Telecine

Telecine machines convert film into a television signal. One type uses a special projector to focus the film image onto three CCD sensors. Another, the flying spot telecine, uses a small TV tube scanned with a very bright raster. Light is transmitted through the film and an ingenious lens system on to photo-electric cells.

Since the industry has moved towards video acquisition for most applications, few small operators invest in a telecine machine because of the expense and low utilisation. For occasional needs facility houses offer a good service for film transfers.

Film gauge

The film gauge most widely used in television is 16 mm but its application is generally limited to documentaries where film is more appropriate for reasons of high humidity or extreme cold or for drama where the film ‘look’ still appeals. Recently, super 16 has become available providing higher resolution at a small extra cost. Where the highest quality is demanded and cost is less of a factor, for instance in commercials and the occasional prestigious drama, 35 mm film may be used. All professional film has the sound transferred from the original recording to a separate film covered with a magnetic coating. The picture and the separate soundtrack must be synchronised together prior to editing. Some old feature films have an optical soundtrack married to the picture as a stripe along the edge of the film and some old news material has sound as a magnetic strip alongside the picture.

Film leader

Film sequences are usually preceded by a leader which protects the film and enables an exact run-up time to be predicted. The leader is a standard length of film printed with countdown numbers in feet or seconds to the first picture. Some machines will run from a still frame or at variable speeds, others require a few seconds to achieve stable sound and pictures.

Colour correction

While the film is running, the operator compensates for and can memorise variations in density, contrast and colour using an electronic colour grader. This provides control of the exposure of the film and the characteristics of each primary colour to produce the correct colour balance over the whole tonal range.

The future

Whilst film has declined in use with the increase in electronic production, predictions about its demise have always proved wrong. It is likely to remain for a considerable time for the above applications and could even increase with the advent of high-definition television as flying spot telecines are capable of the highest quality reproduction.