|
SaveThoseMemories.co.uk - the home of
"Memory HD" Cinefilm transfer
I Guarantee I will get the best possible images from your cinefilm, photographic and video archive.
Hello my name is Chris and welcome to SaveThoseMemories.co.uk In search of the perfect telecine image I have invested in brand new state-of-the-art Telecine film transfer equipment. This machinery, the "Memory HD" from world renowned cinematographic company CTMDebrie, it is the only "Memory HD" in private hands in the UK at present and it took me over 6 months of research, awkward questions and trials to make the choice of what I consider to currently be the best small format Telecine transfer system available. "Memory HD" is the only system in the world capable of generating true Telecine High Definition (HD = 1920 x 1080) & Standard Definition (SD = 720 x 576) cinefilm transfers for all of these formats with or without sound - 8mm, Super8, 16mm, Super 16mm & 9.5mm.
You can ask me as many awkward questions as you want....and you should ask awkward questions because to digitize cinefilm to this quality level is a time intensive task that you should only have to undertake once....
Check the FAQ for the answers to the kind of questions you should be asking of anybody who goes near your family's history on cinefilm, video or slides.
Key Cinefilm points
1.All film is thoroughly cleaned, repaired (if necessary) and prepared before transfer to ensure the best possible outcome for your archive. The more work I do at this stage the better the final outcome will be.
....
2.My HD output is true HD (1920 x 1080i) not upscaled Standard Definition (SD) or lesser HD formats (1440 or 1280) which are a poor alternative to true HD. Nor is it just using an HD camcorder to film the projection and claiming HD quality. (NEVER go to a company that still uses a camcorder, however good the camera is, it isn't designed for this specific task!)
....
3.All Cinefilm archives are captured on a scene-by-scene basis. I correct for colour, shadow, highlight & exposure correction as standard before capture on the "Memory HD", I stop and re-calibrate the machinery every time the scene changes so that every frame is as close to perfect as possible. (See "FAQ" for full details)
....
4. Typical cinefilm archive turnaround is currently running at three to four weeks.
....
Here at SaveThoseMemories.co.uk I pride myself on the personal touch, I do not employ anyone to do work for me, only I do your work with the "Memory HD". Your precious memories are not sub-contracted elsewhere or given to a nameless employee to complete. From your initial phonecall or email you will deal with me, Chris, this will guarantee that what you want is what you get, nothing is lost in the "Chinese Whispers" of larger companies. There is no template, no one-size-fits-all, no generic moving menus used with useless information like "Memories", no treadmill of just chucking sub-standard images out. Everything is done by me with care and attention to detail. After all what good is "20% off"or a "Free something or other" with every order if the images produced are embarrassingly sub-standard....? I get sent quite a lot of DVDs and PC files from customers who have had their films digitized at other large companies and in some cases I am shocked at the careless attitude to image quality and customer service.
....
I am always happy to listen to exactly what you want to achieve, whether you are an archivist from a library or museum, a broadcasting company or a private individual wanting a special Golden Wedding anniversary present for your parents, or maybe you are sorting out an entire family archive or you just want a simple transfer of one or two reels of your childhood. If the phone is busy leave a message and I will get right back to you. No job is too small (single reel, 5 slides) or too large (hundreds of reels, thousands of slides).
....
It really matters to me that you get your important family memories or official archive exactly how you want them with the right information in exactly the right places. Whether your archive is on cinefilm, videotape or any size of photographic slide or film I always try to think 20 years in advance so even if you only have a few words scrawled on a small packet of cinefilm, those words are still worth saving - "Mum & Dad - Majorca 1968" might mean the world to you....I am available to discuss your transfer needs right up to the end of office hours at 10pm.
....
January 2012 news:
a) I am launching a brand new DPX telecine service in the next few weeks, so now is the time to discuss it if you wish to take advantage of it. This new service will be able to create Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) files which will run at about 800GB per hour in High Definition. It is specifically for customers who want the absolute best possible format for preserving their archives. Running at 800GB per hour would crush most computer editing and storage systems. However as a long term storage solution for your images it cannot be surpassed. So whether you are an archivist from the National Library or have a few family reels that you just want preserved at the best possible resolution and quality then this service is for you. In the New Year I will be opening a new page on this website for professional archivists, film makers and members of the public who only want the best.
This is a little bit of information about the DPX format, you can read up on it elsewhere (google it) and I will have more information on the new DPX page when I launch the service....
"....The DPX file format is most commonly used to represent the density of each colour channel of a scanned negative film in an uncompressed "logarithmic" image where the gamma of the original camera negative is preserved as taken by a film scanner. For this reason, DPX is the worldwide-chosen format for still frames storage in most Digital Intermediate post-production facilities and film labs."
....
b) To facillitate this new DPX service I have just purchased a new 24TB DPX capable storage system which is much, much faster than my old 24TB HD storage system. This new DPX system is already up and running in tandem with my current HD storage system and should mean that I will be able to store customers back-up files and films for much longer. So if you lose your files or just want copies of DVDs at a later date I will guarantee that I will still have your digitized Cinefilm available for up to 18 months from the point of transfer unless you specifically ask for these storage files to be deleted upon receipt of your copies.
....
c) I have just bought a New Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck so that I can output High Definition cinefilm capture to High Definition Video tape for those that want it. I can now output DV, DVCAM or HDV footage onto large or Mini DV, DVCAM or HDV tapes.
