Movie Making Manual/Post-production/Telecine

Telecine (otherwise known as "TK") is the process of transferring motion picture film to a video format, such as television, or a machine used to complete this process. Telecine enables a motion picture, captured originally on film, to be viewed with standard video equipment, such as televisions and video cassette decks. This has allowed producers and distributors working in film to release their products on video and allowed producers to use video production equipment to complete their film projects.
Basic principle.
In a simple telecine, white light is shone through exposed and developed motion picture negative (positives can also be used.) As in a projector, the film filters the white light into different colors, according to the image on the film, except in a telecine this image is projected not onto a screen, but onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) or vidicon tube. The CCD converts the light into electrical impulses which the telecine electronics modulate into a video signal which can then be recorded onto video tape, or broadcast.
The most complex part of telecine is the synchronization of the mechanical film motion and the electronic video signal. Every time the video part of the telecine samples the light electronically, the film part of the telecine must have a frame in perfect registration and ready to photograph. This is relatively easy when the film is photographed at the same frame rate as the video camera will sample, but when this is not true, a sophisticated procedure is required to change frame rate.
Frame rate differences.
In countries that use the PAL or SECAM video standards, film destined for television is photographed at 25 frames per second. The PAL video standard broadcasts at 25 frames per second, so the transfer from film to video is simple; for every film frame, one video frame is captured. Theatrical features originally photographed at 24 frames per second are simply sped up by 4% to 25 frames per second. This can cause a noticeable increase in audio pitch, which is sometimes corrected using a pitch shifter. (Note: frames per second" is sometimes referred to as frame/s or fps"'.)
In the United States and other countries that use the NTSC television standard, film is generally photographed at 24 frames per second. (Only programs aimed directly for television in the USA are shot at 23.976 fps.) Color NTSC video is broadcast at 29.97 frame/s. For the film's motion to be accurately rendered on the video signal, an NTSC telecine must use a technique called the 3:2 pulldown to convert from 24 to 29.97 frame/s.
Similar techniques must be used for films shot at "silent speeds" of less than 24 frame/s, which include most silent movies themselves as well as many home movies.
Some High Definition video recorders can record directly to 24fps (23.976fps) or 25fps so no interlacing is required. You can find out more at High-Definition Telecine.
3:2 Pulldown.
The 3:2 pulldown is accomplished in two steps. The first step is to slow down, or "pulldown" the film motion by 0.1%. This speed change is unnoticeable to the viewer, and makes the film travel at 23.976 frame/s. (This is done simply by slowing the projector.)
The second step of the 3:2 pulldown is the 3:2 step (which adds the extra frames needed for the conversion.) At 23.976 frame/s, there are 4 frames of film for every 5 frames of NTSC video:
These four frames are "stretched" into five by exploiting the interlaced nature of NTSC video. For every NTSC frame, there are actually two complete images or "fields," one for the odd-numbered lines of the image, and one for the even-numbered lines. There are, therefore, ten fields for every 4 film frames, and the telecine alternately places one film frame across two fields, the next across three, the next across two, and so on. The cycle repeats itself completely after four film frames have been exposed, and in the telecine cycle these are called the "A," "B," "C," and "D" frames, thus:
Note that the pattern in this example is actually 2-3, 2-3. The name "3:2 pulldown" is an archaic reference to the pattern that was used by older telecine equipment. The modern telecine uses a 2-3 technique.
"3:2 pulldown" creates error in the video signal that can be clearly seen in the above image. This is one reason why NTSC films viewed at home rarely appear as smooth as when viewed in a cinema. Some line doublers and most software DVD players are designed to detect and reverse 3:2 pulldown, thereby recreating the original frames.
One light, best light and scene to scene.
The color of the frame can be controlled during the telecine process. This section needs to be expanded to explain one light, best light, and other terms used in the telecine process which effect the coloring of the frames and the consistency of the color from scene to scene.
Briefly, a one light transfer means that footage is transferred with no regard to variations in exposure on the original negative i.e, the telecine is set at one value to transfer all of the footage. This is the standard first step when transferring rushes to tape, it's quicker, since it requires no intervention on behalf of the telecine operator, and is therefore cheaper. Best light means that footage is graded to look it's best in every take and scene, matching original lighting conditions and the desires of the Director and DOP. Finally, scene-by-scene tries to match the light and coloring of each scene, usually after picture editing is complete. All of the above can be done with either traditional methods (photochemically etc) or digitally.
