Save Those Memories
There are many ways to save your family archives.. cheaply or properly.. and cheaply always costs more in the end.

Save Those Memories – Cine film to digital transfer

Call on: 01793 495733
Email: admin@savethosememories.co.uk
Address: 3 Lovell Close, Swindon, SN3 5BT

Home » Frequently asked questions

Welcome to our frequently asked questions,. If you have a question that is not answered here, please feel free to get in touch on 01793 495733. I would be happy to help. 

I don’t profess to have the slickest website, that isn’t my specialty. Any company can pay someone to put up a really fantastic website, but this says nothing about their ability to transfer video and cinefilm. I have many customers who come to me after visiting other companies and having had a terrible experience want to get their cinefilm re-done, sadly without a refund from the original company. Being a one-man band with superlative equipment means that I might not get through as much film as I could but what I do get through is of the absolute highest standard. If you go through my website I always name the equipment I use. Most companies just put “state of the art” or “second to none” that means absolutely nothing if they do not tell you what they actually use. Emails are answered, phone calls are taken and this all takes time. Typical turnaround is between 3 to 4 weeks, yes it could be quicker but something would have to suffer, either the quality of my work or my customer service and I don’t wish to compromise either of those things. 

Frequently asked questionsCinefilm is one of the most stable media formats there is. It will long outlast Videotape. If your film has been stored reasonably well and was well shot in the first place there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON why you shouldn’t expect to get really excellent results from your film. It is a tried and trusted excuse for a bad transfer to say “well the film wasn’t up to much”. You should expect as close to perfection as the film will allow, if you are not happy, complain! Cinefilm is brilliant stuff, and with half decent storage should be close to how it was 50 years ago, particularly if you have Kodak film.

My system is called the “Scanbox 4K” it is made by a wonderful French company called CTM Debrie who have been making cinefilm equipment for about a century and are at the forefront of modern film digitization technology. Previously I bought the Memory HD from Debrie Technology in 2009 and in October 2020 I installed the new Scanbox 4K telecine machine. I will happily supply any customer with the data sheet and company details to show it is currently the best capture system available for small format film. I have spent well over £150,000 on my Cinefilm set-ups over the last decade and I have devoted my life savings to it. That is how sure I am that it will give the absolute best images possible. Google it, read about it and hopefully you will realise it is the best system out there.

Always ask a transfer company what equipment they are using and who makes it. I know that some companies use a) home made equipment b) projector and screen c) projector and 90 degree mirror. This type of equipment should be avoided at all costs. If they won’t tell you who makes it or won’t show a picture of it on their website then ask yourself a few serious questions.

If they won’t tell you i) what system they use ii) who makes it iii) how it works…. you have some decisions to make.

If they use a normal camera of any kind….avoid.

All small format film can look utterly fantastic in High Definition or 2K. HOWEVER in some circumstances it can be a waste of money.

Because of the way I use my machinery I can compensate for so many things before capture even starts. Colour, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, hue, saturation, luminescence… the list goes on.

This means that even average film can end up looking good. I won’t transfer 8mm or super 8mm film to 4K though as the original image is too small and can’t sustain the Ultra High Definition 4K result.

If it is poorly shot, out of focus and has been stored in the shed for 40 years with water damage then you might be better off with Standard Definition. I will ALWAYS put customers off having an HD / 2K transfer if the original film is not up to it. If, in this instance you still insist, I will of course do an HD / 2K transfer but at least you will know what to expect.

 Cinefilm is an analogue medium. It is a series of small photographs.  So it is entirely down to the quality of the equipment as to how well this will turn out. I have seen some websites say that HD / 2K quality is impossible or not worth it. That is just nonsense, it’s like saying you can’t scan in a photograph above a standard definition setting. An HD / 2K system will cut this analogue “photograph” into 1080 or 1500 lines. A good system will do it better than a poor one but to say it can’t be done is just not true.

The “Scanbox 4K” outputs it’s images with three options.

a) as full HD 1920 x 1080.

b) as full 2K (2048 x 1500 in 4:3 or 2048 x 1152 in 16:9 widescreen).

c) as full 4K (4096 x 3000 in 4:3 or 4096 x 2304 in 16:9 widescreen).

I will transfer 8mm / Super8mm / 9.5mm and 16mm in HD or 2K and 9.5mm or 16mm in 4K. I don’t believe there is value to be had in transferring 8mm / super 8mm film in 4K as the image is too small

Frequently asked questionsEven if your film has been stored in the same packet or tin since 1963 it will still be filthy. Dust, oil, lint, fingerprints, grease, ink and so on will contaminate just about any film. And all of this can (and will) end up on screen unless it is dealt with.

There are not many comprehensive methods of cleaning film that still exist today and those that there are can be very time consuming to use properly. This is why so many companies do not bother to clean and prepare the film first. If the website you are looking at states that the film is cleaned then press the company as to how it is cleaned. What does their cleaning entail. I read my competitors sites on a regular basis and quite a few now state they clean the film first, but when pressed are quite fuzzy as to what they do to clean it up. For example if they state “Air Cleaning” you will have to bear in mind that air is only good for dust… and even then only if every piece of film is constantly blasted with a strong steady stream of air. I don’t class it as “Cleaning the film” if all they have is a can of “Air” by the projector and when a great big blob of hair turns up on screen they blast the projector gate until it disappears. You will see the results of this on screen.

