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Sean B

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Posts posted by Sean B

  1. I recently got a couple of hundred old 8mm home movies transferred to DVD. I have had several problems with the company that did the transfer, but one of the problems was that all the film was severely cropped, cutting off almost 1/3 of the on screen image. I asked the company that did the transfer about this and they finally replied with "all our film is cropped to fit the 4 by 3 aspect ratio of television".

     

    I am not all that familiar with the technical aspects of all of this- but to those in the know, does this sound right? The fact that all films will be cropped, thus much of the screen image in your precious family movies will be lost, is not prominently mentioned on their website (I can't find it at all, though they tell me its there). The images are SO severely cropped some of the transfers are completely useless to me, left and right is cropped as is horizontal and vertical. Can anyone shed any light on this? Is there a way around this to capture the full image on screen, like letterbox, etc?

     

    Thanks...

     

    Sean

  2. While it makes sense to go first to a tape format before going to DVD, the DVD should still have looked quite nice.  Do they advertise their service on line?  If you have a link to this transfer company perhaps someone from this forum can check out the company and figure out the quality they offer from what they say on their website.

     

    Yes, here is their website:

    http://www.digitaltransfersystems.net/

     

    Sean

  3. Alessandro,

     

    as far as I know the company that I had my job done at has all the footage on firewire. So I am not sure what road they took to finally got it to DVD, I have a call in to them regarding the botched job the did for me but have not yet heard back.

     

    And I had all films numbered and arranged prior to sending them off, and I wanted all film transferred to video (blurry, overexposed, etc). So when ordering a project like this I should ask for a "tranfer to BetaCam SP, and then to DVD"?

     

    Sean

  4. I would NEVER go straight to DVD from film.  I'd either go to BetaCam SP, Mini-dv/DV-CAM, or even S-VHS before I'd go directly to DVD.  Too much compression from the get go.

     

    DVD should be your destination, not your journey.

     

    Film and Video Transfers does good work, they are located in Northridge California.  They can either Rank Super-8 or do a film chain and they wetgate!

     

    Perhaps you are best off sending one reel to two or three differrent companies and comparing the results.  Yale and Pro-8mm also do 8mm work in the in the San Fernando Valley (LA, in California).

     

    Moviestuff also does transfer work.  (Google moviestuff)

     

    Alessandro,

    thanks for the info. So when getting the transfer, exactly what should I ask for? A transfer to BetaCam SP/etc, then to DVD? Or is there a term for this? I'm not familiar with any of these terms (wetgate, rank, etc). I am not sure how Digital Transfer Systems (the company I used) did mine, the quality of most of the images on the DVDs was ok, but there were other huge errors they had made (like cropping the pictures, etc).

    I asked Yale (as I am in LA) but they don't do the single frame scanning of silent film (which is best quality, rather than projecting).

     

    Sean

  5. Thanks. I've posted before in the Super 8 forums before but never got any replies (hence my somewhat desperate tone now). That is why I had to look in Google before and take a chance on the company in Illinois who botched my job (a company that seems to be reputable, but obviously didn't try to do a good job on my project).

     

    I was just hoping for some recommendations from people who have found a decent film transfer company.

     

    Sean

  6. Hello, I have about 200 old home movies (sound silent, super 8 and regular 8) and I need to transfer them all to DVD. I just got the job done by a company in Chicago, but the botched the entire job VERY badly and I don't want to give them another chance to disappoint me again (they cropped the images so severely half the screen image is gone, the sound is screwed up, they failed to transfer some reels, etc).

     

    Can anyone recommend a GOOD company that can transfer 8mm to video? I am looking to have the silent film scanned frame by frame and the sound film, I suppose, must be projected. I got an original quote of $1800 for cleaning and transfer to DVD from this company in Chicago for about 200 film reels. But like I said, they screwed up the job and took almost 3 months to do it.

     

    If anyone can help PLEASE contact me or respond here. This was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my mother, but this company took from December until this past weekend to complete the job and I'd like to get it done fairly quick (but correctly).

     

    Thanks in advance!

     

    Sean

    thingmaker@comcast.net

  7. Rocky Mountain Film Lab and a few others offer recovery processes:

     

    http://www.rockymountainfilm.com/

     

    Even if the film was refrigerated, the photographic properties will likely have deteriorated with age (grainy, low contrast, loss of speed and black level).  It may be worth processing only if there are sentimental/valuable images on it.

     

     

    Thanks John. I was hoping to find someone other than Rocky Mountain as they take quite a long time to process super 8 and I am kind of pressed for time. If you have any other suggestions, I would very much appreciate hearing them. Thanks again.

     

    Sean

  8. Hello all... I have tons (about 200 rolls) of old family 8mm and Super 8 film I need to transfer to video and I have some questions, and am hoping maybe some people here can help with some questions I have.

     

    - I am in the Los Angeles area and would like to find somewhere nearby if possible, but if not, I am looking for a really good film to video transfer company. Any suggestions?

     

    - Also, what should one request as far as masters? MiniDV, tape, or what?

     

    - I hear there is a process where they scan each frame of film as opposed to just running the film and taping it. I imagine this is the more desirable method of transfer? What is this method called?

     

    - Some of the film I have is damaged, very dirty, etc. Will these companies clean my film, or should I do that (PEC 12 Film Emulsion Cleaning solution was suggested to me)? What if its got broken sprocket holes, bends, etc?

     

    Any other tips???

     

    Thanks in advance, and sorry for the newbie questions...

     

    Sean

    thingmaker@comcast.net

  9. Hello, just another couple of questions...

     

    I have LOADS of 8mm and Super 8 film I need to transfer to DVD. I am sorting it all out now, fixing splices and trying to clean things up. The 8mm is in fairly good shape (though it could use some dusting) but some of the Super 8 has some water residue, damage and/or dirt. I was told to use PEC-12 Archival Photo Emulsion Cleaner. I was wondering if this stuff is any good? Does it damage the film in any way or should I leave the cleaning to the film transfer company (whoever I decide to give the job to)?

    Any help or suggestions appreciated.

    Also, any tips on the best film to video transfer companies?

     

    Thanks!

     

    Sean

    thingmaker@comcast.net

  10. Does anyone still sell Hervic splice tapes? I can't seem to find any in stores or online. I need to do some repairs on films prior to DVD transfer and I have a Hervic splicer, but no tapes and don't really want to buy a brand new splicer. Any ideas? Thanks!

    My email is:

    thingmaker@comcast.net

     

    Sean

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