History of Telecine.
Before the invention of video tape, telecine was used only to convert motion pictures for immediate broadcast via television.
After the invention of video tape which can be used to store motion pictures, the telecine process was also used to convert motion pictures to video tapes or LaserDiscs for distribution. 
By 1987, computer editing systems such as the CMX6000 became available to edit motion pictures. Somehow, the film dailies from a motion picture (or a television drama that was shot on film) had to be converted to a format that can be used by computer editing systems. In the case of the CMX6000, this computer editing systems controlled the playback of LaserDiscs containing the film dailies. To get the film dailies onto Laser Disc, the film dailies had to be telecined. The CMX6000, EditDroid, Ediflex or Montage did not actual store the images in the computer.
A few years later, after digital video formats for computers (such as QuickTime) were invented, there needed to be a way to transfer all the frames of the film dailies onto hard disk drives of computer editing systems so the images and sound for a motion picture or television drama can be edited inside the computer, not externally as with the CMX6000, EditDroid, Ediflex or Montage. The only practical option was to telecine the film dailies to video tape (which is a cheap storage media) before digitizing each of the frames of the video into data files for the computer editing systems.
Only in the last few years, can you telecine dailies directly to computer disks (rather than video tape.) Be aware that most post-production houses today still cannot telecine to hard disk drives so ask before you decide which film lab you will use to develop and telecine your dailies.
Telecine for Dailies.
Today, video tape remains the cheapest and (ugh!) the most convenient method of storing dailies which have been telecined. Therefore, film editors have two choices when working with film dailies:
NTSC Inverse Telecine.
The inverse telecine process is the opposite of the telecine process (at least in theory). Inverse telecine is the process of taking video at 29.97 frames per second (59.94 fields per second) and converting them back to exactly 24.00 frames per second. In practice, most computer software will inverse telecine NTSC video back to 23.976 frames per second Computer programs such as Media Cleaner and Adobe AfterEffects have an inverse telecine feature. Actually, these programs only do half the job (remove the 3/2 pull down) and ignore the rest (specifically correcting the audio speed)... which most of the time is acceptable.
To repeat what is said above, telecine is really a two step process:
Practical Example.
Computer programs such as Media Cleaner and Adobe AfterEffects only reverse step 2, not step 1. In some cases, this does not matter. Here is an example:
Amateur telecine of Super 8mm footage:.
Here is a free way to telecine your Super 8mm footage for personal use. The method can also applied to other film gauges with the relevant equipment. It is based on the initial telecine method of shooting the projection screen. However, attention must be given to obtain good results. If you think that you just point and shoot, forget it! The result will be very disappointing. You have to do exactly as described, mainly calibrate the video camera correctly and eliminate flicker.
History:
My father has a moderate collection of Super 8mm movies, either bought (mostly cartoons and B&amp;W comedies) or shot back in the 80's with an amateur Canon Super 8mm sound camera. In the late 70's, early 80's when me and my sister were little, video was rare and expensive, at least in Greece, so our only source of entertainment was a black and white TV or cartoons on Super 8mm films. My father had bought quite a lot of these and made a good collection of Disney and Warner Bros classics. He had even spliced some of these in longer reels to keep us busy for more time. Of course he shot amateur films in every occasion (mostly at 18fps, which was similar to the LP mode in video-cameras), much like we shoot video today. Back in 1993, I decided to transfer all these memories to video for easier watching and sharing with friends. When I asked at our local photo lab I was astonished to hear a rather high price per 50ft reel (about 30€ which back in 1993 was much more valuable than today in 2006), and this was simply transferring the movies to a humble VHS tape, not any correction included, (and of course DV tapes and DVD didn't exist back in 1993)! Meanwhile, I had bought my Sony Handycam TR-805E Hi-8 camera that year which was the best (EISA Award for best camcorder 1992-1993), according to a popular Greek magazine called Hitech. Yes it had many features first seen in this particular model like optical steady shot, 400 lines resolution, manual controls etc. So I quickly decided to telecine the films myself, for free, using that camera. Of course I hadn't done it before, so first results were not satisfactory. But a tape can be re-recorded, so I tried again and again until I mastered the technique. So fellow amateurs don't worry! If you do EXACTLY what I describe below you will get good results, even with the first time!