I transfer all of my film on 1,200ft reels. During the process of putting your cinefilm archive onto these large 1,200ft reels I test the robustness of your film and it’s splices. If you have a weak splice it can affect the transfer. I will repair any weak or broken splices that exist within your archive. This will mean the travel through the “Scanbox 4K” will be smooth leading to a better image. When the repair process is complete I then use “FilmGuard”, a tried and tested cine film dedicated liquid antistatic cleaner and lubricator to remove any foreign dirt and grime from your film using the ECCO cleaning system. This means that the final image you get from the transfer is as good as it can be. Remember a 1mm speck on an 8mm film can be an 6 inch blob on a modern TV. The Scanbox 4K is also equipped with PTR rollers, which remove any last second dust or dirt that might have fallen on the film and then finally it has wetgate technology to smooth the film surface out, keep it perfectly clean and limit the impact of any scratches that might otherwise be seen on-screen. Belt and braces….and another belt just in case!

Even the smallest 50ft reel of 8mm cinefilm at 4 minutes will consist of several scenes. Maybe a child opening Christmas presents in a 1970s living room under yellow light then throwing snowballs outside in the (blue) daylight then back indoors for Christmas dinner under those yellow lights again, then you are on the Beach in June….. Each of these scenes will need specific settings for any one (or all) of the following: Exposure, colour temperature, contrast, gamma (shadows and highlights), hue, luminescence, saturation and so on. It is no good to just set all of these parameters (or not!) for the first indoor scene and leave the film running until the end. Every other scene will be completely wrong, too dark, too light or just the wrong colour. The colour needs to be corrected for the outdoor scene because if it isn’t everything will look terribly blue. So I watch every frame before capture on my Scanbox 4K monitor system and program the necessary changes in. I set all the parameters so that the new scene looks as good as it can. The image is always perfectly framed and focussed.

As a pleasant by-product of this pains-taking process I also cut out all of the black / blank and unexposed areas of your film so you do not have to sit through even 1 second of black film or leader waiting for the film to restart.

The processes I undertake to get your archive on screen are extremely time consuming. The cine film has to be repaired whilst being run onto large reels then it is comprehensively cleaned before it is digitized in the manner described above and then carefully edited together. All of this takes an incredible amount of time to do properly. Every minute spent on these processes is worth it as it gives your archive the best chance to shine on screen. If any one of these four processes is skimped on or missed completely then this minimizes the chance of a favourable outcome. I do not skimp and I will not skimp on the time given to your, or anybody else’s, films.

Having said that I will always try to hit a deadline if there is a special event that you need a particular piece of work for. I get a lot of archives that are needed for a very special anniversary or birthday or sadly in some cases where family illness is involved. I will always strive to meet deadlines. In certain circumstances I reserve the right to have up to a 25% surcharge if the deadline is very short to cover nightwork but this would only be in exceptional circumstances. What I won’t do is rush film through. Even if the deadline is short I will still give every frame my undivided attention.

Indeed, my accountant has said that I could employ several people to double turnover. I believe this would only lead to a drop in quality. I am passionate about cinefilm. It really matters to me that you get the best possible outcome to your precious archive. I have NO experience of human resources, health & safety, accountancy and all of the things that go with employment particularly when I work from my home studio. All of these things mean I would have to take my eye off the ball regarding the transfer of archives. Until I can guarantee that anybody I might employ would have exactly the same passion as I do for the perfect transfer then I will stay doing what I do on my own.

Every cine film, video or photograph I digitize is irreplaceable, invaluable and private to it’s owner. So every archive, whether small or large, is treated with the same respect and discretion. Only I do the work here so nobody else will ever see any part of your archive. I would usually keep copies of a customer’s archive on my system for 2 years. However, if you wish, I will erase any copies on my system as soon as you confirm safe arrival with you. Whatever your film is, if the film is meant for broadcast, publication or long term (museum) storage or family based footage or of a private and personal nature I will never use, publish or show anyone any of your footage. Total discretion and privacy is absolutely assured.

My logistical system has been built up since 2003 so there is absolutely no chance of cross contamination of archives. Your archive is perfectly safe here at savethosememories.co.uk.

I am based in Swindon, Wiltshire and over the last 18 years I have had people travel from all over the UK so that we can talk through their requirements. Call me, make an appointment and I will happily talk things through face-to-face. Even with Covid restrictions I am happy to receive hand delivered archives and we can talk from a safe distance. Otherwise I recommend using Royal Mail. Preferably Special delivery as that is tracked all the way. A good strong box or decent Jiffy bag will do the trick for most archives and do include a covering letter with your contact details. I keep a digital record of everything I do for you for a minimum of 2 years so the journey home isn’t so stressful for your archive.

Over the last 18 years of highest quality cinefilm transfer I have had family archives of a single, small 50ft reel and conversely archives that cover 1000s and 1000s of feet of film. So it doesn’t matter if you find a single unknown reel in a drawer or have 100s of reels. I am happy to save any film you have whether a small collection or massive.