Filmlook, Inc.

Filmlook, Inc. is a post-production company based in Burbank, California.[1] Established in 1989, it specializes in a form of image processing used on television programs, commonly known as film look.[2] The company has won an Emmy Award for its technical achievements.[3]

Filmlook, Inc.
IndustryFilm
Founded1987 (1987) in Burbank, United States
Area served
Worldwide
Products

This article is about the California company. For the eponymous video processing technique in general, see Film look.

History

In 1987, company founder Robert Faber began developing the company's process.[4] In 1989, the company was founded and introduced to the industry.[4]

Details

The Filmlook process affects three main features to achieve the appearance of film: motion characteristics, gray scale/contrast, and grain pattern.

  • Motion characteristics – With some video cameras, you see 60 interlaced pictures per second versus 24 in film. The Filmlook process attempts to replicate the feel of film. Newer digital cameras can shoot at a progressive 24 frames per second.
  • Greyscale/contrast – Filmlook alters the gray scale, color, and contrast to approximate the typical film characteristic – the "film density curve".
  • Simulation of grain pattern – A generated grain pattern that can be varied in intensity and attempts to imitate film grain by remaining static for the duration of each (imaginary) film frame (two or three fields).[4]

Background

Invented in 1989, the Filmlook image processing was first used in a test run in a 1991 episode of the ABC sitcom Growing Pains titled "Not With My Carol You Don't". However, the first television series to regularly use Filmlook was Beakman's World, a kid-oriented science series which ran from 1992–1996 on CBS. In 1995, Filmlook was used on the LL Cool J sitcom In the House. However, when the series moved from NBC to UPN in 1996, the series began using unprocessed video.

In recent years, Filmlook has become known for its use on nearly all Disney Channel Original Series made from 2002 to 2008 (except Phil of the Future which was shot on film). That's So Raven, which at one point was the channel's most-watched series, was the first Disney Channel show to use the processing. Since then, four other original series on the channel have had their taped product processed by the company: The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Hannah Montana, That's So Raven spinoff Cory in the House, Wizards of Waverly Place and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody spinoff The Suite Life on Deck. Filmlook processing has also been used on segments within the Nickelodeon series The Amanda Show for commercial parodies and the mock teen series Moody's Point.

List of television productions that use/have used Filmlook

†Denotes series that were previously or otherwise broadcast with unprocessed video.

See also

References
  1. Watson, Jack (August 31, 1995). "Hellooo, Dolly!". MovieMaker. Archived from the original on January 14, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. Digital Cinema: The Hollywood Insider's Guide to the Evolution of Storytelling
  3. staff (September 1, 1992). "1992 Emmy Winners". The New York Times.
  4. "FILMLOOK Media and Post is a post-production facility located in Burbank, CA". www.filmlook.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
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