Film Digitization and Transfer to Video (VHS & DVD)
(8mm - Super 8mm - 16mm)

You'll truly be amazed by this high-quality method for duplicating and preserving your home movies onto video. If you're here because you're re-doing your film-to-video transfer from inferior methods, you probably don't need to read further. If you're new to shopping for this type of work, however, there are a couple of things you may want to know.  (Download a feature newsletter article about film, in .pdf format - here.)

What you should know about film transfer
Most importantly, there many methods used to transfer film to video. Many are inferior, and in our opinion a poor investment when trying to see all that your films have to offer, or when trying to take a current condition snapshot for storing movie-video on DVD.

Many "transfer houses" use old "single-light," single CCD machines (Like "Elmo" machines that haven't been made in years), old multiplexers, or even the old technique of simply projecting the image on a screen and taping it with a camcorder. All of these create at least some "flicker" because they do not employ "time-based generation" to compensate for differences in frame rates between film & video.

If you're spending the time & money to put your films on video, we think it is worth doing right! If you're looking for general, inexpensive, "corner store" transfers, this is not the place.

Why a DVD Copy is a "No-Brainer"
And while outputting to DVD adds relatively little in cost to your project, it is an absolute "no-brainer" in our opinion, because of the reality that videotape doesn't last. If part of your motive is duplication (as a preservation step) in addition to the ability to conveniently enjoy your films, VHS videotape alone is almost not worth the trouble - in a few short years "snow" will start appearing on your tape and the images will have begun the inevitable fading that comes with VHS. While VHS copies are certainly available and easy to make, we generally quote both VHS and DVD - even if you don't have a player. We think that someday you'll be glad you took the time to do it right, and had an output medium that didn't fade.

The steps through which your film is processed
The greatest care is taken to ensure quality and the safety and preservation of your original materials. For good reason, in what is the only step of any process or service we offer that is outsourced, your films are properly packaged and shipped (overnight) to one of the best and most trusted film transfer labs in the country - located in Hollywood, CA. There, your film is prepared for digitization to digital video by being treated, cleaned, lubricated, sized and consolidated onto 5" reels. It is then electronically captured using high-end methods (and rather expensive equipment) to surpass the quality of work done by most home movie "transfer houses."

The output of your films from the lab is on digital tape. We then perform our portion of the work, which includes loading the project into a digital video editing suite where we can add titling and background music, output to VHS, and begin the process of compressing and authoring the program to DVD disc.

Optional editing
Your films are processed in the order you specify. For additional cost at this stage, you have the option to edit and re-sequence your films from the order in which you provided them, consolidate clips by category - or even include descriptor "tag titles" throughout, narrate, or include still photos. This more extensive editing service is offered at the flat hourly editing rate.

Managing cost
This method is not inexpensive - typical total costs for the project, including output media, run $8 per running minute during the first hour and $6 per minute thereafter (please call for help in estimating your running time and so we can provide you with a quote). As such, the best way to manage cost is to manage the amount of film you're processing. You can do this by digitizing only the reels or clips of your film that are worth investing in, or by processing your film in phases over time (note that there is a minimum order due to minimum lab-time charge).

To actually splice & edit, you should use an old editor or viewer. For the safety of your film, we strongly urge you to see the note below. If you don't have an hand viewer/editor, we may be able to rent you one, though we can also help you find & purchase one if you have a large amount of film to look through. They haven't been made in years, but we do know a preservationist who collects them.

Note: Viewing your old home movies on your old projector is not recommended and can cause damage to your film for a variety of reasons. We can assist you with preliminary editing using a low wattage viewer/editor.