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This tutorial assumes that you have installed BCC 5 FxPlug into your FCP 6 host.
Understanding the Process.
Here are four basic processes, using a combination of filters from the BCC 5 FxPlug package, that when applied to video source clips can generate the illusion that these clips originated on film and not tape. These are:
Film and video have different temporal qualities - film is shot at 24 progressive (whole) frames per second while NTSC video is shot at 30 interlaced (half/single field) FPS and PAL video is shot at 25 interlaced (half/single field) FPS. Film then goes through a process called telecine, where the original film frames are scanned by a machine that digitizes the film images and also makes up for the difference in frame rates by periodically playing a selected frame twice throughout the clip. In NTSC this process is called 3:2 pulldown (in PAL it is called 2:2 pulldown) and is performed so that sequences of film and video clips can be mixed and matched on the same timeline in a non-linear editing system without a discernible difference in temporal quality. This filter can also simulate reverse telecine, which is where video clips at their native rate are slowed down to 24 FPS, the native frame rate for film. If it sounds complicated that's because it is ... but this filter makes the process very easy to understand and a simple task to accomplish.
Video is recorded by exposing an image through a video camera lens onto a digital light receptor, with the camera converting the image into magnetic particles on a piece of magnetic tape, while film is created by passing the image through the lens directly exposing the film emulsion, which consists of predefined lumps of red, green and blue grain that are held in suspension on a piece of transparent celluloid base material. The resulting images recorded with a film camera are quite different to that of video, with video often referred to as having a cold mechanical look and film having a warm organic look due in part to the fact that film grain is constantly changing from frame to frame and has a random appearance while video "noise" is much more predictable and uniform.
Adding the BCC Match Grain filter to a video source clip lends a truly organic film grain appearance to the video by adding moving colored or black and white film grain to the clip. The filter includes auto-animating Kodak grain signature files and also includes the ability to sample and match grain from any clip in the timeline - important when trying to mix video and film source clips side by side in the same sequence.
Unlike magnetic video tape, which is available for use immediately after it has been shot, film must first be processed, typically through a machine that contains rollers which transport the film through a series of separate tanks containing developer, fixer, water and ultimately a heater stage, which is used to dry the film. The chemicals and speed of these machines are calibrated to specific film types for accuracy, predictability and color / tonal fidelity. The speed of the transport, the temperature, alkaline and acid activity levels and type of chemicals that are used all contribute to the final look. Some cinematographers alter the normal development process to achieve a particular look or feel such as the Bleach Bypass look where the stop bath cycle is skipped and the film is fed directly from the developer tank and into the fixer tank. What this means is that the film will continue to develop until the fixer solution has effectively stopped the development process. The result is an overdeveloped contrasty tonal range with over-saturated color and a slight silver tint because not all of the silver halide (which is part of what film emulsion is created out of) is removed.
With the BCC Film Process filter we can control things like selective gamma / gain / glow adjustments, and overall color tinting with warm and cool preset looks and also where we emulate film / developer mixing and matching with special tank processing effects such as Bleach Bypass or Color Push etc. Pre-lens effects such as misting can also be accomplished with this filter by adjusting a few simple parameters.
Film is adversely affected by time and handling - time will dull out the overall color fidelity resulting in grain color fading and the celluloid base becomes yellow as it is exposed to light. I'm sure we have all seen what happens to film when it is played through a projector a few times - like all plastic, static electricity causes film base to attract dust, lint, hair and other airborne particulate matter and add to that the fact that the 3 layers of grain that carry all of the color information is soft and easily scratched.
The BCC Damaged Film filter can be used to simulate the effects of age and handling and in addition to this it can also be used to add projector lamp flicker and gate weave to lend the final touch of photorealistic film emulation.
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