Kodak film codes

Barbara Appelbaum <aandh<-a t->idt< . >net> writes

>Re: notch codes on film.  I recall from probably the mid 70's
>getting information on notch codes for 4x5 negatives which indicated
>what type of film they were.  This info was being used to try to
>figure out which were nitrate.  It turned out that some films which
>were not nitrate based had nitrate as an adhesive layer.  This was,
>however, a long time ago in terms of conservators' knowledge of such
>matters.  The information I got would be in the files of the
>Brooklyn Museum lab, but I assume there is more complete and
>up-to-date information available now.

Notch codes were used in motion picture film as well but for an
entirely different purpose and are very different from the date
codes.  In the "timing" or color correction process, notches were
often made by the laboratory in the film. These are physical notches
that are punched in the edge of the film, and the punch marks
themselves can be different, but look similar to what a train
conductor leaves in your ticket after he has passed through!  Film
types that received these are usually negative, camera original
reversal, dupe-negative, fine-grain internegative and other camera
original or intermediate stocks--generally not prints).  These are
physical notches, and the purpose is to trigger the optical printing
and timing equipment to provide the correct exposure and color
settings for that segment.  The practice  stopped a long time ago,
but there is still a great deal of film footage that has these
notches.  These notches can cause big problems in a film to
videotape transfer on a high quality transfer machine like a Cintel
or a Phillips telecine because they cause an instability in the gate
when passing through.  Because we deal specifically with old
footage, we have actually had to modify our machine so that it holds
the film properly even when these notches are going through the
gate.

There have been many audio and visual systems over the years that
have relied on many different types of physical codes on the media.
For example some audiovisual film strip and slide presentations had
metallic tape on the audio tape to trigger the filmstrip projector
or slide projector to advance.  As one might suspect, dealing with
these materials, long since the technology has passed these systems
by, is a problem.  The physical markings almost always cause
problems of one type or another on playback, and just trying to
figure out what the markings were for in the first place is
sometimes almost impossible.

Jim Lindner
VidiPax
The Magnetic Media Restoration Company
450 West 31 Street - 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-563-1999
Fax: 212-563-1994

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:44
                 Distributed: Friday, November 14, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-44-003
                                  ***