Copy Old 8mm Movie Film
Copying 8 mm Movies is not a difficult process. Your success will be dependent on your creation of a controlled environment, the quality of the film to be converted, the quality of the camera you are using to do the conversion, and quality of the 8 mm equipment you are using for the conversion. While there are commercially available conversion units, the method described herein is just as effective. You will need a 8 mm projector that is in good working order and a movie screen or white projection surface for effective conversion. Quality projection will determine the quality of the end product.
Instructions
1. Set up 8 mm Projector. Choose a location in which you can control the environment. You will want to control entrance and exit from the area. Sudden light flashes will affect the transfer. While most 8 mm film do not contain sound you will want to control the sound that goes onto the tape. You may even wish to narrate the transfer. Set your projector so that the image will be of sufficient size of get a good capture without unnecessary image loss.
2. Set up the digital camera near the projector slightly behind it. Placing the camera too far off-center will distort the image. If you are narrating you will want a microphone separate from the built-in camera mic because the movie projector will create substantial noise.
3. Focus and Frame. Start the projector and focus the camera. Fill the entire frame of the camera with the projected image, do not leave space surrounding the image. Once you have the camera set and focused you can rewind the 8 mm film and begin the capture. Make sure you are on manual focus to avoid focus shifting and check to make sure your camera is "white balanced." Check your sound level and wear a headset to monitor it if you are recording narration.
4. Choose the medium. Depending on the output capability of your camera you can choose to record to the camera medium (tape, card or disk) or you can plug the camera into your computer and record directly to your hard drive. (This may be the best option if you plan to edit the material.)
5. Start you digital recorder. "Action." You are now ready to begin. Sit back and watch or if you have chosen to narrate, begin your narration. This is a 1:1 process and it will take you exactly as long as the reel runs for the film transfer. You can pause at the end of a real and load a new one starring the projector and camera again when the new reel is in place. Later if you want to refine the transfer you can edit out the pause times, misfires with the camera and boring material and add titles.
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