Original Camera Negative - Procedures in The Laboratory

Procedures in The Laboratory

After the film is processed by the film lab, camera rolls are assembled into lab rolls of 1200 to 1500 feet. Workprints may be made for viewing dailies or editing the picture on film.

Once the picture has been "locked" in editing, a negative cutter will conform the negative using the Keykode as a reference, cutting the OCN and any opticals, and cementing it together into several rolls.

The edited original negative is then copied to create a safety positive which can be used as a backup to create a usable negative. At this point, an answer print will be created from the OCN, and upon its approval, interpositives (IPs) and internegatives (INs) are created, from which the release prints are made. Generally speaking, the OCN is considered too important and delicate to be used for any processes more than necessary, as each pass through a lab process carries the risk of further degrading the quality of the negative by scratching the emulsion. Once an answer print is approved, 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. The OCN is usually regarded as a last resort in the event that all of the intermediate elements have been compromised or lost. Ironically, the more popular a film is, the higher the likelihood that the original negative is in a worse shape, due to the need to return to the OCN to strike new IPs to replace the exhausted ones, and thus create more INs and release prints. Before 1969, 35mm prints were struck directly from the original negative, often running into hundreds of copies, and causing further wear on the original.