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Author Topic: Old format archival and Digitization Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 12-28-2003 06:59 PM                     I have *hundreds* of "speed graphic" negatives that need to be digitized. They were shot mostly between 1930 & 1955 in what my grandparrents are calling "2x2" although the negatives are about 2 x 2.5 . They are enclosed in Agfa sleves for protection. We also have some kodachrome 8mm films from the early 50s that we would like to digitize as well. The condition of the motion picture film is excellent upon my inspection. The only problem i saw is that the film tends to bend because its been on the reel for 40 years. Does anyone know of a good and reputable lab that I can send these for processing? (It would be terific if there's one in San Diego, but thats not a requirement.) Also, what would you estimate to be the cost? Thanks!  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 12-28-2003 07:09 PM                     Back in the 80s there was a company called Super 8 Sound in Los Angeles. As you could probably guess, 8mm was their specialty. Maybe they're still in business. And in the 90s our 8mm & 16mm student films were handled by Yale Lab also in L.A.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-28-2003 08:18 PM                        Speed Graphic cameras use either 2x3" (rare) or 4x5" (common) film. It sounds like you have the 2x3" variety. With 4x5", any semi-pro photo lab would be able to make prints or scans (preferably high-end/expensive "drum scans") from the negs; I don't know about 2x3", which is an oddball and mostly obsolete format. Super 8 Sound still exists, but is super expensive. Try Broadsky and Treadway (I have their contact info somewhere, but not handy...if no one else has it, bug me and I'll dig it up). They have (had?) a film chain setup for super 8 and 16mm that produces excellent results and they're cheaper than S8S. Whatever you do, _always_ save the original material, as it will likely outlast the digitized version (digital != archival). Kodachrome should hold its color indefinitely if stored in a dark container and B&W material should outlast all of us. If any of the motion picture film smells like vinegar, store it far away from "good" film, lest the good film become afflicted with the dreaded "vinegar syndrome" (in which the film base turns to acid and self-destructs).  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-29-2003 10:41 AM                        Scott, do you know if that lab can do 8mm work as opposed to S8mm? If Mike's Kodachrome prints are 50 years old, they wouldn't be Super 8. I too have a box full of about 100 50ft reels of family 8mm Kodachrome from about 1940 thru the late 60s that still have near-IBTech color saturation and stability -- if only Eastman Kodak had adapted THAT process to make 35mm release prints, we'd all be very happy pups now! I've been promising myself that I would transfer all that material myself, but have come to the conclusion that realistically that probably won't happen unless I retire (or get cloned). If there were a place that could make quality transfers, I would be willing to let them do it. Even if someone else does the transfer, I will still have to edit it, which will be a monumental task and would still take a miracle to find the time. I was going to nudge you get that contact info, but a little google work resulted in their site, which is: www.LittleFilm.com And Mark, to answer my own question, yes they do transfer regular or "standard" 8mm reversal prints, which is what we both have. And BTW, the search also turned up a bunch of sites that have people testifying very positivily about the quality of the work that Broadsky and Treadway do; very good news.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 12-31-2003 11:14 AM                        Frank Angel wrote: quote: if only Eastman Kodak had adapted THAT process to make 35mm release prints, we'd all be very happy pups now! EASTMAN Reversal Color Print Film 7387 WAS a Kodachrome-type (no incorporated couplers, the dye-forming couplers were in the process) print film, using process RCP-2. These Kodachrome print films were available from 1956 through 1981, and used primarily for making 16mm and 8mm prints. Unfortunately, a Kodachrome type process is much more complicated to control, and would not allow the high volumes required for large-scale 35mm release on tight schedules.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 01-01-2004 03:16 PM                        Agreed entirely with Scott - some of the small gauge transfers which Toni Treadway has done look astonishing. It's really a question of how much money you have to spend. There are facilities houses out there which have 8 and S8 heads for Spirits and Cintels - but you pay TV industry prices for that sort of job. At the other end of the scale are some of the people who advertise 'your home movies transferred to video' in the local rag, usually using a projector and camcorder rig. These can work surprisingly well, especially if thought has been given to synchronising the projector shutter and camcorder CCD scanning, but on the other hand they can be gruesome. Unless you know someone by reputation, it's probably a case of pot luck. quote: The condition of the motion picture film is excellent upon my inspection. The only problem i saw is that the film tends to bend because its been on the reel for 40 years. All acetate base stock will shrink a little bit and become brittle when stored over a long time period, especially at room temperature. Regardless of how you proceed with a telecine transfer, I'd suggest storing the original elements in as cool and as dry a place as you can. Low temperature and humidity inhibits base decomposition, and another piece of good news is that post-1938 Kodachrome is pretty much bulletproof against colour dye fading. If you want to read chapter and verse on this, see Henry Wilhelm & Carol Brower, The Preservation and Care of Color Negatives, Slides & Motion Pictures, Grinnell, Iowa (1991).  |  IP: Logged

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