Appendix 1

Finishing on Film
You can also do an interlocked screening of the work print. You will need a temp dub of the sound
edit. Transfer this to either magnetic fi lm or DA88 digital tape. If you are editing at 23.98 FPS, you
will need to pull up the temp mix to the 24 FPS fi lm speed of the projection. (For more information
on this, see Chapter 7 on the sound edit.) You can take the project to an interlock screening room
and watch the movie. Look for sync problems. The fi nal sound edit and sound dub will be made to
a telecine of the work print.
While conforming the negative, the edited work print can be placed in the synchronizer with the
negative ensuring that the negative cut is correct. There can still be problems working this way: a
splice can break, a number be misread, any number of things. But, this is your best shot at avoiding
mistakes. Conforming work print costs time and money and, if everything is correct, it is totally
unnecessary. However it can prevent major problems if there is a mistake. Many projects go both
ways; you choose.
Cutting the Negative
Normally, a professional cuts negative. Much is at risk; a mistake can ruin a shot. If you have made
an expensive motion picture, it’s not likely you will want to risk the negative to save a few thousand
dollars. However, if you are working on a shoestring, you may have no choice. Or, you may want
to involve yourself in every aspect of making your fi lm. If you are conforming your own negative
to save money or simply to learn the process, it’s probable that you are using more affordable 16 mm
fi lm. Appendix 8 shows how to conform 16 mm fi lm.
Before the fi nal dub, the negative needs to be checked against the tracks to confi rm that the negative
is correct and in sync to the sound edit. This is a critical step if you are cutting the original negative.
Errors do happen, and if the negative is off a frame or two, there is little chance it can be fi xed.
Hopefully the problem is small and doesn’t create a problem that shows, like a fl ash frame or a
“dead” character opening their eyes. If the problem can’t be seen, all that is needed is to resync the
sound edit to the erroneous negative.
There are two ways to assemble the conformed negative. The most basic system is to simply splice
the shots together with glue splices. There are several problems with this basic system. First, the
splices can show. The glue splice reaches well into the frame and, on full-frame projection, the splice
will show at the bottom of the frame on every cut. However, most 35 mm prints are projected at
1.185 : 1 or 1.66 : 1, and in these aspect ratios, the splice will not show. In full-frame 1.33 : 1, Cinema-
Scope, and 16 mm, the splice will show. When cutting the negative, hiding the splice requires A-B
roll conforming.
Also many effects such as fades, dissolves, and superimpositions can be done when A-B rolling. In
straight cuts conforming, all effects must be optical, so that they can be cut directly into the negative
rolls. For more information on A-B rolling, see Appendix 8, on editing fi lm and conforming
negative.
To check the negative you need to make the fi rst print, or “fi rst answer print.” This will also be the
fi rst try at color correction. The fi rst answer print always has color problems; it is simply a fi rst
attempt to answer questions about the color timing. As there has not yet been a mix, the print is made
silent. This print is interlocked with a temp dub of the sound and projected. The temp dub is transferred
to magnetic fi lm or DA88 digital tape for this screening. It also needs to be pulled up to match
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