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Chapter 2. Motion Picture Film

2.1. Camera Negative Film

Negative film is still the most
widely used acquisition medium for
feature film productions. One of the
reasons for this is that negative film
can capture a wide contrast range in
a scene.
General Characteristics
Figure 2.1 shows a cross section of
a color negative film. The first layer
is sensitive to blue light. A yellow
filter layer prevents any blue light
reaching the green-light-sensitive
and the red-light-sensitive layer,
which are sensitive to blue light as
well. When developing the exposed
film, yellow, magenta, and cyan
dyes are formed in the three layers.
Photographic negative film produces
its maximum amount of image dye
from a maximum exposure and its
minimum amount of dye from a
minimum exposure. The result is an
image where the tonal range and the
colors are inverted.
Human Perception
The brightness perceived by humans is correlated to the
logarithm of the luminance. A series of gray values
incremented by a constant factor (e.g. 50, 100, 200, 400,
... cd/m2) is perceived as uniformly increasing. In relative
logarithmic units the series would be written as 0, +1, +2,
+3, +4, ... (stops) or 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, ... (log exposure). A
series of gray values incremented by a constant offset (e.g.
50, 100, 150, 200, 250, ... cd/m2) is not seen as uniform
by the human eye; the perceived brightness differences
become smaller and smaller.
As a consequence one should note that the human eye can
notice smaller absolute luminance differences in the
shadows than in the highlights of a scene. An observer
may see a difference between 10 and 11 cd/m2 but can’t
see a difference between 400 and 401 cd/m2.
Figure 2.1. Cross section of color negative film before
and after processing.
The yellow filter layer prevents any blue light from
reaching the green-light-sensitive and the red-light-
sensitive layer, which are sensitive to blue light as well. It
is removed during the developing process of the negative.

Figure 2.2. Characteristic curve of a color negative.

Exposure
The exposure of the negative
depends on the luminance of the
objects in the photographed scene.
The absolute level of the luminance
is compensated by choosing an
appropriate combination of film
speed and lens aperture. The relative
luminance of the objects determines
the tonal composition of the image.

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The luminance of surfaces is

measured in candela per square
meter or foot lambert. Both are
linear scales, that means a surface
emitting or reflecting twice as much
light as another has double the
luminance. In the scene of
Figure 1.1, the pathway (3) is
approximately 16 times brighter
than the deep shadows in front of
the house (1). Some of the sun
reflections on the roof (5) are again
32 times brighter than the pathway.
The dynamic range, the ratio of the
The figure shows how a negative records the relative
brightest to the darkest part in this scene luminance as film densities. Marked are the
scene, is approx 500:1. locations of the 2% black, 18% gray, and 90% white
Photographers and point. The scene luminance is expressed as log exposure,
where 0.3 units equal one stop. Only the density of the
cinematographers prefer to measure green layer is shown and it’s measured above base
exposure in “stops”. That is a meaning the density of the unexposed film is subtracted.
logarithmic scale, in which a surface The slope of the straight part of the curve, known as
“gamma”, is around 0.6. Therefore, an exposure
emitting or reflecting twice as much increment of 0.3 log E increases the density by 0.3 * 0.6 =
light as another is “one stop higher”. 0.18 log D.
In other words, the pathway in
Figure 1.1 is 4 stops higher than the
shadows and some of the highlights are 5 stops above the pathway. The dynamic range of
the scene is 9 stops.
Another scale for exposure, used in densitometry, is relative log exposure (log E). A
change of one stop equals 0.3 log E. Table 2.1 gives a comparison of the different scales.
You don’t need to learn those scales; important is to know the relation between stops, log
exposure, and linear exposure.

Table 2.1. Exposure scales.

