Negative cutting
Encyclopedia
Negative Cutting is the process of cutting motion picture negative to match precisely the final edit as specified by the film editor. Original camera negative
(OCN) is cut with scissors and joined using a film splicer
and film cement
. Negative cutting is part of the post-production
process and occurs after editing and prior to striking internegative
s and release prints. The process of negative cutting has changed little since the beginning of cinema in the early 20th century. In the early 1980s computer software was first used to aid the cutting process. Kodak introduced barcode on motion picture negative in the mid 1990s. This enabled negative cutters to more easily track shots and identify film sections based on keykode
.
Toward the late 1990s and early 2000s negative cutting changed due to the advent of digital cinema
technologies such as digital intermediate
(DI), digital projection and high-definition television
. In some countries, due to the high cost of online suites, negative cutting is still used for commercials by reducing footage. Increasingly feature films are bypassing the negative cutting process altogether and are being scanned directly from the uncut rushes
.
The existence of digital intermediate
s (DI) has created a new demand for negative cutters to extract selected takes which are cut from the rushes
and re-spliced into new rolls (in edit order) to reduce the volume of footage for scanning.
(OCN) is sent to a film laboratory for processing. Two or three 400 feet (121.9 m) camera rolls are spliced together to create a lab roll approximately 1200–1500 ft (365.8–457.2 m) long. After developing the lab roll, it is put through a telecine
to create a rushes
transfer tape. This rushes
transfer tape is of lower quality than film and is used for editing purposes only.
The rushes
tape is sent to the Editor who loads it into an offline edit suite. The lab rolls are sent to the negative cutter for logging and storage.
After the Editor finishes the Edit it is exported to an offline EDL list
and the EDL list is sent to the negative cutter. The negative cutter will translate the Timecode in the EDL list to edge numbers (keykode
) using specially designed negative cutting software to find which shot is needed from the rushes
negative.
Traditionally a negative cutter would then fine cut the negative to match the Editor's final edit frame accurately. Negative would be spliced together to create rolls less than 2000 feet (609.6 m) which would then be sent to the film laboratory to print release prints.
Today most feature films are extracted full takes (as selected takes) and scanned digitally as a digital intermediate
. Television series and commercials shot on film follow the same extraction process but are sent for telecine
. Each required shot is extracted from the lab roll as a full take and respliced
together to create a new selected roll of negative. This reduces the negative required by up to 1/10 of the footage shot, saving considerable time during scanning or telecine
. The negative cutter will create a new Online EDL list replacing the rushes
roll timecode with the new selected roll timecode.
In the case of feature films the selected roll and Online EDL are sent to a post production facility for scanning as a digital intermediate
. For television commercials or series the selected takes and EDL are sent to a post production facility for re-telecine and compiled in an Online Suite for final grading.
, this system is still used today. Elliott Gamson of Immaculate Matching (New York) developed a system using MS-DOS
. Computamatch was one of the first MS-DOS
based systems developed and is still in use today in several countries.
The first commercially available software product was OSC/R , a DOS based application developed in Toronto, Canada by The Adelaide Works. OSC/R was very widely used and at the time was the only negative cutting software on the market until Adelaide Works ceased operation in 1993. OSC/R is still used today in some negative cutting facilities but has been mostly replaced by newer and more advanced systems. Excalibur was a later Windows 98 based product developed by FilmLab Engineering in Britain. Film Fusion is one of the most recent developments and is a Windows XP and Vista based system developed in Sydney, Australia by Popsoft IT.
, re-winders, film splicer
s, scissors, film cement
and film keykode readers. DigiSync
, a purpose built keykode reader is used by most negative cutters in conjunction with software for logging the keykode from film. DigiSync
was developed by Research In Motion
and in 1998 it won a Technical Achievement Academy Award for the design and development of the DigiSync
Film Keykode Reader. Research In Motion
later moved on to bigger things and invented the BlackBerry
Wireless Email Phone and is now a publicly listed company. Other brands of barcode scanners are also in use.
