A film synchronizer is a device used in the editing phase of filmmaking.
Film synchronizers generally have 1 to 8 "gang(s)", or slots through which film can be threaded. Each gang consists of a group of large diameter sprockets on a common shaft. A rotating knob on the front, which moves the threaded film through the gangs, operates the synchronizer's movement. At the same time, there is a mechanical numerical counter which records the amount of film that has passed through the gangs. The unit may have a counter that counts the number of frames, or the length of the footage. The entire purpose of the film synchronizer is to ensure that the film is in "sync" with other reels of film when it is hand-cranked through the gangs. The film editor may have a soundtrack on one gang, which can be read with an audio amplifier.
The synchronizer is used in conjunction with several other devices on what is called the editing "bench". The film synchronizer is specifically used to track the length of a reel of film.
Both 16mm and 35mm versions exist, as well as versions with both 16mm and 35mm sprockets geared together so that the same number of frames are transported on each section.
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Keykode is an Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification. It was introduced in 1990.
35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the 35 mm format photographic film, which consists of strips 1.377 ± 0.001 inches (34.976 ± 0.025 mm) wide. The standard image exposure length on 35 mm for movies is four perforations per frame along both edges, which results in 16 frames per foot of film.
Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format.
A movie camera is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either onto film stock or an image sensor, in order to produce a moving image to display on a screen. In contrast to the still camera, which captures a single image at a time, the movie camera takes a series of images by way of an intermittent mechanism or by electronic means; each image is a frame of film or video. The frames are projected through a movie projector or a video projector at a specific frame rate to show the moving picture. When projected at a high enough frame rate, the persistence of vision allows the eyes and brain of the viewer to merge the separate frames into a continuous moving picture.
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras. Modern movie projectors are specially built video projectors.
Film look is a process in which video is altered in overall appearance to appear to have been shot on film stock. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an unintentional by-product of some optical techniques, such as telerecording. The effect is the exact opposite of a process called VidFIRE.
A reel is a device used to store elongated and flexible objects by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a spool. Many reels also have flanges around the ends of the spool to help retain the wrapped material and prevent unwanted slippage off the ends. In most cases, the reel spool is hollow in order to pass an axle and allow it to spin like a wheel — a winding process known as reeling, which can be done by manually turning the reel with handles or cranks, or by machine-powered rotating via motors.
A film leader is a length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a projector or telecine. A leader attached to the beginning of a reel is sometimes known as a head leader, or simply head, and a leader attached to the end of a reel known as a tail leader or foot leader, or simply tail or foot.
A flatbed editor is a type of machine used to edit film for a motion picture.
On a bicycle, the cassette or cluster is the set of multiple sprockets that attaches to the hub on the rear wheel. A cogset works with a rear derailleur to provide multiple gear ratios to the rider. Cassettes come in two varieties, freewheels or cassettes, of which cassettes are a newer development. Although cassettes and freewheels perform the same function and look almost the same when installed, they have important mechanical differences and are not interchangeable.
In filmmaking, video production, animation, and related fields, a frame is one of the many still images which compose the complete moving picture. The term is derived from the historical development of film stock, in which the sequentially recorded single images look like a framed picture when examined individually.
Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or 1⁄25 of the original document size. For special purposes, greater optical reductions may be used.
A motion picture film scanner is a device used in digital filmmaking to scan original film for storage as high-resolution digital intermediate files.
A camera magazine is a light-tight chamber or pair of chambers designed to hold film and move motion picture film stock before and after it has been exposed in the camera. In most movie cameras, the magazine is a removable piece of equipment. Many still photo cameras also have removable camera magazines. A film cartridge serves the same function, but is usually not reusable.
High-speed photography is the science of taking pictures of very fast phenomena. In 1948, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) defined high-speed photography as any set of photographs captured by a camera capable of 69 frames per second or greater, and of at least three consecutive frames. High-speed photography can be considered to be the opposite of time-lapse photography.
Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting and steadying the film. Films may have different types of perforations depending on film gauge, film format, and intended usage. Perforations are also used as a standard measuring reference within certain camera systems to refer to the size of the frame.
A cue mark, also known as a cue dot, a cue blip, a changeover cue or simply a cue, is a visual indicator used with motion picture film prints, usually placed in the upper right corner of a film frame. Cue dots are also used as a visual form of signalling on television broadcasts.
A film chain or film island is a television – professional video camera with one or more projectors aligned into the photographic lens of the camera. With two or more projectors a system of front-surface mirrors that can pop-up are used in a multiplexer. These mirrors switch different projectors into the camera lens. The camera could be fed live to air for broadcasting through a vision mixer or recorded to a VTR for post-production or later broadcast. In most TV use this has been replaced by a telecine.
Standard 8 mm film, also known as Regular 8 mm film, Double 8 mm film, or simply as Standard-8, Regular-8 or Double-8 is an 8 mm film format originally developed by the Eastman Kodak company and released onto the market in 1932.
A sound follower, also referred to as separate magnetic, sepmag, magnetic film recorder, or mag dubber, is a device for the recording and playback of film sound that is recorded on magnetic film. This device is locked or synchronized with the motion picture film containing the picture. It operates like an analog reel-to-reel audio tape recording, but using film, not magnetic tape. The unit can be switched from manual control to sync control, where it will follow the film with picture.
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