internegative

An internegative (IN) is a negative film created from an original camera negative or from an interpositive, intended to provide a master for producing multiple positive prints. It is part of a traditional film laboratory duplication workflow designed to protect the original negative while enabling controlled, large-scale production of releases.

In common practice, the camera negative is first used to create an interpositive—a positive image used for timing, color balancing, and optical adjustment. The interpositive then serves as the source to produce the internegative by contact printing onto negative stock. The internegative acts as the master from which release prints are produced by contact printing onto print stock. This two-step path allows color timing and density corrections to be made on a working positive intermediate (the IP) and then faithfully replicated from the IN without repeatedly handling the camera negative.

Internegatives were especially important in the era of film-based distribution, where many copies were required and the camera negatives could be fragile or in need of careful preservation. The IN thus helped balance archival safety with the practical demands of producing consistent prints for theaters.

With the rise of digital mastering and direct duplication workflows, the use of internegatives has declined in modern production. They remain of historical importance and are encountered in archival restoration and certain preservation contexts, where maintaining the integrity of the original negative is paramount. See also interpositive, color timing, and film duplication.