As film technology fades and digital media continues to expand as the preferred viewing format, digitizing remaining film archives has become a priority. Converting film to a digital format can be accomplished by a number of techniques depending on your original film format and budget. Assuming your movie film is a consumer format (16 or 8mm), used telecine systems have become plentiful as video production facilities ditch their aging film systems for newer digital technologies. This guide will show you use a telecine system to convert your films to a digital video format.
Instructions
1. Mount a video camcorder on a stable platform level with your telecine system. The video camera should point into the projection surface of the telecine. Unless an alternative is available, a tripod is the best support system.
2. Clean and lubricate your film. Use a film editor that allows you to spool film between an open supply and take up reel. Use a soft lint-free cloth to dampen with film cleaning solution. Apply the dampened cloth to the film as it winds onto the take up reel. Make sure you cover both sides of the film with the cloth by gently pinching it. Take care not to press too hard. Doing so may cause the film to break or snag while winding it.
3. Thread the film into your telecine projector. Project a portion of the film to adjust your camera by focusing the video camera lens on the projection surface (aerial image) created by the telecine condenser lens. Use the zoom controls to adjust the image size in the video camera viewfinder so the image fills the viewfinder. After adjustments are completed, rewind the film and begin projection.
4. Press record on the camcorder to record the projected telecine film image onto your video camera.
5. When finished, connect your camcorder to your computer. Depending on your recording format, digital formats will connect via the Firewire (IEEE 1394) port of your camera and computer. Analog tape formats will require an encoder card installed on your computer and connect via S-Video or RCA video and audio connectors.
6. Open your video editing software and configure the software to capture your camcorder as the video source. Designate a folder on your computer's hard drive to store the digital files. Begin transferring the video to your digital files by initiating record from the capture module of your video editing software.
Tags: video camera, your computer, your video, digital files, editing software