Super 8mm

The second coming of Super 8 has materialized in all realms of the film world. The format is being utilized in music videos, commercials, extreme sports films, documentaries, and feature films.

Lightpress is one of the few facilities in the country offering Super 8 to HD scans on a Shadow high-def telecine featuring diffuse illumination which is vital for the natural artifact-free optical reduction of the effects of dirt and scratches.

Vacuum Tube (CRT ) light sources found on Rank Cintel machines such as the URSA Gold use collimated light which actually accentuates the blemishes resulting from dirt and scratches, usually necessitating multiple passes through a film cleaner and hours of electronic dust busting in post.

Our S8 transfers benefit from the same noise reduction and Da Vinci 2K+ color corrector used for our S16mm/35mm transfers. We have a lot of respect for S8 and we think it shows. One client put it this way: "They treat super 8 like it was 35mm."

Seattle offers one stop shopping for Super 8mm film makers with the best processing in the country available at Alpha Cine Labs. Alpha Cine offers processing of Plus-X, Tri-X, Ektachrome 64T, Vision 200T, and Vision2 500T, and is one of the few labs to offer ultrasonic cleaning of Super 8mm film.

Click on the images below to see more examples of our Super 8mm transfers.

Fleet Foxes "Grown Ocean"	Citibank	Andrew Bird "Imitosis"
Born Ruffians "I Need A Life"	"A Letter From Middle Europe"	"Brand Upon The Brain"

EQUIPMENT
We use a DFT Shadow Telecine for Super 8 transfers. Color correction is done using DaVinci 2K+ color corrector. We use a Teranex noise reducer for HD transfers and a Digital Vision noise reducer for SD transfers.

TRANSFER
We request that you complete the online workorder form when you send your film. 

You can use Kodak Footage Calculator to determine the running time of your film which will determine file size.  File size can be determined by downloading the AJA Data Rate calculator (Mac link - PC link) or using the VideoSpace calculator

Film scanning to tape or drive is billed at the following rates:
S8mm = $1.00 / ft
S16/R16mm = $.38 / ft
35mm = $.25 / ft

If we are scanning to a drive please provide formatted drive and power supply, or you may purchase a drive from Lightpress.  

Hard Drive Pricing:
32GB flash drive $50.00 
500GB GTECH drives  $160.00   
1TB GTECH drives   $230.00   

We do not burn files to DVD.

Turnaround time will depend on the amount of footage and schedule availability. A typical turn around time is 48-72 hrs after receipt from the lab.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us .

Minimum fee is $100.  Tape stock not included.  Data management included for the first hour of footage. Additional data management will be billed at $.50 / gigabyte.  

PREP
To prep film for telecine we must have the footage on a 400ft Super 8 reel with 12ft leader head and tail. We prefer cement splices for leader and each roll. We can run tape splices but the the last few frames of each roll before the splice will not be steady. We use Alpha Cine Labs in Seattle for prep and cleaning. If your film needs to prepped for telecine send it directly to Alpha Cine Labs, they will prep the film and deliver it to Lightpress.

Alpha Cine prep charges:
Prep specifications are 12 feet leader at each end, film mounted on a 400 foot Super8 reel(s) with ultrasonic cleaning. Customer rolls are spliced together, up to seven rolls per 400 foot reel.

For more than eight rolls - return to one roll rate and start new reel. Alpha Cine Labs provides processing of Vision 200T, Vision2 500T color negative. Plus-X, Tri-X black and white, and Ektachrome 7240 color reversal.
Billing for film prep or processing will be directly from Alpha Cine.

Alpha Cine
9800 40th Ave South
Seattle, WA 98118
206/682-8230
206/682-6649fx
http://www.alphacine.com

FILM TRANSFER ORDER FORM
Submit your film transfer order here