As a company that helps our valued customers convert their 8mm film to DVD, we feel that preserving the past and bringing it into the future is essential. When it comes to the world of cinema, we are always excited when we hear about old films being updated (except perhaps with the exception of Star Wars!) and being renovated to have a contemporary feel.
What Do We Want From Movies?
When we sit down to watch a movie, we are always going to have some kind of expectation. Whether it’s how the plot is going to pan out, or just the general feel of the film, we are always going to have something in mind that we are expecting to get from the film.
As experts in transferring cine to DVD, we know our stuff when it comes to films, especially watching them! With this in mind, we’ve put together a short list of what audiences have in mind when it comes to what audiences expect when watching a film.
What Famous Sound Effects Really Are
A ‘Foley’ is something you’ve probably never heard of, but you’ve almost certainly heard one. They are the sound effects added to a film to enhance the audio quality and give you a better experience. They can help to turn things that don’t exist into a reality and are essential in filmmaking.
How to Watch a Movie!
Watching our favourite movies and home films have always been entertaining for family and friends. Until recently, however, it was difficult to see exactly what you had filmed unless you had a couple of strategically placed cables to hook up to your TV (or a suitable video cassette your VCR didn’t chew up). Back in the day, watching your movies used to be limited to your TV box, sat in the front room with your parents squashed into the same room and your younger siblings running around in front of your grainy, shaky TV set.
BFI: Local History
News came this week that the British Film Institute has digitised thousands of films and made them available on their BFI Player to stream. Much like with our 8mm film to DVD transfers, they have made otherwise unavailable and unseen footage from all over Britain available on an accessible and easy to use format.
Stop. Motion Picture Time!- Creating a Stop Motion Animation Movie
Have you ever made a flick book?
You know, when you make a series of doodles in the corner of your page, over a series of pages and then you flick through the corners and your doodle looks like it’s moving?
If you have, congratulations! You’ve started on the long, addictive road of stop motion animation!
3 of the Best ‘Found Footage’ Movies Ever!
Found footage movies have become an increasingly popular genre over the last 20 years or so. It started with indie filmmakers, and there are now major blockbusters that are using this format. Based on the idea that the footage shown has been found after a given event, with the jumpy camera movements and grainy footage, they are made to look like real home movies.
With this increased popularity we thought that now was a good time to pick some of our favourites and first is possibly the most famous of all…
Famous Home Movie Makers – Ray Harryhausen
In the first part of our series on famous movie makers who began by shooting in the family basement or garage, we looked at Nick Park, who started creating his phenomenal animations simply as home movies. Continue reading
Spoiler Alert! (No… Seriously)
At Cine2DVD we don’t just work tirelessly to help you and yours transfer Super8 to DVD; we live for films in all formats – including the cinema. But before we go on any further, we have to tell you that the following blog will contain spoilers to some of the greatest films to grace the big screen.
Famous Home Movie Makers- Nick Park
Ah, the movies; one of the most popular forms of entertainment of the century. With amazing special effects and gripping storylines, it’s easy to forget that these plots aren’t actually real sometimes.
Film makers can seem like magicians, but even they had to begin somewhere. What better place to start than creating videos at home?
Believe it or not, Academy Award winning animator Nick Park began his creative career by creating home videos. Join us as we take a deeper look at how his early exposure to creating homemade films helped him achieve his massive success.
Early Years
Nick Park was born in Preston, Lancashire in 1958. From an early age, he was interested in drawing comics and adopted his father’s habit of collecting items and spare parts from around his neighbourhood. This collection of items would come in handy when Nick began to create his own stop motion films at home; using his mother’s 8mm camera and items from her dressmaking kit to create props, characters and sets for his animated shorts.
By the age of 13, he had finished his first animated short, which was entitled Walter the Rat. At 15 he had created another short named Archie’s Concrete Nightmare which he had submitted to a BBC young animator film competition. The short didn’t win, but it did air on national TV on BBC2.
Nick then went on to study at Sheffield City Polytechnic where he studied art, and followed this up by attending the National Film and Television School where he began creating his first film, the famous Wallace and Gromit short, A Grand Day Out.
The unfinished film soon caught the eyes of Peter Lord and David Sproxton, animators at the highly acclaimed Aardman Animation studio. They were so impressed with Nick’s work that they hired him in 1985.
Professional Career
Initially, Nick didn’t have a huge role at Aardman Animations; contributing to commercials and working alongside his colleagues on Peter Gabriel’s award winning Sledgehammer music video. However, following the success of his first Wallace and Gromit installation, Nick followed A Grand Day Out with The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave.
With the additional success of his animated short Creature Comforts , Nick had securely cemented himself in the animation industry, and was quickly rising to fame for the work that he was producing.
After catching the elusive eye of Hollywood, Nick and Peter Lord co-directed the first Aardman feature length film Chicken Run, which was distributed by DreamWorks Studios. After co-producing a feature length Wallace and Gromit adventure, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit in 2005 which was also distributed by DreamWorks, Aardman and their famous distributor ended their association due to creative differences.
Nick’s initial introduction to creating homemade films had given him the skill set and experience to create movies at an early age. This experience is essential and without it, he may not have been as successful as he is today. The most important thing to note is that he created these initial shorts through his own interest and determination, with no pressure of an industry to deter him. Nick is an excellent example of what can be achieved through perseverance and a genuine interest in film making. Who knows what some of your own home videos can help you achieve?
At Cine2DVD Transfers, we can help you transform your home movies onto a digital format, so that you can easily view them any time you desire. We specialise in the transfer of 8mm Cine Film to DVD, so don’t delay in letting the world see your masterpieces. Who knows, you may become the next Nick Park! Interesting right? If you would like more information, contact us by calling 0800 592433 today and see how Cine2DVD Transfers can help you!
