digital film recorders

Feature film digital effects require talent, killer software and a lot of computing power. It is no secret that over the last many years, the demand for digital effects has undergone a metamorphosis from the few specialized houses into an entire industry that hires thousands of artists and has created a booming marketplace for high end imaging hardware and software developers.

But when the matte is pulled, the 3D/live action composite is complete and the shot is done, what happens to that digital information when it needs to go back out onto film? Digital film recorders like the Celco eXtreme MPX and the new Nitro take the digital images from either scanned motion picture film, CG animation or digital video and print them onto motion picture film.

It is still years away before digital High-Definition theater projection systems will replace the film projector. Until then, all digital effects need to be filmed out to Digital Film Recorders, complex electronic, mechanical and software driven units that convert bits of information into optical light information that can expose film raw stock.

crt vs. laser
There are two types of film recorders:

• CRT -- Cathode ray tube technology that uses a powerful high resolution monitor to project film-exposing light in a 3-pass process through a rotating RGB color wheel. There are few moving parts in a CRT machine hence less maintenance.
• Laser -- High intensity laser light is reflected off of highly mechanical spinning mirrors to expose the film. Laser recorders have a reputation to be heavy on the maintenance side and are prone to very high costs.

There are significant differences between these two worlds -- cost, reliability, maintenance and exposure speeds. With a market niche that is occupied by a handful of companies, the competition is fierce to offer dependability, features and cost-effectiveness.

extreme mpx
All of the high-tech technology of these devices still depends on the low-tech emulsion film that they are designed for. Traditionally, the film stock used for film output has been Eastman Kodak 5245 camera negative with its low "speed" or daylight balanced E.I. of 50 (for greater detail).

This is the realm of the Celco MPX eXtreme film recorder. This unit is a compact and reliable solution that has been used on many effects-heavy films like Titanic, Fifth Element, Spawn, Lost World, Men In Black, Independence Day, and Twister.

Eposure times for film recorders can vary greatly depending on a number of different variables (resolution and file size, aspect ratio, file format and color-depth). Generally with a 2K resolution at 1.33 aspect ratio and 10-bit linear color space, the eXtreme MPX exposes 5245 film at 20 seconds per frame. An eXtreme MPX costs around $180,000.

nitro
But in the last several years, the newer Eastman 5244 intermediate stock film has been a superior choice for effects output because of its finer grain structure. This translates to "higher resolution" and more sharp detail -- kind of like having more pixels on a computer monitor for graphics.

Up until the introduction of the latest Celco model, the Nitro, only laser recorders were able to expose 5244 film. The Nitro, with its proprietary EBX CRT technology, is the first and only CRT recorder with the intensity and sharpness to expose 5244 film, something that many in the industry (especially on the laser side) thought couldn’t be done.

The Nitro can expose an image with the same resolution as the example above on 5244 intermediate stock at 20 seconds per frame and on 5245 at about 14 seconds per frame. The price of a Nitro is in the $300,000 range.

The fact that the Nitro is nearly half the cost of a laser recorder and requires a fraction of the maintenance makes it a heavy contender an industry where meeting deadlines and staying within budget can make or break a company.

According to Jim Darby, Celco’s Marketing Director, "5245 is still a viable film stock and although 5244 is a requirement by demanding effects supervisors, for some it is overkill. 5245 is still being used by the majority of facilities doing film output and continues to produce beautiful film for special effects and animation."

conclusion
As the entertainment industry becomes more and more competitive in the race to create box-office draw through visual effects, so will be the race to make better and more affordable solutions for the movie magicians to do their work.

Having talked to Celco about their technology over the last 2 years and having personally heard feedback from some of their customers, I can say that they are known for their quality, reliability and high level of technical support satisfaction.

"It is for this reason that Celco systems are the most widely used digital film recording systems by the most respected companies in Hollywood and around the world," says Darby.

Celco has developed reliable, low cost units that offer "better than laser quality", establishing themselves as a leader in digital film recording technology. Jim Darby adds, "Celco continues to take digital film recording technology to new levels. We are continually working on improving existing products, while our research and development team works toward developing new and innovative advances in digital film. Celco will continue to move ahead and stay on the forefront of our industry."

Look for some of the current films that use Celco technology:

• Godzilla
• Deep Impact
• Lost in Space
• Doctor DoLittle
• Mercury Rising
• Species II
• Mighty Joe Young
• What Dreams may come

Keep posted on Celco’s website at www.Celco.com.


Bryan Ierardi is one of the owners of Engram Digital, a Greater Los Angeles-based digital production studio. You can reach him at bryan@engramdigital.com.


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