Transferring 8mm is it better 24 fps for 18 fps film + other questions

[Winbert Hutahaean]

Hi all,

I have been in this forum for a very long time but most of the time I was involved in film collecting hobby.

I knew there are a lot of transferring experts here but I only need a simple answer. Please do not suggest me the sophisticated solution which I knew exist.

I came to conclusion that the best way (for me) to transfer all my old home movies is screen grab method (where I project to a white paper and use my cell phone camera to grab the pictures).

I found that today's cellphone camera is very good and can shoot 24 fps (or also 18 fps?) which resulting no flickers at all.

The most important question, my home movies are all 18 fps, both silent and sound, so which one is better:

(1) Project them at 24fps (or even faster) and slowing them down to 18 fps during playback ? or keep projecting them at 18 fps?

If I put my camera in front of screen, it cannot be really 90 degree because the shadow of my camera will be on the screen too so I have to move a bit (tilting) to left/right but this resulting keystone on the picture which is not satisfying.

So is it good idea to:

(2) grabbing the picture from behind the screen as the white paper is so thin so picture is also seen from the back. I will reverse it (mirror) during the playback.

(3) which one gives better result, using brighter bulb (100w, 150w, or even 200w) or the dimmer ones (50w)? ps: my cellphone camera has feature to reduce the excess brightness.

Last but not least:

(4) which one gives better result, put the projector on zoom out (larger picture) or zoom in (smaller picture)?

thanks for your suggestion,
winbert

[Joerg Polzfusz]

Hi!

a) Try to find „Filmic Pro“ for your smartphone. On most devices, it allows shooting at UHD masked to 4:3 at any framerate (18, 24, 25, … fps).
IMHO it’s much easier to project and record at the correct speed. (Otherwise you’ll have all those post steps to change the clip back to the correct speed. This can be a very time-consuming task as some codecs require a complete re-encoding, especially when sound is involved.)

b) Simply put your smartphone‘s camera directly to the left/right/top/bottom* of your projector’s lens. (* = whatever is best given your devices). Then use the phone‘s zoom or simply move the projector+camera closer to the screen.

c) To ensure that the smartphone is stable in a correct position, get yourself a „tripod adapter“ for your smartphone and put it onto a small table-tripod. (Adapters are usually only 5€ these days.) When you don’t have a tiny tripod, construct yourself a simple holder out of plywood, Lego or Fischer-Technik.

d) For me, smaller projected images are usually better than larger - as they have less problems with „hotspots“ (=center being brighter than the images‘ corners).

e) Take some time to experiment with different screens. E.g. projecting onto a sheet of paper taped to the wall or screen results in better videos with my hardware than projecting onto the „reel screen“. This might be due to my very old iPhone 7 or due to having a „Perlleinwand“ (in English it seems to be „pearl canvas“ or „beaded canvas“). I also tried projecting onto the bathroom‘s door (plastic surface - nearly white). But this only increased the hotspot. (A friend is even projecting onto a sheet of „photo paper for inkjets“. But for me, a plain, normal piece of paper is better.)

f) When trying to transfer sound films, then try to record the sound with a different device. (For whatever reasons, my iPhone 7 and my kids’ Samsungs only allow recording in mono when using the phones’ „mic in“. And my few home-movies with sound are either duoplay or stereo, so I don’t like the mix-down to a single mono-track.)

g) I’m using a Yelco with a 150W bulb at the „less bright“ setting. So in my case, there’s no need to get a projector with a less bright light. I guess that this is more a problem for those that are directly filming the film through the projector‘s lens….

Have fun and a lot of spare time. (It took me several weekends to find a working setup.)

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

One small tip that you may find it useful...

Can't say for other brand, but the pro video mode in my Samsung phone will allow for MANUAL shutter speed setting.

This is the most important setting for any real time telecine setup. You'll definitely need this in order to eliminate any flicker when transferring. If properly set you will get virtually smooth, flicker-free result.