FILM AND MEDIA FAQ

My films are black and white. Do I still need a colorist to transfer my film?

Yes, despite the job title, a colorist is incredibly useful when it comes to transferring black and white film. Black and white film still needs exposure compensation. Also just like color film, the colorist sets the peak white value and the minimum black value. The gamma curve is also adjusted to bring out better detail in either overexposed or underexposed images. These are the foundation of a competent film transfer. The colorist also determines the correct frame rate of the film so that motion is normal. Many transfer companies don’t do this and deliver film transfers where people and objects are moving unnaturally quickly. Our Ultra 1080p process will also reduce grain, dirt and reduce shaking in the original hand held movies. All of this produces a much improved final product.

The 3 inch box of my Regular 8mm film says 25 feet. Where does the 50 feet come from?

Yes, that little box does create some confusion. However it refers to the film when it was originally purchased. Before your 8mm film was shot (exposed) in the camera, it was 25 feet of 16mm, or Dual 8mm Film. The unexposed film reel was inserted into the camera, then shot, exposing one side of 25 feet. Once it ran through, it was turned around to run through a second time, exposing the other side of the 25 feet. Remember listening to audio cassettes? It's the same idea. When the film was processed (developed), it was cut down the center and the ends spliced together, making it 50 feet long.

How safe are my films?

Very safe, because they are priceless! We treat your film just like a new 35mm Hollywood print or historical film archive. When your films arrive, your order is checked in by an experienced staff member, and placed in a work bin solely for you. Everything pertaining to your film transfer order is labeled and remains together at all times from arrival, through transfer, until it is carefully packaged and shipped back to you. We have never lost or misplaced an order.

How can I tell the difference between Regular 8mm and Super 8 film?

There are a few ways to tell the difference. The easiest is by looking at the sprocket holes. If you have both formats, look at them together, side by side (either the film or the leader). Super 8 film will have much smaller sprocket holes. We price Super 8 and Regular 8mm films the same way, so if you're not sure, don't worry!

Do you add music to my transfer?

We don't own the rights to any songs that anyone would ever want to listen to, so we do not add any music to your DVD, Blu-ray or digital files. If you record your films to hard drive or flash drive, though, you can easily add any songs you'd like to the films. As long as the project is for personal use (and not being commercially sold), any song is fair use.

I have films in cartridges. Are you able to transfer it?

Yes, we can transfer film from cartridges. The most common type of cartridge was the Technicolor Magi-Cartridge (pictured above), but we also have experience transferring Polaroid cartridges (which were a bit more rare).

Technicolor designed the cartridge, but the film inside was normal Kodak stock. The aim was to make projecting 8mm or Super 8 film easier with no need to thread the film. Inside the cartridge, the film was spliced end-to-end creating a continuous loop. In order to transfer the film, we have to pop open the cartridge, hand wind the film to the splice point, remove the splice, and proceed with our regular prep procedure. Given the additional amount of work, we charge a $5 extraction fee for each cartridge. If you think you may have cartridge film, please give us a call and we'll be happy to help you out.

Will you remove film that looks bad or is poorly shot?

We don't get into making subjective editing decisions simply because we are not familiar with the content. As a rule, if the film has any image on it, we will transfer it. We don't know if a poorly shot scene is a significant family or if its the only moving images you have of a particular family member, so we will not cut out anything due to the quality of the camerawork or film.

What if some of my film is blank? Will you transfer it?

If portions of your film are completely unexposed (meaning there is absolutely no image that can be transferred), then significant portions of blank footage will be cut out. You will only be charged for the amount of footage scanned so completely blank footage (running 10 seconds or more) will be deducted from the total charge.

Will the film get damaged if my package goes through an X-ray when I send it?

No. X-rays pose no risk to processed film

Do you transfer negative film?

Yes, we can transfer negative. All negative transfers must be scanned using our ULTRA 1080p HD process.