TFG Transfer is a custom
film to video transfer service. What makes us unique is we cater specifically
to the low budget independent and student filmmaker who needs an accessible,
reasonably priced source for 16mm and 35mm film to tape transfers without
all of the costly add ons normally associated with a typical high end telecine
film transfer suite. We understand many filmmakers are using non linear editing
systems to complete their projects on video and that many of these systems
(ie. Final Cut Pro, Avid Symphony, Pinnacle Liquid Edition 5.5, Avid Xpress
DV and Adobe Premiere Pro) have primary and, in some cases, even secondary
color correction capabilities built right into the software. Therefore, it
makes little sense to force these services upon a client who may already
have the capability to perform some of these tasks on his/her own.
To this end we have gathered
together those elements necessary to achieve as much or as little color and
density correction as the individual filmmaker may prefer. The choice is
always yours!
There are some wonderful
film stocks, both negative and reversal, being made by Eastman Kodak and
Fuji... with even better ones on the way! These exceptional camera stocks
feature image quality, tonal range, color saturation and highlight handling
capabilities far exceeding anything that can be realized by todays digital
camera technology. It seems a shame more filmmakers are not shooting film.
For those purists out there who can still tell the difference, TFG Transfer
is ready, willing and able to work with you to complete your project. It
is our goal to continue to make shooting film a viable reality by providing
a source for good 16mm and 35mm film transfers at a fair price.
To make it easier for you
to budget your productions, we offer a fixed price for 16mm camera
original film transfers. For .15/foot we
will do a best light transfer of your B&W
or color, reversal or negative unedited camera original. This means each
and every shot of your film is color and density corrected.
That's just
$15 for a 100' roll. Now there is no excuse
not to be shooting film!
Film must be fully prepped
for transfer... that is, cleaned, leadered and cored up, ready to run
per our standard specs. Check the
Rates &
Terms page for more details.
Supervised
Telecine Transfers
We have had many requests
from local and not so local filmmakers who wish to be present when we do
their film transfers. We now offer these so-called supervised
transfers on an appointment-only basis. The charge is $90/hour with
a 1-hour minimum and .25 hour increments. You still must supply your film
prepped for transfer per our standard specs (see Q & A page). Supervised
transfers allow the filmmaker to provide what ever input necessary to obtain
the desired results from your telecine session. Call us for more
information.
TFG Transfer offers DV digital files
We are able to supply
your film to video transfer session as a pure
DV25 digital file for direct
importation into your existing NLE system. Your 16mm or 35mm film transfer
is layed off directly to our server's hard drive. From there it is burned
as a data file to a DVD-R.
Approximately 23 minutes can be stored per disc. We can accomodate most AVI
formats and can supply .dv (raw DV) files for use with Final Cut Pro on the
Mac. By receiving your film transfers on disc you eliminate the need for
a DV player to capture your material. Issues like tape drop outs and pixellation
during playback are a thing of the past. Just drag the files over and start
editing!
Shoot
on film, post with a computer, finish on film
Today, filmmakers hoping
to release on film have the option of shooting and editing their project
on digital video followed by an expensive DV to film transfer or filmout.
If you choose to shoot on film, we can provide low cost, one-light film transfers
of your camera original with time code burns for importing into your NLE
system. Upon completion of the EDL and cut list, your film will then be ready
for conforming by an experienced negative cutter. Your sound track, formatted
correctly, can be exported directly into a Protools environment for additional
sweetening and preparation of the master optical track.
Film
Tidbits and Rants
Kodak's
EXPOSED DVD is now available
Kodak
has released a very informative, must-have DVD that includes interviews with
fourteen of today's prominent film professionals from around the world discussing
their views of shooting on film versus electronic capture. Included are the
likes of Ken Burns (The Civil War), Steve Sabol (NFL Films), Brian Reynolds
(Cinematographer) and many more. Most interesting are some of the comments
by the overseas participants regarding their attempts to cut costs by switching
to video. There is also a side-by-side comparison of the two mediums provided
by The Post Group. The DVD is free for the asking and can be had by calling
1-800-621-3456. Ask for the EXPOSED DVD.
The
Bell & Howell Eyemo... 35mm on a budget
You
don't have to spend a ton of money to shoot 35mm if the camera you own happens
to be the B&H Eyemo. For years the pros have known about and loved this
camera for its ability to go places and get into positions no other feature
film motion picture camera could possibly handle. Often referred to as a
"crash camera", the 35mm Eyemo actually cut its teeth as a combat camera
during WWII. Like the 16mm B&H Filmo, it is incredibly rugged and virtually
indestructible. The basic single lens, spring driven Model K, seen here (click
on photo for larger view), can often be found on auction sites like Ebay
for very little money. It takes a 100' load, features a quick lens change
and offers speeds of 8, 16 and 24fps. If you happen to locate an Eyemo Model
Q (the military version was the PH-330-G)
you will have a camera
with a 3-lens spider turret, additional speeds of 12, 32 and 48fps,
400' magazine capability, electric motor capability and critical focuser.
You can also sometimes find reflex conversions made to the Bell & Howell
Eyemo that offer through the lens viewing but these are usually on the pricey
side. There's a
great article on the Kodak site about a DP who used his
own personal 35mm Eyemo camera to shoot a low-budget anti-drug PSA for kids.
Check it out and then go shoot some film!