Original camera negative
The original camera negative is the film in a motion picture camera which captures the original image. This is the film from which all other copies will be made. It is known as raw stock prior to exposure....
(OCN) is cut with scissors and joined using a film splicer
Film splicer
A film splicer is a device which can be used to physically join together lengths of photographic film. It is mostly used in motion pictures...
and film cement
Film cement
Film cement is a special glue designed to join motion picture film. It is made of film base dissolved in a solvent. Two cut sections of film are spliced together in a film splicer using film cement....
. Negative cutting is part of the post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
process and occurs after editing and prior to striking internegative
Internegative
An internegative is a motion picture film duplicate. It is the color counterpart to an interpositive, in which a low-contrast color image is used as the positive between an original camera negative and a duplicate negative....
s and release prints. The process of negative cutting has changed little since the beginning of cinema in the early 20th century. In the early 1980s computer software was first used to aid the cutting process. Kodak introduced barcode on motion picture negative in the mid 1990s. This enabled negative cutters to more easily track shots and identify film sections based on keykode
Keykode
KeyKode is an Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification...
.
Toward the late 1990s and early 2000s negative cutting changed due to the advent of digital cinema
Digital cinema
Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute and project motion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector...
technologies such as digital intermediate
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
(DI), digital projection and high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. In some countries, due to the high cost of online suites, negative cutting is still used for commercials by reducing footage. Increasingly feature films are bypassing the negative cutting process altogether and are being scanned directly from the uncut rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
.
The existence of digital intermediate
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
s (DI) has created a new demand for negative cutters to extract selected takes which are cut from the rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
and re-spliced into new rolls (in edit order) to reduce the volume of footage for scanning.
Basic negative cutting
After a film shoot, the original camera negativeOriginal camera negative
The original camera negative is the film in a motion picture camera which captures the original image. This is the film from which all other copies will be made. It is known as raw stock prior to exposure....
(OCN) is sent to a film laboratory for processing. Two or three 400 feet (121.9 m) camera rolls are spliced together to create a lab roll approximately 1200–1500 ft (365.8–457.2 m) long. After developing the lab roll, it is put through a telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
to create a rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
transfer tape. This rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
transfer tape is of lower quality than film and is used for editing purposes only.
The rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
tape is sent to the Editor who loads it into an offline edit suite. The lab rolls are sent to the negative cutter for logging and storage.
After the Editor finishes the Edit it is exported to an offline EDL list
Edit decision list
An edit decision list or EDL used in the post-production process of film editing and video editing. The list contains an ordered list of reel and timecode data representing where each video clip can be obtained in order to conform the final cut....
and the EDL list is sent to the negative cutter. The negative cutter will translate the Timecode in the EDL list to edge numbers (keykode
Keykode
KeyKode is an Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification...
) using specially designed negative cutting software to find which shot is needed from the rushes
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
negative.
Traditionally a negative cutter would then fine cut the negative to match the Editor's final edit frame accurately. Negative would be spliced together to create rolls less than 2000 feet (609.6 m) which would then be sent to the film laboratory to print release prints.
Today most feature films are extracted full takes (as selected takes) and scanned digitally as a digital intermediate
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
. Television series and commercials shot on film follow the same extraction process but are sent for telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
. Each required shot is extracted from the lab roll as a full take and respliced
Film splicer
A film splicer is a device which can be used to physically join together lengths of photographic film. It is mostly used in motion pictures...
together to create a new selected roll of negative. This reduces the negative required by up to 1/10 of the footage shot, saving considerable time during scanning or telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
. The negative cutter will create a new Online EDL list replacing the rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
roll timecode with the new selected roll timecode.
In the case of feature films the selected roll and Online EDL are sent to a post production facility for scanning as a digital intermediate
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
. For television commercials or series the selected takes and EDL are sent to a post production facility for re-telecine and compiled in an Online Suite for final grading.