Equipment:
1) Super 8mm (or whatever) film projector with variable projection speed.
2) Video-camera with manual exposure, focus, color balance and external mic in socket. Preferably a PAL version at 25fps which makes eliminating flicker easier (see below).
3) A good quality matte A4 white sheet of paper used as screen. Thick paper is better as it is easier to stretch it to keep it smooth.
4) Tripod to mount the camera.
5) A color monitor, preferably without overscan (so avoid a TV, use PC monitor if possible).
6) Headphones and other appropriate connection cables and adapters.
You could clean and lubricate your film if desired, and then you are ready to proceed...
Setup of the system:
The white A4 sheet of paper should be stuck on a wall. To avoid adhesive tape showing on the video you should use tape that sticks on both sides and put it at the back side of the paper. I use regular tape but create a little loop so it sticks both sides, and I place it at the back of each corner of the A4 paper. Thick paper is better. When you stick the paper make sure it is stretched and looks straight. If you have a smooth matte white wall you could use that instead. Avoid projection screens as they are not white and they are not smooth. Place the projector directly in front of the A4 paper or white wall. Make sure it is as centered to the screen as possible and doesn't project from an angle, either horizontal or vertical as this will give a distorted trapezoidal image! Mount your video-camera on the tripod and make sure it frames the A4 paper as centered as possible, again avoid any large angles which will distort the image. If your projector has sound editing capabilities, it should have a audio monitor output or external speakers output. Connect that with the camera's external microphone socket, using appropriate adapters if required. Don't load tape or disc to the camera yet. Most consumer cameras will switch off if not recording for several seconds. To avoid that simply don't load the tape/disc so it will stay on as long as it takes for you to calibrate your setup (see below). Connect the TV or computer monitor (via video or TV card) to assist framing etc. Connect headphones to the camera to assist sound setup (see below). Needless to say that the video-camera should be mains-powered to avoid switching off during the process! Don't load the projector with film yet...
Finding and locking the white balance:
Without film in the projector, project to the A4 paper. Use the zoom function (if applicable) to make the projected image as small as possible. This will help enhancing the video dynamic range (since the image will be as bright as it gets, we will set the exposure so as not to washout highlights and leave the camera cover darker tones as good as it can, see below). Adjust the projector if necessary so the white rectangle is projected at the center of the A4 paper. Frame the white rectangle with the camera, and zoom in enough to make sure that all the camera's sensor is filled with white. You may also deliberately blur the image a little (using the camera's focus control) to make white appear more uniform. Leave the camera to obtain the white balance automatically. After several seconds which ensure the camera has made up its mind on the white point, HOLD it using the appropriate control. This will ensure it is not affected by the scene lighting or color variations during recording. For cameras that allow manual white balance in small steps you could fine-tune it but rely on a good calibrated monitor for this, avoid the viewfinder or the camera monitor! I would suggest not to touch the white balance once locked. At this point bear in mind that some films (e.g., Disney cartoons) are color balanced for a Super 8mm projector's yellow light so they might appear a bit blue if balanced as above, but I personally don't mind as this can be fixed digitally later. If you are using a PC monitor, make sure it is well calibrated so your movie color and brightness appears correctly. Most monitors allow a "user color" setting. If you use that and set all three primary colors to the same value (e.g., 80% or 100%) you will almost always have correct white balance. The application used to watch the video image should have its color settings reset to default. Any errors can be corrected during editing later. I once had changed the color settings in the video application for another capture and I forgot to reset these to default, so the film image appeared bluer. When I tried to "correct" this altering the white balance from the camera, I resulted with yellowish video! So don't touch ANY controls once adjusted, especially from the camera! For B&amp;W films you could enable the B&amp;W or sepia effect (for cameras that support it), but I would rather record it as "color" to have a more realistic look (B&amp;W effect would make it look more like B&amp;W TV broadcast, rather than B&amp;W film). So we have white balance fixed, let's proceed with...
