The last word in digital intermediate technology is now available at Dame Blanche Genval, in Wallonia. The only way to keep the initial 35mm shooting quality is to remain in 4K throughout the workflow. This is also the only way to achieve the best definition available in 35mm print or DCP digital print.

This technology is now available at Dame Blanche for a price similar to that of a 2K digital intermediate.

With a scanner capable of up to 6K and a grading station using a cluster of 6 computers and a massive 60 TB of memory, Dame Blanche is able to offer a full 4K DI, and at a price similar to that of a 2K workflow.

With the increase of hi-def shooting, the advantages of 35mm film stock are more and more disputed. No one doubts that 35mm film stock, when well exposed, represents the best quality anyone can imagine, but this is not often perceptible in cinema. And there is a simple reason for this.

In digital post-production film negatives are scanned. This operation is mainly done at a definition of 2K, which is similar to a picture of 3 megapixels, but also to the image shot by a digital movie camera. A huge amount of the information contained in the 35mm negative is then lost and the difference between 35mm and hi-def shooting can no longer be seen at the end of the DI workflow.

When scanned in 4K, which is similar to a picture of 12 megapixels, all the detail contained in the 35 neg is maintained. With a grading in 4K and a shoot in 4K with the new Aaton K used by FilmiK, also in Wallonia, the full splendour of film stock is preserved throughout the workflow. And at a reasonable cost.