OT removing flicker from old 8mm film conversion

cheroxy wrote on 12/12/2003, 3:53 PM

I want to convert some of my grandparents old home videos. Does anybody know how to do this without having to have the expensive machine that does lens to lens conversion?

If the flicker occurs every ten seconds could a script be made to remove that length every x milliseconds?

thanks,
Carson

Comments

JackW wrote on 12/12/2003, 4:29 PM

Set up your projector about three feet in front of a sheet of white foam core. Don't use a screen or the wall: the video camera will pick up the texture and ruin the picture. Set up the video camera on a tripod as close as possible to the projector and zoom in on the picture. Use manual focus and manual iris control. Put a dummy jack in the mic input to disable the on- camera mic, otherwise you'll have the noise of the projector on the tape.

It's very possible that you won't get any "flicker" at all. However, if it looks like you are getting some, experiment with shutter speeds on the camera. You may be able to eliminate the jitter this way, just like you can eliminate roll-over when shooting a computer monitor.

Writing a script sounds interesting, but wouldn't it pre-suppose that the flicker occurred at some regular interval?

cheroxy wrote on 12/12/2003, 4:58 PM

I'll try that, thank you very much!

cheroxy wrote on 12/12/2003, 5:49 PM

Jack, I already had done everything but vary the play speed and that did the trick.

CRAZY news. I was married four years ago last may in Bellevue. I checked out your website after gettting the quick, nice and very helpful info. I saw that you are from Bellevue and I saw your company. My wife, as usual, remembered that you were the company we did our wedding photo montage through. I checked the tape and it had your logo on the sticker! My very frugal :) father-in-law wanted to save a buck so he did the montage himself, at your place.

I didn't actually start doing video editing until 6 months later. He did a pretty poor job and now I look back sadly wishing he would have stepped up and paid for someone (You) to do it.
Small world eh?! Maybe when I move to Issaquah after finishing dental school we'll meet up.
Good luck!
Later,
Carson Calderwood

JackW wrote on 12/12/2003, 9:42 PM

Hey, I'd like that, Carson. Give us a call next time you're in the area.

Glad the film transfer is going o.k.

Jack

John_Cline wrote on 12/12/2003, 10:25 PM

Donald Graft has written a free plug-in for Virtual Dub that does an amazing job of removing flicker from video that has been shot using a camera and a projector.

Go to VirtualDub.org and get the Virtual Dub, it's free, and there is a link to Donald Graft's site there, too.

You will need a VFW compatible DV codec though since the DV codec in Vegas isn't available to any other programs. A free DV codec can be obtained from Matrox. Do a search of the Vegas forum for "Matrox" and find the URL.

John

johnmeyer wrote on 12/14/2003, 11:38 AM

Check out the "Telecine" link at the top of this page:

8mm Film

The VirtualDub plugin is called "DeFlicker."

If you must use a standard projector for the transfer, at least get one where you can vary the speed. A slight change in speed can make a big difference in flicker.