Adjusting the focus:
At this point you have to load a short film in the projector. If you are quick enough you can do all of the rest calibrations before it runs out. While projecting on the A4 sheet, focus the projector as sharp as possible. Then zoom out and frame roughly the camera so it sees all the image and manually focus it. Leave focus to manual so it is not affected with scene changes. Using the monitor frame the camera as good as possible so you don't crop the projected image, but not let any annoying black areas either. If the aspect ratio doesn't match, then make sure you don't crop the horizontal dimension while centering the vertical dimension. Focus again if necessary. Bear in mind that if you change reels you may have to fine-tune focus of the projector. Also focus may be lost between spliced sections, if the splicing is not very good. If you use a computer monitor to avoid overscan, I suggest watching the video in a window so to assist perfect framing. If you only have a TV monitor you could zoom in by one or two steps to make sure there are no black areas around the projected image.
Adjusting the exposure:
While watching the image, manually adjust the camera exposure so it doesn't wash out light areas (highlights) and let camera cover darker areas as best as it can. This is because it is preferable to lose some information of the dark areas (which might not be that obvious) than wash out light areas which will be very annoying. Hopefully newer digital cameras will have greater dynamic range than my old analog Hi-8 had and should give better results. Let exposure to manual so it is not affected with lighting and scene changes. Hopefully the lighting will be the same for most of the movie, but in some amateur films there are differences notably between outdoor and indoor scenes. Don't worry some of it can be corrected digitally. Don't touch the exposure! Again, if you are using a PC monitor make sure is well calibrated for our dark working environment (brightness and contrast) and that the video application's color/brightness/contrast settings are reset to default. Due to gamma difference between TV/video and a PC monitor the image might appear a bit darker. This is normal, adjust the exposure as described above and don't worry. The same video played back on a TV monitor should look normal since it will have the correct gamma value.
The trickiest part, eliminating flicker:
To eliminate flicker, we have to match the projection frame rate with the camera frame rate. For PAL cameras this is relatively easy. We adjust the projection speed to 25fps for 24fps footage or to 16.66fps (50/3) for 18fps footage using a variable speed projector. Audio pitch difference is negligible and should not concern an amateur. A different approach is to adjust the shutter speed in cameras that support it. Mine doesn't so I cannot tell how good that works. I can tell that I was able to almost eliminate flicker by carefully adjusting the projection speed as described above. For NTSC users you could project at 20fps (60/3) for both 24fps or 18fps footage but the audio pitch difference might be very annoying, and not all variable speed projectors support that large variation of ±2 or ±4fps (my Chinon 9600 only supports ±1.5fps for example). I only have a PAL camera model, so I cannot tell how bad audio pitch difference sounds at 20fps. Later you could speed up or slow down the movie as appropriate to restore audio pitch, using a video editing software which supports this feature (eg Adobe Premiere). Of course you should rely on your monitor to eliminate flicker, not the camera viewfinder or built-in monitor! A CRT monitor is preferable since LCD monitors tend to hide flicker if it is small. Of course make sure the refresh rate (for CRT PC monitors) is set to highest possible for the used resolution, so as not to mistake monitor's flicker as film's flicker. Color depth should also be at least 16-bit or higher to assist color balance. Have in mind that when changing reels you may need to readjust the projection speed to eliminate flicker again. Also I am not sure if enabling the steady shot feature will help, but I do it anyway just to be on the safe side. Besides, since the video-camera is mains-powered we shouldn't worry about the higher power consumption. For new digital cameras that support it, you could try the 24fps setting (for 24fps films only), provided the image aspect ratio is not affected (in some models setting 24fps capture may also set 16:9 mode). Also enabling progressive mode (if supported) will improve image quality, regardless of the frame rate setting. Unfortunatelly my old analog Hi-8 camera doesn't support either of the two, so I don't know how much they help.
Adjusting the audio recording level for sound films:
It is recommended to use headphones for this as with speakers you may not notice much of the noise. Since we will be using the camera's external microphone input, it is usually boosted to improve reception, or in our case to distort sound! Using the headphones lower the volume a lot until you don't hear any distortion or the distortion is as small as it gets. Make sure the sound is heard as clear as it gets albeit if you cannot remove noise 100%. Usually a small noise is not audible in normal listening conditions through the TV loudspeakers. It only becomes audible in a very quiet environment or using headphones, so an amateur should not worry too much. Some video editing applications can also clean noisy soundtracks in some degree, if necessary, but again I wouldn't bother if noise is not audible in normal listening conditions.
What about my silent films?
