HOME MOVIE FILM PROBLEMS
What a chore it used to be to lug out the movie projector, set up the screen, thread the film, get it stuck to the take up reel and then 15 minutes later start to watch your films. Then you had rewind time too....Now we have a solution for you!
Transfer your old home movie reels to a digital format: DVD, Flash Drive or Solid State Hard Drive. Convert 8mm film to digital at Video Doc Productions.
You can be enjoying your old home movie films in a matter of seconds once they are preserved on a digital format by Video Doc Productions!
Time is your enemy. Video Doc is a specialist in 8mm movie film to digital. Film was only intended to last 10 years.
Yes, 10 years....(I heard you say Yikes!)
Does your old Super 8, 8mm, or 16mm film smell like Vinegar? Does it have a white powder film on the reels? Chances are, if you see these two indicators, your film is deteriorating rapidly and will not last much longer!
As you can see from the examples, film becomes brittle, curled or warped and eventually becomes one solid brick of plastic and destined for the garbage. Gone forever!
Don’t let your Super 8, 16mm and 8mm Films deteriorate any further! Let us transfer your home movie film reels to HD video files or DVD before it’s too late!
Proper storage of film reels is one of the keys to a successful 8mm movie film to digital transfer to DVD. Do not store your films in the attic, hot garage or non-air-conditioned basement. If your film is in metal containers, open them right away. The lack of air will hurt them more than the plastic reels. Tip: Take the top lid off and punch a few holes in the top with a hammer and nail, then replace the top to keep dust off the film. Then get those 8mm and Super-8 films to us FAST!
Is there a strong pungent vinegar smell coming from your basement or storage shed? If so your home movies (8mm, Super 8, and 16mm film) may be suffering from vinegar syndrome!
Transfer that home movie film today at Video Doc Productions!
Time is Your Enemy!
VINEGAR SYNDROME: Technically "cellulose acetate decomposition". This is more commonly known as "Vinegar Syndrome".
The symptoms of vinegar syndrome are a strong vinegar smell followed by shrinkage, becomes brittle, and buckling of the gelatin emulsion.
Storage in warm and humid conditions greatly accelerates the onset of decay. Once it begins, the remaining life of the film is short because the process speeds up as it goes along. Once film has vinegar syndrome starts, there is only a small window of time, before the film starts to physically morph -- curl and stretch and then shrink.
Once the film shrinks, it becomes brittle, and bowed. (See example to the right).
Act now and have your films preserved on DVD! Once Vinegar Syndrome starts, there is no way to reverse it.
Once film has vinegar syndrome detected, all reels sharing common air space should be quarantined individually and transferred to DVD immediately.
Converting your film to DVD s the only way to salvage the images on the film.
COLOR FADING: Color fading is caused by chemical changes in the image dyes of color films.Many older films have taken on a distinct purplish cast, caused by the rapid fading of the cyan and yellow image dyes.
BAD BATHS: Super 8mm film can go bad due to "bad baths" during the original processing with a crystalline "snow flake" build-up within the emulsion of the film which was not washed / rinsed properly at the time of development. (See example to the right)
AGING & MOLD: Film is made of plastic "tape" (backing) and an organic "film" on the tape the "gelatin emulsion". Made from plant and animal by-products, all color and black-and-white information is stored in the gelatin emulsion, which cracks with age. Even the color dyes "get tired". This "organic" media is vulnerable to mold that grows in dark damp places.
Film that "gets wet" will contact mold that will literally "eat it up". This appears a as blue-green mosaic in your film and occasionally as "black specks". Also, mold can grow in the scratches in the emulsion of your film, which discolor over time. (See example to the right)
We suggest NOT running them on an old projector with a hot bulb. You may do more damage by trying to organize them rather than having ustransfer them as is.
