How to Convert Film Into DVD Format
Before there were home digital cameras, there were 8mm or 16mm cameras and film. The film would be literally cut and spliced back together to create a flowing scene. With all those old film canisters sitting around the house and attic, it may be best to transfer the information over to DVD before the film deteriorates and is unusable. In order to do so, you will either need to record the information onto a digital camera or send it out to an appropriate film production house.
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Things You'll Need
- Video camera
- Video editor
- Film projector
- DVD burner
- Blank DVD
- Roll of film
Instructions
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Set a camera directly above or below the film projector. Focus the camera onto a white wall where you will project the film. Make sure to zoom into the area so only the film content is recorded.
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Begin the film projection and hit the record button on your video camera. Allow the camera to record the contents of the film.
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Input the newly recorded video into a video editing software. Most computers will come equipped with a simple video editor, such as iMovie or Windows Movie Editor.
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Export the video as either a Quicktime or Windows Media file.
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Open your video burning software and import the video into the software. Insert the blank DVD into the computer and burn the video onto the DVD.
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Contact a telecine house if you want a higher-resolution copy of your film. A telecine machine will run your film and scan every frame and place it into a computer. The images will then be placed into a video format and burned onto a DVD. If you would like, you will be able to receive a Blu-ray of your film (if you were using 16mm or higher film). Larger cities will typically have a telecine production house around. There is a list of locations throughout the country in the links provided in "Resources."
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Tips & Warnings
Every time a video or film is imported or rerecorded onto another format, it will lose quality. This is especially true if you take a film strip and record it onto a camera and import it into a video-editing software. 16mm has resolution better than full HD. Super 16mm has even better quality. This means you will be cutting the picture quality by almost two thirds if you record it onto a video camera (unless the video camera is full HD). The telecine process will provide the best quality; however, it will be more expensive if you already have a video camera.
