Film recorder

A film recorder is a graphical output device for transferring digital images to photographic film.

All film recorders typically work in the same manner. The image is fed from a host computer as a raster stream over a digital interface. A film recorder exposes film through various mechanisms; flying spot (early recorders); photographing a high resolution video monitor; electron beam recorder (Sony HDVS); a CRT scanning dot (Celco); focused beam of light from a light valve technology (LVT) recorder; a scanning laser beam (Arrilaser); or recently, full-frame LCD array chips.

For color image recording on a CRT film recorder, the red, green, and blue channels are separately displayed on the same gray scale CRT, and exposed to the same piece of film through a filter of the appropriate color. (This approach yields better resolution and color quality than one could obtain with a color CRT.) The three filters are usually mounted on a motor-driven wheel. The filter wheel, as well as the camera's shutter, aperture, and film motion mechanism are usually controlled by the recorder's electronics and/or the driving software.

Higher-quality LVT film recorders use a focused beam of light to write the image directly onto a film loaded spinning drum, one pixel at a time. The LVT will record pixel beyond grain. Some machines can burn 120-res or 120 lines per millimeter. The LVT is basically a reverse drum scanner. The exposed film is developed and printed by regular photographic chemical processing.

Formats

Film recorders are available for a variety of film types and formats. The 35mm negative film and transparencies are popular because they can be processed by any photo shop. Single-image 4x5 film and 8X10 is often used for high-quality, large format printing.

Some models have detachable film holders to handle multiple formats with the same camera.

Uses

Film recorders are used in digital printing to generate master negatives for offset and other bulk printing processes. They are also used to produce the master copies of movies that use computer animation or other special effects based on digital image processing.

For preview, archiving, and small-volume reproduction, film recorders have been rendered obsolete by modern printers that produce photographic-quality hardcopies directly on plain paper.

Film recorders were also commonly used to produce slides for slide projectors; but this need is now largely met by video projectors that project images straight from a computer to a screen.

Film recorders were among the earliest computer graphics output devices; see, for example, the IBM 740 CRT Recorder was announced in 1954.

Nowadays, film recorders are primarily used in the motion picture film-out process for the ever increasing amount of digital intermediate work being done. Although significant advances in large venue video projection alleviates the need to output to film, there remains a deadlock between the motion picture studios and theater owners over who should pay for the cost of these very costly projection systems. This, combined with the increase in international and independent film production, will keep the demand for film recording steady for at least a decade.

Key manufacturers

Traditional film recorder manufacturers have all but vanished from the scene or have evolved their product lines to cater to the motion picture industry. Dicomed was one such early provider of digital color film recorders. Polaroid, Management Graphics, Inc, MacDonald-Detwiler, Information International, Inc., and Agfa were other producers of film recorders.

Kodak Lightning I film recorder. One of the first laser recorders. Needed an engineering staff to set up.
Kodak Lightning II film recorder used both gas and diode laser to record on to film.
The last LVT machines produced by Kodak / Durst-Dice stopped production in 2002. There are no LVT film recorders currently being produced. LVT Saturn 1010 uses a LED exposure (RGB) to 8"x10" film at 1000-3000ppi.
LUX Laser Cinema Recorder from Autologic/Information International in Thousand Oaks, California. Sales end in March 2000. Used on the movie “The Titanic”
Arri produces the Arrilaser line of laser-based motion picture film recorders.
Celco makes a line of CRT based motion picture film recorders.
Lasergraphics is a recent entrant into the cine film recorder market with its twenty-year history in the traditional film recorder business.
CCG, formerly Agfa film recorders, has been a steady manufacturer of film recorders based in Germany.
In 2004 CCG introduced Definity, a motion picture film recorder utilizing LCD technology. In 2010 CCG introduced the first full LED LCD film recorder as a new step in film recording.
Cinevator is made by Cinevation AS, in Drammen, Norway, started shipping The Cinevator a real-time digital film recorder. It can record IN, IP and prints with and without sound
Oxberry produced the Model 3100 film recorder camera system, with interchangeable pin-registered movements (shuttles) for 35mm (full frame/Silent, 1.33:1) and 16mm (regular 16, "2R"), and others have adapted the Oxberry movements for CinemaScope, 1.85:1, 1.75:1, 1.66:1, as well as Academy/Sound (1.37:1) in 35mm and Super-16 in 16mm ("1R"). For instance, the "Solitaire" and numerous others employed the Oxberry 3100 camera system.

History

Before video tape recorders or VTRs were invented, TV shows were either broadcast live or recorded to film for later showing, using the Kinescope process.
In 1967 CBS Laboratories introduced the Electronic Video Recording format, which used video and telecined-to-video film sources, which were then recorded with an electron-beam recorder at CBS' EVR mastering plant at the time to 35mm film stock in a rank of 4 strips on the film, which was then slit down to 4 8.75 mm film copies, for playback in an EVR player.
All types of CRT recorders were (and still are) used for film recording. Some early examples used for computer-output recording were the 1954 IBM 740 CRT Recorder, and the 1962 Stromberg-Carlson SC-4020, the latter using a Charactron CRT for text and vector graphic output to either 16mm motion picture film, 16mm microfilm, or hard-copy paper output.
Later 1970 and 80s-era recording to B&W (and color, with 3 separate exposures for red, green, and blue)) 16mm film was done with an EBR (Electron Beam Recorder), the most prominent examples made by 3M), for both video and COM (Computer Output Microfilm) applications.
Image Transform in Universal City, California used specially modified 3M EBR film recorders that could perform color film-out recording on 16mm by exposing three 16mm frames in a row (one red, one green and one blue). The film was then printed to color 16mm or 35mm film. The video fed to the recorder could either be NTSC, PAL or SECAM. Later, Image Transform used specially modified VTRs to record 24 frame for their "Image Vision" system. The modified 1 inch type B videotape VTRs would record and play back 24frame video at 10 MHz bandwidth, at about twice the normal NTSC resolution. Modified 24fps 10 MHz Bosch Fernseh KCK-40 cameras were used on the set. This was a custom pre-HDTV video system. Image Transform had modified other gear for this process. At its peak, this system was used in the production of the film "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl" in 1982. This was the first major pre-digital intermediate post production using a Film recorder for film-out production.

Arrilaser Film Recorder

Film recorder Oscar

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded an Oscar to the makers of the Arrilaser film recorder. The Award of Merit Oscar from the Academy Scientific and Technical Award ceremony was given on Feb. 11, 2012 to Franz Kraus, Johannes Steurer and Wolfgang Riedel.^[1]

References

↑ Developers of film recorder to receive Oscar

External links

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