Film Transfers
The truth is we love film, and our customers know it. That's why we are chosen by so many individuals, historical societies and organizations to digitize and transfer their film archives. It's not just because we have the skills and technology to do it. It's because we have a passion for it.
"Imagewërks believes in the preservation
of our film heritage as
historical and cultural documents."
We've been working with film and video since the early 1980's and are one of the few film transfer services that has gone exclusively to high-definition (HD) digitization in our process. The systems we employ for all film formats are FRAME DISCRETIONARY, which means that each frame of film is captured as a single frame of video without any superimposition or frame "blending" in the capture process that can occur with other transfer methods. This allows us the highest degree of control over speed and image corrections for color-shifted aging filmstocks originally shot at a variety of speeds.
We work with 8mm, Super-8, and 16mm silent & sound film.
Not sure what you have? Tap on the formats below for a description (and a little history) of film formats.
35mm Film
Specifications for the 35mm format were developed by the Edison Company around 1894 - 1895. Although Edison attempted to patent the 35mm format, in 1902 his claims were dismissed allowing anyone to produce and use the format without license. This strip of film is 35mm (1⅜") wide and has 4 sprocket holes per frame running along both edges.
Image courtesy of Adakin Productions.
9.5 mm Film
Released by Pathé in 1922, this rare French format placed the sprocket hole in the center of the film strip between image frames. Though popular in Europe in the mid 1900's, it became overshadowed by Kodak's 8mm and Super-8 formats.
Length of 9.5 mm cine film.
Film out of copyright (estimated date 1931)
16mm Film
Released by Eastman Kodak in 1923, 16mm film was intended as a cheaper alternative to the professional 35mm format in use by the film studios of the time. This format may have perforations on both sides of the strip for silent film, or a single row of perforations along one side allowing for an optical or magnetic soundtrack on the other. 16mm saw a surge in use by the military during WWII and afterward became popular for educational, business, and newsgathering purposes. It had another boom later in the 1940's with a surge in productions for television.
8mm Film
Originally developed by Eastman-Kodak, 8mm (also called Standard 8 or Regular 8) was made available to the public in 1932 and was the primary filmstock for home movie enthusiasts for the next 33 years. This strip of film is 8mm wide (about the width of a pencil) and has sprocket holes running along one side of the film which are larger than its successor, Super-8. The easiest way to identify between the two types of films is by locating the position of the sprocket holes, which on Regular 8 film will line up next to the frame lines dividing frame images.
Super-8 Film
Also developed by Eastman Kodak, Super-8 was made available to the public in 1965. The size of the sprocket hole was reduced and moved to allow for a 50% larger image on the same 8mm wide strip of film. Like Regular 8 the film is only perforated on one side, but the position of the sprocket holes on Super-8 will line up with the middle of the film frame rather than with the frame line. Super-8 Sound film could also be purchased with magnetic stripes running along the edges of the film strip allowing for audio recording and playback with sound capable cameras and projectors.
35mm
9.5mm
16mm
8mm
Super-8
Click here for a printable template of common
home movie film formats.
Film Transfer Pricing Guide
Film transfers are priced at .20 cents per running foot of film, sound or silent, which includes the master Blu-ray Disc(s).
If you would prefer to have DVD transfers of your films we can accommodate you, but be aware that DVD's are NOT high-definition and do not take full advantage of our our high-definition transfer process and todays high-definition TVs. For a better understanding of video resolutions, check out our short tutorial here.