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It’s interesting, isn’t it, just how you can tell when a moment was captured, simply by studying the image in front of you. In fact, with a keen eye, it’s possible to effortlessly judge just when those memories occurred.
It’s not just down to those really awesome shoulder pads you were rocking in the 1980’s, the 90’s curtains hairstyle, or those blood-constraining skinny jeans for the millennium. It’s more about the image quality. Seeing the difference between analogue pictures and those shot in digital is easy.
Consider this scene: a family gathering. These days, if we’re capturing this moment, we’ll be filming it with our smartphones – and then it ends up plastered all over social media, but that’s another story. The average smartphone today has a minimum of around 3MP, which means some serious digital clarity when compared to yesteryear.
Travel back ten years, and the cameras would be shot in VGA. VGA – or Video Graphics Array – was a pretty basic camera type, with a resolution of 640×480. So you’ll definitely notice the difference already. Even if you were using a dedicated digital camera in the early 2000’s, chances are it would only be around 1.3MP. So you’d still be able to judge just when it was you made those memories, based on quality alone.
Dash back even further, to the 90’s, and digital is pretty much unused, at least by most. That’s when we used film, creating images on 6×4 roll film, or using disposable cameras. In the 1980’s, the 35mm was king. As technology advances, we’ve grown used to great picture quality. What once seemed like the height of image clarity just keeps on getting better. Simply by looking at your photos and video films, you can easily date the time it was taken, which is pretty amazing.
Here at Cine 2 DVD we’re passionate about bringing the best quality images to you. That’s why we specialise in converting 8mm film to DVD. So all you have to worry about are those tie-dye t-shirts you thought would never go out of fashion. For more information about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 592 433 or email info@cine2dvdtransfers.co.uk and our pro team will be delighted to assist with your enquiries.
Check out our infographic, which looks at the different types of film, their origin stories, and the history of their creation…
Ah, love. Is there anything better than celebrating it? There’s only a month to go until Cupid flings his arrows willy-nilly, star-crossed lovers stare longingly into each other’s eyes and every restaurant in a ten-mile radius is booked up.
Yep, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and with it comes the sheer panic of what to get for your significant other. Sure, you’ll go out for a meal, maybe even take in the theatre. If you’re feeling particularly frisky, you might even be considering popping the question. But what else do you get to show your partner that you care? Flowers, chocolates, a pair of socks?
The key to a good gift – especially on February 14th, when being in the dog-house is the last place you want to be – is that it’s personal, memorable and actually means something to the one receiving it. There’s no imagination and creativity involved with buying a teddy bear holding a love heart or printing out a hilarious ‘IOU x 1 Back Rub’ card. And frankly, while your other half may really-really-really want that awesome back-scratcher, it’s just not going to cut it when showing how much you care at this special time of the year.
But one way to seriously celebrate all those happy years together is a movie of all your happiest moments. Not only is it a gift that’s unique and intimate, but it’ll also remind of you of precisely why you fell in love with your chap or chapette in the first place. All those charming memories, all those adoring smiles, all those silly moments, all captured on film throughout the years. How sweet would it be to see your first kiss again, the birth of your first child, your wedding and the subsequent anniversaries, maybe? Sure, many of those moments might be on older cine film formats, meaning you can’t watch them back and fall in love all over again.
But we can help you make Valentine’s Day as special as it always should be. Here at Cine 2 DVD Transfers we love love. That’s why we specialise in 8mm cine film to DVD conversions, so you can relive the moments you love best. For more info, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 592 433 or email info@cine2dvdtransfers.co.uk and our expert team will be delighted to assist with creating the perfect gift this Valentine’s Day. We can even add music to your home movies to really make it special. Just steer clear of that love heart-holding teddy bear!
Getting to grips with technicalities of home videoing can be more than tricky, especially if you’re trying it out for the first time. Your friend’s epic birthday party, your baby’s first babbling words… these occasions deserve to be captured in films that show off the beauty of the moment more than they show off your dodgy camera skills! Luckily it’s easy to fake it as a pro, if you just avoid a few common pitfalls. We already took you through a selection of the most frequent mistakes, but here are a few more to make sure that you really get the best out of your home camera!
Don’t Shake and Shoot
Keeping a steady hand is one of the surest ways to make sure that nothing detracts from the content of your video. Shaky shots often distract the viewer – and you don’t want to be held responsible for causing motion sickness when you finally share your video with family and friends. A little accidental wobble here and there can be excused, but many videographers find that once the power starts going to their heads they’re suddenly finding excuses to experiment with motion shots at every opportunity. It can be fun to move around while filming, but remember that stillness and balance can also be serious virtues when it comes to making home movies.
