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Celco Fury

Nov 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Ken Hayward
Rainmaker

High-quality Film Output on a Consistent Basis

Vancouver-based Rainmaker began modestly in 1979, offering Rank-Cintel film scanning, then state-of-the-art 1in. video editing, and service in all aspects of the video post process. Things picked up over the years, with the addition of our own CineFilm lab, more scanners and workstations, and an active and growing digital content creation department.

Until recently, there were not many choices when it came to film recorders, and even those few products had their limits. The Kodak Lightning Laser, for example, was pretty much a Kodak-only device. The Management Graphics Solitaire needed Quantel's help to overcome the phosphor glow problem.

While the Celco MPR film recorder was so far over engineered that most casual users couldn't really understand it, we liked the results and decided to use it for our main film output.

Over the past 11 years, since we put in our first Celco MPR, both the art and the science of digital film recording have come a long way. Historically, the quality of the final film varied widely, with each facility relying on its own particular alchemy from its resident magician, whose formulas were more closely guarded than the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices.

Today, the alchemic factor is minimal as a result of more emphasis placed on strict adherence to the film manufacturers' published film specifications. To that end, the actual film recording equipment must be capable of absolute repeatability, day after day, month after month.

Our clients have consistently remarked on the fidelity of our Celco recorder. In fact, our very first output in 1994 caused panic in the screening room. The director was screening the finished reel, and when the optical shot came up, he was convinced the original neg had been mistakenly cut in. He had been expecting the optical to feel different. Only when the composited bird flew through the shot did he realize what he was looking at, and he could finally relax.

Originally, digital film facilities were optimized for small, individual optical shots. Slow exposure times of 30 seconds per frame were adequate when producing 50ft. of film per day. Today, with entire DFI feature film outputs being the norm, the film recorders become the bottlenecks and exposure throughput of 2,000ft. per day becomes the minimum requirement.

Our first full-length digital film intermediate output took place in 2001, requiring 32 days of camera time and one very understanding client. After deciding we needed higher throughput, we looked around for a newer, faster film recorder than our Celco MPR. Additionally, we wanted to expose slower intermediate film stock, which was not possible on the MPR.

With our stated goals of speed, flexibility, repeatability, image fidelity, engineering excellence, and cost of throughput, we performed an intensive evaluation of three competing film recorder technologies. After three months of testing, the Celco Fury stood out as our film recorder of choice, and the one most closely matching our needs.

It quickly proved itself. Four weeks after installation, we used the Fury for another DFI feature. Exposing 10,000ft. of intermediate stock in five days, we screened the final for the client. Pleased with the output, he immediately shipped it off for distribution.

Of the many Celco Fury advantages, the one we most rely on is the ability to alter the scan patch on the CRT. On any given day we find ourselves recording Full Aperture 35 Duplicate alongside High Definition Academy 1.77, as well as Anamorphic High Def Scope 2.4.

The ability to alter the scan patch means our scope output has twice as many horizontal pixels as other fixed pixel film recorders. Also, our high-definition output contains more pixels than that of competing technologies.

The Fury incorporates a touchscreen on the main unit. In addition to controlling the camera, the touchscreen also shows us each and every frame as it arrives at the camera. I must confess, we initially thought of this as eye candy, but in fact, it has become a feature we rely on every day.

Because we have used Celco recorders for many years, we have developed quite a few proprietary software tools for operation and calibration, but the Fury ships with a full software suite from Celco as well.

After installation calibration, we found that our Fury has retained its geometry and colorimetry to within a deviation of less than 1 percent over the past six months. The image resolution is superb, and our clients consistently remark on how pleased they are with their images on the large screen.

Our film lab maintains Eastman Lab certification and operates as a dailies lab. Thus, we print at the same lights every day, week after week. Our Celco film output has never failed to meet Eastman spec for digital intermediate.

At the end of the day, however, the true test of a film recorder is how well it stands up to daily use, how faithfully it translates the client's vision onto the big screen, and how readily the owner would install another identical one.

For us, we know we made the right choice with the Celco Fury. For our clients, we consistently receive thanks for a sparkling digital film experience. And for the future, unless technology makes a quantum leap, we would not hesitate to choose another Celco Fury for expansion.

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Ken Hayward is the director of technical development for Rainmaker. Since 1990, he has participated in the evolution of film recorder technology, as well as the design of several film recorders of various types.

With more than 160 employees, Rainmaker, Vancouver, British Columbia, is the largest postproduction facility in Western Canada, offering the full gamut of services from film processing to digital effects to final film output. In operation since 1979, Rainmaker's credit list and current projects can be found at www.rainmaker.com.

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