Cineon
Encyclopedia
Cineon System was a computer based system, integrating a film scanner and recorder hardware, digital software for compositing and effects, image restoration, color management and the development of a proprietary file format designed by Kodak
. These components were created to support the work flow of digital intermediate
film production. Tape drives and workstations were also included in the system. The system was first released in 1993 and was abandoned by 1997. As an end-to-end solution for 2K and 4K digital film production, the system was well ahead of its time. The major components of the system (scanner, workstation software, and recorder) have all received AMPAS
Scientific and Technical Awards.
Kodak no longer sells the system or its components; however, the “Cineon” (.cin) file format that Kodak defined still is commonly used in the film visual effects
world. (The Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) file format is also used in those applications; DPX files commonly store pixel data encoded according to Cineon Printing Density.)
has some interesting differences from other formats such as TIFF
and JPEG
:
SMPTE
standardized the format further into a related format called DPX
which can store more varieties of image information as well as additional header information.
The Cineon 10 bits per pixel color space provides 1024 levels of color as opposed to 256 levels of color in 8 bits per pixel color space.
10 bit YUV and 10 bit RGB are industry standard. This is documented and recognized by the Society Of Motion Picture Television Engineers: SMPTE 259M
, SMPTE 292M
, SMPTE 296M, SMPTE 372M
.
Digital Film Center in 1992, which became the premier test site for Cineon. In 1993 Cinesite used Cineon in the digital restoration of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
, which became the first film to be entirely scanned to digital files, manipulated, and recorded back to film. The restoration project was done entirely at 4K resolution and 10-bit color depth using the Cineon software to digitally remove dirt and scratches and restore faded colors. After the demise of Cineon Glenn Kennel worked with Philips
to extend the Spirit DataCine
to Cineon-compatible digital file output, first applying it to the film "Pleasantville" in 1997. Philips licensed some of the technology from Kodak, mainly the front end (lens, optics and CCDs).
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
. These components were created to support the work flow of digital intermediate
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
film production. Tape drives and workstations were also included in the system. The system was first released in 1993 and was abandoned by 1997. As an end-to-end solution for 2K and 4K digital film production, the system was well ahead of its time. The major components of the system (scanner, workstation software, and recorder) have all received AMPAS
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
Scientific and Technical Awards.
Kodak no longer sells the system or its components; however, the “Cineon” (.cin) file format that Kodak defined still is commonly used in the film visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
world. (The Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) file format is also used in those applications; DPX files commonly store pixel data encoded according to Cineon Printing Density.)
Cineon file format
The Cineon file format was designed specifically to represent scanned film images, and ithas some interesting differences from other formats such as TIFF
Tagged Image File Format
TIFF is a file format for storing images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems...
and JPEG
JPEG
In computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
:
- The pixel data represents "printing density", the density that is seen by the print film. Thus, Cineon files are assumed to operate as part of a reproduction chain keeping whatever values are originally scanned from a negative or positive film. Any negative can be reproduced on the recorder retaining the original neg's characteristics (such as color component crosstalk and gamma) — and thereby retaining the negative's “look” if it were directly printed. The original Cineon color data metric printing densities were based upon 5244 intermediate film. Conversion of Cineon Printing Density (CPD) to Status-M can be estimated with a 3x3 matrix or by using tables contained in the Kodak 'Digital LAD' document. This document shows a specific relation between Cineon Code values and Status-M densities.
- The data is stored in log format, directly corresponding to density of the original negativeNegative (photography)In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
. Since the scanned material is likely a negative, the data can be said to be "gamma with log encoding". - To evaluate original scene luminances from Cineon data, the camera negative characteristics must be known. (Such characterization is known as "unbuilding.") Such characterization is aided by exposing a sensitometric strip so that the actual developing gamma can be determined. The film can be unbuilt by using the unique per-layer contrasts of the color negative.
- In a Cineon (.cin) file, each channel (R,G,B) is 10 bits, packed 3 per 32-bit word, with two bits unused.
- Conversion to computer displays or to video typically involves the notion of the "black point" and "white pointWhite pointA white point is a set of tristimulus values or chromaticity coordinates that serve to define the color "white" in image capture, encoding, or reproduction. Depending on the application, different definitions of white are needed to give acceptable results...
" used for conversion to more limited range video signals. Conventionally, these points are 95 and 685 on the 0-1023 scale (but should be adjusted based upon actual negative content). Pixel values above 685 are "brigher than white", such as the sun, chrome highlights, etc. The concept of a 'soft clip' was introduced to make the rolloff of whites more natural. Pixel values below 95 represent black values exposed on the negative (the clear base of the film). These values can descend in practice as low as pixel values 20 or 30.
Documentation
Conversions to the Cineon format were defined in a Kodak document by Glenn Kennel, Conversion of 10-bit Log Film data to 8-bit Linear or Video DataSMPTE
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE , founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is an international professional association, based in...
standardized the format further into a related format called DPX
DPX
Digital Picture Exchange is a common file format for digital intermediate and visual effects work and is an ANSI/SMPTE standard...
which can store more varieties of image information as well as additional header information.
The Cineon 10 bits per pixel color space provides 1024 levels of color as opposed to 256 levels of color in 8 bits per pixel color space.
10 bit YUV and 10 bit RGB are industry standard. This is documented and recognized by the Society Of Motion Picture Television Engineers: SMPTE 259M
SMPTE 259M
SMPTE 259M is a standard published by SMPTE which "... describes a 10-bit serial digital interface operating at 143/270/360 Mb/s." The goal of SMPTE 259M is to define a Serial Digital Interface , called SDI or SD-SDI....
, SMPTE 292M
SMPTE 292M
SMPTE 292M is a standard published by SMPTE which expands upon SMPTE 259M and SMPTE 344M allowing for bit-rates of 1.485 Gbit/s, and 1.485/1.001 Gbit/s...
, SMPTE 296M, SMPTE 372M
SMPTE 372M
SMPTE 372M is a standard published by SMPTE which expands upon SMPTE 259M, SMPTE 344M, and SMPTE 292M allowing for bit-rates of 2.970 Gbit/s, and 2.970/1.001 Gbit/s over two wires. These bit-rates are sufficient for 1080p video....
.
History
In 1990 the Cineon system began its birth. Glenn Kennel was the architect of the Cineon digital film system and led the development of the Cineon CCD film scanner and film recorder over the next couple of years. He helped launch Kodak's CinesiteCinesite
Cinesite Ltd is a digital visual effects and post-production facility in London and one of the largest such companies in Europe...
Digital Film Center in 1992, which became the premier test site for Cineon. In 1993 Cinesite used Cineon in the digital restoration of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
, which became the first film to be entirely scanned to digital files, manipulated, and recorded back to film. The restoration project was done entirely at 4K resolution and 10-bit color depth using the Cineon software to digitally remove dirt and scratches and restore faded colors. After the demise of Cineon Glenn Kennel worked with Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
to extend the Spirit DataCine
Spirit DataCine
Spirit DataCine is a telecine and/or a motion picture film scanner. This device is able to transfer 16mm and 35mm motion picture film to NTSC or PAL standards or one of many High-definition television standards. With the data transfer option a Spirit DataCine can output DPX data files. The Spirit...
to Cineon-compatible digital file output, first applying it to the film "Pleasantville" in 1997. Philips licensed some of the technology from Kodak, mainly the front end (lens, optics and CCDs).