The Kodak Telecine Calibration System (TSC) calibrates the telecine to scan more of film's dynamic range. It works by setting the telecine to scan an image at lower contrast and modified tone scale.
A new filmstrip (both 16 mm and 35 mm) has been created to calibrate telecines for video applications. The dynamic ranges of the targets on this filmstrip were designed to match the dynamic range of all the Kodak Motion Picture Film Stocks. These filmstrips are also lower in contrast than previous calibration strips. The filmstrip has two targets. The first target is composed of 5 steps and is used to calibrate the telecine. A second target, composed of 21 steps, is used to fine-tune the calibration. This calibration procedure allows the telecine to capture all of the film's dynamic range without loss of either highlight or shadow detail. The resulting image will appear flat on a television monitor.
A second part of the system is an image processor (hardware) that applies look-up-tables (LUTs) to the scanned images at real time (24 frames/second). These LUTs contain proprietary color management software that delivers the look that was captured on film by the Director of Photography for broadcast viewing (contrast and tone scale).
The LUTs were designed in conjunction with the calibration procedure and will only provide the appropriate film look when they are used with the calibration step and a monitor calibrated according to RP145-1999 (recommended practice by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers for monitor calibration). The Kodak TCS with the LUTs takes the scanned video data from the telecine, modifies the data by applying the LUT, without losing any of the information that was on the original camera negative, and then puts the video data back into the video stream. Each ECN film has its own unique LUT. The resulting image here will appear normal on a television monitor.
The LUTs are contained in the Calibration Image Processor that processes all the needed steps at real time for motion picture needs (24 frames/second). The processor is built with FPGA (field-programmable gate array) technology. The actual programming of the image processor is done with a smart card that also contains all the LUTs. This approach allows for easy updates and additions. All the information on the smart card has been encrypted.
The TCS, beta-tested in American and European post-houses for 12 months and will go to market at the end of this month.
John Pytlak
Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, New York 14650-1922 USA
Telephone: +1 585 477 5325
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion