Film generation

Today my topic is: “Film generation (original negative, fine grain or projection print, answer print, work print, etc.)”

For a preservationist, it’s important to think about the life-cycle of a film object, starting with its beginning in the camera, through its adolescence as it is edited and processed, its middle-age as it reproduces into prints, to its somewhat final resting, as its decaying body is kept alive in an archive. Now, with digital technology, many of the traditional processes used in the creation of a film are done digitally, but film archives, of course collect old films, which could have been created in a number of ways. When dealing with issues related to ‘restoration,’ preservation, and arguments about different versions of a work, knowing what element of the film you have in your collection could be important.

Generally, it seems that film archivists want to preserve the version that is as close to the first generation as possible, though different versions may also be valuable and interesting for research purposes. If a film gets re-made and is further away from the original print, quality can be lost. We have probably all noticed that quality is lost when film is transferred to video, but the same thing can happen through generations of film, especially if they are not handled well or if it is a popular film and many copies are made.

As, I’m unfamiliar with a lot of this terminology, I’ll try to provide the definitions of some of the things I’ve been asked to write about:

OCN: The original camera negative (OCN) is defined on Wikipedia as “the film in a motion picture camera, which captures the original image. This is the film from which all other copies will be made. It is known as raw stock prior to exposure.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_camera_negative).


Workprint: “After the film is processed by the film lab, they will assemble the camera rolls into lab rolls of 1200 to 1500 feet. Workprints may be made for viewing dailies or editing the picture on film.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_camera_negative).

“A workprint is a rough version of a motion picture, used by the film editor(s) during the editing process. Such copies generally contain original recorded sound that will later be re-dubbed, stock footage as placeholders for missing shots or special effects, and animation tests for in-production animated shots or sequences.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workprint).

Answer print:

“Answer print refers to the first version of a given motion picture that is printed to film after color correction on an interpositive. It is also the first version of the movie printed to film with the sound properly synced to the picture… They are used by the filmmaker and studio to ensure that the work going in to the film during the post-production process is cohesive with the final goals for the project.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_print).


Interpositives and Internegatives

“After approval of the answer print, interpositives (IPs) and internegatives (INs) are created, from which the release prints are made.

…the IPs and INs are regarded as the earliest generation of the finished and graded film, and are almost always used for transfers to video or new film restorations.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_camera_negative).


“An interpositive, IP or master positive is an orange-based motion picture film with a positive image made from the edited camera negative… The interpositive is made after the answer print has been approved. All lights and opticals from the answer print are repeated when striking the interpositive, and once the IP exists, the original negative can be vaulted.

…[it] historically has had only one purpose, namely, to be the element that is used to make the internegative…the only time the IP is touched is on the occasion of making the first or a replacement internegative. Since interpositives are used so rarely, they are usually the film element that is in the best condition of all the film elements." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpositive).

“An internegative is motion picture film stock used to make release prints for distribution to movie theatres” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internegative).

Release print:

“A release print is the reel of film that is sent to a movie theater for exhibition.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Release_print).

I’m assuming that the fine grain print and the projection print are somewhat similar to what is called here the “release print.” Anyone can correct me on that if they have more information about that. Thanks.