The entire Process

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by morymb

Hi, I'm looking for information on the entire process of how a film is transferred. I was hoping to maybe get some points in the right direction concerning this. My biggest curiosity is in how the studios/distributors would copy the film print into a "master" to be endlessly duped for the home video market. I am also curious as to the differences between these masters as time goes by. What kind of format these masters are on; i.e - what kind of master fora VHS release back in 1985 as opposed to modern day. What format? Tape? Must've been, right? All this kind of stuff I am very interested in. I know that sometimes a blu-ray is made using the original film, but I am more curious as to how a lot of transfers occur using an older master/newer master. What is this master? And what is the technical process of transferring these masters to VHS, DVD, and BD? Any docs out there? Thanks very much!

History buff, eh? If you have a serious passion for learning about the entire process, then there are some good old books (cira 2001 and such) available on the cheap from Amazon to aid your research/study, I would recommend, e.g.…. http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Postprod.../dp/0240805062 ,
which even gets into more esoteric topics like telecine drift.

On a historical note, with regards to film transfer equipment and the earliest of Blu-ray movies (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...-55910367.html ), the master for the very first (original) Blu-ray release of The Fifth Element was generated by using a flying spot telecine, whereas the Remastered version was derived by harvesting the IP with a film scanner.