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 DaVinci 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.
Super 8mm Demo Reel
Click on an image above to view another example of a Lightpress Super 8mm transfer.
Transfer
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.
Film scanning to tape or drive is billed at $1.00 per foot for Super 8mm. The minimum fee is $100 and tape stock is not included. Data management is included for the first hour of footage. Additional data management may be billed at $.50/gigabyte. You may provide a Mac OS or NTFS formatted drive, or purchase one from Lightpress. 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
Order Form
We have created an online order form for you convenience. You may print the form and include it with your film or submit it before your film arrives at Lightpress. If you have any questions about how to fill out the form please visit our FAQ section. Submit your film transfer order by filling out this form.
You can use the Kodak Footage Calculator to determine the running time of your film - which will determine your file size. File size can be determined by downloading the AJA Data Rate calculator (Mac link - PC link) or by using the VideoSpace calculator.
Film 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 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.