Aaton 35 - Panavision

8.1 CONCEPTAatonCode, Aaton’s proprietary in-camera timecode system, is recordedin the AATON 35-III on the edge of the film between the perforationsin both matrix and man-readable form. As recorded in thecamera, a six digit production ID, a SMPTE-compatible real timeaddress (full date and time), an equipment ID and the runningspeed of the body.TimeCode is exposed onto the film by means of seven micro-diodes,which flash rapidly to form the code as the film rolls through thegate. The intensity of the diodes is adjusted to the film’s sensitivityby means of the camera’s ASA selection.The AATON 35-III can accept timecode information in bothASCII and SMPTE form, and work with all standard timecodedevices. Beacuse the same time address is running in both the cameraand the sound recorder, a slate is no longer needed for syncingpurposes; synchronization becomes fully automatic during thefilm/tape transfer or later post-production stages.An Aaton device called Keylink, which consist of CCD reader headsand a PC, and which is owned by the telecine house, is designed toread Keycode and AatonCode off the film during transfer and correlatethis to the continuous video timecode and all other transfer dataentry for storage on its hard drive. Keylink can also ingest scene/takeinformation and notes from the set recorded by means of Aaton’sScriptLink software.The facility can then supply all correlated information in VITC(vertical interval timecode) and/or burn-in windows on the transferredtape, and also on floppy disk for direct use with non linear editingsystems, audio workstations and logging programs.8.2 THE INTERNAL CLOCKThe AATON 35-III contains an internal clock designed to be initializedfrom an outside source and keep accurate time (within a half a78