Report 1 - Arthur Scott's demonstration of his technique for
transferring 8mm and 9.5mm film to Digital Video tape.
David Burns describes below the very helpful demonstration provided by
Arthur Scott.
1. Arthur set up his projector
in a darkened room.
The 8mm film was projected on a silver screen. The film was clear
although somewhat dark.
2. Arthur's DV camera was sitting on a
tripod
beside the projector. Zoom was used to fill the small screen on the DV
camera and a section of the film was recorded on DV Tape. The darkness
of the film was replicated on the mini screen of the DV Camera.
3.
Arthur made one change in his camera settings before shooting the same
scene again. He selected the Surf & Ski setting on his camera. The
contrast was quite remarkable. The dark picture became pleasantly
bright and clear in the small screen of the camera. He made some small
changes
and used the Make Movie command to render the footage and transfer it
back to tape.
5. The camera was moved from the
computer and connected
to the TV so that we could see the result. To my untutored eye the
result was very satisfactory. The picture was now brighter and clearer
than the original on the film. True there was flickering on the
display. Fear not, the flicker would be removed. It is important to
note that most of the literature on 8mm Film to Digital Conversion
emphasises the need to use a variable speed film projector to alter the
frame rate as a means of preventing the problem of flickering. Since
Arthur's movie projector had a fixed speed, he had to find another
method to eliminate flickering. program to change the speed of the
captured footage.
6. He used the Make Movie command to
render this amended
version of the movie and transfer it to the DV tape.
7. When this
second version of the movie was shown on the TV, the flicker had
disappeared!
A Comment on the Problem of
Flicker when copying a film to video format
When checking web sites for information on Film to
Video Conversion I received the impression that the
removal of flicker created such a problem that the task was so
difficult that it would be better to spend money getting a
professional to do the job. As you will see from the reports below it
was very easy to prevent flicker appearing on the video. As a novice I
was puzzled by this contradiction.
I now believe that this puzzle can be explained by the fact that 8mm
film is displayed at approximately 24 frames per second and PAL video
is displayed at 25 frames per second. The modest difference of one
frame per second can be removed by increasing the projection speed to
25 frames per second if the projector has a variable speed adjustment
facility.
Arthur did not have a variable speed projector so he used a simple but
ingenious technique.
First, he made a video of the film including the flicker.
Second, he used Pinnacle DC10plus to capture the video to his hard disk
drive.
Third, he used the Slow Motion facility
in Pinnacle Studio 8 to change the speed
Report 2 - Using Film to Video Transfer Boxes.
Some people recommended the use of
specially constructed Film to Video
Transfer boxes. Lloyd Zegenhagen presented the results of his
questioning of staff in several city camera shops. The shops all
reported that Film to Video Transfer style=Boxes had
fallen out of favour and were no longer on sale, since the results
tended to be disappointing.
Report 3 - The Roger Wragg Film to Video Conversion Processor System
Roger displayed to the Management
Committee an impressive piece of
equipment which he has constructed to remove the guesswork from the
Film to Video Conversion Process. The equipment can change the
film projection speed from 18 frames per second to 16.666 frames per
second. By multiplying the second number 16.666 by three we convert to
50 pulses per second which provides the desired projection speed of 25
frames per second. A modified multimeter was used to demonstrate the
precision with which the altered speed can be set. At a later
stage Roger will provide descriptive material and photographs, perhaps
a movie, explaining the design and purposes of the Wragg Film to Video
Conversion Processor.
Report 4 - Arthur Scott's Film to Video Transfer process
Notes on the second demonstration by Arthur Scott of the film to
video
transfer process
Part A - Description of Equipment used in the film to video transfer
Three cameras were used to video the
projected film.
Camera 1 -
Analogue video camera used to video the 8mm film projected on a silver
screen.
Camera 2 - Digital video camera used
for the same purpose and
to compare the results.
Camera 3 - Another digital video
camera used to
video the film to video process. That is it was creating a record of
the pieces of equipment used and the manner of their use. This
camera was used to video the following::
* the projector as
it was running
* the film which
was projected on the silver screen
* Camera 2
(DV) was connected to the TV
monitor which was used to view the quality of the video as it was
running
* the computer
screen showing how Pinnacle Studio 8
was used to capture, edit and render a movie from the footage created
by cameras one and two.
Part B - Comparison of contrasting
results in film to video transfer
achieved with analogue and digital cameras.
Arthur found a key difference in the
videos created by Camera 1
(Analogue) and Camera 2 (DV). There was no flickering in the analogue
video, but there was flickering in the digital video.
Part C - Editing the film to video tapes
The next task was to use Pinnacle
Studio 8 to Capture, Edit and Make
Movie to Tape. After the rendering process was complete the DV camera
was connected to the TV and the video displayed consistent flickering.
The Capture, Edit and Make Movie process was repeated with one major
change. The slow motion facility in Studio 8 was used to run the video
at 8/10 of the original speed. The video was rendered at this speed.
