Super 8 Film to Video TXFR

[Keyplayer]

Hey Guys. I hope this is the right section to post this question.

I'm looking for that interface device that lets you play super 8 films into it to turn into videos (with the obvious end result being a DVD). But I don't know what the machine is called or where I could purchase one. Can anybody point me in the right direction on this?

Thanks

[SLK001]

Here's a good place to start:

http://homepage.mac.com/onsuper8/diytelecine/index.html

You may not be up to building up a system yourself, but this gives you a good idea of what is involved. Also has plenty of interesting links.

[filmboss80]

If your films have sound, it is best to get a Super 8 telecine projector, for starters. Years back, one company made a unit with a video imaging chip built-in, but the quality was not that great. It would be best to use a video camera to shoot the projected image.

If your films have no sound, a variable speed projector can be used. You adjust the speed until the video flicker stops. There are film-to-tape transfer boxes where you can project the image into one port with your projector, while aiming your video camera lens into another port to get a straight-on recording of the film image.

Projectors and transfer boxes are commonplace on Ebay. There are also many, many services that do can it for you.

No one makes a direct Super 8 film-to-DVD unit. I own a set-top DVD recorder and can feed my video camera signal into it. If I want to edit extensively, I will record to tape, then capture and edit the footage on my PC (using Adobe Premere). Afterward, I'll encode the video to MPEG-2 and send it to my DVD authoring program (Sonic DVDit! Pro).

I do high volume work and can afford to do all these steps. You might really want to think about using an outside service to do your film transfers for you. It just depends on how much work you are willing to put into it.

Hope this helps.

[Keyplayer]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your help.

I'm going to transfer a bunch of my parents reels to teach myself the process. Then, depending on the results, I was thinking that I might offer the service as an option from my studio. IF I can develop a market in my area for this, I won't be concerned with the amount of work required to get it up and running.

[Richard_G]

I've just converted 21 rolls of Super 8 to DVD by simply projecting the cine onto a screen from about 18" away. Project at a slight angle and then put MiniDV camcorder on a tripod at exactly the same height and offset at the reciprocal angle. Play the film and record on the camcorder. After that it's simply a case of transferring and turning into a DVD in the same way as any other MiniDV footage.

However, you do need a decent camcorder (I used my Sony VX2000E) with manual shutter speed selection, white balance, focus and zoom. You also need to be able to turn off any image stabilisation and you may also need a neutral density filter. With a bit of trial and error the results can turn out pretty good.