Press Release
January 2004
Wethersfield, CT
The past few months have been a busy time for TFG Transfer's archival film transfer division. The firms Marconi digital CCD line array telecine system has been called upon for several rather interesting assignments. In December of 2003 TFG Transfer was given the task of transferring and mastering to digital tape a long forgotten film produced in 1953 dealing with the early days of flight. The film, which originally took three years to make, includes priceless and rarely seen interviews with many of this country's earliest aviation pioneers, including Igor I. Sikorsky, Donald W. Douglas, William E. Boeing, Frederick B. Rensselaer and Charlie Taylor the Wright brothers bicycle mechanic who built their plane's engine. That same month the personal biographer for 50's singer, Teresa Brewer, entrusted TFG Transfer with films of some of her early television appearances for transfer to a digital master. The OK Engine Company, based in the Cooperstown section of New York is a 67-year-old manufacturer of model plane engines. Back in the late 1950's their company was featured on NBC television. The founder's family acquired all the original footage shot by NBC at the time. They then contacted TFG Transfer to see about having the film preserved by converting it to a digital master and, ultimately, to DVD. What turned out to be razor sharp 35mm B&W film showed details of the complete manufacturing process used back then to produce, assemble and test these precision hobby engines. Earlier this month Konica Business Technology brought five 16mm films to TFG Transfer. Konica has acquired several long standing business products companies both here and abroad including Connecticut's own Royal Business Machines. These films, some dating back as far as the early 1930's, will become part of a special exhibit the company will use to acquaint new customers with their earlier "typewriter and adding machine" days. While all these recent archival projects have been a unique challenge for TFG Transfer, the most startling and intriguing assignment came from a personal collector who stopped by their office with an old, faded box containing a single 100 foot roll of 16mm B&W camera original film. The short three-minute reel contained the only footage known to exist of the ill-fated German airship, the Hindenburg, flying over the Travelers Tower in downtown Hartford, Connecticut in October of 1936. The zeppelin would burst into flames over Lakehurst, New Jersey the following May 6th, 1937.
TFG Transfer provides 16mm and 35mm film to digital transfers for libraries, museums, colleges, corporations and research institutions needing high quality custom conversion of original and limited edition archival motion picture material. Their offices and facilities are in Wethersfield, Connecticut.