Avoid Accidentally Hitting That Record Button
Unwanted shots are exactly that – unwanted, and once they start cluttering up your video you’ll find yourself with more shots of Grandma’s feet than baby’s first steps. It’s all too easy to accidentally hit record, and it can be disappointing to find yourself with a lot of unintended footage. Luckily, this problem has a very easy fix: the camera’s viewfinder will always tell you if you’re currently recording, so keep an eye on it and make sure that you’re only filming what you really want. As an added bonus, you’ll find that less accidental recording makes for longer lasting batteries. Win!
Remember That Everyone Makes Mistakes
As much as this advice can help you take higher quality videos, there’s nothing worse than spending so much time worrying about getting the perfect footage that you end up missing the moment that you were trying to preserve. Mistakes are made by everyone – the best professionals with the greatest track records still find themselves messing up from time to time. As you practice filming and start to perfect your art, you’ll find that those mistakes get fewer and further between, and you’ll learn how to shrug it off when you do find yourself with that unwanted shot or little bit of shaky footage!
However polished your footage is, the most important thing is that once you’ve got it recorded you have it to keep forever. We specialise in transferring 8mm Cine Film to DVD, meaning that you can store your films in a format that is easy to watch, share and treasure. To find out more, contact us at 0800 592 433, or email info@cine2dvdtransfers.co.uk.
No doubt about it, shooting all those awesome moments can give anyone a real buzz. Whether it’s baby’s first steps, seeing your kid off to his school prom, or your daughter’s big day, any amateur filmmaker is going to be excited. But that way madness lies! Ok, not really madness – but certainly some errors which you may live to regret when it comes to watching and re-watching those moments on the small screen. So let’s take a look at a few common mistakes we’re all guilty of when shooting those precious moments, starting with…
Zoom-Zoom-Zoom
The zoom function on camcorders is pretty handy, allowing you privileged access to shots you might miss out on, getting up close and personal with your newly christened baby, say. But that doesn’t mean every shot requires a hard zoom. Or any zoom for that matter. It can totally distract from what’s actually happening – sometimes we need to just let the picture itself tell the story.
Auto-Mode is Auto-Pilot
Ok, we know we just had a pop at the ol’ zoom button, but really, that camcorder is a nifty little machine with some seriously cool bells and whistles. It may be easier to film with just auto-focus switched on, but when your kid’s walking down the aisle the last thing you want is for the screen to go blurry. Or watch the colour bleed out because you haven’t calibrated it properly. We definitely suggest checking out all you can about what your camcorder does, so you can capture those shots perfectly.
Eye-Level Lacks Creativity
With a video camera it’s sure easy to just point and shoot, right? After all, it’s in your hand, and you’re standing, what more do you need? Well, by just shooting at standard eye-level you may be capturing everything as you see it, but you’re also missing out on tons of really great shots. You can afford to be creative, especially if it means recording something that might otherwise be missed. Get down low, get up high, get as much range as you possibly can – not only will it make you feel like the next Spielberg, it’ll also let viewers see the whole scope of the event. And that’s more to make it memorable.
Here at Cine 2 DVD Transfers we love helping you relive those awesomely special memories. That’s why we specialise in converting cine to DVD, so you can re-watch those moments time and again. For more information about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 592 433 or email info@cine2dvdtransfers.co.uk and our team will be glad to assist with all of your enquiries.
Usually when we’re converting cine film to DVD, it’s of those really wonderful and memorable moments – the wedding, the christening, your child’s first day at school, Christmas 1971, that sort of thing. But that’s certainly not the only conversions we do, and it’s definitely not the only type of cine films out there.
How about home movies? You know, those little flicks you make when playing around with a video camera for the first time. Sure, they’re badly-scripted, contain not-so-special effects, and the less said about the acting the better – but that’s part of their charm!
Hollywood is lousy with seriously big names who started cine-small. Ever heard of a guy called Ben Affleck? Yep, he and his actor brother Casey Affleck started out creating their own films as kids, even going so far as the make a music video for ‘Little Wing’ by Jimi Hendrix.
Or how about Sam Raimi? The Evil Dead and Spider-man director knew precisely what he wanted to do in life from the moment his father arrived home with a movie camera. After that, there was no stopping Raimi, alongside his buddy and now-professional actor Bruce Campbell, making Super 8 movies.
Ok, making home movies as a kid might not be a sure-fire way to tell if you’re dealing with the next Steven Spielberg, but it’s not a bad indicator. After all, almost all big-shot directors start out by making amateur movies when they’re young. Come to think of it, Spielberg himself started out by directing his own home movies with his father’s camera, and it’s worked out pretty well for him.
Have you got some old home movies laying about? They might not have, but wouldn’t it be great to see them again? Here at Cine 2 DVD Transfers we can convert your old film, pop it on a disc, and let you re-live those magical moments all over again. For more information about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 592 433 or email info@cine2dvdtransfers.co.uk and our experts will be more than happy to assist in any way we can.
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