Absolute Relative
EV Log
cd/m2 fl Stop Zone Ratio Ratio (%)
(100/21) Exposure
1 0.28 0.082 -10 -3 1/1024 0.10%
2 0.56 0.16 -9 -2.7 1/512 0.20%
3 1.1 0.33 -8 -2.4 1/256 0.39%
4 2.2 0.65 -7 -2.1 1/128 0.78%
5 4.5 1.3 -6 -1.8 1/64 1.56%
6 9 2.6 -5 -1.5 0 1/32 3.13%
7 18 5.2 -4 -1.2 I 1/16 6.25%
8 36 10 -3 -0.9 II 1/8 12.50%
9 72 21 -2 -0.6 III 1/4 25%
10 143 42 -1 -0.3 IV 1/2 50%
11 287 84 0 0 V 1 100%
12 573 167 1 0.3 VI 2 200%
13 1147 335 2 0.6 VII 4 400%
14 2294 670 3 0.9 VIII 8 800%
15 4588 1339 4 1.2 IX 16 1600%
16 9175 2678 5 1.5 X 32 3200%

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Absolute Relative
EV Log
cd/m2 fl Stop Zone Ratio Ratio (%)
(100/21) Exposure
17 18350 5356 6 1.8 64 6400%
18 36700 10712 7 2.1 128 12800%
19 73400 21424 8 2.4 256 25600%
20 146801 42849 9 2.7 512 51200%
21 293601 85698 10 3 1024 102400%

Exposure value (EV) for a certain film speed and luminance (in fl or cd/m2) are absolute scales, while the other
scales in Table 2.1 are relative. The reference point for the relative scales is arbitrarily set at EV 11. Any other
value could be used as well.
If incident light with an intensity of one foot candle (=10.76 lux) falls upon a perfect diffuse reflector then one
foot lambert (1 fl = 0.292 cd/m2) is reflected. If the reflectance of the object is 18% the luminance would be 0.18
foot lambert. This is a rare example of an imperial unit system being easier to use than metric units.

Transmittance and Density

A transparent material like film absorbs some of the light passing through it. The ratio of
the transmitted to the incident light is called transmission or transmittance. For example,
the illumination level is 200 units, and a piece of film placed between the light source and
the sensor reads at 100 units: the transmittance is 0.5. Transmittance decreases with the
darkness of the film.
Opacity is the reciprocal value of transmittance. It increases with the darkness of the
sample, so it is a more convenient way of expressing blackness than transmittance, but its
numerical value can range from 1 to 10,000.
Therefore, density (the common logarithm of opacity) is often preferred to transmittance or
opacity. Like opacity, density increases as the film darkens. Density has the additional
advantage that it accords with our perceptual judgments of how dark a sample is. In
making a visual judgment, you would tend to describe a density of 1.0 as being about twice
as dark as a density of 0.5. In this document density is written as “log D”.
With color negative film the density of each of the three dye layers has to be measured.
This is done with a so-called “Status M” densitometer. Status M is an ISO (International
Standards Organisation) standard specifying the spectral ranges of the visible light used to
measure the three layers. Measuring “above base” means to subtract the density of the
unexposed film. More information about Status M is given in the appendix.

Relation between Transmittance, Opacity, and Density

The mathematical relation between transmittance, opacity, and density is summarized.
transmittance = transmitted light / incident light
opacity = 1 / transmittance
density = log( opacity )
transmittance = 1 / 10 ^ density

Characteristic Curve
Current color negative materials can capture a dynamic range of 9 stops (approx 500:1 in
linear scale) or more. Have a look at Figure 1.1 again, where markers show five parts with
specific tonal values.

1. Deep black. This part of the scene is so dark that there is almost no exposure of the

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negative; no details are visible.

2. 2% black is the lowest value with some visible details. It is 3 stops below midgray.
3. 18% gray is regarded as the average reflection in a scene.
4. 90% white is 2.5 stops above midgray.
5. Highlights are 2 stops above the white point.

Figure 2.2 illustrates how the negative reproduces the tonal range of the scene as film
densities. Such a graph is called the characteristic curve of the film. Note the relation
between the log exposure and the resulting density is linear over a wide range. The “toe” is
the slow increase of density at the bottom of the curve. The maximum density of the
highlights sits around 1.6 log D above base. If there were even brighter highlights in the
scene we would see a roll off at the end of the density curve, which is called “shoulder”.
The slope of the straight part of the curve is known as the “gamma” of the film. The
gamma of a typical motion picture color negative film is 0.6.

