What is timing/color timing, and how does it affect the look of filmed images?
Color timing has a great effect on filmed images, as it controls the `look’ of the film, with respect to exposure and color balance, as well as scene-to-scene continuity. The color timer uses a machine known as a `Hazeltine’ ™ which reverses images on the original negatives and displays them on a television-like screen, and then turns dials to assign the image `printer’s points’ for each of the three primary colors (red, green, blue). These `points’ range from 0 to 50, with about 25 being `normal,’ with higher numbers making the image darker, and lower numbers making the image lighter. In practice, the `normal’ values vary depending upon the camera stocks used and the cinematographer’s personal preferences for exposure. When working with black-and-white films, only one set of points is used, as there is no color balance to worry about. In this case, the `timer’ simply manipulates the exposure of the image. Incidentally, the term `timer’ comes from the days before automated printers
