Top quality professional transfer of 8mm and Super 8mm film

[BJ_M]

would be very time consumming for 1500+ feet of film - and you would have to add registration pins also ...

http://8mm2avi.netfirms.com/

[mysts]

To: BJ_M

This is exactly what I was referring to. My film is in such bad shape(old) that I would have to do it at home. This should do it. Thanks for the reply. The scanner that you recommended seems to be around $100.00 does that sound about right? thanks

[marksk918]

Home Movie Depot
866-386-6843

Home Movie Depot only does telecine transfers (no frame-by-frame). They transfer 8mm and 16mm film. Their projecter uses an enlarged gate but some of the picture is still cropped. According to Ryan, the transfer is done "directly into a 3CCD Sony DXC series broadcast camera not aerial". The video signal than goes into a server in uncompressed AVI format. If MiniDV is the requested format it is output to tape from the server.

Cleaning is done as needed. "Sticky rollers" are used to clean dust, dirt and hair from the film (sounds like it's similar to using a lint brush on clothing). Bad and broken splices are also repaired and the film is transferred onto larger reels when the film is received. Super 8mm sound is transferred at no additional charge. The audio is captured at the same time as the image capture. No true color correction is done. The camera (or software?) has auto white tracking which "retones (refines) the color".

They also offer online editing where you can create titles, add music and arrange your movies. A DVD copy of the video is kept for two weekd in case of loss in return shipping. They use FedEx and UPS. They said a 2-3 week turnaround is to be expected for a standard order.

They will also do a free sample 50ft reel.

[marksk918]

please let me know if i leave anything out. i can always call back to get the answer. also, feel free to copy and add any info you may have.

[troyvcd1]

I think it is important to note the process. Homevideodepot looks like it uses a projection machine and technicians to adjust the video. This does not do a frame by frame transfer of your video and can be suspect to flicker and hot spots.

[dcsos]

Whats wrong with these folks?:
DuArt
245 W. 55th St.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 757-4580
www.duart.com
Comments: Great and relatively inexpensive, does color and B&W.
or
Pro8mm
2805 W. Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 848-5522
Fax: (818) 848-5956
www.pro8mm.com

[marksk918]

These are on par with Cinepost (877-493-6494). Cinepost uses a Rank Turbo for transfer and uses the Da Vinci color correction system. They charge $50 hour for preparation of the film (clean, splice, place film on larger reels), $135 an hour for the transfer, which includes a technician monitoring the film and making the corrections. They said you can expect one hour of film to take 2-3 hours to process.

There's nothing wrong with any of these, they're the best you can get. Of course, you're paying more for it and it's outside the budget of some people (myself included).

A friend at work showed me the transfer she had done at a local shop and the flicker was noticeable (especially on the whites). I had a sample done by Wooland (real time transfer) and did not notice any flicker.

[marksk918]

Forever on DVD
(519) 746-5708

Forever on DVD is located in Waterloo, Ontario, but gets most of it's business from the states. They use the Sniper Pro by Moviestuff for their frame-by-frame transfers (they do not offer real time transfers). The projector has an enlarged gate. The camera used is a 3 CCD broadcast camera. The signal is then passed to a workstation via component inputs where the pulldown is done to bring the film to 30 fps. As mentioned in a previous post, they offer uncompressed 10 bit 4:2:2 captures to your hard drive. If the desired output is to miniDV, the capture is done to a DV format on the workstation and then output to tape.

When the film is first received it is cleaned with a set of rewinds and inspected for bad sprocket holes and bad splices. There is no charge to repair splices if there are not too many. They can accomodate Super 8mm sound film. The audio is captured in a second pass and then synched to the video. There is an additional 15 cent (CND) per foot charge for sound.

I emailed them with a few additional questions and received a response a few hours later. On color correction, they said, "Yes, we do colour correct, however we focus mainly on fixing film where the wrong filter was used or sometimes to correct obvious problems that we can easily see. The problem that we most often face is not knowing exactly how a scene looks in real life. We do our best, but without you sitting beside us while the transfer is taking place, it can only be our best guess. Our main concern is making a digital copy of film as accurately as possible. We see ourselves more as a film archiving service." They keep the original digitized file son their system for a month after the transfer in case there is a problem or the client wants advice on their video. They also provide a forum on their website where they will answer questions.

