Super8mm Restoration/Conversion Service

[johnvv]

Can anyone recommend a company that restores Super8mm film (telecine restoration?) and converts to digital? I know that there are many, but I am looking for a company that does nice work, is reliable, and treates my ancient Super8mm stock with TLC.

I'm actually looking to have my brother's 1970's monster movie restored and converted. I runs about 60 minutes and he spent all his weekends for about a year making it. The film looks to be in good condition for the age, but hasn't been spooled in about 10 years. I'd expect it needs some color restoration and does have some splices in it. Once in digital, we'll redo the original sound track, replace the title cards, and make some DVDs for the family.

It should be fun laughing at how everyone looked 30 years ago... Good thing I'm the youngest.

I'm located in the Sacramento, CA area. A local place would be nice, but I expect that the best services are elsewhere in the country. Just have to trust my film stock to FedEx.

[lordtangent]

Wow. It sounds like you want a proper telecine then, and not the crappy kind of transfer you get at a one hour photo place.

The 8mm EXEPERTS are a place in Burbank called Pro8mm. They are the ones that outfit Hollywood when a Hollywood project needs 8mm work.

www.pro8mm.com

I've never used them myself, but I have a friend that has and he was happy. I have seen their demo reel and it looks great. The main issue for you might be they are probably more expensive than the mom and pop places. But dude, your bro spent a year on the film! It's probably worth it to get a decent transfer.

[nolonemo]

I used these guys to convert about 2 hours of home movies my dad shot in the 1950s, I was very pleased with the results. However, all I asked for was a straight transfer.
http://members.aol.com/filmtotape/index.htm

[tcindie]

I've heard smaller clients aren't treated very well by pro8mm, and that often times the colors will be skewed and such..

Here's a good list of various services: http://homepage.mac.com/onsuper8/process.html

I've heard good things about Pac-Lab and Yale Film & Video from several people in the independent film community.

I think I would personally opt for a wetgate telecine transfer, as it will hide the scratches and such. Several places offer a wetgate process, but not everyone does.

Look at CinePost or Go Aggressive... CinePost has some sample footage of the difference between wetgate and standard telecine available. (A good example is this one from 1944...)

[johnvv]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll contact the various places mentioned and see what they have to offer.

Price is not the primary concern. Quality of the work and reliability of the vendor are most important. Heck, it is no fun seeing how everyone in the family looked 30 years ago is they are all blurry...