A Trial and Error Method of Preparing a Motion Picture Sensitometer Tablet

In motion picture film laboratories sensitometers or timing machines frequently are employed for accurately determining the printing exposure required by the various scenes of a negative. One type of sensitometer consists essentially of a printing machine which exposes the negative onto positive film through a tablet made of areas of uniform density (each the size of a single motion picture frame) and of increasing density from one end of the tablet to the other. The density of the various steps of the tablet is such that with the proper time of exposure the positive film receives exposures over a distance of nine or more frames equivalent to those given by the various light steps on the printer. By examination of the developed sensitometer strip, the correctly exposed frame is then chosen by inspection and a number on the particular frame indicates the correct printer exposure (Fig. 1).

Print ISSN

0096-6460

Published

1927-09

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J13158