Negative
cutting
employs
two
terms
that
create
some
confusion.
A-roll
and
B-roll.
DO
NOT
CONFUSE
THIS
WITH
A-WIND
AND
B-WIND!
This
is
NOT
referring
to
the
direction
the
emulsion
is
wound
on
a
roll
of
film
-
A-roll
and
B-roll
refers
to
two
rolls
of
negative
that
have
been
cut
and
arranged
into
two
alternating
but
equal
length
reels.
Sound
confusing?
It
really
isn't.
When
a
splice
goes
by
on
the
screen,
it
looks
like
a
hairball
or
a
fuzzy
wad
of
whatever
going
past
the
lens.
There
is
no
way
to
hide
this
if
we
were
to
assemble
the
negative
on
only
one
roll.
To
hide
these
ugly
splices
and
make
invisible
splices,
the
negative
is
assembled
into
an
A-roll
and
a
B-roll.
This
makes
clean
cuts
and
transitions
like
dissolves
possible.
It
also
gives
the
lab
space
to
change
color
correction
and
density
filters
for
each
shot.
Make
sure
to
ask
your
lab
how
they
want
you
to
indicate
dissolves
and
other
transitions
for
your
A/B
rolls.
Don't
assume
anything
when
it
comes
to
your
negative.
A/B
rolling
works
like
this:
two
empty
reels
are
put
onto
the
same
rewind.
Both
reels
are
wound
with
equal
lengths
of
leader
(the
academy
leader
has
the
familiar
10
second
countdown
and
a
"start"
cue).
The
A
roll
is
done
first:
A-ROLL
The
frame
that
is
marked
"start"
is
followed
by
a
2
second
length
of
black
leader
spliced
on
the
A-roll
(24FPS
means
a
piece
48
frames
in
length).
A
clean
hot
splice
is
made
so
the
edge
of
the
black
leader
completely
covers
the
ugly
hot
splice
at
the
beginning
of
shot
1A
(the
fuzzy
splice
is
blocked
by
the
clean,
black
edge
of
the
leader.
The
EDL
says
shot
1A
is
exactly
24
frames
long,
but
actually
has
an
extra
frame
(splice
relief)
reserved
on
each
end
for
splicing.
B-ROLL
The
frame
that
is
marked
"start"
on
the
B-roll
is
where
a
length
of
black
leader
is
spliced
to.
The
black
leader
is
not
just
2
seconds
in
length
(to
perfectly
match
the
2
seconds
on
the
A-roll),
but
is
an
additional
24
frames
long
so
it
exactly
matches
(and
covers
with
black
leader)
the
duration
of
the
first
splice
(shot
1A)
on
the
A-roll
to
prevent
a
double
exposure
later
in
printing.
Shot
1B
is
not
spliced
to
the
A-roll,
but
is
spliced
to
the
B-roll.
Shot
1B
is
1
second
in
length
(24
frames
long).
A-ROLL
At
the
end
of
shot
1A,
a
piece
of
black
leader
is
spliced
onto
the
A-roll.
This
leader
is
exactly
1
second
(24
frames)
in
length,
exactly
matching
the
length
of
shot
1B
on
the
B-roll.
Shot
1C
is
then
spliced
[alternating]
to
the
A-roll.
AND
SO
ON...
The
idea
is
this,
by
alternating
which
roll
the
next
shot
appears
on,
the
ugly
splice
marks
are
hidden
behind
the
clean,
sharp
edge
of
the
black
leader
on
the
opposite
roll.
Exactly
as
one
scene
on
a
roll
goes
black,
the
next
scene
on
the
other
roll
comes
on
-
making
a
perfect,
glitch
free
cut,
masking
the
glue
and
scraping
marks
once
these
two
rolls
are
contact
printed
onto
a
single
roll
of
new
film.
