Transferring old home movies or that "blockbuster" movie you made as a teenager to video or DVD can be costly if you take it to a professional. However, you can make the transfer to videotape or digital media yourself at home by following a few basic instructions.
Silent Film
The biggest concern is whether the 8 mm film has sound or is silent. Re-recording sound can be a little trickier than just transferring an image because of the noise from the projector. Silent films, however, are much easier to copy. To copy a silent film, you will need a camcorder, an 8 mm film projector, some form of screen for projection, a darkened room and a tripod. Set up the projector at the minimum distance possible from the screen. The screen in this case can be a real movie screen or a very bright, white piece of paper. Tack the paper to a wall or some other hard surface that does not move. Play the film on the surface until you have it focused correctly, then rewind it. Set up the camcorder as close to the projector as possible without touching it. Align the camcorder lens to be nearly parallel to the projector lens. Start the camcorder, then start the projector. When the film is complete, continue to record briefly to create a short blank recording at the end of the tape/digital media for easier editing.
Sound Film
To copy 8 mm or Super 8 mm movies with sound, you will need a dark room for projection that has as little ambient sound as possible. If you have hundreds of film reels to copy, you may want to consider soundproofing your work room. You can achieve this with soundproofing tiles or with egg-crate-style foam padding, the kind some people use on beds for more comfort. This padding is relatively inexpensive and can be affixed to the walls, ceiling and door of the room you plan to use for copying. An alternative method, and better if your projector has the capability, is to connect the audio-out jack of the projector to the audio-in jack of the camcorder. This will eliminate any outside noise.
Making DVDs
Once you have copied the 8 mm films onto videotape or digital media, you can transfer it to a computer for clean up and the creation of DVDs. If your camcorder uses videotape, you will need an analog-to-digital converter. Plug the outputs from the camcorder into the converter, then re-record the videotape onto the computer using a video capture software package. If your camcorder has digital-out capability, plug it directly into the computer without a converter. Once you have the recording digitized, use DVD-authoring software to create your own custom DVDs. Once the master DVD has been authored, you can make as many copies as you want.
Tags: digital media, will need, DVDs Once, Once have, videotape digital, videotape digital media, your camcorder