Table 2.2. Scene luminance, log exposure and negative densities

Scene Density
Stops Label Zone Log Exposure
Brightness Above Base
-4 2/3 D-Min [1] -1.40 1% 0.00
-4 1/3 -1.30 1% 0.01
-4 I -1.20 1% 0.02
-3 2/3 -1.10 1% 0.05
-3 1/3 -1.00 2% 0.11
-3 2% Gray [2] II -0.90 2% 0.17
-2 2/3 -0.80 3% 0.23
-2 1/3 -0.70 4% 0.30
-2 III -0.60 5% 0.36
-1 2/3 -0.50 6% 0.43
-1 1/3 -0.40 7% 0.49
-1 IV -0.30 9% 0.56
-2/3 -0.20 11% 0.62
-1/3 -0.10 14% 0.69
0 18% Gray [3] V 0.00 18% 0.75
1/3 0.10 23% 0.81
2/3 0.20 29% 0.87
1 VI 0.30 36% 0.93
1 1/3 0.40 45% 1.00
1 2/3 0.50 57% 1.06
2 VII 0.60 72% 1.12
2 1/3 90% White [4] 0.70 91% 1.18
2 2/3 0.80 114% 1.24
3 VIII 0.90 144% 1.30
3 1/3 1.00 181% 1.36
3 2/3 1.10 229% 1.43
4 IX 1.20 288% 1.49
4 1/3 1.30 363% 1.55
4 2/3 D-Max [5] 1.40 457% 1.61

The numbers in the column titled “Label“ refer to the markers in Figure 1.1. Enlarged portions of the marked
areas are displayed in Figure 3.7.

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2.2. Intermediate Film

For protection against loss and
Figure 2.3. Grain structure of intermediate film (left)
damage the original camera negative and of camera negative film (right).
(OCN) is copied to an intermediate
film producing an interpositive (IP).
This positive is printed again on the
same material resulting in an
internegative (IN). A large-scale
cinema release needs several IN’s to
create the prints.
Both images are enlarged portions of scans done with the
General Characteristics ARRISCAN and represent a film area of approx. 0.1 mm2.
The camera film has a speed of 100 ASA. This type of
The cross section through an camera negative film (Kodak 5248) is sometimes used in
intermediate film looks similar to CRT film recorders.
the structure of negative film (see Figure 2.4. Density histogram of an unexposed film
Figure 2.1). Intermediate films are
less sensitive than negative films
and therefore have a much finer
grain as one can see in Figure 2.3.
The fine grain is desired because the
duplication process should not
introduce additional grain to the
image. The density of intermediate
films (both IP and IN) is measured
with Status M.

Characteristic Curve
Intermediate film is designed to
have a characteristic curve that is
linear over a range of 2.0 log
exposure, so it can reproduce the
density range of camera negative
films; the gamma is 1.0. Since
camera negative always shows
grain, even in the unexposed areas
(see Figure 2.4), the IN has to be
heavier than the OCN. Otherwise,
one would lose some of the grain
structure in the shadows. As shown
in Figure 2.5 the density in the IN is
shifted by approximately 0.2 log D.
The printing process is monitored
with the Laboratory Aim Density
(LAD) method introduced by
Kodak. The LAD is a patch with
standardized density in the negative. This patch is printed to specified aim densities when
The actual density of the unexposed 500 ASA camera
negative film ranges from –0.2 log D below and 0.2 log D
above the average base density. Without an offset of 0.2
log D in the internegative the grain distribution would be
truncated to the left of the zero line.
Figure 2.5. The IP/IN process
Click to see enlarged figure
The numbers on the vertical axis in the graph are relative
densities above base. The numbers beside the bars are
absolute density values. In red for example, the OCN
LAD value of 0.8 is printed to an IP LAD value of 1.15.
This leaves enough room to accommodate the density
range above and below the LAD (hatched in different
angles) in the IP. The IP LAD is finally copied to an IN
LAD of 1.00. The density range in the IN is the same as in
the OCN, though the densities above base are shifted by
0.2 log D.

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making internegatives, interpositives or prints.

The laboratory controls print density and color balance by increasing or decreasing the
intensity of each primary color of light in steps called printer points. Since the
development of the Bell & Howell Model C printer most manufacturers have standardized
on a range of 50 light points in 0.025 log E increments. Some laboratories, however, use
other exposure increments.

2.3. Print Film

General Characteristics Figure 2.6. Cross section of color print film before and
after processing.
In Figure 2.6 one sees the order of
the dye forming layers in print film
is different from negative film. The
first one is green-sensitive, followed
by the red-sensitive and The order of the dye forming layers in print film is
blue-sensitive layer. different from negative film
The density of print film is Figure 2.7. Characteristic curve of print film.
measured with a different spectral
curve, named “Status A”, which is
another ISO standard for
densitometry.

