BBC 2 The Repair Shop & The Cine Film Factory

So back in late Summer 2018 we received a call through to our Studio from a desperately frantic sounding young lady who had a list of questions about film, not overly uncommon as we receive many calls about film here each week.

However, this once was slightly different to the norm as after our initial call about an hour later the same young lady hesitantly called again & this proceed to explain more information & that she was calling from a TV production company in conjunction with the BEEB! and that the said piece of film she inquired about had significant issues & needed restoration for the popular BBC2 program The Repair Shop.

The episode that featured our work was Episode 10 Series 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000427z

Our brief outline by the production company was that in preparation for Episode 10 Series 4 was that there was going to be the restoration of a Eumig P8 Standard 8 projector however our part in this came that unfortunately a very important standard 8 film belonging to the projector owner had attempted to be projected on said Eumig which unfortunately acted as a film shredder leaving such precious film in various pieces not only that whoever with no name mentioned had rejoined any pieces back together in desperate fashion using sellotape (Please refer to images)

So with arrangements made the said fore mentioned Standard 8 film was hand delivered over to our studio as we were now tasked with the complete ground up restoration & rebuild we even carried transfers of the restored film to Digital to for the Gentleman.

Like many of the restoration projects we take on here we are always keen to keep progressive step by step photos along the path towards its digital journey & this was no different so you will see from the many images on our BLOG the process steps underway.

Of course, being the film expert & professionals we are we still became flattered when such large organisations can only turn to us for remedy through our experience in the handling of such delicate matters.

We are delighted to have many accreditations to our name for some monumental film restoration & transfer works we have carried out over our 15 year span see this link to other works we have digitally photographed restored to digital (Warning Not For The Faint Hearted!)

We hope that in conclusion to our BLOG it demonstrates the magic of the work we can carry out here & believe there is in most cases away around issue`s with film and would always like our customers to approach us to appraise & discuss a way forward with any film you may have.

Vintage 8mm Film Projectors Running in 2016

So this topic we have felt compelled to write a blog on for some time as it is probably one of the most frequent topics to come up in conversation when we are speaking with our Customers about 8mm Cine Film Transfers, and what prompted us to take time away from our very busy Christmas Transfer schedule was a Customer walked in to The Cine Film Factory Studio this Week clutching armfuls of Super 8 Film and a 8mm Dual Gauge Projector frantic as to why they wouldn't play on the Projector anymore (Interesting Photos Below Alert!)

Bell & Howell 8mm Projector Drive Belt 2

The objective of the Cine Film Projector Blog is we want to educate Customers on, is the operational running of 8mm Cine Film Projectors Today in 2016 and how these Projectors can potentially damage your precious Cine Films for a number of reasons, Now you may be thinking as you have or may have been told that your projector is a Bell & Howell - Sankyo - Eumig - Prinz Magnon Etc the make doesn't matter, Yes these were good units back in 1970`s however some 40 years later whilst they have been tucked out of the way in the Attic significant deterioration has been taking effect, you then discover your Kodak Kodachrome Super 8 collection alongside the projector in the box and decide great I'm going to get these transferred with The Cine Film Factory, however firstly I want to fire up the projector to see what is on the Super 8 before sending it over to us.

This is where We shout STOP!!! don't do this, you will potentially turn your precious 8mm film in shredded film something that resembles the remnants from a Fellows Paper shredder, which will inevitably render your Film useless to Transfer, this also goes for buying Projectors over the internet on popular Auction Sites where the seller states all sorts about how shiny it is and it looks in good condition for it age Etc Etc Yawn Avoid don't do it.

Firstly there are 2 main issues when powering up Projectors that haven't been used for many years firstly The rubber drive belt will have perished consuming itself with a sticky fungus (See Images from the Projector as mention in our opening to our Blog)

Secondly the once bright 100w Bulb will no longer shine or if it does very soon after accepting power will go pop.

Whilst drive belts & Bulbs can be replaced you then have to consider the Dusts that has attached itself to the inner workings around the greased components/cogs this is where we most commonly find the damage to Film occurs where the cogs no longer turn correctly through the build up of deposits they then snag up the Film.

This is where we come in of course and always suggest leaving the above and don't risk, We have a range of Digital Transfers services we can offer you for your Films if you want to be able to view again before committing to DVDs, our most popular service is to have them transferred to Digital Files with a corresponding numerical key created for you, We can pop them on a handy USB for you to inspect at your leisure on your own PC when have looked and if you decide what and where you would like created to DVDs we retain the same digital back up and a simple call to the cine film factory studio 01903 690543 can organise all of this for you.