If you have silent films I suggest that you set the projector to "silent" mode (if applicable) and switch off the internal camera microphone. Many will rush to say this is not possible with consumer cameras. Don't worry, here is a trick I have used: Connect a cable in the external microphone input but leave the other end unconnected. This will switch off the internal microphone in order to use the "external" one supposedly connected to the external microphone input. Always use your headphones to confirm no sound is recorded as a bad connection could record electronic noise and spoil the movie (unless you are willing to mute your TV set when watching your silent films). Don't forget to switch back to "Magnetic" or "Optical" mode for your sound films!
Ready to telecine your films?
Rewind the short reel you used to calibrate your setup. Load carefully the projector with the actual film you want to telecine, making sure you don't move the projector! Load carefully the tape or disc in the camera without moving it. If there is a remote control for the camera, it is a good idea to use it to avoid any accidental movement. Set the projection switch to THREAD (or similar) position and make sure the film leader is properly wound on the take up reel, even if it supposed to do that automatically, to avoid damage while projection. Do not thread it too much however, but keep it as far from the beginning of the movie as possible, so you won't miss the start! Switch off the projector. Turn off all lights to make sure stray light doesn't affect the projected image so the colors will look as vivid as it's possible (stray light reduces saturation and makes old films look even fader). If it is daytime darken the room as best as you can and use only a very small light (about 2 or 4 watts) away from the projection screen. It is recommended that all calibration is done in these final dark conditions for best results. When ready start projecting immediately and then start recording as fast as you can. If you don't mind leaving some blank seconds on the tape, you could start recording first, to make sure you won't miss the film start if the film leader is too short and the movie is almost starting. Fine-tune the focus of the projector carefully, if required, avoiding to blur the image. If you are familiar with your projector you should be able to know which way to turn the focus knob to avoid blurring the image accidentally. Wear your headphones for a few seconds, make sure sound is recorded as expected (I have had some bad experiences), or no sound is recorded at all for silent movies. When finished with one reel, rewind and change reels carefully without moving the projector. Refocus the new reel if required. Never leave the projector unattended as the picture may jump and you have to press the relevant release button briefly. If you fail to do so, the rest of your movie will be jumping and useless and you may damage the sprocket holes of the rest of the film. Don't even think about fixing a jumping movie digitally. It is virtually impossible. It is better to telecine that again. Other problem that I have seen is that the framing of the projector is lost and the upper or lower area of the picture shows the adjacent frame. This usually happens between spliced sections (not perfect splices) and can be corrected with the relevant knob which moves the projection gate vertically. Once familiar with the projector you should know which way to turn it to correct rather than pronounce the error. Usually the overscan feature of a TV will hide a small framing error, but I personally prefer to be as perfect as I can.
Digitizing tips:
When calibrating your telecine setup as good as it gets, the results are amazingly good considering the method used, and best of all it is for FREE!
I hope that this amateur telecine guide was helpful. Good luck to anyone trying that. I know the video digitization section should be in another place in Wikipedia and Moviemaker Manual. Excuse me for this lengthy reference to video digitization, but I was trying to help novices.
By: Mr Sotirios Papakonstantinou, Greece, © 1993-2006. Feel free to distribute this text or link to this page, provided you state its source and my name.
Film Editing Software.
Apple Computer develops Cinema Tools with Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro (and Cinema Tools) are purchased as part of Final Cut Studio. You use Cinema Tools to keep track of all the original frames for each piece of film before it was telecined into the computer. "'NOTE: Please explain the Cinema Tools process.""
Resolutions.
 - 1280 x 720 called also as 720p or 720i
 p = progressive, i = interlaced frame's
It's unlikely that your telecine machine will be able to capture high resolution images in 'real time'. For example, most telecine machines can only do a 4k capture at about 6 frames per second.
In comparison, I had once read in a Super 8mm newsgroup that Kodachrome 40 (discontinued in 2005) had a resolution of approximately 2048x1536 (3 Megapixels). This was determined experimentally by a poster, and it means that if film had discrete pixels like digital video, Super 8mm Kodachrome could capture at 2048x1536 resolution (2K). Super8 mm film is snubbed by some professional filmmakers, who state that it can show limited detail (and a lot of grain) compared with larger formats. But even this humble format can show better definition than HD video (currently 1920x1080 maximum).
2- and 3-perf telecine.
WikiPedia article on 3-perf and 2-perf pulldown