Augmenting Original Film
In the course of cutting your film you may sometimes have to use stock library shots. Sometimes the cost of shooting a scene may prove prohibitive, so a library stock has to be used instead. Perhaps the film you are cutting needs a few shots of the harbour at Hong Kong. The production budget is unlikely to allow for a camera crew to go out and shoot just a few establishing shots. So library stock material may have to be used instead. Some of the larger film production organisations have their own libraries of stock shots. If the film you are cutting is not being produced for a company with a library you witl have to obtain stock shots from outside sources.
Ordering stock footage
First, contact the library and give them precise details of the scene you need. Tell them exactly what it must show giving as much detail as possible. It is quite useless saying that you want shots of Hong Kong. It is equally useless saying that you want shots of Hong Kong harbour. You must be much more precise. You must explain that you want a contemporary long shot giving a general view of the harbour on a fine day. Then you must give as much detail of what you expect to see in the scene. Tell the library the sort of film you are making and the type of film stock it has been shot on. They will then provide viewing copies of a number of shots which they think might be suitable. The viewing prints will give you an idea of the content of the shots and, when you have found the suitable take, you can ask the library to prepare a duplicate master to intercut with your camera original. They should also be asked to prepare a cutting print.
Libraries will never part with original film. If the library film was originally shot on 16mm Ektachrome, you should ask for a duplicate Ektachrome master to be produced, together with a print for editing purposes. If the film was shot on Eastmancolor they will provide a colour interpositive or a colour internegative. If the film is black and white they will make a fine grain duplicating positive and a black and white duplicate negative. Edge numbers on stock shots are frequently unclear. Before cutting anything, make sure the numbers are legible. If they are not, numbers should be printed in ink on the side of the duplicate master film and on the cutting copy.
1. Duping library material
From Ektachrome originals (A) you can make an Ektachrome dupe (B) thence either a black and white or colour reversal cutting copy (C). Black and white neg originals (D) must first be printed on fine grain duping positive (E). The F.G. dupe pos can then be printed on black and white dupe neg stock (F) which can itself be printed on black and white pos (G) to make a cutting copy. Colour neg (H) can be directly printed on to 16mm colour reversal interneg (CRI) (J) but make sure that the geometry is right. If you plan to intercut with original colour neg, dupe by printing through the base. The CRI can then be printed on black and white or colour positive (K) as a cutting copy. Biack and white reversal originals (L) can be duped on 16mm reversal (M) from which a reversal cutting copy can be made (N).
2. Colour neg: an alternative method
Colour neg originals (A) can be printed on colour interpositive (B). The processed interpos can be printed on colour inter neg (C) which can then be printed on colour or black and white stock to make the cutting copy. Using this method the geometry of the original remains unaltered.