication of color film is not inexpensive (prices range from 12 to 15 cents per 8mm. or 16mm. foot for the first print), there are a number of advantages inherent in the operation which often make these costs more than worth while. The most obvious of these advantages, of course, is that duping a film for projection automatically preserves the unique and precious original. Secondly, the duplication of color footage often may improve on the original. It certainly does from the projection viewpoint, since the duplicate will be one continuous Irrgth of film devoid of splices from its beginning to its end. But perhaps more important is the fact that all competent color labs today include in their printing routines a preparatory service called timing. In this operation a trained expert goes over your original film scene by single scene and sets down on a time sheet a series of numbers representing the printer light intensities which will most effectively reproduce each scene. Through this operation it often is possible for the lab to correct in your duplicate for slight to moderate errors in exposure — and therefore in color values. The result of this timing is called a timed or corrected print, and its production is now standard operating procedure in all modern color labs. In other words, it is no longer necessary for the amateur to specify in his order that he wants a "timed print." He will get it automatically as part of the operation. In contrast to the timed print or [Continued on page 3031 Offering many and varied services, the commercial film attention from amateur movie makers lab wins increasing ELECTRONIC PRINTING: Latest in laboratory services is the creation of optical sound tracks from magnetic recordings on film. ■11 a W '• urSS FILM FINISHING: Here completed prints are readied for shipping, spooled either on lab cores or reels, as you may direct.