The following information will provide you with a good understanding of the Flashscan service and the benefits that this transfer service brings over conventional methods of cine transfer.
At the same time will will cover in detail various technical aspects of our service to help you make a logical decision when it comes to selecting a company to transfer your precious cine film footage.
Its New NOT 30 years Old
The mechanics used to transport your film is brand new and developed in Germany using German engineering standards. Cheaper transfer services typically use converted film projectors which on average are 30 years+ old. For film which is extremely sensitive you need mechanics to handle this correctly and be tolerant to film aging and shrinkage.
No Pull Down Claw
The Flashscan transfer service is extremely gentle on your film. Unlike most projector based transfer systems the Flashscan Unit does NOT contain or use a PULL-DOWN CLAW to move the film through the mechanics. Instead the Flashscan utilises a high precision servo system that glides the film through the mechanics in a fluid way, the mechanics do NOT start and stop as you would expect when systems use a PULL-DOWN CLAW. The most common cause of film damage is that caused by a PULL-DOWN CLAW which damages the tractor holes located on the film edge.
Auto Scratch Removal & Image Gate
The Flashscan system incorporates an automatic scratch removal technology that suppresses images defects found on older film stock. Using state of the art optics, special light diffusion and video processing the visible effects of scratches are virtually eliminated.
Also when you read the technical specification on other transfer system you will read information on what is called the gate arrangement. This is effectively a frame mask that is used to just show only the required film frame and NOT the adjacent frames. Some other transfer systems talk about enlarged gates and interchangeable sizes... For older cine transfer systems that use converted projectors the gate is a compulsory item which is there to hold the film in place and at the right distance from the lens, the downside is that gates also attracts dust and hairs which in turns leads to visible obstructions...
Again Flashscan just does it better, because there is NO Gate arrangement. The film glides past the scanning head with no gate to catch any dust or hairs. As the Flashscan is using new mechanics it has been developed without the need of a gate.
The tractor pin holes are also masked out using a special mask which is a good distance away from the film.
Multiple Film Tension Sensors
The Flashscan unit incorporates multiple sensors throughout the system to constantly monitor the film tension. These sensors includes input and output optical sensors for maintaining the correct film tension and also servo current sensors which detect any increase or decrease in drive current. All the sensors are there to protect the film from damage and also to protect the Flashscan from film which could cause damage to the Flashscan mechanics.
Sound Support for Regular 8 and Super 8 Film Stock
As standard the Flashscan device can detect and read any magnetic sound strip located on the film, for 16mm we also support optical sound tracks.The audio electronics are newly developed and provide the ability to capture audio is full Stereo if it was recorded that way. Also theFlashscan can extract audio from early 8mm Regular film stock.
Providing output in UnBalanced, Balanced and/or embedded DV/SDI format we have total control to cover any requirement. Because we extract the audio in real time there is no requirement for post edit synchronisation so the audio will always be perfectly aligned to the video.If you think of this quality together with our professional audio spectrum analysis service you can expect your soundtrack to be brought back to life in its full glory.
Pure 10bit SDI Uncompressed Video
We operate a system that allows the Flashscan unit to send video files to our editing system in full 10bit resolution. What that means is that when we edit the footage on our MAC-PRO systems we are actually editing bit for bit what is visible on the actual cine film.
The are many companies that advertise direct workflow's consisting of DV camera's and Firewire links.... by definition what this is actually telling you is that the information from the film is actually being compressed by the DV Codec before its sent to the computer, in other words quality is lost even before the edit on the computer - Avoid this type of service.
Pure 10bit SDI Uncompressed Video provides the ultimate in image quality and if required Images4life can provide 10bit AVI/QuickTime files on an external hard drive.
Example.
- 3 minutes video using DV/Firewire = 1GB File (approx)
- 3 minutes video using 10bit SDI = 6 GB File (approx )
The above shows the difference in file size & hence quality - Enough Said !!!
