| Sound Film Transfer |
There are many different types of sound film....
Regular 8mm (very rare: less than .1% of R8 film has sound)
- sound was usually added after shooting (dubbed audio)
- very few 8mm cameras could record synchronized sound on film
- sound quality - poor by today's standards but fully understandable
- Look for a thin constant brown magnetic stripe(s) on the side of film.
Super8 (rare: less than 5% of Super8 film has sound)
- Super8 sound cameras record synchronized sound
- some Super8 sound projectors could dub additional sound onto the film
- sound quality - variable based upon microphone and initial recording skill or effort
- balance track not transferred
- Look for two thin constant brown stripes on the side of the film.
16mm Magnetic Stripe (rare)
- usually sync sound but can be re-recorded after the film was shot
- not common for home movies
- high quality audio is possible
- Look for sprocket holes on one side of the film & brown constant stripe on the other side.
16mm Composite Optical sound (common)
- standard on 16mm prints
- optical track could be recorded with sync sound cameras (rare)
- not common for home movies
- high quality audio is possible, but mediocre results are possible too..
- Look for sprocket holes on one side of the film & a white audio waveform on the other side
16mm Dual System / Full coat (professional only)
- one reel of picture and one reel of (brown) magnetic film
- each reel is $0.15 per foot
- can be synced in an editor for a nominal charge (call for details)
- high quality audio is possible
35mm Composite Optical sound (common)
- standard on 35mm prints.
- sound transfer included in the transfer price.
- high quality audio is normal, very old prints can be mediocre.
Regular 8mm (very rare: less than .1% of R8 film has sound)
- sound was usually added after shooting (dubbed audio)
- very few 8mm cameras could record synchronized sound on film
- sound quality - poor by today's standards but fully understandable
- Look for a thin constant brown magnetic stripe(s) on the side of film.
Super8 (rare: less than 5% of Super8 film has sound)
- Super8 sound cameras record synchronized sound
- some Super8 sound projectors could dub additional sound onto the film
- sound quality - variable based upon microphone and initial recording skill or effort
- balance track not transferred
- Look for two thin constant brown stripes on the side of the film.
16mm Magnetic Stripe (rare)
- usually sync sound but can be re-recorded after the film was shot
- not common for home movies
- high quality audio is possible
- Look for sprocket holes on one side of the film & brown constant stripe on the other side.
16mm Composite Optical sound (common)
- standard on 16mm prints
- optical track could be recorded with sync sound cameras (rare)
- not common for home movies
- high quality audio is possible, but mediocre results are possible too..
- Look for sprocket holes on one side of the film & a white audio waveform on the other side
16mm Dual System / Full coat (professional only)
- one reel of picture and one reel of (brown) magnetic film
- each reel is $0.15 per foot
- can be synced in an editor for a nominal charge (call for details)
- high quality audio is possible
35mm Composite Optical sound (common)
- standard on 35mm prints.
- sound transfer included in the transfer price.
- high quality audio is normal, very old prints can be mediocre.
| All audio is recorded as the film is being scanned. High quality optical and magnetic pickups are used. Optical & magnetic pickups are optimized & positioned for each project to get the maximum sound gain from the film. All audio is digitized & processed by a hardware based digital parametric equalizer to reduce hiss & other defects. It is very important to note that audio quality is dependent upon the initial recording done by the camera operator. |