(/ʃɪft/ v., n. ) 1. a process pioneered by FotoKem which gives filmmakers a post workflow on celluloid film while retaining the flexibility of digital acquisition.
The SHIFT analog intermediate process uses film as an intermediate element between the original digital capture and a newly scanned film element.
Early iterations of FotoKem’s SHIFT (circa 2001) used film recorders to shoot 25p PAL video to various stocks and lab processes to achieve unique looks.
Join hundreds of filmmakers who have used SHIFT to explore this unique film laboratory workflow (partial list below)
The SHIFT analog intermediate process imbues your digital footage with all the timeless beauty that only celluloid film is capable of
true photochemical color
classic blacks
silvery highlights
aesthetic distressing
softening
authentic grain
natural halation
subtle gate weave
color bias
texture / dust
Schedule a demo today and experience SHIFT in one of our theaters
SHIFT allows film artists to…
- Create a signature look for your film using an authentic palette of film stocks and lab processes
- Make VFX more seamless by blending them naturally and beautifully
- Unify the look of different camera formats, allowing more versatility in camera choices
…all while shooting digitally
“FotoKem’s SHIFT changed the identity of the movie, gave it its own personality in so many ways. Made all of the visual effects click in.” — Juel Taylor, Director of They Cloned Tyrone
“(SHIFT) just kind of weaves the image together and it really gives it that classic old-school feeling.” — Michael Chaves, Director of The Conjuring: Last Rites
SHIFT has two different workflows, depending on where you’re finishing your project:
SHIFT
Only for larger projects grading/finishing at FotoKem, where our colorists can provide a seamless matchback
- Ideal for feature-length projects
- Customized look development with iterative testing & exploration starting in pre-production
- Color managed and tailored during DI to ensure consistency after digital grade and look development
- Digital emulation process during DI for flexibility on trailers, specific shots or deliverables
- Workflow implementation to meet critical delivery specs and schedules
SHIFT auto
For projects grading/finishing at a non-FotoKem facility or with a non-FotoKem colorist
- Ideal for smaller projects, music videos, commercials, short films
- Choose from a list of film stocks and pre-defined options
- Not color managed or matched / Shifts from original submitted look
- Grade deliverables your own way, or book one of our in-house colorists
- Faster turnkey service, basic testing available for additional costs
The SHIFT analog intermediate process (in detail):
In a traditional digital intermediate, footage shot on film is scanned, edited, graded, and then “filmed out” on a film recorder as a “new” final negative for printing. This was a common workflow when film prints were the standard form of theatrical release.
FotoKem’s SHIFT analog intermediate is basically the opposite of a “digital intermediate.” With SHIFT, we take your footage shot digitally out to film on a film recorder, potentially using other lab and print processes, and then scan the new element back to digital for final grading and digital mastering.
Even though color grading is still often referred to as a “DI” or “Digital Intermediate,” technically most finishing processes are fully digital, using look development and a variety of digital tools or scanned overlays to add film looks to a digital image.
FotoKem’s SHIFT analog intermediate differs from this approach in that it allows filmmakers to use real film processes in a unique way, to gain the natural aesthetic of those film processes. Images sent through SHIFT acquire real grain, photochemical color, halation, weave, and other characteristics that audiences associate with the look and feel of film.
Traditional Digital Intermediate
(Cut Neg or IP)
Prints / Projection
DI With SHIFT Process
(Graded)
Create IP / Print
to create new digital
images for final
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is FotoKem’s SHIFT analog intermediate a normal archival filmout?
No, due to the processing between the steps of grading, filmout and scanning, typically the negatives created are not standard for printing and archival. Additionally, due to workflow and delivery schedules, this is best incorporated into the final grading process.
Can’t you just do this with a normal archival filmout?
Normal archival filmouts (not B&W separations) are typically used for making prints for theatrical release. In some cases they are also used as archival elements. These negatives will typically be made to reproduce the hero grade with very minimal change, as they are meant to reflect a match of the digital projection or monitor. A SHIFT negative / print will be used to derive the final look, which needs to happen well before the archival process.
Will the SHIFT analog intermediate process affect my final grade?
If the final color grading is done at FotoKem through the SHIFT process (not SHIFT Auto), we ensure as close a match as possible to the original digital grade, with a minimal trim pass. Typically, hours of grading for a final look has already been done, and the goal is to complete the final grade with the “SHIFT-ed” footage and avoid a full regrade, or with minor trims.
This is expensive, can I achieve the same thing with digital tools?
You can certainly get great results with emulation and digital tools, of which there are many options. Filmmakers have gravitated towards FotoKem’s SHIFT analog intermediate as it can provide the subtle and natural qualities of using real film and chemistry. Going through processing, IP and IN, pushing on various stocks, or printing and other lab processes, there are organic variations and unexpected results inherent to the medium. There are often subtle differences that artists feel on screen, in addition to enjoying the process of discovery, much like shooting on film.
What if I am grading a feature / episodic at another facility and would like to use FotoKem’s SHIFT?
We have created two pipelines. SHIFT is the process of in-house (at FotoKem) grading incorporated for a seamless match-back. “SHIFT Auto” will provide the process, but the scanned images returned will not be matched to the original grade. It will be up to the finishing facility or colorist to create and match footage with their color process.
How do you match the original grade?
In collaboration with our film lab, we are able to process, test, and iterate on a project by project basis to ensure a match. Due to the unique nature of this process, it’s not possible to guarantee a match to outside material that is graded at another facility. The complexity of image processing, look and LUT development, and grading for final output is quite technical and often unique to each facility. Though there are standards, once we process through an analog pipeline in this unique way, there needs to be a deliberate process for a proper match.
With SHIFT Auto, you will receive footage back that looks different. The results are subjective based on each show and filmmakers preference. In some cases people love the automatic results. In some cases people would prefer a trim pass. This can be highly complex and is one of the natural advantages of doing this during the FotoKem color grading pipeline.
So I’ll need more color work?
We have learned over several projects that the complexities of matchback can be challenging. Colorists and facilities that do this work understand the layers of complexity when it comes to color science, grading and image processing. In many cases, look development and final grading can take weeks of meticulous work in a grading suite or theater. Additionally, scheduling final delivery, quality control, versioning and archive needs to be incorporated into larger projects, so this process is best built into the final grading and mastering.
I have a short project, will SHIFT work for that?
SHIFT is ideal for short form projects, music videos, commercials, etc. Typically the best path is to provide a pre-graded or balanced final, choose the look path of SHIFT options, and we return a digital image that allows for additional trim. We can provide the full end-to-end color, the trim, or just send back the result for your colorist to complete. In some cases, filmmakers just use the final result with no additional tweaks— it just depends on what you’re going for.
Schedule a demo today and experience SHIFT in one of our theaters
