SaveThoseMemories.co.uk - the home of

"Memory HD" Cinefilm transfer



First things first, if you are unsure about any of the terms or prices used below or you are unsure of what you want or need then do please give me, Chris, a call on 07940-810733. I am available to answer any queries 7 days a week up until 10pm at night. I will NEVER be beaten for image quality.

When phoning the best information you can have to hand is a) What size are the reels? and b) How many of each sized reel do I have? This will enable me to give you an accurate quote.

"Memory HD" Telecine System: All cinefilm is transferred on the award winning brand new  "Memory HD" Multiformat HD & SD Film Scanner, you can see all 17 stone (108KG) of it in the picture above, real engineering! The cinefilm image is captured by a Galvanometric Mirror tracking each frame at high speed, thereby recording a still image. The "Memory HD" has built-in optical and magnetic sound capture for all formats which means that sound / vision synchronization is always perfect. The "Memory HD" is capstan driven which means that it does not use, or even need, sprocket holes on the film. This means it can capture damaged, shrunken or warped film, something other systems cannot do. If your film has even one of these issues a sprocket driven system is useless. I have invested £107,000 in a system which I believe to be the highest quality and most versatile cinefilm digitization machine available and mine is the only one in the UK. Image quality really matters to me and I was not about to settle for second or third best. If you have any questions about the "Memory HD" please do ask.

Colour / Exposure Correction and Editing (why is my system so good?)

Cinefilm should never be captured in a single run because the exposure and colour changes at frequent intervals, dependant on lighting conditions when the films were shot. I colour correct and check for exposure levels BEFORE I capture every scene, doing this after capture in editing software leads to a much inferior outcome . This means I might stop the film to make changes many times in any four minute film. If exposure / colour change, I stop the film, re-calibrate to the correct settings, then rewind to the frames just before the change and then start capturing again until the next change. I then edit all these small films together, cutting out the frames of imperfect colour / exposure at the end and beginning of each scene. This leaves you with ALL of your film, in as near to perfect colour and exposure as the original film will allow. If a company just runs your film through in one pass it means that every scene except the first one will have the wrong colour or exposure. Some companies change exposure whilst the film is running, I regularly see films where the light is visibly changing, showing that the operator is changing the camera iris, sometimes many seconds after the change was needed. This is so important it can ruin any transfer if not done correctly or as frequently as necessary. It takes time and effort, which is why most other companies do not bother. If a film is captured in one single pass through any machinery it cannot possibly be as good as it can be. And your money will be wasted. This method of working means I also cut out any blank bits in your film too, so you don't have to sit through even 1 second of black screen waiting for your film to start again. Your film will be as smooth as possible. All part of the service.

Film Cleaning & splicing

As part of my film transfer service I always intensively clean every foot of your cinefilm archive before it goes through the "Memory HD". Using the industry leading professional ECCO cleaning system with anti-static cleaning fluid which stops dust & lint attraction and cleans & conditions the film, I also use editors lint free gloves whilst processing your film, so every frame is as clean as it can possibly be. A 1mm speck of dirt could be 8 inches across on a modern 40" TV screen. After all you want to "Save Those Memories" and not all the dust and dirt that is currently attached to your film after years of storage.

After this cleaning, splicing and transfer process your film is returned to you in pristine condition for further storage. Your film will always come back in much better condition than most people send them in.

Cinefilm formats accepted

• Standard 8mm or Super 8mm cinefilm (magnetic sound or silent)
• 16mm & Super 16mm cinefilm (optical or magnetic sound or silent)
• 9.5mm cinefilm (silent)
• 8mm "POLAVISION" or "Technicolour" cassettes or any similar cassette based cinefilm

Output formats available

• DVD for playing in a normal DVD player or on a PC with DVD capablility (from your SD or HD transfer)
• Blu-Ray High Definition Disc for playing in a Blu-Ray player or on a PC with Blu-Ray capability (from your HD transfer)
• Files on a Hard Drive. SD or HD in whatever format you wish to do your own editing in (.avi .mov H.264 .wmv etc.)
• Files on a DVD-Rom (.mpeg files)
• DV tape MiniDV or full size (as DV or DVCAM)

Services available

There are two distinct service levels offered - High Definition - "HD" and Standard Definition - "SD"

• HD = 1920 x 1080 pixels
• SD = 720 x 576 pixels

If you want TV playable discs the SD will be a DVD and HD will be a Blu-Ray disc.

If you want to have your film captured at the best possible HD resolution I can create either HD (Blu-ray) or SD (DVD) discs from the HD capture. This will be useful if you have Blu-Ray capability but someone else who you want to see the films (parents, siblings etc.) does not have a Blu-Ray system. 

If you want to do your own Computer editing then PC Files can be in any format you specify at any compression rate. For most people this would be uncompressed DV-AVI (.avi files). If you have a substantial archive then I would always suggest supplying a small USB hard drive (such as a Western Digital Passport Drive) if you want uncompressed .avi files or similar.
Please do have a look at the small sample files, which have their own button to the left.

Soundtrack, chapters, main menu and labelling

Every silent film will have a classical music soundtrack added free of charge. Please state if you want your silent film to remain silent. Sound film will, of course, retain it's original soundtrack.
When creating your DVD Menu, Label or cover I only use images from your footage, I DO NOT use pre-made menus with generic photographs. If I am creating a DVD of your Parents wedding from 1958. I will use a nice still from the film of your parents together outside the church. I will pick the best and most flattering frame from your footage. I also print on screen and on the label all of the relevant details. So who, when and where? On the label I also print three more stills from your cinefilm archive. My service is not a conveyor belt designed to make more profit. I will make it very personal and precious using your information and your stills. Finally the DVD / Blu-Ray will be laminated so it will be water and scratch-resistant. This also stops the ink from fading so your precious archive will look as good in 20 years as it does today.