When this movie was shown on the TV screen there was no flicker. The
miniDV tape from Camera 3 (Sony 3 CCD) was also edited.
Part D - Preliminary video for presentation at the April meeting
A preliminary video for the April
presentation has been made which
contains the following:
* the original
video which has not been edited
* the digital video
which was captured, edited and
rendered back to the video tape. (This has flicker).
* the digital video
which was run at 8/10 speed and
rendered back to video tape. (This has no flicker).
Part E - Preparing the April Presentation
Arthur is in the process of completing
the Presentation Video for the
April meeting. It includes
* An opening
statement, both written and spoken,
which explains the essential simplicity of the film to video transfer
process.
* It describes how
to set up the equipment for
making a video of the projected film.
* It shows samples
of the edited and rendered
videos, both with and without flicker.
* The commentary
explains why flicker does and does
not appear.
* A final spoken
and written statement which
summarises the film to video transfer process
Report 5
CINE to VIDEO
The main presentation was from our
Cine to Video Project Team headed by
David Burns, our webmaster. David showed us how his group put
together a
"Conversion Rig" wherein they could consistently align the Video Camera
and Projector to avoid hotspots and parallax etc.
He then showed us a
film of a much simpler arrangement by Arthur Scott where the Camera and
Projector were "Free Standing" but Arthur had removed hotspots by using
a silvered screen and removed flicker by speeding up the Projector and
later applying an 80% "slow motion" filter in Pinnacle Studio.
It was
noted that by using an "Analog" video camera Arthur could eliminate
flicker altogether.
Roger Wragg then showed us a "Conversion Rig"
which was the most sophisticated of all.
Roger had modified his "Cine
Projector" to show 50 frames per second, exactly double that of the
Digital Video Camera's 25 frames per second. His rig also contained two
"front surfaced" mirrors positioned at right angles so that the
Projector and Camcorder could be aligned exactly opposite each other,
thereby avoiding parallax completely.
In summary, the main points
that were covered on the night were:-
Flicker Removal - If possible, set
the Projector speed to a multiple of 25 frames per second.
Alternatively, speed up the Projector and later apply a "slow motion"
effect on the captured Video with a product such as Pinnacle Studio.
Manual Focus - NEVER have your
video camera set on "autofocus", this
will cause the camera to "hunt' for the best focus setting between
changes of scene, which of course is unnecessary because the screen is
always a fixed focal length from the Camera.
Avoiding "Hotspots" - Project a
"White Screen" from the Projector (i.e.
no film) and adjust the position of the Projector until you get the
most even spread of light. Keep the projected screen size as small as
possible to give the greatest light intensity for the camcorder.
Avoiding Parallax - Keep the
Projector and Camcorder as close together
and as parallel as possible. Roger Wragg's mirror rig does this by
allowing the projector and camera to be on exactly the same plane.
Reduce Ambient Light -If you cannot
Project in a fully darkened room
you can build a "cowl" to go around the screen to reduce any ambient
light interfering with your projected image.
All of the points learned in this
Project are available on our web site
at :
How to make a simple film transfer to video apparatus.
Prepared by Peter Gunston
Working out the Dimensions to suit your
projector
Cut a piece of 15mm melamine to the
overall dimensions of the footprint
of your projector, plus an additional 70mm in length. This will be used
as the mounting base for the projector.
Place your movie projector on the
mounting base and then place both
onto a flat surface such as the floor.
Project a film onto an adjoining wall.
Move the projector closer or
away from the wall to a position where it shows a bright, sharp image
approximately 270mm wide.
Floor Setup
The light output from your projector
will have a major influence on the
distance from the wall. In the case of my low powered globe, a small
image gives me a better contrasting image.
It is advisable to keep the distance
from the wall to a minimum so as
the apparatus does not become too large. Use the lens zoom feature (if
available) for sizing. Make sure your projector lens is horizontal.
Check that any adjustable legs on the projector are not raised.
If necessary place additional flat
packing under the projector, to
ensure there is a gap from the bottom of the wall image to the floor of
approx. 30mm.
Measure and record the distance from
the floor to the centre line of
the projector lens, the distance from the wall to the rear of the
projector and the approximate size of the screen. These measurements
will determine the timber size to make your apparatus.
Now check your video camera's ability
to focus and zoom to the size of
the projected image while it is at the same distance as the projector
from the wall.
Placing Projector & Camcorder
Lenses
If all of the above check
out, you are ready to make your
apparatus.
Baseboard and Screen
Adjustable Base for Projector and
Camcorder
Projector and Camcorder facing Screen
Report 7 - A report on Roger Wragg's conversion apparatus
Roger has converted his video to a set
of slides. He has put the slides
and the original soundtrack on a CD. The CD will be on sale for $5 at
the next monthly meeting.
To order your Roger Wragg CD send me
an email at:
dcburns1@no_spam.optusnet.com.au
Report 8 - A separate website contains the information presented by
David Burns on the Film to Video Conversion process to the April Meeting
