Archival Film To Video Transfers
Moving image preservation
and restoration of archival film has become of increased importance to many
in the field of education, academics, library sciences and documentary research.
Motion picture film collections preserved on the volatile 35mm nitrate stock
that are in danger of further deterioration are prime candidates for transfer
to digital video tape or conversion to digital video disc (DVD) while the
image can still be safely recovered. Even very old 16mm footage that has
begun to dry out, shrink or crack should be given serious consideration before
recovery becomes near impossible altogether or a substantial financial hardship.
At the very least those charged with the safe keeping of these film elements
should do a top to bottom inspection of the condition of the materials and
examine just how they are being stored. The use of plastic or aluminum reels
in place of the old steel type, which will almost certainly rust over time
and leach corrosion into the film, is an absolute must. The temperature and
humidity of the "film vault" where archived material is stored, if there
even is one, should be closely monitored. It is a sad fact that whole collections
are being disposed of daily either due to a lack of knowledge or for a lack
of funding or possibly both.
Our consumer division handles film transfers shipped in from around the country
If you have
personal
home movies
in the 8mm, Super-8mm or 16mm format |
Since 1981, TFG has maintained an archival film to video transfer operation specifically designed to painstakenly and meticulously convert old 35mm,16mm and 8mm film material to today's most popular video tape and digital formats. Our expertise has been called upon to transfer rare or historically significant film footage for the Wadsworth Atheneum, The Mark Twain Foundation, Otis Elevator, The Hartford Insurance, The Connecticut Historical Society, Mystic Seaport, Connecticut Public Television, ESPN and countless others.
Television Station News Film Television stations today use various formats of video tape for the capturing of material for their local news programs. This has been the case with all stations in the country since the late 1970's and early 80's. Before this, however, all news... even network news... was photographed on16mm motion picture film. What was called news film. When the reporter and/or photographer returned to the station the film was immediately delivered to the in-house film processing department. The film was developed, dried and then edited. It was loaded onto one of several telecine bays and run "live" at the appropriate time during the evening news hour. All that changed when video tape became more portable and, ultimately, more viable. Many stations, however, still maintain all or part of their their extensive library of old news film. How long this will continue is anyones guess. For the most part these reels of filmed news segments are long forgotten and rarely accessed since many stations dismantled their telecine systems years ago due to a need for space and because they were difficult and expensive to keep running. Because of this they have no easy way of converting this newsfilm to video tape. TFG is fully equipped to handle the transfer of all television newsfilm including 16mm optical and magnetic sound-on-film photographed with cameras like the Cinema Products "CP 16", the Frezzolini and the various Auricon conversions. These Ektachrome emulsions, being direct camera originals in most cases, hold up remarkably well and will usually produce a video transfer with dazzling color and good, clear audio. With many stations now using video servers for the playout of programming, commercials and television news stories some are finding it more convenient to archive their older tape formats to DVD. The reduction of shelf space required to store this historically important material being a big plus. We can convert all 16mm TV news film direct to DVD at data rates suitable for high quality archiving and/or storage space reduction. After the film is converted to raw Mpeg 2 the DVDs are then fully authored with visual thumbnail chapter points every three minutes (shorter if required). Contact us for a volume price quote based on your station's film library inventory. |
Film-O-Sizing Treatment for Correcting Damaged Movie Film
In some instances, a film reel or portion of a reel may be in poor physical condition do to its age or past storage conditions. It may be warped, buckled, twisted or curled well beyond the point it can still be projected much less converted to another medium. We are able to perform many levels of film correction for you using our proprietary Film-O-Sizing System. Film-O-Sizing is a gradual, condition-specific, multi-step process that can clean, condition and correct damaged film. The process can be applied to both color and B&W safety films and to both originals and prints. Films that were once thought unsalvageable can, in a great many cases, now be recovered at least long enough to be converted to a digital format. Here are some common examples of film damage before and after Film-O-Sizing.
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The picture on the left shows a section of original 16mm B&W film from the 1940's before and after treatment. When received in our lab the film was very dirty. A fungus was causing the image to be almost unviewable. Through an extensive but gentle cleaning the mold that had attached itself to the film has been safely and completely removed while leaving the image unharmed and intact. A successful transfer to a digital file and a very satisfied client was the end result. |
| The picture on the right shows a typical reel of severely damaged 16mm film from the 1940's. You can clearly see the buckling and warping in the first picture in this side view of the reel. In fact the buckling is so bad the film is literally coming off the the reel. The second image shows how the film appears after Film-O-Sizing has been applied. The warping has been corrected and an irreplaceable camera original film that was once thought destined for the trash now sits neatly and tightly on the reel ready for transfer. |  |
If you click on either of these images you can see an enlarged picture that offers much more detail.
Charges for archival film transfer work can vary depending on the amount and condition of the film and the time, equipment and procedures required to perform the correction, cleaning, and conversion. It is very important the client not attempt to unwind a roll of film that is suspect as this can crack the emulsion or brake the film beyond repair. If you suspect your film to have condition issues it is best to seek professional help, first.
We maintain telecine transfer systems utilizing large-area imaging tubes as well as digital CCD line arrays, computerized scene by scene density and color correction, vacuum and/or particle transfer roller dust collection, electronic grain and random pattern video noise reduction. Many times the only available existing source of specific material needed for a documentary are old and worn out 35mm or 16mm film prints. Our scratch and dirt concealment techniques include chemical, optical and software technologies that, when combined together as a three-pronged approach, go a long way towards solving this difficult problem prior, during and after the digital transfer.
Our basic archival service rates can be found, here.
Contact us for a price quote on your specific film or for more information on our archival film transfer procedures.
1-800-773-2753
transferring archival converting 16mm mag magnetic sound television TV station news film to video tape dvd archiving of television newsfilm to dvd news film to dvd conversion service
Cardiology Angiograms | Coronary Angiography | Cine Radiography Prior to the use of CCD imaging technology for the recording of angiograms in the practice of cardiology, the procedure of dynamic angiographic imaging was performed using a high-resolution image intensifier and a special cineangiographic motion picture camera. The procedure involves inserting a catheter into the patient's artery and injecting a radiopaque dye... also called a contrast injection. Commonly known as cine fluorography, cine angiography, cine flouroscopy or cine radiography the entire process was recorded on small rolls of 35mm panchromatic (B&W) cine film such as Agfa Cinerex PFT, Varicath II and Vari-X so it could then be studied in greater detail. There are often situations where these films, usually only a few minutes in length, need to be converted to a video format or digital file to provide for a more convenient method of medical examination or, as is more often the case, for detailed legal analysis. We can provide this special film transfer service for you. |