....
d) I have de-registered from the VAT system, so ALL of my prices are what you pay, there is NO VAT to be added..... I am thrilled at this development it gives me more time (less admin.) to concentrate on digitizing cinefilm, video and photographic archives whilst reducing the prices I have to charge.
....
e) I have just updated all of my video routing and cabling so I will expect even better results with videotape and laserdiscs. I am now using "QED" and "Chord" cabling with an Atlona switching system to improve all video tape and non-cinefilm transfers.
....
f) This year I was on the film preservation panel at the Cambridge International Super 8 Film Festival. Further details can be found at www.cambridge-super8.org I was the only archivist from the cinefilm preservation industry on the panel and had a few extra minutes to discuss the " Memory HD". The quality of the machinery took quite a few people by surprise compared to what they had been using before and I will continue to work with this wonderful organization as they prepare for a busy year ahead with many BBC broadcast and archive projects in the pipeline. ....
g) I now have full MAC capabilities, so issues with MAC hard drive formatting are no more. I can now accept hard drives in either MAC HFS format or NTFS format for MAC & PC
....
h) I have just upgraded my mounted 35mm and medium format slide and unmounted film positive & negative scanning equipment to what is renowned to be the best slide and film scanner Nikon ever made. So call me on 07940-810733 or 01793-495733 if you have any photographic transfer needs.
....
i) As well as High-end 35mm mounted slide scanning I am now able to process 35mm Strip film (unmounted). 120 / 220 (medium format) strip film in all sizes. Larger or non-standard mounted slides and photographic glass plates of any size. From Medium Format mounted slides, unmounted film or any size glass plate, all can be done to the kind of standard that people expect from savethosememories.co.uk (see "New Services" below for more details).
....
j) Again, I was the only Cinefilm transfer company that got a recommendation by ComputerActive! magazine. This is now three years running that I have been the only company recommended by ComputerActive! for small format cinefilm digitization.
....
I can accept your archive material on any of the following formats...
Cinefilm (Click "Cinefilm - all Formats" in the menu to the left)
- Standard 8mm or Super 8mm cinefilm (magnetic sound or silent)
- 16mm or super 16mm cinefilm (optical or magnetic sound or silent)
- 9.5mm cinefilm (silent)
- 8mm "POLAVISION" cassettes or "technicolor" cartridges or any similar cassette based cinefilm
Videotape and videodisc (Click "Camcorder - Home Movies" in the menu to the left)
- VHS SVHS VHS-C SVHS-C
- Beta (Betamax, Betacord or Betamovie)
- Video 2000 (V2000 or Video Compact Cassette)
- Hi8 Video8 Digital8
- MiniDV DV DVCAM (mini or large tape)
- HDV Video tape (mini or large tape)
- MicroMV
- mini DVD
- Umatic (lo-and, hi-band, Umatic SP)
- Betacam / Betacam SP
- Laserdisc CDVideo
Slides, Plates and Photographs (Click "35mm Slides" in the menu to the left)
- mounted 35mm slides
- mounted medium format slides
- unmounted strip film in 35mm or medium format
- Photographic Glass Plates (any size)
- Printed photographs
- medical slides
For all of the above video formats I can deal with all TV systems...
- PAL (UK, Europe, Australasia)
- NTSC (The Americas and Asia)
- Secam (France and Eastern Europe)
I can output your files however you want them returned (PAL or NTSC) If you want something else then just ask, it can probably be done.
- DVD (printed & laminated) from SD video or SD / HD (downscaled) cinefilm transfers.
- Blu-Ray High Definition (printed and laminated) (1920x1080) from your HD Cinefilm transfer or slide / plate scanning
- DVD-Rom - self edit .mpg for video / cinefilm or .bmp for slides / plate scanning
- Your USB Hard-Drive as any Standard (SD) or High Definition (HD) file format, just tell me what you need (.avi .mov H.264 etc.)
- DV TAPE as DV or DVCAM in Standard Definition
- HDV tape in DV, DVCAM or HDV format
If you have anything unusual.....call or email me you never know I might have forgotten to list it!
Please Note:
- I DO NOT use camcorders and cheap wires for transferring camcorder video footage, which will lead to inferior quality, I ONLY use professional deck-based dedicated Video transfer equipment by Sony, JVCPro, Panasonic and wiring by QED and Chord.
- I ONLY use top quality printable Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden DVD-Rs and Blu-Ray discs, so that all printing is directly on the disc, no sticky labels EVER!
- NEW - All DVDs & Blu_Ray discs are laminated after printing so they will remain water and scratch-resistant for years, this is especially useful if you are lending your DVDs out to friends or family. It also means that any ink colours will remain fresh for many years.
- Private & personal video and photographic material is fully secure and will always receive discreet attention. So if you have made a home movie you would rather no-one else saw or there are just a few indiscreet moments on one of your tapes I can remove it from the archive...or as many customers ask, put it onto a separate un-labelled DVD. As mentioned above only I do the work NO ONE ELSE, no one else is here.... call or email me to discuss if you have any specific privacy requirements. All material of this nature will be wiped after you receive your DVD.
- If you can't visit me then return postage is always sent by First Class Recorded Delivery. If sending precious material to us we suggest using at least Recorded or Special Delivery too.
Just choose your service / format requirements from the list on the left hand side menu and I will give your material the personal touch from Start to Finish.
* Email or phone if you wish to discuss your specific requirements or just to chat through the possibilities of what can be achieved.
|
