Preservation
The first step to preserving
your old home movies on film is to take the time to find them. Next,
determine what condition they are in and store them properly in the
right environment. Later on in this booklet, I will discuss in more
detail about proper storage to suggest what you need to do to slow down
the deterioration of your films.
You may remember watching
your films many years ago or you may have seen them more recently. That
special smile of a loved one or the sparkle in their eye captured on
film. Sometimes they’re the only images that may exist of these special
moments. You would really like to share and reminisce with the next
generation but you won’t be able to if they are lost forever because
they were stored improperly.
The second reason that it
makes sense to transfer film to DVD is the use of bulky equipment. Perhaps
you have tried to haul out the old projector to share these memories
with family and friends and found the bulb was burned out, or the belt
was broken. Or it still worked but ended up destroying your film in
the process by getting stuck on a frame and burning through it. After
all many of these machines are from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and are
outdated technology, plain and simple. If you do use your projector
you can’t just take the reel of film and run it through the projector.
It must be inspected, cleaned and lubricated first (more on this later).
Now to the present. Can
you imagine how thrilling it would be at your next family gathering
to put a DVD of your 8mm film conversion in your TV and surprise everyone?
As the titles come up with your family name and the years in which they
were taken with added music to enhance the experience. You may find
a tear in the eye of the most unlikely family member. This in itself
can be a memorable experience.
Home movies provide a valuable
link to the past for any family. They represent frozen events of our
lives captured on film for all eternity. They are reminders of where
we've been and who was with us at the time, proof that family remains
the center of all we do, even as the world is changing around us. These
valuable gems of our past need to be preserved for future generations.
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