Table of Contents
Advertisement
%
3.5.
INTRODUCTION TO MATRIX TIME CODE
OPERATION
TC35 SENSOR= 200. This is indicating that you are testing the 35 mm
sensor. To switch to the 16mm sensor press the SHIFT + MODE keys.
The number shows the current intensity setting required to get a reading
from the sensor. If you remove the film from the head the number should
be in the range of 150 to 200. If you put a piece of paper in where the film
normally goes, the number should go to 999. When you remove the paper
it should go back to the original value. If the number is a lot greater than
200 (when there is nothing in the head) that indicates that there may be dirt
blocking the sensor and you are not getting the best reading possible.
Carefully remove the dirt by blowing compressed air into the sensor
openings. You should do this for both 16 and 35 mm.
Do not use fluid cleaners such as alcohol to remove dirt from the head as
this may cause damage to the sensor electronics.
Matrix time code is a seven by thirteen matrix of dots that are laid down on
the margin area of film by Super 16 and 35mm Aaton, Panavision and
Moviecam film cameras. There is one matrix associated with each frame of
the film. The dots contain production time code and date, and other user
bit information set in the camera's hardware. The frame rate of the time
code numbers corresponds to the rate that the film was exposed. (i.e. film
exposed at 24 frames per second will have 24 fps time code, etc.) On
specific frames of film, there is human readable time, date, and user bit text
to facilitate identifying the film information by eye.
One 'V' row (perpendicular to the motion of the film) and one 'H' column
(parallel to the direction of motion of the film) border the matrix. The V row
and H column are alternating on/off dots to indicate where the rows and
columns are positioned on the film. Inside the V/H border, is a matrix of
seven by twelve dots containing the time code, user bit and checksum
information.
On 16mm film the matrix is positioned in between the sprocket holes on the
edge of the film where the KeyKode normally is found. On 35mm film, the
matrix is located between the perforations and the edge of the film on the
opposite side to the KeyKode.
The TC VAL READ extended display gives and indication of how well the
5550 is reading the matrix time code from the film. On 35mm film, the
human readable Matrix code numbers will reduce the theoretical maximum
reading value to approximately 90%. On 16mm film, the human readable
Matrix code numbers, and interference from the human readable KeyKode
numbers will reduce the theoretical maximum reading value to
approximately 70%.
factors that influence the readability of the matrix time code.
Model 5550 Universal Film Data Decoder Manual
See section 3.5.1 for a discussion of the various
Page 3-15
Advertisement
Table of Contents
