...most economical way to transfer 8mm film to...

Answer by Spence
Submitted on 2/5/2004
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You can actually get good results by shooting video of film as it is projected on a small screen. Position your camcorder close to the projector to minimize keystone distortion. I like to project an image that is about 18 inches wide on a white poster-board. Make sure your poster-board very smooth, even, and has a flat finish. The toughest part is getting your camcorder shutter to sync properly with the projector shutter. Failure to do so will result in flickering videos. Some projectors are better for sync than others. And a camcorder that has a manual shutter speed control will help too. The quality of the transfer also depends on the quality of the camcorder. I use a Sony VX2000 for this and my results are superior to that which I have had professionally done previously. Honest, I've done a comparison with the same films. The main reason my results are superior is that I am more careful with exposure, color balance, etc. And that may be the best reason to do-it-yourself. Other tips: If you need a projector, try a thrift store. They are often available for less than the price of a new bulb in your old projector. If possible try it with your camcorder to test the shutter sync before you buy. Some projectors sync better than others, but variable speed projectors are the best. Unfortunately they cost more. Camcorders with a manual shutter speed setting are really helpful, if not mandatory. A manual white balance setting is also really helpful. In some cases you can use the WB setting to make the video look better than the film, if the film has color shifted. Expect your transfered films to look more contrasty than the films. It's just the nature of video. Careful control of video exposure settings will minimize the problem. Create a narration track by recording the comments made while key people view the video. (Depends on available equipment.)

Answer by Maretedkatie
Submitted on 1/30/2005
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HAVE A WORKING PROJECTOR, AND A HIGH QUALITY DV CAMERA, AND 2 COMPLETE DAYS? Step by Step. Read this article carefully. Our demo on the home page was produced using this method, and it is very affordable, and quick. Basically - Film it using a camera greater than $1,000 in price and a small piece of heavy matt photo paper, not glossy. Best is smooth cloth, but it must be very fine fiber and very smooth. Image max size 10 inches wide. Best is 5-6 inches. Do not film it using a projector screen. Build a black cardboard box, project into it with the inside sides painted FLAT black. Must be 1 foot wide, 1 foot or so high and about 2 1/2 feet long. Do not skip the flat black paint - I learned this via trial and error. It reduces light distortion in the camera. Paint the edges of your photo paper FLAT BLACK leaving a white square 6X8 inches. This reduces white glare. Attach the paper screen at the end of your box. Connect to the bottom of the photo paper screen a long piece of cardboard , like a handle so you can gently pull the bottom towards you a bit to angle it, or push it back slightly. Aim your project STRAIGHT on - if it is tilted even a bit, the edges will be slightly out of focus. Aim the Digital camera as close to the projector line of sight as possible. Do not use ANALOGUE camera. A DV camera will allow you to set the shutter speed. You need to use 60FPS for film that plays at 20FPS. (You can film 18FPS film at 20FPS to get a good DV capture and slow it down in your DV Video editor. Filming at 18FPS will produce a lousy capture) Set up your capture program and view the camera on screen. Now set your camera on AUTO FOCUS. Attach a piece of printed paper to a long stick. Shine some light into your long box 1 ft wide, 1 foot high and 2 1/2 feet long with the photo paper taped onto the other end facing the camera and projector. Push the stick up against the screen with the camera on, let it focus. Now turn off the focus. Put it on MANUAL while it is still focusing on it. Take out the piece of paper with print on it you used to focus the camera. Cycle power on the camera leaving it on MANUAL focus. Now run your film thru. At first, slightly move the bottom of the screen forward or backward until the little white spot from the bulb is off the preview on your monitor. Constantly adj the speed of the projector to minimize the white flutter. OR - take off the back cover of the projector and spray slick 50 air grease onto the gears. That will help it run smooth. LEAVE it on MANUAL FOCUS. When done and in PC, run a professional AUTO LEVEL filter through it immediately. This will get rid of some of the white flutter. Do not use COLOR CONTROL or any other filters at the same time. The detail is lacking to run multiple filters even if you use a $3,000 camera. Run a COLOR CONTROL filter thru your clip after you run the auto level first. That is as good as you will get using telecine and a cheap regular projector. Practice filming a small 50 foot reel a few hours. The only way to minimize the white phasing flutter is to adj the speed of the projector manually during capture. GOOD LUCK! This tutorial is free at www.dvdhomevideoeditor.com