Flashscan Image Resolution
Our Flashscan system can operate up to a full 800 lines resolution which takes it beyond that of standard resolution. We get asked a lot about the benefits of a full HD resolution running at 1920 * 1080P and to be honest with the testing that we have done we see better performance using a standard definition capture and then letting the high definition TV or Blu-Ray player perform an upscale of the image. Remember that the cine film can be up to 80 years old so scanning the film at resolutions higher than 800 lines just enhances the film grain and defects.
Also for compatibility it is best to keep with standard definition if you want to share your film with colleagues, friends or family.
We can provide full resolution video on Blu-Ray and/or AVI/QuickTime files if required, standard definition DVD's are limited to 720*576 (PAL).
Cool Bright White LED Light Source
The system incorporates a cool bright white LED light source to illuminate the film during the telecine process. The light source is actually made up of high energy RED, GREEN and BLUE LED's which when used together create a high intensity white light that is completely cool and totally safe for use on photographic film.
During the telecine process the LED's are fired at the required frame rate and this used to capture the single frames required by the Flashscan's frame store. This is where the device gets is name - FLASHSCAN.
3 Levels Of Colour Correction
The cine transfer process comprises of 3 levels of colour calibration to ensure the video footage is reproduced as accurately as possible.
Level 1 - This level of calibration takes place within the image scanner. The scanner is calibrated against a true white reference chart and is then re calibrated again in order to have the ability to scan negative film stock. This level of calibration is critical in the workflow.
Level 2 - This level of calibration is done by adjusting the primary light source. The system uses high energy LED's to create a bright white light for illuminating the film, however due to film aging or film stability it could be better to illuminate the film with a colour NOT 100% white, so we have the ability to control the colour light source and create a more blue or more red light which can compensate for aging film. Cheaper transfer units do NOT have this ability and in fact could just use a domestic light bulb to create the light source ( not ideal ).
Level 3 - This is the final level of colour calibration and is done on the computer workstation. Using a Vector Scope we check all the colour channels and ensure that the colour, gamma and luminance levels are within legal limits. This is a requirement that sometimes gets forgotten about by other companies and is critical in ensuring a quality transfer.
Film Speed
We can operate the unit from 3 frames per second up to 25 frames per second which would actually give you a a pure 1 for 1 frame transfer. The standard film speeds are 15,16,18,20 and 24 frames per second. In order to bring the lower frame rates up to a level that matches our UK video standard we need to add extra frames so an an example the 15 frames per second rate is increased to 25 frames per second. This is done by creating intermediate frames bases on adjacent frames. We have 2 options for this, we either use the Flashscan with its internal frame store device to handle this or we use a technology called "OPTICAL FLOW" which is actually technology developed by Apple Computer Corporation and is part of their Final Cut Studio package.
Remote Operation For Real Time Correction
During the capture process we are able to monitor and apply changes to various parameters on the fly. These parameters include Gamma Levels, Black Levels, Saturation Levels, Hue Levels and many more.
The reason this is so important is for larger reels which contain different manufacturer film stock. Dependant on the film type the optimal setting for the capture can change and with the aid of this remote system we are able to create various memory levels for different area's of the film and/or adjust various parameters on the fly and in real time.
Large Capacity Reel Support
Most transfer system will only support reel sizes up to 400 feet, this is fine for most applications but causes problems for customers who have larger 600 foot or greater reel sizes,. The only way other transfer units can handle this reel size is to cut the reel in half and feed the film through in 2 parts.
With Flashscan we support reel sizes up to 1500 foot so rest assured that what ever size of reel you send to us we can handle this in one clean capture.
Negative Film Stock
The Flashscan System is so advanced that it has the ability to not only scan positive film but if required the unit can handle negative film stock. Internal calibrations have been performed on the unit to ensure that the output image is a faithful reproduction of the original.
Standard DVD or Blu-Ray
Our default delivery method for customers selecting DVD disks is standard format DVD, however if you would like to take advantage of the new Blu-Ray High Definition format then we can help. Images4life now offer a complete Blu-Ray authoring service which includes high definition motion menu's, amazing picture and sound quality. All of this is delivered on a professionally printed thermal Blu-Ray disk....
Hopefully the above sections cover most of the technical aspects of our service, if you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact the office on 0800 043 0668 or alternatively contact us via email.
