This article employs a media archaeology framework to critically examine the evolution of image processing in film and video production. The author illustrates how different tools constitute distinct creative practices by comparing the optical printer and Dan Sandin’s Image Processor. Through detailed analysis of these machines, he challenges traditional narratives of technological progression, suggesting a more complex relationship between analog and digital media forms. The discussion extends to the implications of these tools in shaping film and video aesthetics and methodologies, urging a reconsideration of how technology influences artistic expression and perception in media.