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Author
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Topic: How best to prepare 9.5mm for scanning?
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Guy Burns
Junior
Posts: 10
From: Devonport, Tasmania, Australia
Registered: Apr 2017
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posted April 28, 2017 10:50 PM
I'm in Tasmania and completely new to 9.5mm. As part of a much larger project I need to:
view 25 reels of 9.5mm film on 7" reels
cut out the pieces I want, and splice together onto one 7" reel
send that reel, and a few smaller ones, for scanning.
Scanning will be done at 2K on a FlashScan.
The films will never be projected, only scanned.
What I'd Like
I'd like to buy a film viewer, splicer, and splicing tapes for 9.5mm films, but I think I'll have a hard time finding those items and getting them to Tasmania. Hence my questions as to alternatives. When answering my questions, please remember I'm new to this. I've never seen a viewer or splicer in real life. I can only judge by what I've seen on the net.
Background and Questions Film Viewer
I will be viewing and splicing 9.5mm films just this once. I don't need to see all the image on the screen; I don't require ease of use or speed. I simply want to get a rough idea of what's on these films, then cut and splice.
To emphasise this point: I went through about a dozen reels of 8mm film last year, before I knew that 8mm viewers even existed. My partner stood at one end of a slide light box (she was the feed reel), I stood at the end end (I was the take up reel), and every now and then I would stop, hold down the film on the light box, and look at what was there. I wanted to get an idea if the entire reel was worth scanning. There was no splicing. Then the films, on their original reels, were sent for scanning on a ScanStation.
With this new batch of 9.5mm films, however, I expect most of the stuff to be worthless to me. i.e. 25 reels will be edited down to one reel at most. So I need to do things differently.
A Could an 8mm film viewer be adapted to view 9.5mm films, simply by making the rollers larger? If not, why not?
B The image on 9.5mm film is much larger than on 8mm film, so would a modified 16mm viewer be a better option?
C Do film viewers have claws to pull the film through, like a projector, or does the film move freely like in a tape recorder?
D Assuming a modified viewer is suitable, I'd like to know the names of three models that are readily available on the second hand market, and that would be considered quality viewers.
Background and Questions Splicers
I have never spliced. I imagine cutting the film is easy: use a pair of scissors. It's the splicing that may be complicated without the proper 9.5mm equipment.
These films will never be projected. Even the family who owns them are not interested in having them scanned to see what's on them. But there are historic snippets here and there that I want such as colour film of the Queen's visit to Tasmania in 1954. So
when I cut and splice these films, the end result only needs to be suitable for running smoothly through a digital scanner. That means sprocket holes are not required for film transport but they must be there for the scanner to detect. The scanner has to see the sprockets, and then calculate when to take the photo for each frame.
The film that is left on the original reels? Well, as long as the film is in one piece even if not projectable that's fine. i.e. I'm not concerned about sprocket holes being covered by splicing tape. Should I be concerned?
E Given that a digital film scanner smoothly pulls the film through the system and does not require sprocket holes (except for photographic timing), what would be the most reliable and easy-to-use method for splicing: tapes or cement?
F Could an 8mm or 16mm splicer be adapted for use on 9.5mm?
G How fiddly is it to splice film by hand?
H What size and brand of splicing tape? 8mm? 16mm?
General
Basically, I need some guidance from people more knowledgeable than me, about how to approach this project. If 9.5mm equipment for viewing and splicing is readily available and economical I'll go that way. Otherwise, I'll have to make do, and that's where I need help.
Any suggestions as to the best way to prepare 9.5mm film for scanning, links to articles and so on, would be most appreciated.
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Guy Burns
Junior
Posts: 10
From: Devonport, Tasmania, Australia
Registered: Apr 2017
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posted April 30, 2017 04:53 AM
Thanks for the responses.
I think I'll need a viewer because it is very time consuming, and involves two people, to view a film manually. And you have to turn sideways to see the image, and be ever vigilant that film doesn't end up all over the place.
With about 10,000 feet of film to go through, I'm pretty sure I need some kind of proper viewing arrangement. But I'm open to other suggestions.
Two Observations
Are the following observations correct?
1. Using an 8mm viewer to view 9.5mm film is out of the question for two reasons:
(a) the film won't fit in the focussing area it would stick out so focussing would be impossible.
(b) even if focussing were possible, a 9.5mm frame is much larger than an 8mm frame so the image would be significantly cropped.
2. Using an 16mm viewer to view 9.5mm film would work, but to view a particular frame, the film would have to be:
(a) temporarily arranged so that it bypasses the sprocket
(b) hand wound to the chosen frame
(c) moved into the gate area, then focussed.
Ques
I don't know how viewers work (maybe someone could briefly enlighten me). I have a pretty good idea of how projectors work because I fixed an old Eumig several years ago. So bear with me
Using a 16mm viewer, why couldn't I just remove the sprocket (or somehow bypass it) and run the 9.5mm straight through the viewer? I assume that doing so would cause the image to be blurred when the film was moving but that's okay. I'd just stop every 20 or 30 frames for a peek.
Basically, I want to be able to sit at my desk and have a look at maybe 5% of the frames on each reel, without having to bother my partner or worry about film ending up everywhere.
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