Homemade Telecine

[Stan Jelavic]

Looks like quite a bit of work to assemble the reel of 35mm negatives.
Unlike the 35mm movies the splicing with the negatives can have blank images in between the two clips. So with some clear lead and some sort of alignment jig the two clips can be connected so that the frame sync is not lost. Still lots of work.
The LED that I am using has adequate brightness but it needs a large heatsink. Will send you the picture tomorrow.
Currently I am using a 2 Amp dc adapter but believe the Wolverine adapter should also work --- will check.

[David Brown]

Well, it is certainly possible. There are a couple of things to be aware of.

BTW, I once worked a movie theater. I would break down the old movie and then splice together the new one. Movies came on abt 5-20 minute reels. We had an automated system, all reels were spliced together and laid horizontaly on a platter/turntable. I had an editing table and the film was placed on the splcer based on the perforations, just as 8mm film. There was a spool of splicing tape that now reminds me of a roll of packing tape. The editor would cut the 2 films, the tape and perforate it.

As I look at 35 negatives I have in hand, they are not evenly cut at the frame line. To get the spacing correct there might need to be some blank leader added otherwise automated capture framing might change.


Also the splicing tape would possibly cover part of the image, but the strips might be spliced only along the perforations.

Maybe something like that is already being done by commercial scanners?

There are reels used for 35mm microfilm, I have one.


They use a 16mm spindle, though it's longer. That would hold a lot of negatives!

I think you were happy with the LED you bought. I need to see how I will mount it. Should run off the Wolverine power supply?

[Stan Jelavic]

Thanks David. I can start the assembly as soon as I get the parts. Still testing the tuning part. It does have some issues and will take a few days to sort it out. Had a thought about the 35mm negatives. Would it be possible to splice them and put them on a 35mm movie reel?

[David Brown]

The LED I'm using is the same one I've had for years, just a battery powered small array of leds diffused thru 1/8" white plastic. It's not bright enough for movie capture, some of those exposures are close to 1 second.

I need to begin assembling the film transport and that will take a while. It's better you have the parts in advance of when you're ready for them.

[Stan Jelavic]

Great work David and thank you for the samples. I have some 35mm negative strips and will try to stitch them together.
I ran some preliminary tests yesterday and everything worked ok but more testing is required.
The FW currently supports only one format and I will complete the tests with that and then add multiple formats.
Which LED did you use for the above images?

[David Brown]

Back to the drawing board!

That is, with the alternate gate I was working on. It worked well, but it is a little cumbersome to load and unload. The 35mm neg holds flat and is well illuminated. Now in practice I'm very aware that negs are cut to only 4 frames and sometimes 3.

It's not too slow to load, advanced by pulling with my fingers. It's better though not to use my fingers! I have cotton gloves (somewhere) but I didn't even look for them before the test.

So the size of the neg carrier or the path should be able to work with 4"-6" negatives and catch them at the other end as they are pushed out by the next strip.

If some one shoots negative film today, it would be developed and scanned without being cut.
That won't be me, shooting film!

So, did I mention the 35mm negative images I just scanned, they look great?

Anyway, this is what's in the box I'm sending.

2 16mm reels, 1 with film.
1 led holder with an enlarged aperture. Big enough for 35mm.
4 8/16mm rollers.
2 16mm reel adapters to fit on a standard 8mm spindle.
2 8mm spacing adapters to keep 8 & 16 films lined up with the rollers.
1 rocker arm that uses 2 rubber pinch rollers.
1 dual S8/R8 gate
1 16mm gate.



(Good thing I'm identifying these parts, I just realised I forgot one!#$!%)

1 double pinch roller for the motor shaft.



Both gates have overscanned apertures.

Reg 8 Super8 16mm



and yes, I have another box. Should be mailed tomorrow.

[Stan Jelavic]

Thank you David. I have not done any changes to the 3D parts. Been busy with the new controller. Built two of them including the front panels with the switches. Completed the continuity tests today and so far electrically everything seems to be ok. Will start modifying the MSP firmware tomorrow. Should be done within the next few days at which point I will send you the kit.
The new firmware will support 4 different configurations (S8, R8, 16mm and other - whatever that is).

[David Brown]

Hello Stan

I'm filling a box with parts to send your way. I'll make a list before it's ready to mail. Pretty much Dual8 and 16 gates, dual 8/16 rollers, 16/8 rocker arm for the pinch roller, 16mm reels, 16mm film,...........

So if you have any revisions you'd like to make to the the existing parts being used in the homade telecine, let me know and I'll include those revisions too (unless the changes are complicated!).

[Stan Jelavic]

I ran the test with the takeup motor disabled. Will have to make sure that the takeup force is not pulling the film. It is a balance between the takeup force, gate tension and the idler spring force. Adding additional pulleys (similar to Wolverine) would help with this issue.
I am using the transport that you sent me but had to shorted the tie that holds the spring to increase the force.

[David Brown]

That light is dazzling!

Here is a first look at the pinch roller. I'm already making a list of changes. The dual rollers are on a single hub both on the motor and the rocker.



The rollers line up, but I think I will replace those on the rocker with the original hubs. The hubs have a slight dome on each side that will keep them friction free. That leaves a small gap between each roller and I might need to match that with the motor's hub.

Looking at your pictures, I see just 2 film guides 1 next to each reel. Any problems with the film getting loose?

Are you happy with tension spring? Are you using compression or extension?

[Stan Jelavic]

Sounds like a good plan David.
I installed the light. It is very bright and it gives excellent image exposure. The drawback is the heat dissipation. A large heatsink is needed or a small fan. I do not like the fan approach and just used a large piece of angle aluminum that worked out perfectly. It keeps the chip cool.


The new boards are coming in on Thursday this week. Will build two of them, one for you.
The main advantage of the new board is the tuning capability with the tuning buttons and switches.

[David Brown]

The light sounds promising.

Looks like my printer problems might be out of the way, I'll know later today. Usually there will be more than issue that can cause a single problem. I have now found several that were contributing small amounts! @$%#

Got the rollers yesterday, thanks!

Finally I'm on to the pinch roller. I only plan to modify the rocker arm at the motor. That should leave the rest of the assembly alone. Will see how that goes.

[Stan Jelavic]

Looks good David. Would be good to have the same pinch roller. I just powered up the new light and it is very bright. Will try to attach it to the rig tomorrow. It needs a heatsink. For now I am using piece of aluminum as a heatsink. I believe that the light will be still bright enough if it is mounter on the opposite site of the board, in place of the existing led.

[David Brown]

Done! But not yet printed. My printer began acting up on the weekend. Shortly after that I was sick for a few days.

Still working on the printer, hope this illustrates the centerline of the films are aligned thru the roller.

16mm 8mm




It's always impressive to see the PCB.

If the new light is too large, maybe we could modify the housing? I'll keep working on the printer and see if I can make the pinch roller deal with 8/16 without adjustment.

[Stan Jelavic]

Getting the led light this Thursday. If it is too close to the transport then a cutout can be made on the mounting board and the light can be mounted on the opposite side.
It would be nice to have the same reel mounts for both 8 and 16mm. Possibly made an adapter for the 8mm as well so that the offsets are the same for both films. Then all you have to change is the gate adapter when switching from one format to another.
I have completed the controller pcb and the front panel for the switches.