Catching Up with Technology
Are your favorite movie moments having a hard time keeping up with the times since they're recorded on 8mm film? Don't worry -- with a few easy conversions, you can transfer your old film to digital in a snap. If keeping the visual quality of the film is really important to you, it might be wise to take your movies to a professional to transfer, though it is costly. But, if your main concern is keeping the memorable content instead of top notch visuals, then try this do-it-yourself project out for cheap.
Instructions
Transferring 8mm to Digital
1. Place 8mm projector close to your projection screen. Make sure the picture is sharp to ensure you get the best quality possible.
2. Put the DV camcorder on the tripod and set it near the projector. Be careful not to place the DV camcorder on the projector table so that you avoid picking up the projector vibrations on your DV recording.
3. Adjust the zoom of your DV camcorder so that the entire picture on the projector fits in your DV frame. Run a test recording to make sure that your DV camcorder is picking up what you see through the DV frame.
4. Change the exposure of your DV camcorder to manual. If you keep the exposure on auto, the lighting of the digital film will flicker since the DV camcorder will try to auto-adjust with the lighting changes.
5. Turn off the sound on your DV recorder since the noise from the projector will overpower an audio on your 8mm film. You can always add audio other than what was on the 8mm film to your new digital version when you edit your video on the computer.
6. Load your 8mm film into the projector and darken the room completely. Press record on your DV camcorder, and start playing your 8mm film. Having a table lamp near the projector is helpful if you need to change reels in the dark during the recording. When the film's done, stop recording, and take the reels off the projector.
7. Change your DV camcorder to VCR (aka play) mode, and connect your DV camcorder to your computer with your firewall cable. You want the cable in the out input of your DV camcorder, and into the firewall slot of your computer.
8. Open a video edition application on your computer, such as iMovie. If prompted, select create new project, or go into a blank editing space.
9. Import your movie to your computer. In iMovie, this is done by pressing the import button. Once your movie is transferred, edit you movie any way you'd like.
Tags: your camcorder, your computer, your film, near projector, your movie
