FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
In a bold move that solidifies their commitment to support motion picture film at the highest possible level, Cinelicious today announces their purchase of the SCANITY, a revolutionary new high dynamic range, 2K/4K electronically pin-registered scanner from Digital Film Technology.
Cinelicious’ Scanity comes fully featured and is able to scan both 16mm and 35mm film at up to 4K resolution. While anchoring Cinelicious’s 4K DI pipeline, the Scanity will also bring unique opportunities to their commercial and remastering clients, offering increased quality and efficiency over aging film scanning technologies (Spirit 4K, ARRI and Northlight). Please read on for the full story.
Quest for the Best
Cinelicious principal Paul Korver embarked on a year-long search for the best film scanning technology in the world. He had proprietary resolution test films made up in Prague that resolve 250 lp/mm, dynamic range targets from NY that go from 0-4 density, and shot registration charts at Panavision in Hollywood. He put these targets on a single reel of 35mm film meant to push the scanners to the extreme in 3 categories: resolution, dynamic range and registration/steadiness.
The tests took him to Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany to meet with manufacturers. Where possible he would have the scans done by a post facility. “Our clients are filmmakers, DPs and directors. They don’t get to have their film scanned by the manufacturer… they get it scanned at a post facility so the goal of this test was to get real world results… not numbers on a manufacturer’s spec sheet”. He used the test films to put all the market leading scanners through their paces. The Scanity was the clear winner. For the first time ever you can have:
Dynamic DIs – Full Dynamic Range Scanning
There is 3.1-3.3 density range on motion picture negative. Current technologies (ARRI, Northlight, Spirit 4K) capture only 2.2-2.3 density range. The Scanity’s new TDI Sensor and spectrally optimized LED light source far surpass current technologies with the ability to capture the full 3.3 density range on film. “What that means is that for the first time ever you can capture all the information on your negative. No more sitting in the DI Theater wondering if there’s more information in those highlights” says Korver.
VFX Qualified
VFX houses have the most demanding requirements for their film scans and often specify the shots must be “pin-registered”. This means they must be done from slow ARRI or Northlight scanners (not Spirit Scanners). The Scanity’s electronic pin-registration achieves the same steadiness as an ARRI (6μ = one 4K pixel) but can do so at much faster speeds.
Restoration Optimized
The Scanity is the first mastering-quality, sproketless scanner utilizing optical, touch-free pin registration. Since there are no sprocket teeth pulling the film along, or registration pins that can tear perfs, it is much safer for archival films. Add to this a precision roller-gate that flattens warped films, on-the-fly shrinkage correction, and IR dirt mapping and the Scanity begins to shine as the premiere film scanner to restore precious film libraries.
The Scanity’s Sprocketless Film Path, Audio Scanning Head, and Precision Roller Gate
Radiant Reds
The red layer of film has been difficult to scan without introducing digital noise and varies widely in its spectral response across different film stocks. Most scanning technologies have to pick a red spectrum somewhere in the middle, which is a compromise. The Scanity’s new LED light source is spectrally optimized per stock, resulting in some of the most stunning color rendition ever seen.
IR Dirt Mapping / Dust & Scratch Removal
An infrared camera system is set up to specifically identify any dust and scratches on the film and remove them from the picture, or embed them in the DPX file for later restoration.
Audio Scanning
A high performance audio scanner mounted into the Scanity film path reads analog optical mono and stereo audio tracks off 16 and 35mm film and magnetic audio tracks off 16mm film. Internal processing within the audio scanner compensates for any audio delays that are introduced, as well as any pitch changes due to film shrinkage or other factors.
“People often think that development is only happening in the field of digital acquisition and that no one is innovating in film. But when it comes to the R&D team at Digital Film Technology and Cinelicious that couldn’t be further from the truth. We are proud to be investing in the future of film and our colorists look forward to partnering with filmmakers to create stunning images with this huge leap in technology.”
The Scanity is available immediately at Cinelicious for the following stocks and resolutions:
2K: 16mm, S16mm, 35mm (all perfs), Vistavision,
4K: 16mm, S16mm, 35mm (all perfs), Vistavision
The recently finished Müller-Brockmann inspired “Der Film” Scanning room at Cinelicious. Positive Airflow (dust free). 24/7 Isolated Temperature Control. Pressurized air to scanners. 1/4 Petabyte of NetApp Data Storage. Quantum LTO-5 Robotic Tape Library.