film to digital transfering

Nephilim · Addict Joined: 09 Apr 2003 Posts: 658 City: Ephrata, WA

What is the best place to get super8 film transfered to digital so it can be edited. the only place i have found so far is http://www.digitaltransfersystems.net/

jzwake · Addict Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 801

My friend uses a local outfit that is far more expensive then that place for Frame by frame transfer but turns it around quickly. I would look local first, but they look good.
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Kitchen Measures

RD · Addict Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 626 City: Discovery Bay

You could use the same method the pirates do with feature films - sit in the audience and videotape the screen! Smile

Unfortunately telecine systems are very expensive and are used mainly for 35mm to digital transfers. There's a bunch of them in the LA area, that's probably the place to check.

markymarc · Posted: Feb 19, 2005 10:17 am Post subject:

Sorry if this sounds ignorant but im new to this whole thing so...
We have a camcorder that record both on those small tape and memory sticks, but the one on memory just sucks so we use tape. Can't you just plug in a firewire and download the stuff from the tape to a program on a computer?

Mike Isler · Moderator Joined: 11 Jan 2003 Posts: 718 City: New York

markymarc, they're referring to actual film, not DV tapes. Film, as in needing to take it to the lab to be processed with chemicals. To transfer this into digital, so you can work with it on the computer, it needs to be run through a "telecine", which is a high speed scanner that essentially takes a digital picture of every frame of film, and puts them together into a digital movie file.

markymarc · Posted: Feb 19, 2005 10:35 am Post subject:

ryanprouty · Newbie Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 36 City: San Francisco

Pro8mm.com is pretty much the only place that i've seen in done. They're not "cheap" exactly, but we shoot film (instead of video) for a reason. It is, "affordable" though. they do offer plenty of services and option - digibeta transfer, hd transfers, many aspect ratios. I have friends that have used them (supervised and unsupervised transfers) and have been VERY pleased.

I did all of my film (16mm) devolping and telecine @ Monaco Labs, (monacosf.com) in San Francisco. They gave me a bulk discount of 5 hours @ 250/hour, regular price is 355/hour. I think they used to do all of Bump's stuff to. They only do 16 and 35 though. Sad

Hope that helps.

RD · Addict Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 626 City: Discovery Bay

Ryan,

I'm curious why you're shooting film for wakeboard videos.

ryanprouty · Newbie Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 36 City: San Francisco

I shot Not For Sale: trailer at www.notforsaledvd.com/Trailer2.html - it's 100% 16mm and it's out now - only $15.. official press release tomorrow probably...

RD · Addict Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 626 City: Discovery Bay

Cool, I'll check it out!

But was that your answer to my question?

ryanprouty · Newbie Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 36 City: San Francisco

I shoot it for lighting latitude, contrast, variable frame rate, and color replication.. plus it just looks f$@king amazing

brinks · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 566 City: Orlando

I've shot 16 before and I just can't justify the cost of shooting a wake video let alone a whole wake video unless your one of the top filmers in the industry and I still don't think I would shoot that much film. You can get a very similar picture from a nice digital. These wake vids aren't being distributed to movie theatres that run film projectors. They are being converted to mini dv, then edited and then converted to MPEG 2 format. They don't even go back out to film. Maybe to do some art stuff that just can't be done with digital. Shoot 8 if you want art.

ryanprouty · Newbie Joined: 16 Dec 2004 Posts: 36 City: San Francisco

"brinks - "I still don't think I would shoot that much film. You can get a very similar picture from a nice digital.",

????? Are you serious??? i dare you to try to shoot something at 50fps on a digital, or get 1/8 the detail of 16 as you do on 8mm..

Shooting full HD is almost the same as 16mm, but you just don't have the options, and lattitude... dude, i'm not one of thse, "I only shoot film" types, but there is an obvious presence that film has, that HD won't get close to for the time being, unless you're renting some 100,000 1080p camera.

Also, I get what you're saying about Film, to mini dv, to dvd, and how you're losing so much, but it makes a HUGE difference what you start with. Watch a film like Baraka, that was shot on 70mm, and a digital 8 movie, both on DVD; as far as your DVD player is concerned, if they are the same length, they are the same size, but take a guess which looks a million times better.. yet they are both MEG2 DVD

brinks · Addict Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 566 City: Orlando

Ryan,
I'm not talking about slowmotion or detail. What I am saying is you can get a similar (not the same but close) color and clarity. If you have a nice digital picture and a nice 16 picture to most people watching the wake vids it all looks the same to them. (most people) What I'm getting at is that I just don't see the point on shooting film for a wake DVD that will never be seen on film again. I also never said anything about comparing quality of 16 to 8. I said if you want art in your wake films to shoot with an 8. I personally feel 8 has more of an art look to it than 16.

RD · Addict Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 626 City: Discovery Bay

I think Brinks makes a good point I can see a lot of DV material intercut in with 16mm in some of the vids that are still being shot mostly on film but your average viwer can't seem to tell the difference. But if film is your thing and you can get the product out in spite of the costs more power to you!