I use your archive all the way. I will always ask you to supply as much information as you can about your films, the more you can tell me the more information that can be saved. "The Smith Family - 8mm Movies - 1962 to 1968"  Chapter 01 - Majorca 1964, Chapter 02 - Judy and Bob's  Wedding 17th March 1965, Chapter 03 - Susan's Christening - August 1966.... and so on.

Pricing structure (Total price = Capture + Editing) (exclusive of VAT)

There is an initial capturing set-up fee (minimum charge) but this will include your first 100ft of film and the cleaning & lubrication of all your films. Beyond that first 100ft my capture prices are:

Cine Film Digital Capture charges

Cine Film Digital Editing / Authoring charges per hour of film.

You can have your archive back as a playable Blu-Ray or DVD disc or as self-edit PC files. Full editing and exposure & colour correction is as standard across the range using two levels of colour correction HSL and RGB to get the absolute best from your films.

Self-Edit PC files: If you want to do your own editing to create your own family masterpiece then ordering your films as PC files is the way to go about it. In Standard Definition you can have .mpgs on a DVD-Rom or .avis on your own USB hard Drive. If you need High Definition files then it will have to be on your own hard drive. The most common file format is .avi (SD - 13gb per hour, HD - 30GB per hour) which will be perfect for almost everybody, but if you prefer to edit in another format please do give me a call, I can output to just about anything

DVD / Blu-Ray Discs: If you just want to be able to play your films on a normal DVD / Blu-Ray player that is no problem. I only create Hollywood style DVDs. With musical menus that will feature a still from your film as a full screen menu. You can choose your own title such as "The Smith Family 8mm Home Movie Archive 1962 to 1978". Your films will be playing in their own little screens with suitable headings such as "1960s" or "1970s" so you can play all of your films straight through or you can pick and choose a title from the main menu, you might just want to watch the "1970s".

As a bonus I cut out any blank bits of film I find for you. This is so you do not have to sit through even 1 second of blackness waiting for your film to restart. Each reel will be a separate chapter. If you know the chronology of your films I will always do them in that order and try to group the films into titles so if you have 24 reels, comprising 12 films from the 1960s and 12 from the 1970s you will see two small films on your main menu. Each made up of 12 individual chapters. Each chapter being a full reel.

Approximate typical Reel Sizes

8mm & 9.5mm cinefilm at 16 frames per second

3inch reel = 50ft = 4 minutes
5inch reel = 200ft = 15 minutes
7inch reel = 400ft = 30 minutes

16mm & Super 16mm cinefilm at 16 frames per second

4inch reel = 100ft = 4 minutes
7inch reel = 400ft = 15 minutes (11 minutes at 24fps)
12inch reel = 1600ft = 60 minutes (44 minutes at 24fps)

Duplicate copies

• Extra identical copies of your finished, laminated DVD are available at £10 each for SD service.
• Extra identical copies of your finished, laminated Blu-Ray are available at £20 each for HD service

DVD covers

I also design individual DVD case covers which will complement your printed DVD or Blu-Ray disc. Each cover will have at least 13 stills from your footage and main family title on the outside. On the inside of the cover I will print as much information as you can supply about your reels. Who, when and where being key. It will show each chapter of your film and whatever you can tell me about that reel. Covers are £12 for the initial design and £4 for any duplicate copies.

Rush Jobs: If you need your cinefilm archive back in double quick time please do give me a call, usual return time is around two to three weeks. If you need it all back quicker (for a party or celebration for example) please do give me a call, a small charge will be payable to cover moving other jobs out of the way and possibly overnight work, but I will endeavour to not let any date slip by. Whatever the rush give me a call.

I have been lucky enough to do work for many companies, organizations and notable individuals all with irreplaceable material. Some of which are noted below.

Pricing Examples (soundtrack, cleaning and scene by scene colour / exposure correction of your film is included)

1. You have 6 x 50ft reels and 1x 400ft reel (700ft - all silent) at SD Service level - standard definition.
   
   £30 capture first 100ft
   £120 capture next 600ft (£10 per 50ft of silent film)
   £20 for up to one hour SD DVD Editing / authoring

Total: £170 exclusive of VAT

2.   You have 2 x 400ft reels (800ft - Sound film) that you wish to self-edit at the SD service level - standard definition

£30 first 100ft 
£154 for next 700ft (£11 per 50ft of sound film) 
£15 for one hour sound self edit .mpg or .avi

Total: £199 exclusive of VAT


Please contact us by phone or email if you wish to have an individual quote (recommended) or if you have any special requests or circumstances, I will always do my best to accommodate you. Please call me if any of the above price structures need clarification. Please have your reel sizes and numbers of each reel size ready if you can.

After a quote has been accepted and the work completed payment can be made by

• cheque to "SaveThoseMemories"
• A direct Electronic Bank Transfer.
• Paypal (for overseas customers).

If using PayPal please contact me for further details

Any over-payment will be returned with your order.

Postage

I recommend that you use a minimum of Recorded or Special Delivery to send me your films. I will return them by First Class recorded delivery. Price of return postage will depend on the amount of film being sent.

Please remember to include with your package:

Your contact details, Name, Address, Telephone number, email address and level of service required, what you want the archive to be called and your family name at the time the film was shot.