About The Film Transfer Company
Dear Valued Clients,
I wanted to take a moment to let you know why I founded The Film Transfer Company. I’ve always been interested in the science of film, and the emerging technologies around digitized video. Since I was dabbling in film transfer and preservation, I began to think about all of my family’s old film, and remembered my father describing the film archives of my parents’ wedding. I became excited about the prospect of restoring their memories of that special day, and giving them a shiny new DVD that they could pop in and watch on TV any time they wanted.
Eugene Gekhter, the FTC President
So I got on the phone with my Dad to ask if he had brought any of the old family film with him from Russia.
I was very saddened to learn that unfortunately the film had been ruined — most likely the casualty of an old, broken projector combined with the age of the film stock. The surface of the film was crumbled and had deteriorated beyond repair. They had been able to watch it only a few times before it was too late to salvage and archive it.
This made me think about how, at this time in history, families everywhere are in danger of suffering the same loss that we had suffered. Film does not last forever, and over the decades, the surfaces break down. I decided to learn everything I could about film preservation and transferring, and use my knowledge to help other families preserve their memories — affordably and with confidence.
We will review your request and someone will contact you within the next 12-24 hours.
Most Frequently Asked Questions:
How can I tell what type of film I have?
Can you transfer film with sound?
What's the difference between Professional Hi-Definition and standard HD?
Delving into the Science of the Art
In my research, I began to realize that the quality of video transfer, usually onto VHS or DVD, was well below the quality found on the original film. This led me to explore numerous types of technologies and eventually bring them together to present a digital version that rivaled the original — and in some cases improved upon it, thanks to color correction techniques and methods.
We experimented with dozens of film transfer systems, from projecting and shooting with a video camera off a wall, to setting up a tripod and capturing film on a white piece of paper, then came along do-it-yourself kits that promised quality better than the original... but we were disappointed and our search continued. Elmo Corporation built a great TRV unit for viewing regular 8 and 16mm films for the industrial market, but it too lacked two critical goals: the ability to discern one frame from another, and to see the film in the clarity that we’d become accustomed to through careful focusing of the image.
This led us to experiment with many different systems, hearing great reviews about the systems developed by a small company from Texas called MovieStuff. After ordering and setting up their units, we were amazed by the ability to capture each individual frame and review it individually. The uniqueness of this equipment is that it used a sync pulse to direct the capture of the current and preceding frames, generating an image that is free from flicker, jumpiness, and other less than desirable film-to-video transfer traits.
“Developing” a Passion for Quality
With great quality and happy customers, we could have stopped there and continued with the status quo. But that wasn’t our destiny. Ever since looking at a piece of 16mm film with the naked eye, we knew the quality we desired was only bound by the imaging sensor elected to reproduce one of those celluloid strips into a continuous beacon of pixels. Through years of dedication and research, The Film Transfer Company has discovered the optimum formula for picture-perfect transfers, with the aid of modern high definition sensors and transport technology from MovieStuff in Texas.
Today, at The Film Transfer Company we’re passionate about everything to do with the film medium, whether we’re watching old silent nitrate flicks at local cinema or the extravagance of 65mm/IMAX productions that challenged the ability to tell reality from film. We’re still not satisfied with the status quo, and are constantly in pursuit of the latest technologies to transform film into crystal clear digital video archives. I get great satisfaction out of knowing that our company helps people around the world digitize their vintage film in a secure and reliable format.
Take the first step…
You know the old saying, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” But with today’s technology and the right knowledge, we can cheat time by transferring your memories from film to digital media. Please don’t let what happened to my family happen to you. Pull out your old film today, before it’s too late, and let The Film Transfer Company help you preserve your precious memories. Perfect. Forever.
Warm regards,
Eugene Gekhter
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