Film Transfer

• Variety of Formats
  We process 8mm, Super8, 16mm and 35mm film

• Scene Detection
  Easily find events with chapter points

• Manual Repairs
  Film spliced, broken sprockets fixed

• Film Preparation
  Cleaned and inspected prior to transfer

Home Movies on Film

Part of your family's history is likely recorded on reel to reel film. However, chances are you don't even have a projector to play these 8mm memories anymore. Luckily, ScanDigital can save your home movie footage by converting your reels of 8mm film to a digital file. Our film to digital transfer service handles 8mm, Super8, 16mm, and 35mm film. Transfer your memories to a digital file in just a few weeks!

Footage Guide for Film Reels

Note: Some 3 inch reels are housed in boxes that list the footage at 25 feet. These are double 8mm reels of film, and in fact have 50 feet of film to be transferred, not the listed 25 feet. Prior to recording, the reel consisted of 25 feet of film. After the film was developed, it was split down the middle and converted to 50 feet of 8mm film, doubling the footage on the reel.

More Details on Preserving Film

Old home movie film dates back to the 1930s. It was a fantastic innovation, allowing families to record motion pictures of everyday life - just like Hollywood. While 8mm and 16mm film is more durable than videotape, it's decades old and currently at the end of its lifespan. It's also highly inconvenient or completely impossible to watch - as home movie projectors are obsolete. Even if you have one, you have likely forgotten how to use it, it's broken, or you don't want to go through the hassle of taking it out of storage. More importantly - running old brittle 8mm film through your projector will possibly break it or burn it, thus ruining the treasured memories forever.

The natural aging process has likely already caused your memories to deteriorate, which includes fading, scratches and other damaging effects of time. Ultimately, damage and decay causes old 8mm film to crack and even break. Fortunately, ScanDigital will repair these imperfections by splicing the film back together to obtain a seamless transfer. You will also never have to worry about your reels of film being lost or damaged due to fire, flooding or any other unforeseen circumstances.

For our film to digital process, we delicately unwind your reels to inspect, repair and clean the film before processing begins. Our highly trained technicians first inspect your 8mm or 16mm film for bad splices and broken sprockets and repair where necessary. Then, we clean your film with an oil based cleaning solution to lubricate it before processing. Our intensive preparation allows for a more flawless film to digital transfer process.

Our Process

• Cleaning and Splicing
  All film is inspected and cleaned - Smaller reels are spliced together
• Inventory and Barcoding
  Materials are entered into our system and given a barcode #
• Processing and Conversion
  Film footage is captured with our state of the art system
• Loaded to a Flash Drive and/or Hard Drive
  All film footage is transferred to a digital file, and video files are loaded to an external USB drive
• Share and Enjoy
  Enjoy your old home movies that haven't been seen for years and share them with family

Film Transfer FAQs