How to Convert Regular 8 Movies to Video

It can be a pain to cart out an old 8mm film projector every time you want to watch some home movies. Not only do you have to thread the film into the projector, you have to set up the screen, dim the lights and generally take extra time that you shouldn't have to in a digital age. While professionals charge outrageous fees to transfer 8mm films to digital video, you can do it in your home for free. All you need is the right equipment.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 8mm film
• Digital video camcorder
• 8mm projector

1. Thread your 8mm film into a projector. Do this the same way you would when watching your films.

2. Set up a white, flat surface to project your film onto. If you don't have a projector screen you can use any white, flat surface, such as a bare wall.

3. Aim your digital video camcorder directly at the surface the 8mm film will be projected onto. It helps if you set your camcorder up on a tripod or some other surface that won't move. As you want to make a perfect video copy of your 8mm films, you don't want the camera to be shaking around in any way. Be sure to frame the camcorder correctly to include all of the projected image.

4. Project your film onto the surface and press "Record" on your video camcorder. The camera will record the 8mm film exactly the way it is being projected. When finished, turn off both the camcorder and the projector.

5. Transfer your recorded video to your computer. Hook your camcorder up to your computer using either a USB or FireWire link cable. Use software such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro to capture the video footage to digital video computer files. Once this is done you can watch your 8mm films on your computer and burn them to DVDs if you want.