Every time a new technology takes over, you need to find a way to get irreplaceable items from the old format into the new. Whether it is records to compact discs or film to digital video discs, the task is the same. You can pay services to do these conversions for you, but with a little time and patience, you can do it yourself.
Basics
To get started, you need a film projector that works, a film screen or alternative white material to project it upon, a video camera, an analog-to-digital video converter and a computer with the appropriate software. Start by setting up a room where you can project the films without intruding light. If you have a lot of film to convert, set up a semi-permanent area, perhaps in a cellar. Set up the video camera on a tripod. If you are recording sound films, you may need to put an auxiliary microphone at the projector. Start the video camera, then start the movie projector.
Connections
When you have recorded your films on video, connect the video camera to the analog-to-digital converter. This usually is a cord with RCA-style phono plug inputs and a USB output. Set up the software to begin recording video, then start the program recording and start the camera playing. If you have an all-digital video camera, you may be able to connect it directly to the computer and skip the converter.
Authoring
Once you have the video digitized, you can edit it in a software package such as iMovie on the Apple Macintosh or Final Cut Pro software. iMovie allows you to add sound and special effects. You also can clean up the sound a bit. If the original film has a bad soundtrack, you may need audio-specific software. After you have the final digital video ready to go, you can use iDVD to author your DVDs. This and similar software packages allow you to create menus, buttons and designs to make your DVDs look professional. They will play in regular DVD players. When you have created the look you want, burn the DVD. Save the iDVD files so you can burn more copies of your films without having to go through the whole process again.
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