telecine

Telecine is the process of transferring motion picture film to video so that films shot at the cinema can be shown on television, broadcast formats, or home video. The goal is to reproduce the film’s original image sequence with minimal perceptual artifacts while fitting the target video timing.

Traditional telecine uses a film projector and a video recording system or a dedicated telecine scanner to generate a stream of video frames from the film. Because cinema film typically runs at 24 frames per second, a rate-compatible video system requires converting to a higher frame rate (for NTSC-based systems, 29.97 frames per second) or to 25 frames per second (for PAL systems). This is accomplished by inserting pulldown frames or fields, with the most common scheme in NTSC being 3:2 pulldown.

Inverse telecine (IVTC) is a related process used on some video sources to remove the pulldown and reconstruct the original 24 fps film frames for progressive presentation, often during digitization or editing.

Telecine is distinct from film scanning, which samples each frame at a higher resolution without preserving motion cadence. Telecine emphasizes motion continuity and timing suitable for broadcast, while scanning aims for pixel-level fidelity. In modern workflows, digital intermediates and high-resolution film scans are increasingly used, but telecine remains common for archival material, masters intended for broadcast, and legacy catalogs.

History: The term telecine blends “tele-” (far) and “cine” (cinema). Early telecine equipment became widespread in mid-20th century television to enable cinema content to be aired. It remains an established method for converting film to various video standards, though many productions now rely on digital capture rather than traditional telecine for new material.