Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Reading Kodak 2383 edge codes?

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 02-28-2002, 02:57 AM:

Is it possible to use Kodak edgecodes on print film as a poor man's substitute for a frame counter? Somehow I got it into my head that edgecodes contained footage/frame information, but that certainly does not seem to be the case for 2383 print film, at least not in a non-cryptic way.

I hunt around on the Kodak web site and find: H-1 Film Identification, which documents the first 13 digits, though miscounts it as 12 digits. This counting error seems to be in a number of places...
H-1 Sizes Available gives some more info about (3rd field of the 13-digit).

What makes me wonder is that the edgecode seems to be printed with minor spacing variations throughout the print. Ocassionally a few characters change also. For instance, the reel I was looking at tonight had:

2383 521 102 1 20 KOD.AK 22 2001 M
2383 5 21 102 1 20 KOD. AK 22 20 01 N
2383 521 102 1 06 KOD.AK 22 2001 M
23 83 521 102 1 0 2 KOD. AK 22 2001 Q
23 83 521 102 1 20 KOD.AK 22 20 01 N
23 83 521 1 02 1 22 KOD.AK 2 2 2001 N
2383 5 21 102 1 22 KOD.AK 22 2001 N
2383 521 102 1 22 KOD.AK 200 1 N

What's with the spacing games? The unique identification codes seem to be:

2383-521-102120
2383-521-102106
2383-521-102102
2383-521-102122

(Yes, there were three lab splices on this one reel, for which 4 different film stocks is consistent. This is clearly my punishment for saying, over in the I got a film-tech print thread: "they could start a new 6000' run into the printer and take off the first two reels as splice-free, and then collect all the short ends together and give the rest of us prints with 6 lab splices to a reel.")

2383 is clearly KODAK VISION Color Print Film 2383. 521 is the emulsion batch number. 102{102,106,122,122} are evidently strip numbers.

Anyhow, what's the rest? Do the position of the "extra" spaces, or the fact of the varying last letter represent a bizarre way to encode footage (in a backward-compatible way, perhaps?).

--jhawk
(who is quite curious at this point)

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-28-2002, 08:13 AM:

For print film, the spacing between edge identification numbers may vary, and should NOT be used as a measure of footage. The "gaps" in the numbers and addtional characters provide further manufacturing information so Kodak can track any roll to the precise day, equipment and person who made it.

You may be thinking of Kodak KeyKode, which is the precision edgeprinting used on camera negative and intermediate films:
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/products/keykode/index.shtml

The Association of Cinema and Video Laboratories (ACVL) handbook says the following about lab splices:

"In release printing, it is recommended that there be a maximum of two splices per 400 feet of 16mm or 1000 feet of 35mm. These two splices may be insert splices, or one of the two splices can be a raw stock splice. There should never be two raw stock splices in the same reel. It is further recommended that spliced raw stock not be used in trial prints, dailies, TV spots or recording prints. It is customary practices to charge a premium for release prints that have no raw stock splices."

http://www.acvl.org/4c.htm

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 585-477-5325 Cell: 585-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion