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Author
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Topic: 16mm Film Transfer
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Scott Norwood
Film God
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Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 05-30-2011 08:40 PM
From what I have seen of their 16mm lab work, I can also recommend Colorlab as a place that cares about quality. (I have not seen their video work.)
Additionally, I can recommend Magno Sound & Video in NYC. They have done film transfers for me in the past and have been good to work with.
Bono Film in northern Virginia also has a good reputation. I have not dealt with them personally, but have been impressed with their lab work before they closed down their film lab and started to concentration on video services.
Forum member Jeff Joseph has some place on the west coast that he likes; you might want to check with him and get their contact information as well.
If the material is of any value, I don't recommend taking it to a drugstore-type service. They probably are using film-chain equipment instead of more modern equipment and also probably don't know how to properly handle archival film. It's a factory operation for them, not a custom job.
I don't know the current recommended practice, but I would be inclined to go with a color-corrected transfer to HDCAM, maybe with a copy on hard disk or DVD/Blu-Ray if the video copy is to be the long-term storage medium for the material (which it probably is, if the film is going vinegar). If the material is of extreme value, a 16mm interpositive and print could be made on polyester stock, which would preserve it for decades to come. (It's not cheap...think $1.50/foot and up. On the other hand, film is archival and videotape is not.)
Note, too, that telecine "cost per hour" is cost per hour of work, not hour of film running time. You can expect to pay for maybe twice the running time for a simple transfer or many more times for a fully color-corrected transfer. You pretty much get what you pay for.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
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Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 06-02-2011 08:36 AM
I have not put anything on the film. Don't intend to put anything on the film until after it has been transferred, if I use FG at all. Yes, FG will keep the film clean, lubricated and free from vinegar problems but, as Gordon says, it can gum up the works if it is not used carefully.
FilmGuard is great for daily operation but, when it comes to archival and preservation issues, it is best to wait.
Most of the film, primarily the Kodachrome stuff, probably is projectable right now. I have considered projecting some of it just to show Melanie. However, we're right back to the archival/preservation issue. One false move and I could damage or destroy irreplaceable film.
I have a pair of Elmo 16mm projectors. Don't know the model but they are the slot loading kind. As far as I know they are fairly easy on film but the stress of projection could cause some of the splices to come loose. In fact, while winding the film for inspection, a couple of them have come loose.
Until I have a 16mm splicer at hand, I'm not going to take the risk of projecting the film.
I'm still looking at options and deciding on the best course of action. Most of the film is in "okay" condition and it's being kept inside where temperatures are relatively stable. It can keep for a little while longer while I decide what to do.
I have a good computer to edit and prepare video with. It's an 8-core Mac Pro and it's got Final Cut Studio. There's lots of memory (6 GB) and lots of hard drive. (Over 2 TB.) I can handle virtually any codec. ProRes 4:2:2 is probably a good compromise for my purposes but one of the DV codecs might also be doable.
I think the final solution will be to have the film cleaned and scanned then the video transferred to a hard drive. I'll edit and make a computer viewable version and a DVD/Blu-Ray version. Then I'll make two backup copies of the disk and store them away along with the hard drive that holds the original video.
After all that, I'll decide whether FilmGuard is a good thing to do and, finally, I'll store the film away for posterity. That way, we'll have viewable versions of the content, backups of that plus the original material in case it's ever needed.
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