How do I transfer a Kemco HoMovie?

[Todd Ruel]

Hey, all.  Since a lot of you on these forums have been in the business a long time and have probably seen it all, I have a challenging question for you.

What's the best way to digitize and then edit together a vintage Kemco HoMovie from 1931?

This short-lived format shot 4 images in the space that a single 16mm image occupied on film.  The Kemco HoMovie projector would then project the movie showing the A frame, then the B frame.  Then the film would advance, and it would show the D frame and then the C frame.  After that, the film would continue to advance, and the projector would start with a new A frame.  The projection pattern was sort of S-shaped.

The goal was to increase the run time of a 100-foot roll of 16mm home movie film so that buying film was more economical.  A normal 16mm 4-minute runtime would be extended to 16 minutes with the Kemco HoMovie process.  The format got steamrolled by Kodak when they introduced 8mm in 1932.

Attached is a picture of a sample film.

So I'm asking:  what's the best way to transfer this with my Lasergraphics Archivist?

And secondly:  what's the best way to assemble this into a viewable sequence?

Scratching my head on this one.

Edited August 6, 2024 by Todd Ruel