A 'workprint' is a rough version of a
motion picture, used by the
film editor(s) during the editing process. Such copies generally contain original recorded sound that will later be re-dubbed,
stock footage as placeholders for missing shots or
special effects, and
animation tests for in-production animated shots or sequences.
For most of the first century of filmmaking, workprints were done using second-generation
prints from the
original camera negatives. After the editor and director approved of the final edit of the workprint, the same edits were made to the negative. With the conversion to
digital editing, workprints are now generally created on a
non-linear editing system using
telecined footage from the original film or video sources. (In contrast to a pirate "
telecine", which is made with a much higher-generation film print.) Occasionally, early digital workprints of films have been
bootlegged and made available on the
Internet.
There are also
Director's Cut versions of films that are only available on bootleg; for example, the workprint version of
Richard Williams' ''
The Thief and the Cobbler''. Although movie studios generally do not make full-length workprints readily available to the public, there are exceptions; for example, the "Work-In-Progress" version of ''
Beauty and the Beast''.