8mm Forum: Super 8 Questions

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Posted by Christian Bjorgen (Member # 1780) on October 25, 2009, 08:40 AM:

My in-laws have a 75' reel of their 1978 wedding, but due to improper storage, some of the reel has been destroyed by time, so I'm a little anxious about projecting it too much.

So what I'm wondering is; is it possible to scan this reel using a normal computer scanner or camera?

And yes, I'm planning on sending it to a lab for DVD transfer, but it would be nice to have a "temporary" version for display.

--

Another question, I have several old reels that have damaged leaders (bent like accordions), and I'm wondering:

Can you straigthen them out using an iron?

Currently, I'm just pressing them against a desktop lamp, and that heats it up enough to straigthen it quite abit, but not enough.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on October 25, 2009, 01:24 PM:

Christian,
Second question first: splice new leader on the films. It is not worth the risk of the projector chewing on the film itself because the leader is bad. Auto-load projectors in particular don't like crunched leader.

When you say some of the reel has been 'destroyed' what exactly do you mean? What is wrong with the film?
Claus.

Posted by John Davis (Member # 1184) on October 25, 2009, 02:09 PM:

I'm with Claus, put new (non-kinked or concertina-d leader, I think I've invented two new words) on the film.
regarding the reel disintegrating with time, I am surprised given that it contains a film from the 70s and is therefore presumably plastic.
Do you have access to an editor to assess the film without risking the film further, because if the reel is this damaged then the film might be too

Posted by Christian Bjorgen (Member # 1780) on October 25, 2009, 02:58 PM:

Hi!

The problem is that I don't have a splicer noir leader.

The reel is plastic yes, but it has been stored improperly, and therefor the outmost 3-4 "rounds" of film are ripped, scratched and soforth, aswell as the film having some water damage.

I have successfully played the film several times, but I'm afraid to overdo it.

As for the ironing question; if I place the film between two pieces of cloth, will the heat be too much for the film to handle?

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 25, 2009, 08:02 PM:

Christian,

I don't think ironing will fix the leader. Film is made from plastic (or such of) and the broken plastic will be permanent, you cannot fix plastic by ironing.

When we are talking leader, it is not necessary a professional leader. You can just use any unused film as a leader. The aim is to avoid the actual films getting chewed by projector. So putting any unused film as the leader will be like having a bumper in front of your car.

Yes, you need a splicer. The second hand one is cheap on ebay. Usually around $5-10. However, if you don't want to invest one (although it is a must for a projectionist), you can DIY using a cutter, celluloid tape and needle.

It is hard to tell through this forum because I have to show physically how to do that and English is also not my mother language.

May be some other member willing to share?

cheers,

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on October 25, 2009, 08:51 PM:

Must admit that I have ironed one or two short sections of Super 8 when flattening was needed to get it through the projector. I personally don't think there's any harm in trying as it's not going make the leaders any worse and it might help if the folds are not so bad that they have caused cracks in the film. I'd try putting it between two sheets of white card before applying the iron. The film won't melt but I'd keep checking it with a view to using the minimum heat needed to hopefully get the desired result. I'm not guaranteeing that it will work, though!

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 25, 2009, 09:17 PM:

Yeah Adrian, but Christian wrote above that his leader ..."(bent like accordions)...".

I believe the leader has been badly damaged. Don;t you think so?

Christan, if you don't have unwanted film to replace your damage leader or you don't want to buy any cheap films from Ebay to be used as leader, just try to cut the tail from your current films.

The prepacked films (not your home movies) usually have a very long tail that you can use as leader. As long as you are not cutting "THE END" credit title and the lab mark of your tail, it is OK.

cheers,

Posted by Christian Bjorgen (Member # 1780) on October 26, 2009, 12:29 PM:

Well, when I wrote "bent like accordions" it was because it was the only decent description I could think of [Razz]

The leaders/films arent cracked, merely bent a bit, but so much that the auto-feed wont take it.

Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on October 26, 2009, 01:01 PM:

Christian if you'd like I would be happy to take the reel and repair what is needed, make you a DVD & computer file transfer you can use in place of projecting it until you can have a professional frame by frame transfer done should you desire... I would of course then send you back everything including all the leader and proper info you will need to enjoy this in the future...Two weeks ago we did a home movie day here in LA where we encouraged people to bring in their films so we could do just this repair them properly and get them back up n running for enjoyment...
email me off line if interested but I realize you may not want to risk this, but I assure you I can be trusted...I only want to help you if you lack the resources to these thins yourself... aytab(at)aol(dot(com)

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