"Off-the-Wall" Secrets: Tips for Transferring Film, Slides and Photos to Videotape

Steve Yankee
January 1996

There's no doubt about it; videotape is slowly (but surely) becoming THE medium of choice for saving cherished personal images. Film, slide and print-to-video transfers are very popular these days, and there's good reason why: they're convenient! Instead of finding --thena hauling out --the movie projector, darkening the room, fumbling with the screen and dealing with breaks, splices and dirt on old, brittle family films --or messing with hundreds of old slides or envelopes full of unedited and unidentified photos --you simply can pop a videotaped transfer into your VCR --and enjoy it again and again. You can freeze frames, scan forwards or backwards, and enjoy your old home movies and images without having to worry about destroying them in the process.

This article will show you the correct procedure for easily and inexpensively transferring film, slides and prints to video. We'll discuss the various equipment setups you can use --from the simplest, to the most complicated --and tell you which methods work the best. Most importantly, we'll be sharing many little-known techniques and time-saving tips from the transfer professionals.

The equipment requirements for film-to-video transfers are pretty basic. You need a film projector; a screen for the projected image; a VCR and camera, or a camcorder; a monitor and a tripod.

Depending on the type(s) of film you wish to transfer, you'll need an 8mm, Super 8mm or a 16mm film projector. A basic consumer-type projector can be used, but because the speed -- 18 or 24 frames a second --is not synchronized to the video format (30 frames per second), the difference can cause an annoying flicker in the transferred image.

Some projectors have variable projection speed controls which can be adjusted to match frame rates more evenly. The best projector is a "synchronized" one, which features a special three-bladed shutter, rather than a regular 4-blade shutter. This mathematically and mechanically synchronizes the projection speed more closely to the video format of recording at 30 frames per second, and thus eliminates flicker or flutter in the transfer.

The first "projection option" is to use a telecine converter with your projector. This is a simple metal or plastic cube-shaped box that throws the projected image onto a ground glass screen. To use it, you aim your projector at an opening on one side, and an internal mirror reflects the image onto a glass plate. The projected image is picked up by aiming the camcorder at the glass plate. You'll find these devices advertised everywhere. But are they the answer? Well, yes and no. The converter are it quite compact and they're relatively inexpensive --usually around $50. But we've found that the unit is hard to align correctly, and the corners and borders of the projected picture aren't as clear --or as bright --as the center of the image. It's what transfer pros call "the Telecine Tunnel Effect."

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