Answer by moonstruckproductions.com
Submitted on 9/13/2006
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Use a camcorder that has a minimum of 3 CCDs and the ability for manual exposure control. For the best transfer, use a telecine transfer machine such as the Movie Stuff Cinemate. Carefully clean all of your film using a non-abrasive cleaner such as Edwals Anti Static Cleaner. If you can not afford a telecine machine, use your own projector and a piece of white board. Place your camcorder as close to the projector as possible and focus in on the image on the whiteboard. Consider the cost of the camera, cleaning solutions and projector as well as your time. Then check out some of the transfer houses. You may find it cheaper to allow a professional to do the transfer for you. For example, we use $25,000 worth of equipment and can transfer 3000 feet of film for less than $500. One thing that is very important regardless of who does the transfer, be sure to get/keep a copy of your transfer on MiniDV as NTSC DV .avi, or on a hard drive as uncompressed 4:2:2 YUV footage. Putting the transfer on DVD is going to make it easy to view, but loses 60% of the quality of your transfer. If you have more questions, feel free to contact us at: info@moonstruckproductions.com

Answer by Brad Hinkle
Submitted on 10/29/2006
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The problem is that using any kind of camcorder produces video that is about 30-50% less quality than the actual film. Depending on the setup, you may also have flicker issues. In general, the main problem is that your camera will be getting what they call blended frames. It can't produce an exact copy of the film because this is not a frame by frame capture method. A true frame by frame transfer machine stops on each frame one at a time and captures each frame onto your computer one at a time. You would need both a stop motion animation capture software (like stop motion pro software) and a transfer machine that could signal to the software when the frame is in the gate. Professional equipment like this costs several thousand dollars even for the low-end machines. Certainly you can give your "do it yourself" a try. Because these are priceless memories, spending a few hundred dollars is well worth it if you truly get the best possible copy of the film or even better using restoration. Check out http://www.videoconversionexperts.com. We offer a true frame by frame transfer as well as a frame by frame with restoration and a high definition film transfer for people looking for the very best. -Brad Hinkle

Answer by Jim Bower
Submitted on 4/9/2007
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DIY transfer, been there, done that! Word of advice!.... Trying to transfer 8mm & 16mm film to dvd, i.e do it yourself is like trying to build your own house, good idea in theory, save some money, learn something new, but wow what a headache! Doing it yourself, vs getting a professional company to do it is the biggest no brainer out there. I tried it, ruined so much film, and ended up with so so results using expensive equipment. I ended up sending my film to blue transfers in Scottsdale, AZ. ( http://www.bluetransfers.com ) What I got back blew me away! Pricing was on the low end of what I had encountered on the web. I had 3600ft on 7inch reels, cost me around $450. I had spent $1250 & 3mth wait for a telecine unit from moviestuff, was hard to use and lining up the camera was like trying to find a particular star through a telescope. Not knocking the unit, maybe I'm just an idiot, but it wasn't ideal, and my camera wasn't giving me the clarity & sharpness / color , that my film posessed. Take it from me, unless you have major patience & a lot of money to spare & test film you don't mind destroying in learning how to do it, then go for it! Otherwise, call up blue transfers & get your film in & buy a copy of Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0, import the dvd and edit & create your masterpiece Spielburg! Good luck! Jim Bower Spokane, WA

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Question by jd
Submitted on 9/14/2003
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what is the most economical way to transfer 8mm film to digital &how is this done.

Answer by Barbiegirl
Submitted on 2/1/2004
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I would like to know how to put 8 mm on DVD. Does anyone know?

Answer by Gerhard
Submitted on 2/12/2004
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I do this as a hobby/business I am located in South Africa. Anyhow, I have acquired equipment from JVC. It basically looks like a folder. When you open it, it has a mirror on the one side and a capturing screen on the other set at a 45 degree angle. The projector is then set up to project into the mirror and the camcorder basically video tapes the screen on the outside of the folder. My email is gerhardh@cybersitessa.co.za for more information.

Answer by Lynn
Submitted on 9/21/2004
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We have tried different stand-alone DVD burners for converting the camcorder film to DVD. We like the Zenith XBR413 recorder for dependability, ease-of-use and compatibility. Hope that helps Lynn http://www.TransferYourOwnHomeMovies.com

Answer by James
Submitted on 5/10/2005
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I would like to transfer 8mm projector film to DVD. I need to know if there are any businesses in SA that cater for this.

Answer by Mikki
Submitted on 3/2/2006
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or just take the film to a develpoment depo, they can do that for you these days, on2 most digital media

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