Virtual telecine

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A virtual telecine is a piece of video equipment that can play back data files in real time. The colorist-video operator controls the virtual telecine like a normal telecine, although without controls like focus and framing. The data files can be from a Spirit DataCine, motion picture film scanner (like a Cineon), CGI animation computer, or an Acquisition professional video camera. The normal input data file standard is DPX. The output of data files are often used in digital intermediate post-production using a film recorder for film-out. The control room for the virtual telecine is called the color suite.

• The 2000 movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? was scanned with Spirit DataCine, color corrected with a VDC-2000 and a Pandora Int. Pogle Color Corrector with MegaDEF. A Kodak Lightning II film recorder was used to output the data back on to film.
• Virtual telecines are also used in film restoration.
• Another advantage of a virtual telecine is once the film is on the storage array the frames may be played over and over again without damage or dirt to the film. This would be the case for outputting to different TV standards (NTSC or PAL) or formats: (pan and scan, letterboxed, or other aspect ratio. Restoration, special effect, color grading, and other changes can be applied to the data file frames before playout.

Virtual telecine is like a "tape to tape" color correction process, but with the difference of: higher resolution (2k or 4k) and the use of film restoration tools with standards-aspect ratio tools.