Negative Cutting Software
There have been a number of dedicated software systems that have been developed for and by negative cutters to manage the process of cutting motion picture negative. A number of individual proprietary software systems have been developed starting in the early 1980s. Stan Sztaba developed a system for World Cinevision Services Inc (New York) in 1983 using Apple II DOS and then PRODOSProDOS
ProDOS was the name of two similar operating systems for the Apple II series of personal computers. The original ProDOS, renamed ProDOS 8 in version 1.2, was the last official operating system usable by all Apple II series computers, and was distributed from 1983 to 1993...
, this system is still used today. Elliott Gamson of Immaculate Matching (New York) developed a system using MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
. Computamatch was one of the first MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
based systems developed and is still in use today in several countries.
The first commercially available software product was OSC/R , a DOS based application developed in Toronto, Canada by The Adelaide Works. OSC/R was very widely used and at the time was the only negative cutting software on the market until Adelaide Works ceased operation in 1993. OSC/R is still used today in some negative cutting facilities but has been mostly replaced by newer and more advanced systems. Excalibur was a later Windows 98 based product developed by FilmLab Engineering in Britain. Film Fusion is one of the most recent developments and is a Windows XP and Vista based system developed in Sydney, Australia by Popsoft IT.
Negative Cutting Hardware
Negative Cutters use various hardware tools such as film synchronizersSynchronizer (film editing)
A film synchronizer is a device used in the editing phase of filmmaking.Film synchronizers generally have 1 to 8 "gang", or slots through which film can be threaded. Each gang consists of a group of large diameter sprockets on a common shaft. A rotating knob on the front, which moves the threaded...
, re-winders, film splicer
Film splicer
A film splicer is a device which can be used to physically join together lengths of photographic film. It is mostly used in motion pictures...
s, scissors, film cement
Film cement
Film cement is a special glue designed to join motion picture film. It is made of film base dissolved in a solvent. Two cut sections of film are spliced together in a film splicer using film cement....
and film keykode readers. DigiSync
DigiSync
DigiSync is a hardware device developed by Filmlab Systems International to allow negative cutters, telecine machines, and ColorMaster to read and log keykode data from motion picture film. It can also be used to capture KeyCode and change emulsion settings on Hollywood Film Company Color Film...
, a purpose built keykode reader is used by most negative cutters in conjunction with software for logging the keykode from film. DigiSync
DigiSync
DigiSync is a hardware device developed by Filmlab Systems International to allow negative cutters, telecine machines, and ColorMaster to read and log keykode data from motion picture film. It can also be used to capture KeyCode and change emulsion settings on Hollywood Film Company Color Film...
was developed by Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
and in 1998 it won a Technical Achievement Academy Award for the design and development of the DigiSync
DigiSync
DigiSync is a hardware device developed by Filmlab Systems International to allow negative cutters, telecine machines, and ColorMaster to read and log keykode data from motion picture film. It can also be used to capture KeyCode and change emulsion settings on Hollywood Film Company Color Film...
Film Keykode Reader. Research In Motion
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
later moved on to bigger things and invented the BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
Wireless Email Phone and is now a publicly listed company. Other brands of barcode scanners are also in use.
See also
- Film Editor
- Digital IntermediateDigital intermediateDigital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
- Film SplicerFilm splicerA film splicer is a device which can be used to physically join together lengths of photographic film. It is mostly used in motion pictures...
- Film CementFilm cementFilm cement is a special glue designed to join motion picture film. It is made of film base dissolved in a solvent. Two cut sections of film are spliced together in a film splicer using film cement....
- Synchronizer (Film Editing)Synchronizer (film editing)A film synchronizer is a device used in the editing phase of filmmaking.Film synchronizers generally have 1 to 8 "gang", or slots through which film can be threaded. Each gang consists of a group of large diameter sprockets on a common shaft. A rotating knob on the front, which moves the threaded...
- Mo HenryMo HenryMo Henry is a film negative cutter acclaimed by many as the greatest in her field. Her works include Spider-Man 2, Before Sunrise, Money Train, The Matrix, The Blind Side, and many others...