Super 8 films - MARCOBEST HELP ME, PLEASE!

[mynameisnobody]

Hello.
I have a lot of Super 8 films of 70es and 80es. I think they're about 300 titles.
I'd like to transfer'em in DVD format, can i do this by myself?
I need help, if someone experienced in this field would give me some advices....thanks.

For MARCOBEST: I remember you told me about to transfer Super 8 films on video and you posted a clip of your work, really good. Would you like to explain me how you work to get this result, please?

[FlamerXXX]

The pro way is to use a filmscanner, thats expensive. The easy way to do it is a "telefilming", you can use a DVcam camera and record
your screen, and then transfer the DVcam material to your computer and make a DVD. This is a lowbudget way in to make analog digital.

Good luck.

[FlamerXXX]

Do some test first and see were to place your camera, do it in a very dark room since all light will
make your screen lighter.

[LoveLover]

This is a lowbudget way in to make analog digital.

Wrong. It is a lowbudget way to make the optical digital. Super 8 is not analog but optical. VHS is analog. Analog can be captured into a computer via a cable. Optical can't.

[mynameisnobody]

Thanks a lot for your answer.
I tried to record a film onto my Hi8 camera, projecting the Super 8 on the whiate screen, but the quality of the video is awful.
Colours are too red-dominant and the film is affected with a very annoying "flickering effect". Maybe I need a better camera, or a better projector, or....both of them. I ask for a professional transfert at a photographer, but it's very expensive!!
My camera is a Sony CCD-V700E and I project my films by a Bauer T180.

[FlamerXXX]

LoverLover, you have absolutley right.

[LoveLover]

Thanks a lot for your answer.
I tried to record a film onto my Hi8 camera, projecting the Super 8 on the whiate screen, but the quality of the video is awful.
Colours are too red-dominant and the film is affected with a* very annoying "flickering effect". Maybe I need a better camera, or a better projector, or....both of them. I ask for a professional transfert at a photographer, but it's very expensive!!
My* camera is a Sony CCD-V700E and I project my films by a Bauer T180.



The flickering is normal. Super 8 can be made with either 18 or 24 frames/second (fps). 18 fps always gives you that stroboscopic effect. 24 fps should give a good moving picture when watched. But when filming what is projected one must not forget video (analog or digital) records at 25 fps (pal and secam (Europena formats)) and 30 fps (NTCS (Aerican format)). So unless it's professionally scanned, Super 8 captured on video will always flicker. A color correction however can easily be done once the movie is captured to your computer.

[marcobest]

For MARCOBEST: I remember you told me about to transfer Super 8 films on video and you posted a clip of your work, really good. Would you like to explain me how you work to get this result, please?


Hi nobody, I'm honoured you ask me a such technical advice.
First of all, I want to say a thing. Have you about 300 titles in Super8... and you want to transfer all them in DVD??
That's a enormous work to do!! You will spend MONTHS to do all those DVDs!! Is not better you select what you really want to have in DVD and than you transfer only those ones??

About the transfering from Super8 to DVD (or VHS or whatever other video format), to avoid probles as flickering, colour dominants and s.o., it's necessary "a short lesson" to understand how a projector works and the right way to shot the projected images by a common videocamera.

A Super8 film can be projected at different speeds, depending the projector used. For example, your Bauer can only project at 18 or 24 ftg/sec because it has a mechanic selector for the speed projection, this selector move the main shutter belt on a conic wheel.
Other projectors can change the projection speed by a electronic variator, also in fine and continuing way (for example from 14 to 30 ftg/sec). Such projectors are, for example, high-level models of YELCO or Sankyo, or Porst, Panorama, etc (based on Yelco mechanic). Eumig projectors can change speed projection too (models of 900 serie).
A Super8 projector usually has a three-blade shutter connected at the claw that moves the film, one field once. The shutter's blades cover and uncover alternativelly every frame 3 time per complete turn of it. So, every frame gets trebled during the projection. This allow to avoid the flickering ON THE SCREEN during a projection.
Let's do some simple arithmetics: at 18 fps wh will have 18x3=54 REAL FIELDS on our screen. At 24 fps, we will have 24x3=72 REAL FIELDS projected.
A common videocamera can shot images in PAL or NTSC System. If you live in Europe, as I suppose, your camera is surely a PAL one. The PAL system has 25 field per second, but every field is built by 2 semi-fields, by the "elechtronic-brush" of the system. So, the effective OPTICAL frequency on a TV screen in PAL System is 50 fps.
To avoid the "flickering effect" when you shoot a Super8 projected on a film-screen, after a lot of tests, I found two different way:
- you can change the projection speed as well as you gets the "syncro" with the shutter of your camera. By a projector such a Yelco or Eumig with a fine speed projection control you can do it, but the real image film speed will be changed and, expecially with Super8 at 24 fps, you will get a "slow-motion result". The soundtrack of the film will be slowed down and you will ear a very similar sound of a 45rpm vynile disco played at 33 rpm!
- second option : changing the shutter-speed of your camera.
If you can arrange a professional camera with a fine-adjusting speed-shutter control, you will be able to change the speed shutter up to reach the "syncro" with the projected image on your film-screen. Tipiically, if you project your film at 24 fps, considering the fact said about the shutter which "triplicates" the effective projected frames, you must be set your camera with a 1/72 shutter (if the projector works fine and the setting of its projection speed is corrected).
Unfortunately I don't know another, cheaper way to obtain a good result to transfer Super8 films on video.
I already transferred a lot of Super 8 and Regular 8 films on video, and my way is cheaper enough to get a good result...people who received my work were pleased.
About the colour dominant, you can correct them both* before or after recording films. If you want to correct them BEFORE, you must interpose an elechtronic colours corrector between the recorder and the camera (I use a Sony XV-C900) and you can change every set "on the air" during the transferring. Otherwise, you can correct* the colour dominant by a video-editing software as Adobe premiere, Ulead videostudio, Pinnacle Studio, etc....note that with the first options you can't record the video by the recorder of the camera, but you must record thevideo out by an external recorder (or on your computer, for example by a video-capture board, such a Pinnacle DC10plus).
Well, concluding.....it's not too difficult to transfer a Super8 film on video, but....it's not DSO SIMPLE to get a good result.....you need a bit experince in it!

Marco

[mynameisnobody]

GULP!
Marcobest, you're really the best....how can you know all these things???
By the way....what can I do about my problem??' Do I have to look for another projector, one of those you advice me??
Or...ehm....why don't you transfer my films?? You live in Italy, don't you??
I could send you all my films....you make the work, and than you risend me back films + dvds! I pay you, of course!
No time limit to do the work!
What do you think about? O0

[marcobest]

Are you jocking?? 300 Super8 films sent to me?? I hope you're really jocking, because I can't convert my house in a sort of Porn Shop of 70es! And how many boxes will you need to send me 300 films??
And how many time will 300 films to transfer on DVD take to me??
Do you have an idea about what you ask me?

:o :o

[flashsteve]

i have managed to record a few super 8 titles onto video the results weren't to bad, i found it better to slow the shutter speed on the camcorer to its lowest setting this cuts out a lot of the flickering, i converted these to dvd, to cut down on the colour bleeding i used a cheap video enhancer with a colour saturation control just turn the colour down and tranfer your video to dvd its cheap and works quite well, if i were you i'd only do my favourites as it is time consuming and its gonna take you along time to do 300 films whatever method you use.regards steve

[Gemini37]

Some really useful tips guys...I know a lot about ripping from vhs & dvd but knew nothing about converting 8mm loops.

thank you very much,

-GEM