VIDEO TO S8

[mattias]

easy to cut super-8 film? you're kidding, right? there's no professional equipment around, and since you're handling the original footage, you need to be very careful and do everything very slowly. i've cut a few 16 mm shorts on steenbecks using dupes and workprints and i love it, but doing this with my super 8 original? no way. except for my "home movies" of course. i don't edit them much, they cost a lot to transfer, i need better archive time than video can provide, and they look so much better projected than on the tv.

super 8 doesn't have that much better resolution than high quality video anyway (about 30% more "lines"). consider that a lot of 35 mm films go through a 2k digital step. this actually means lower res than super 8 transferred to video if you consider the frame size and usual projection size of super 8.

i do agree on the frame by frame stuff though. that's how i've done it a few times too. :-)

[#Pedro]

Hi Mattias:
This is a very interesting formum, I never met anything like that in the net!!!
About splicing:
First, there IS professional splicing equipment available for S8, it?s the HAMMAN film splicer and the HAMMAN film press (In Germany, the set of both is about USD 300.-). The first cuts the film ends precisly without the need to rasp (?) the film, the press applyes the two ends together (Kodak glue). The result is perfect, no change in thickness. The same equipment as available for 16 mm. The second best solution is the motorized splicer with electric heater and automatic glue application of H?HNEL (out of stock), but you have to handle with dirt and dust and sometimes glue dots near the cutted place.
For editing there are professional editing tables for 4 or 6 reels in the marked, or you us a simple desktop editor.

You are very right, it?s neccessary to be very very careful with the original material, but home-made video transfer, video editing and re-transfer is even more exausting (if not impossible)! The only way is cutting the original stuff carefully and enjoy the bright and sharp picture.
Pedro