Tokyo Laboratory (Togen) installs new Cintel film scanner

With a history of more than 60 years and a benchmark in Japan, Togen, thanks to the Blackmagic scanner, will offer its clients the possibility of digitizing content with UHD definition in real time.

The Tokyo Laboratory LTD (Togen) laboratory, with a history of more than 60 years and a benchmark in Japan, has installed the new Cintel film scanner developed by Blackmagic Design to offer its clients the possibility of digitizing content with UHD definition in real time.

Togen also provides a wide range of advanced services that enable editing, grading and mastering of material recorded in DCP format, as well as more traditional services including film development, synchronization and printing.

Naoki Moriizumi, manager of the Digitization Department at Togen, acknowledges that "we were looking for a replacement for the system that is currently used. Cintel is not only capable of scanning content in real time, but it can also capture images and audio, so we can use it as a telecine. In addition, by using it in conjunction with DaVinci Resolve Studio, we will be able to work more efficiently."

Colorist Yasuhiro Matsumoto maintains that "one of the advantages of Cintel is its compatibility with three-perforated films. Today, this format is widely used in digital intermediates and television advertisements. In a typical shoot, four-perforated films are used, but for content delivered digitally, we record on three-perforated tapes. In addition, Cintel can be synchronized to direct a light source towards the center of the frame, even while the scanning process is taking place. On the other hand, On the other hand, there is no distortion whatsoever, since the film is kept on a flat surface when digitized. It is very useful to be able to obtain content in 30p format with UHD definition without having to make a large investment.”

"The device is very easy to use. It has been designed in such a way that if a mistake is made when loading a tape, the user receives a warning message and the film is not tensioned. In this way, damage to the negatives can be avoided," he adds.

Negative control

Katsuji Nishino, general manager of the Image and Media Department at Togen, points out that "one of the services we offer is developing the negatives. We use an HD telecine to verify the developed tapes. Generally, the films come in overnight and we deliver the developed material at the end of the next day. Previously we had to stop the device every time we wanted to check the quality of the material, which was not efficient. So we started looking for high-definition equipment that would allow us to control the negatives, and we saw the Cintel scanner during the Inter BEE fair last year. This product allows us to monitor the images during the digitization process using the HD monitor.”

Another advantage that the Togen team appreciates is the ability to include an identification system or “KeyKode” in the images used in offline editing. "Currently we digitize the tape in the HD telecine, then we add the identification numbers using Resolve, and finally we export the material in a QT file. The Cintel scanner will allow us to streamline our work process, since we will be able to capture the images directly from Resolve," concluded Nishino.