8mm Forum: Advice - Super 8 Setup

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Topic: Advice - Super 8 Setup

Tim Molloy
Junior
Posts: 3
From: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Registered: Nov 2016

posted November 16, 2016 12:55 PM

Hi all! I've read through a few posts in this forum and there seems to be good deal of folks with a wealth of experience and knowledge. I'm getting my feet wet here and looking for some advice.

Recently, my Dad handed down to me about 2 dozen Super 8 films (stored on their original 3" plastic reels), paired with a Wards 852 (ESP-852A) Duo 8 projector. My goal is to restore the film to get them into an archive-ready state, restore the projector and finally to digitize the film.

I finished restoring the projector last night (just have to tweek the shutter timing a tad to eliminate flicker at the top of the frame) and am moving onto the film now. I'm interested in inspecting, cleaning and editing each film and transfer them onto 5" metal reels with cans.

For cleaning, I have FilmRenew and some pec pads and I *think* that's all I need for that, correct?

As far as editing goes, none of the films have leader at the end, so I'd like to add it. A few of them are recordings split into 2 parts, which I'd like to combine into 1 since I will be storing them on 5" reels now. How much leader should I have at both ends of the film? When splicing films together, do you join in a length of leader? blank film? nothing?

I'm trying to determine what I need for a good editing station. I'm thinking I need a set of rewinds, a splicer (is tape or cement better?) and a viewer. I've been searching for an "all-in-one" unit, but I'm not really seeing much out there that looks decent. I have a Baia Mark II which I'm not very impressed with, but it doesn't have a splicer. Does anyone have any recommendations for any one or all of these components?

While the projector is now restored, it still feels fairly sub-par for where I'm headed. Recommendations for a better one? My research seems to suggest I'd want a variable speed unit equipped with a 5-blade shutter for digital transfer. I have some computer and electronic circuitry experience, so I could mod the unit I have, but I think I'd like to keep it in it's original state.

I've got a transfer box that is in great shape that I picked up at Salvation Army, but it's clearly an "entry-level" solution and I'm pretty sure that I won't be satisfied with what I can produce with it in the end, but given that transferring will probably be a lengthy topic in of itself, I will defer that to a future thread [Smile]

My sincere apologies for the onslaught of novice questions (I came up with a few just in writing this ha ha). I appreciate any information any of you can share.

--------------------
-Tim

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Bryan Chernick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Bothell, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2010

posted November 16, 2016 01:43 PM

I wouldn't look for an editor with a splicer built in. A few good dual 8 editor brands are Vernon, Goko, Elmo and Bolex. The Baia is not a very good editor. Most editors that I listed have the rewinds built in.

If you are cleaning with FilmRenew you will want to do cement splices. FilmRenew will melt tape splices. I would recommend a Bolex 8mm Beveled Splicer, they make the best splice. You can get film cement from Urbanski Film.

Bolex Splicer

Urbanski Film

With home movies I usually add a short section of leader between sections of film as a place marker.

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Tom Spielman
Master Film Handler

Posts: 339
From: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Registered: Apr 2016

posted November 16, 2016 01:48 PM

I don't have specific answers for you but more of a question. Is it the journey or the destination that matters the most?

The reason I ask is that there are plenty of services available that can do a better job than what you'll be able to do on your own unless you're willing to spend considerable time and money. That said, getting HD or better quality transfers from a service isn't that cheap either. The best results are obtained through a frame by frame capture. But, If you're content with standard definition then it's like 10 cents a foot or something.

If you like doing this kind of thing, and it sounds like you might, you can get pretty good, if not great results using your own equipment.

I've scanned a few on my own and enjoyed the process, but I did all the editing on a computer and left the film as it was.

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Tim Molloy
Junior
Posts: 3
From: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Registered: Nov 2016

posted November 16, 2016 09:56 PM

quote:
A few good dual 8 editor brands are Vernon, Goko, Elmo and Bolex.

Thanks, I'll check those out.

quote:
If you are cleaning with FilmRenew you will want to do cement splices.

Is that suggesting that I should clean AFTER editing? I would have assumed the opposite.

quote:
Is it the journey or the destination that matters the most?

That's a great question. The answer is both, however it's the journey that I'm more excited about. I can't resist the draw of learning something new. Besides, why pay someone to do something you can do yourself? [Smile]

Anyway, I'll cross the "transfer bridge" when I get to it. I'm a software engineer by trade and an electronic circuitry enthusiast in my spare time, so I'm sure I can engineer something when I get to that point.

Most of the rewinds I'm finding appear to be more on the antique side. But then again, most of my hits are from eBay.

Thanks for the responses!

--------------------
-Tim

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Will Trenfield
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 506
From: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK
Registered: Mar 2016

posted November 17, 2016 03:12 PM

Hi, Tim. I converted our family films to digital last year. I'd attach leader tape to the front of your films - about 20" should be enough. After that, clean your films. I used Filmguard for mine. If you type "Filmguard - Usage" into the search box above, you'll find some tips which would be the same when using FilmRenew I'd think. When re-winding the films, wipe off the surplus with a clean cotton cloth. You don't need to edit your films physically as you can do that once they are in digital format. I used VirtualDub (free download). As far as I can tell from a web search, your projector uses the obsolete and expensive 120 volt, 500 watt lamp. Sankyo 1000 projectors are very good but the 2000 is even better.

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