16mm telecine reflections

This video was produced as part of the European Research Council funded ADAPT project based at Royal Holloway, University of London. For more information about the project visit www.adaptTVhistory.org.uk
This footage was filmed in August 2015 at BBC Studios and Post Production in South Ruislip, London, United Kingdom.
BBC archive telecine specialist Tim Emblem-English and retired telecine operator Jim Gregory demonstrated the processes involved in scanning television film footage onto tape for broadcast.
This video is part of a series that shows how engineers used telecine scanning processes in order to prepare finished films for broadcast transmission.
The footage being scanned was originally exposed during the project’s historical reenactment of a 16mm television film crew at work, and subsequently processed at i-dailies in West London.
ADAPT (2013-8) is a European Research Council project at Royal Holloway University of London. The project studies the history of technologies in television, focussing on their everyday use in production activities.
ADAPT examines what technologies were adopted and why; how they worked; and how people worked with them. As well as publishing written accounts, the project carries out 'simulations' that reunite retired equipment with the people who used to use it.
Participants in these simulations explain how each machine worked and how different machines worked together as an 'array'; how they adapted the machines; and how they worked together as teams within the overall production process.
www.adaptTVhistory.org.uk
doi.org/10.17637/rh.c.3925603.v1 ADAPT (2013-8) is a European Research Council project at Royal Holloway University of London. The project studies the history of technologies in television, focussing on their everyday use in production activities.
ADAPT examines what technologies were adopted and why; how they worked; and how people worked with them. As well as publishing written accounts, the project carries out 'simulations' that reunite retired equipment with the people who used to use it.
Participants in these simulations explain how each machine worked and how different machines worked together as an 'array'; how they adapted the machines; and how they worked together as teams within the overall production process.
www.adaptTVhistory.org.uk
doi.org/10.17637/rh.c.3925603.v1

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Mighty fine historic Flying Spot Telecine. 16mm transfers to SD video began to look remarkably amazing in the 90s and really didn't look like crude amateurmovies anymore like they still did in the 70s and 80s. Even 35mm scans looked way better. Sure this machine might not scan at HD but for SD it delivered awesome results either to Betacam or Digital Betacam.

[@northernplacecorporation]

I noticed at the end of this video a Sony DVW-A500P Digital Betacam digital videocassette recorder. The same one Colin McCormick of Video99 Audio & Video Transfers has.

[@takatukatom1371]

Most amazing about this valuable piece of film-history is the question: Where did they get these two camera-kids? They had only 1 job to do: Avoid unneccessary camera-movement. - And on top of that, they have completely messed up the sound. - I guess, they work at a gasoline-station now. :-)

[@freespeechmatters583]

They are probably some of the best qualified students available on the course. Doh. The woman hiding behind the rack is hilarious too.

[@oldgoody1]

Yes both mics badly overload. No idea about levels/ gain staging.

[@moow950]

At what resolution does this machine scan films? SD,HD,4K,8K?

[@thegrainsilo7353]

well, considering they said it was 25 years old and that they're scanning it onto tape, I'd assume it's a resolution just under 480p in digital equivalent.

[@jcl410]

Were the films shot at 24 or 25 fps? If it was 24, how was the fps increased to 25?

[@freespeechmatters583]

Normally the running time of feature films would be shorter when telecined to PAL.

[@oldgoody1]

The sound went up in pitch too.

[@TVperson1]

4:2:2? So it's a digital telecine machine?

[@meowchin]

At the end they say it ends up on DigiBeta tape, so I guess yes.

[@wado1942]

The machine is mostly analogue but the back end is digital.

[@TVperson1]

@@wado1942 Oh, ok. Is it on of machines they put digital boards in?

[@wado1942]

@@TVperson1 Not quite sure I get the question, but the light path and optics are of course analogue, because that's how light is. The photomultiplier tubes are analouge, as is much of the circuitry that handles converting the electronic signal into something that resembles video. The cards in the bottom of the unit decides what happens from there. The original units had cards that converted the signal into an analogue NTSC or PAL signal but you can swap them for ones that convert the signal into whatever digital video format you want and give you SDI outputs to record directly onto digital media without further conversion. Those flying spot scanners are incredibly modular and customizable.

[@northernplacecorporation]

That telecine is actually a Rank Cintel mkIII telecine.