A diary on the use and running of our two flashscan HDs
Friday, 30 March 2012
Ancillary Items
We'll start off talking about some of the items we needed in order to be able to process the cine transfer orders we take in, whether from Super 8 or standard 8 mm cine.
The first challenge and probably the biggest was empty spools. Due to the speed at which the FlashScan HD works we need to be able to respool any small reels to form larger reels that run through the machine quickly and efficiently.
We spoke to specialist plastic and moulding company linic plastics who were able to handle the project from start to finish.
Starting with the design stage
once the design was finalised cutting of the moulds
Some fine tuning and hey presto a supply of precision 800ft 8mm cine spools!
Introduction to the FlashScan HD.
Lets kick off my new blog with a few simple lines about what the FlashScan has to offer.
The FlashScan takes cine transfers to a totally new level and moves away from using modified and so called updated projector technology.
The basis of a stable and precise transfer is a stable and precise movement of the film through the film deck or gate. In the days when cine film was projected the movement of the film was controlled by a toothed wheel/sprockets and a claw that pulled the film through the gate frame by frame. The vast majority of machines built for transferring cine to video and DVD, over the years, have still replied on this technology. Indeed for many years we used such equipment produced by ELMO of Japan and more recently Tobin Cinema systems in the US. It has always been apparent to us that whilst camera, video and now digital technology was moving at a pace film transport was not.
The FlashScan HD, after years of development and experience in the transfer of larger formats enables a radically new approach.
Your film is transported by a rubber coated capstan wheel driven by an extremely precise stepper motor that is in turn controlled by a laser which detects the sprocket holes in your film. As the film passes through the gate a flashing light source exposes each frame to a rapid burst of red light, then green and finally blue. All at a speed invisible to the human eye. By using individual bursts of each colour we can achieve superior colour from the dye layers with in your film. The light source is also scatter diffused which helps disguise any minor scratches on the film. Finally the images produced are captured by a camera which has a true native resolution of 1280x720(720p50) The output is then digitized and recorded on to our computer hard drives as large high quality AVi files ready for compression to DVD or BluRay. Should you wish we can also supply you with these files.
The whole process and operation of the machine is controlled by computer.
With 30 years in business and ever increasing demand for our services we are now running two FlashScan HDs and are proud to offer top quality results to all our customers.
Follow my blog for more info on the machine... our tips and tricks and general info on telecine.
The FlashScan takes cine transfers to a totally new level and moves away from using modified and so called updated projector technology.
The basis of a stable and precise transfer is a stable and precise movement of the film through the film deck or gate. In the days when cine film was projected the movement of the film was controlled by a toothed wheel/sprockets and a claw that pulled the film through the gate frame by frame. The vast majority of machines built for transferring cine to video and DVD, over the years, have still replied on this technology. Indeed for many years we used such equipment produced by ELMO of Japan and more recently Tobin Cinema systems in the US. It has always been apparent to us that whilst camera, video and now digital technology was moving at a pace film transport was not.
The FlashScan HD, after years of development and experience in the transfer of larger formats enables a radically new approach.
Your film is transported by a rubber coated capstan wheel driven by an extremely precise stepper motor that is in turn controlled by a laser which detects the sprocket holes in your film. As the film passes through the gate a flashing light source exposes each frame to a rapid burst of red light, then green and finally blue. All at a speed invisible to the human eye. By using individual bursts of each colour we can achieve superior colour from the dye layers with in your film. The light source is also scatter diffused which helps disguise any minor scratches on the film. Finally the images produced are captured by a camera which has a true native resolution of 1280x720(720p50) The output is then digitized and recorded on to our computer hard drives as large high quality AVi files ready for compression to DVD or BluRay. Should you wish we can also supply you with these files.
The whole process and operation of the machine is controlled by computer.
With 30 years in business and ever increasing demand for our services we are now running two FlashScan HDs and are proud to offer top quality results to all our customers.
Follow my blog for more info on the machine... our tips and tricks and general info on telecine.
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