A method of processing a polycrystalline film on a substrate includes generating a plurality of laser beam pulses, positioning the film on a support capable of movement in at least one direction, directing the plurality of laser beam pulses through a mask to generate patterned laser beams; each of said beams having a length l′, a width w′ and a spacing between adjacent beams d′, irradiating a region of the film with the patterned beams, said beams having an intensity that is sufficient to melt an irradiated portion of the film to induce crystallization of the irradiated portion of the film, wherein the film region is irradiated n times; and after irradiation of each film portion, translating either the film or the mask, or both, a distance in the x- and y-directions, where the distance of translation in the y-direction is in the range of about 1′ / n-δ, where δ is a value selected to form overlapping the beamlets from the one irradiation step to the next, and where the distance of translation in the x-direction is selected such that the film is moved a distance of about λ′ after n irradiations, where λ′=w′+d′.