From Film to Delivery.

[PDB]

Sound options are usually printed onto their own negative(s) separate from the OCN and IP (like in post 7) and then printed directly to the release print. It is basically two exposures onto the same piece of film, once for the image and once again for the sound (optical, DD, DTS, SDDS).

Was this ever used as a back up method for the sound elements at any point, Like the sound fx, music ect?

Sorry been traveling. Yeah you could use them as backup but older films general stored their tracks and stems on mags since mags have wider frequency response and fidelity then opticals. But that's only if the studio kept all the materials which is always a good question.

In fact that one of the great things about Dolby Stereo is not only the matrixed channels but the improved fidelity for opticals.

And of course 80s it slowly moved to digital.

For 6-Track mag 70mm the prints have to be 'striped' ie the magnetic strip that holds the audio has to be applied after the film is developed, once cured the soundtrack is recorded directly onto it  (in sync, obviously). It made an already expensive format even more so. Nowadays 70mm tends to use the digital audio formats.

To add to this the materials needed to create the mags are toxic and banned. That's why DTS developed their 70mm format. And even that is done for now since The Hateful Eight was the last DTS disc issued by Datasat. Sad days.

DTS assumed the 70mm blow-up program would continue but the addition of digital sound to 35mm (and the birth of multiplexes) killed the special 70m engagements.

[Valeyard]

Just a side note, the audio plays ahead of the picture on all prints, it's not actually "in sync" because the audio reader needs to have a continuous motion of film go over it, while each frame has to be stopped at the gate and flashed three times on the screen. You'll notice that whatever film delivery system is used - whether a traditional projector or a platter system etc, the film has a continuous motion from and onto each reel. It's only at the gate where the film is stopped for about 1/32nd of a second (and in motion for roughly 1/96th of a second per frame). Film goes through the gate first, and later to the optical or magnetic sound reader, and that brings the sound in sync with the picture when projected. Interestingly, digital scanning is usually done the opposite way - sound read first, and then picture captured.

[zoidberg]

Just a side note, the audio plays ahead of the picture on all prints, it's not actually "in sync" because the audio reader needs to have a continuous motion of film go over it, while each frame has to be stopped at the gate and flashed three times on the screen. You'll notice that whatever film delivery system is used - whether a traditional projector or a platter system etc, the film has a continuous motion from and onto each reel. It's only at the gate where the film is stopped for about 1/32nd of a second (and in motion for roughly 1/96th of a second per frame). Film goes through the gate first, and later to the optical or magnetic sound reader, and that brings the sound in sync with the picture when projected. Interestingly, digital scanning is usually done the opposite way - sound read first, and then picture captured.

Yes but it is synced for playback. The delay you mention is necessary to maintain that sync, lay down the mag track in the wrong place and you lose sync. It's a shame that 6-track mag got dropped, by all accounts the sound quality was excellent. At least digital made better sound available to the majority of theatres.

[Valeyard]

First digital sound... then digital picture.

Yeah I had no idea the mag track was made of a hazardous material, I can see why that would dissuade its use!

[CSchmidlapp]

Thanks for all this information everyone. It was certainly time for me to re-educate and delve deeper into the process. This stuff helps no end in understanding, and having more appreciation in what im looking at and hearing, when I press play on my BluRay collection.

[Jetrell Fo]

Great thread Colonel .... certainly worth having to help us less informed about how these things actually work.

[Valeyard]

Hey, here's a great video showing how film projection works:

[Valeyard]

I think that's a way of printing 16mm in higher volume.

Also this pic has been posted here before but is worth posting again:

http://i.imgur.com/z70dSy1.jpg

(It highlights the orange base of the OCN and IP)

I've remade that graphic:



I was originally just going to do the two soundtracks, but I ended up doing them all to bring them to equal quality. The 4-track mag graphic was made by resizing this image:



The others were also done by resizing real film.

[PDB]

This popped up in my youtube feed. It's the doc about restoring the Godfather. It's pretty good in of itself but also briefly covers negative, color timed IPs, separation masters, etc. Very informative.

Its funny to see that even Coppola didn't remember the right colors but Willis always did.




[Image: cfFBJ8b.jpg]

[spoRv]

Really interesting documentary!

I'll find some time, sooner or later, to watch it AND assimilate concepts - too involved in HP right now...