Fujifilm
Demo Reel
There's a great package
of technical information that includes some article-packed magazines and
a rather impressive demo reel DVD available free from Fujifilm that shows
off their Super F-series motion picture film. Visit
this
link and sign up for it before they're all gone. Ours came a just a few
days. Thanks, Fuji!
Kodak
changes B&W reversal film formulations
Kodak has recently change
the emulsion formulations of their existing B&W reversal stocks. Tri-X
is now 7266 and Plus-X is now 7265. Each requires they be processed in new
chemistry. There is a detailed explanation of the new stocks and how the
changes will affect how you shoot B&W reversal on
this site. You can still find labs that will process the
older B&W emulsions, if you still have some, but this will quickly change
as they gear up to use the newer more environmentally friendly process.
Adobe
releases Premiere Pro 1.5
Adobe has finally released
a major overhaul to its Premiere non-linear editing package that warrants
a closer look by PC users thinking of making the switch to the MAC for access
to Final Cut Pro. Of special interest is their new 3-point color correction
tools that can affect adjustments to the hue, saturation and lightness for
highlights, midtones and shadows. Using their Color Match effect you can
replace a color throughout a clip or match scenes shot at different times
of day and with different lighting.
Premier Pro
also supports YUV (the native DV color format) color space ensuring higher
quality chroma since the source image does not pass through a conversion
to and from RGB. As has always been the case with Adobe products, you can
move on up to Premiere Pro for a rather reasonable $199 upgrade
charge.
Adopt
a Pet
Meet our new dog, Scooter.
We adopted Scooter from a shelter here in Connecticut in early April. He
was originally from South Carolina. They do not euthanize animals in S.C.
so there are so many that desperately need new homes they are sent out of
state for possible adoption. Scooter is about a year old and, as best as
anyone can tell, is a terrier mix. He weighs about 16 pounds and is now fully
grown. In many states, stray pets have less than ten days to be adopted before
they are put to sleep. Shelters can only take in so many animals... the rest
are on their own. Take it from us, adopting a homeless pet is something that
will reward you ten fold. For more Scooter pics,
click here.
To see about adopting a homeless pet of your own right in your own area,
visit Petfinder.com. Don't wait, do
it today!
A
word about filmout
Today, it seems, digital
video to 35mm filmout is all the rage. Shoot with your dad's Mini DV camera
all day and night for a few dollars worth of tape stock and have your edited
digital master transferred to 35mm film for the big-time film festivals and
theatrical distribution. This is all well and good but, a word to the wise.
We have seen many productions lately that have been shot on digital video
and printed out to 35mm using the filmout process. Very few of these were
even watchable... content or no content. The resolution marginal at best.
The colors were skewed. The highlights completely blown away. The camera
work non-existent. We have also seen a few, if very few, that were top notch.
In our investigation of the reason for this, we have come to learn some important
details that clearly affect the overall outcome. The best digital video to
35mm filmout productions all seem to have a few things in common. First,
they were shot using high-end digital cameras such as the Sony DSR-500WS.
Second, they were shot using the PAL format for the additional 125 lines
this offers. Third, they were shot by a qualified and experienced DP who
was able to carefully control the exposure levels, the lighting and even
details like what the actors were wearing to how the walls were painted.
Fourth, there were few if any exterior scenes and where there were these
were very carefully framed to avoid contrast and visible highlights. Fifth,
after the digital video was edited it was taken to a high-end commercial
facility for scene by scene color correction and audio sweetening by an expert.
This critical step, clearly lacking in the lower budget filmouts, is what
gave the better productions a more cohesive and consistent look from beginning
to end. Lastly, the 35mm filmout was carried out only after careful tests
were submitted for printing and projection, first.
The digital video to 35mm
filmout process can have certain benefits. The main ones being the low cost
of principle photography, at least in terms of camera stock, which can
drastically affect the overall costs on a long form dramatic production.
The director can ask for multiple takes without fear of blowing the film
stock budget. This is the biggest plus mentioned when you speak with directors
who have used the process. They also say they would have shot on film
had they had the funds to do so! Editing can be performed on a low cost
Final Cut Pro system at your own pace. Some directors claim they could not
have made their picture any other way. The trick is doing the process right
from the start. This means it will take more than just shooting on Mini DV
with your consumer camera!
If anything can be surmised
from all this, it is that shorter, non-feature length productions could be
better served through the use of film as the camera original. The precautions
necessary during principle photography, as mentioned above, could be avoided
altogether. The freedom to shoot as the project dictates and not the other
way around can be a liberating experience. Film becomes your partner... not
your master. The final outcome being a far better looking product with no
apologies required.
16mm 35mm magnetic optical sound
movie film to video tape CD DVD MOV AVI digital file transfers film
to digibeta beta sp dv dvcam dvcpro transfers in connecticut new england
east coast old 16mm sound films 24fps frames per second telecine transfer
to DVD color and density correction audio correction speed correction 16mm
film to DVD video conversion
Kodak
has released a very informative, must-have DVD that includes interviews with
fourteen of today's prominent film professionals from around the world discussing
their views of shooting on film versus electronic capture. Included are the
likes of Ken Burns (The Civil War), Steve Sabol (NFL Films), Brian Reynolds
(Cinematographer) and many more. Most interesting are some of the comments
by the overseas participants regarding their attempts to cut costs by switching
to video. There is also a side-by-side comparison of the two mediums provided
by The Post Group. The DVD is free for the asking and can be had by calling
1-800-621-3456. Ask for the EXPOSED DVD.
