Page "Film stock" Paragraph 36

The distinction between camera stocks and print stocks involves a difference in the recording process.

When the work print or edit master has been approved, the Original Camera Negative ( OCN ) is assembled by a negative cutter using the edited work print or EDL ( edit decision list ) as a guide.

A series of Answer Prints are then made from the OCN.

During the Answer Print stage, corrections in the film's density and color are corrected ( timed ) to the filmmakers ' tastes.

Interpositive ( IP ) prints are struck from the OCN, checked to make sure they look the same as the custom timed Answer Print, and then each IP is used to make one or more Dupe Negative ( DN ) copies.

The release prints are then generated from the DN ( s ).

Recently, with the development of digital intermediate ( DI ), it has become possible to completely edit, composite visual effects, and color grade the image digitally at full resolution and bit-depth.

In this workflow, the answer print is generated digitally and then written out to the IP stage using a laser film printer.