Characteristic Curve
The characteristic curve of print film
is steeper and more S-shaped than
the one of negative film; compare
Figure 2.7 with Figure 2.2. The
density range of print film is much
higher, it’s almost 4.0 for standard
release print material. As a result the
midscale gamma is around 3. The characteristic curve of motion picture print film is
Like the IN/IP process the print steeper and more S-shaped than the curve of negative
film, the gamma is around 3.0.
process is controlled by the LAD
method. The aim density for the Figure 2.8. IN to positive printing curve.
LAD patch in the print is around
1.0.
Printing an internegative onto print
film results in a relation between
negative and positive densities that
is illustrated in Figure 2.8. The
normal placement of the LAD and
of the 90% white, 18% gray, and 2%
black tonal values is shown as well.

Projection

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When a color negative or an IN is

printed onto print film and
projected, the resulting print-
through curve, the relation between
scene and screen luminance, is
shown in Figure 2.9.
The gamma of the print-through
curve has a midscale value of 1.8[1].
Also, one can see a shadow and
highlight compression in Figure 2.9.
There are three reasons that the
grayscale of the motion picture
system is not one-to-one with the
original scene. Note that the exposure of the print film decreases with the
density of the negative. That is why the orientation of the
1. Reduced contrast. Motion curve is reversed compared with Figure 2.7.
picture print film has a density
Figure 2.9. Motion picture print through curve.
range of 4.0 log D. From this
one could expect to have a
luminance ratio of 104:1 or
10000:1 in the projected
image, which would exceed
the recorded scene contrast.
But the actual screen contrast
is reduced by stray projector
light and from light that first
reflects of the projection
screen to surfaces in the room
and than reflects back to the
screen. Both effects are
summarized as viewing flare,
which is 0.5% to 1% of the The scale of the vertical axis is the common logarithm of
maximum screen luminance the relative screen luminance, which is called visual
density.
for good projection rooms. The black line is the optimum print through curve, while
0.5% seems to be a small the gray line shows the influence of 0.5% flare on the
number but Figure 2.9 shows projected image.
Note that the horizontal axis represents the relative log
how flare reduces the contrast exposure of the camera negative film that was used to
in the projected image from photograph the scene.
10000:1 (4 log D) to 200:1
(2.3 log D). Therefore, the
motion picture system has to squeeze a scene contrast of 500:1 or more into a screen
contrast of 200:1.
2. Low absolute luminance level. The absolute luminance level of a projected image
(around 50 cd/m2) is low relative to that of most original scenes (several hundreds
cd/m2). This will result in the image being perceived as having lower luminance
contrast and less colorfulness. The high photographic gamma of the motion picture
system can be, in part, explained as a compensation for these effects.
3. Lateral brightness adaptation. When a motion picture print film is projected in a

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darkened room, there are few other visual references. Images viewed in a dark
surround appear to have less contrast than images viewed in a dim or light surround.
This effect occurs because the dark surround causes dark areas of the image to
appear lighter, while having little effect on the light areas.

Since the observer will adapt to the projected image itself, it is acceptable to reproduce a
white at a density higher than the minimum density of the print film (look at the 90% level
in Figure 2.9). This makes it possible to use some of the density range of the print film to
reproduce information corresponding to luminance levels above white, like specular
highlights. By comparison, reflection images, photographic paper prints for example, must
reproduce whites at densities close to the minimum density because the typical viewing
environment contains white objects that essentially control the brightness adaptation of the
viewer. A reflection image with darker whites would look too dark.

2.4. Summary
Photographic negative film linearly records log scene luminance as density.
The print through curve of the motion picture system is not linear. It introduces a
compression of the shadows and highlights and has a gamma of approx 1.8 in the
midtones. There are several reasons for this transfer curve.
1. Reduction of the scene contrast to a lower screen contrast.
2. Decrease of the scene luminance level to a lower screen luminance.
3. Brightness adaptation of the observer in a dark surround.
Projected images can display highlight information that is not visible in reflection
images.

[1]
This is calculated by multiplying the negative-gamma by the print-film-gamma: 0.6*3=1.8

© 2005 Harald Brendel, Arnold & Richter Cine Technik

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