Film Services

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Film to DVD Transfer

Transference Process

1. Standard Definition (720 x 480, Full frame capture, No cropping)
   Film is captured with 3CCD camera at 720 x 480.
2. High Definition (1080p frame by frame, No Cropping).
   It is a slow process. Each frame is captured with an HD camera on a computer's hard drive. Then by using an editing system, white balance and colors are normalized. The final video is lot better than a regular transfer.

Price Estimator

The above cost is to convert film to video format.  There is an extra $25.00 charge to make a DVD master. Blu Ray Disc master is $95.00.

For more details, see the section below

Cost Calculation:

1. We first make a digital master of your 8mm film to a miniDV tape. All frames are converted to tapes at 30 fps (video frame playback rate).

2. One miniDV (60 minutes) can hold up to 850ft of 8mm film.

3. Once the footage is transferred to miniDV, it is then mastered onto DVD.

4. DVD can hold up to 2 hrs of footage (approximately 1700ft) without any significant loss of quality.

5. You can combine 2 miniDVs (your film digital masters) on one DVD.

The process of making a digital master, up to 1 hr., is $35.00 which includes the tape stock (ie-miniDV).  The process of making a DVD master, via a miniDV is $25.00.  That comes with a B/W company label and a hard slim line jewel case

So, for up to 850 ft, you will pay $35.00 (miniDV master creation process). If the footage goes over 850, you will be adding up the cost of a second miniDV master.  You can put 2 miniDVs on one DVD (DVD can hold 2 hrs without any loss of significant quality). You will save $25.00 extra.  An example is listed below.

Example: Your Footage = 800ft (Click here to check your total footage) Price per ft    = $0.13/ft Converting to video = $0.13 x 800= $104.00 MiniDV master = $35.00 DVD Master = $25.00 Total Cost = (Video conversion + miniDV master + DVD Master) + TAX OR Total Cost = $104.00 + $35.00 + $25.00 +TAX a. This price does not include shipping, handling and taxes. b. This price does not include charge for splicing ($3.00/splice) c. Blu Ray transfer costs $75.00/2hrs. of DVD. DVD mastering will be $75.00 instead of $25.00)   ...still have a question?

Two Hours vs. One Hour on DVD:
A one hour DVD master is a non compressed format, whereas a two hour DVD does have a minimal amount of compression.  While there is a difference in quality, it takes a well trained eye, let alone very high quality equipment to notice this difference.  Most store bought DVDs utilize similar compression to allow for many hours of video on a DVD disc.  Simply put, this difference is negligible. 

Why would I need the miniDV:
A miniDV tape is needed to make your final DVD master.  Due to the nature of the film transfer, transferring to miniDV is unavoidable.  Moreso, the miniDV tape acts as a backup in the event you lose the original DVD master or your original DVD master cannot be played because of repeated use in the DVD player. This way, you won’t have to pay to have all of your film transferred again.

Digital tapes vs. Hard drives:
Hard drives are not meant to act as a long term storage solution for video and other data. They are temporary storage for the media that is going to be used for some project in the near future.   External hard drives are known to crash and, most of the time, the media on the drive is unrecoverable.  If a tape gets stuck in a VCR, it won’t render the whole tape unusable, only that portion of the tape that was jammed will be damaged, so you will be able save the rest of the media.  Also, tapes are smaller in size compared to hard drives and do not have any electronics to get damaged, are much less susceptible to physical damage and are very easy to store.

How should I send you the films?

Here is the checklist before you send us the films.
 

Once we receive your films, we will confirm via email.

Film Editing:

Adding music.
Music can be added for additional $25.00/hr. of transferred footage. You can specify CD tracks of your choice for your project.

Editing films.
We do not edit the films during transference process. Films can be edited once they are on miniDV tapes. There are two option:

1. You can setup the appointment with the editor ($75.00/hr. min. charge $75.00) and we can start editing right off of the miniDV tape before burning it on to DVD. OR

2. You can have the tape burned on to DVD, take the DVD at home,  make all the notes on a piece of paper and then setup an appointment with the editor.

Additional cost, if transfer is required other than DVD

	Before	After
All projects are processed in house.