I looked into shipping costs. FedEx ground seemed reasonable and they use Purolator to ship to the US.

[troyvcd1]

So What is better Sniper pro or Rank Turbo. Anyone know???

[BJ_M]

Rank plus Da Vinci going to cost a whole lot more and can output higher resolution and very high quality ... but frame by frame transfer by a sniper pro going to be excellent also at lower cost

[ps2daddy]

you forgot http://www.homemoviedepot.com/film/index.php

which has a description of thier equipment there also -- plus offers on-line proofing and editing

I live about 1 mile away from these guys they do stuff from all over the world I fixed a guys ps2 that worked there and he told me what they do and how they do it , its very profesional

Seemed like a good place to me

Update: I see that you already checked there and I guess you are looking for a direct frame by frame transfering not telcine

[bhinkle]

Check out http://www.videoconversionexperts.com

We offer 4 different transfer processes from the cheap real-time transfers to high definition transfers. We also specialize in restoring film and offer the only frame by frame film restoration service in the USA. Any questions, let me know.

Thanks, Brad Hinkle
Video Conversion Experts

[Marvingj]

Here's a quick rundown for getting Super8 movies onto DV tape.

1) Clean the film. You can buy film cleaning solution, use a VERY soft
hankie, take your time.

2) Set up the projector such that its image fills an A4 sheet of
beautifully white and matt paper.

3) Make sure the projector is perpendicular to the screen.

4) Have the lamp on max bright.

5) Set up the DV cam on a tripod, aimed at the projected image on screen.

6) Set the focus manually. Lock the exposure. Set white bal to daylight.
Yes, daylight. [some have other opinions. Experiment. -jpb]

7) have some room light on to dilute the contrast, just as you would when
you 'flash' slide film to make copy transparencies.

8) Use your TV as a big viewfinder.

9) Record to DV tape or to VHS or to your PC for adding titles, effects,
fades, transitions, colour correction later.

10) If transferring mute Super8 shot at 18fps you'll need a variable speed
projector to avoid strobing. If you're 50Hz PAL the projector will have to
run at 16 2/3fps to give no flicker. If you're NTSC you're going to have
more fun trying to get rid of the flicker.

11) If you're transferring sound film, take the audio out of the projector
and into the audio in of the VCR. Don't go into the mic in socket.
[although if you're shooting with the TRV900, you don't have any option. -jpb]

12) When the transfer's in progress, ride the exposure control constantly.
Movie film, even bad movie film, records a much wider dynamic range than
tape can handle, so you're out to compress this range by constantly varying
the camera's aperture. You'll need lightning reactions, and it'll make you
sweat.

13) If possible, use an f1,3 projector lens rather than the f1 it comes
with.

14) If muck in the gate is spoiling the original footage, don't be afraid
to zoom in gently to edit-on-the-run.

15) Have a practice run first. And remember - like painting your front
door, the best results come with the most painstaking preparation.

[alegator]

I posted on this topic and there's useful info:
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=308968&highlight=

[avidtech]

Hi, couldnt help but notice a running advert for hemdepot and I guess that's OK but I just wanted to note that true frame by frame telecine is not that readily available, Frame by Frame telecine is a different and outstandingly superior film transfer method than any old projetor based real time transfer for several reasons but the top reason is that each frame of film has it's own video frame so you do not get motion blur or fuzziness inherent with any projector method PERIOD.

If you have a spare 6 grand you can buy a machine like the DV8 Sniper Pro for super 8 abd normal 8mm transfers from moviestuff.tv.
In Australia there is a company called Abid Tech which also exports to the UK and USA as well as asia and Australia wide

You can find the one page intro about this service
and unlike a lot os service providers they also sell super 8 Ektachrome 64t and you can get it developed and transffered to DVD. Whew, they are my best source for all super 8 goodies and spools etc.
url] http://gippsland.com/web/AVIDTECH/

[DVDInfinity]

DVD Infinity scans movie film (all small gauge formats - 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, 9.5mm, etc) at highest quality available, one frame at a time. We have happy customers in over 40 countries .

see DVD Infinity at www.dvdinfinity.com.au

Yes. We also provide films, leader, reels, splices, film cement etc for 8mm, Super 8 and 9.5mm film as well as process 8mm, Super 8 and 9.5mm film.