rank transfer in the UK help.....!!!

[harobed]

Hello

I just blew 150 uk pounds (220? US dollars) on an automatic rank transfer (around 15 cartridges/140 foot) to mini DV at Videostation and the results are terrible. Originally when I projected the film on my old Eumig projector the colours were vibrant and the shadows had depth. The footage on video is flat, some of the saturation in the colour is lost and the shadows are just blocks of dark colour (no detail). They seem to have just taken the mid-tones and ignored any subtlety in the shadows and highlights.

Is this what I should accept for an auto rank transfer? Or should I kick up a stink and ask for better?

Or is this a question of false economy/you gets what you pays for and I should have gone for an attended rank session. I've heard they're astronomical here in the UK.

Does anyone know what I should pay for an attended rank session here in London and where would be a good place?

One further question... Is it normal in a rank transfer (like my auto disaster) for one fifth to one sixth of the bottom to get lobbed off? Is there any way this type of cropping can be avoided. I tend to shoot very small strips of land and sea and great big skies so if I wanted to lose a strip, I'd have rather it happened up top.

Folks please help me in my hour of need!
Deborah

PS Thanks for all the amazing info on this board


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[MovieStuff]

Well, this may seem like an insulting thing to suggest, so don't take it the wrong way, but are you sure your monitor is calibrated correctly? I ask this because, as a producer of commercials, I have walked into so many client's homes and offices to show them their finished spots only to find that their TVs and monitors aren't set up to broadcast specs or even close and the image looks just as bad as you've described. The biggest issue is most monitors are set with the contrast and brightness set too high. And just because some other programs look good doesn't mean that your monitor is set correctly. You need to run SMPTE color bars and know how to adjust it.

Now, assuming that your monitor is set correctly and the transfer STILL sucks, then I would say that a one light, unattended transfer is always an iffy thing; more iffy for super 8 reversal than for negative, which has more latitude and lower contrast.

Check your monitor first (perhaps play it on several monitors from the same deck?). But in the end, I don't think you can complain since it was an unattended transfer. For what it's worth, the Transfer Station telecines a lot of the movies that I restore for my distribution client. In all, I have always found the Transfer House to be first rate, but there's always a first time for everything! Sorry about the problems.

Roger

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Roger Evans
MovieStuff
http://www.afterimagephoto.tv/moviestuff.html

[harobed]

Not sure how to run those tests, but when I've played back other digital video projects on my TV the colour's looked great. What you say about unattended transfer is useful ? perhaps as a first-timer I've just had to learn my lesson the hard way...

Those of you making s8 in the UK ? any tips on who to go for for attended sessions?

Thanks
D

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[mattias]

> They seem to have just taken the mid-tones and ignored any subtlety in the shadows and highlights.

sorry to hear that, but... not trying to sound elitist or anything, just wondering: why did you think there was such a thing as an attended transfer? if you pay less, you get less. doesn't always apply but it's a good general rule. ;-)

/matt