Convert Cine Film to USB

Preparation: Initially, we meticulously inspect the cine film for any visible damage, dirt, or mould. If necessary, cleaning the film is essential to ensure that the scanning process captures the highest quality image possible. Specialised film cleaning solutions and cloths are utilised to carefully clean the film.

Scanning: Post preparation, a high-quality film scanner or a telecine machine is employed to digitise each frame of the cine film. The scanning process is a delicate one, where the film is passed through the scanner which captures images of each frame and converts them into digital data. The quality of the scanner and its resolution capabilities significantly affect the final digital output. We use the best professional grade film scanners to ensure the best output.

Editing: Once the scanning is completed, the raw digital footage is imported into video editing software. Here, various editing processes such as trimming unwanted sections, adjusting colour balance, enhancing brightness and contrast, and possibly stabilising the footage are performed to improve the visual appeal and correctness of the digital footage.

Saving: After editing and ensuring the footage is as desired, the final step is to save the edited footage onto a USB drive. We use high-quality, reliable USB drives with high storage capacities. The file format chosen for saving also plays a significant role in maintaining the quality of the footage. We use high bitrate MP4 format due to the high level of compatibility paired with excellent quality.

Film Scanner: A dedicated film scanner capable of handling the specific type of cine film is crucial. These are very expensive devices, making this a job best left to the professionals. We use high-quality scanners to ensure better resolution and colour accuracy during the digitisation process.

Computer: A powerful computer with a high-speed processor and ample memory is necessary to handle the large digital files generated during scanning and to run the editing software efficiently.

USB Drive: A high-capacity, reliable USB drive is needed to store the digitised and edited cine film files. The capacity needed depends on the length and resolution of the cine film, and the file format chosen for storage.

If you have managed to scan in some film, you’ll need software to edit it. Professional-grade software like Adobe Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve is often recommended due to their extensive feature sets which include a wide range of editing tools, support for various file formats, and high-quality rendering capabilities. These software packages allow for detailed editing, colour correction, and other post-processing tasks essential for ensuring the cine film's original aesthetics are maintained or enhanced in the digital version.

We use pro-grade software to edit all our cine conversions.

The storage capacity needed on the USB drive is dependent on several factors including the total length of the cine film, the resolution at which the film is scanned, and the file format chosen for saving the digital files. High-resolution scans and uncompressed or losslessly compressed file formats result in large file sizes, thus requiring a USB drive with a higher storage capacity. It's advisable to opt for a higher capacity USB drive, such as 128GB or 256GB, to ensure ample space for the digitised cine film files. We will always aim to supply your cine conversions on a single USB drive - and we find a 256Gb drive is usually sufficient unless we are converting a large number of reels.

Protecting the cine film files on USB from unauthorised access or accidental deletion is crucial. There are several methods to achieve this:

Password Protection: Utilise software that can password protect the entire USB drive or individual folders/files.

Encryption: Employ encryption software to encrypt the data on the USB drive, ensuring it can only be accessed by authorised individuals.

Read-Only: Set the files or folders to read-only to prevent accidental deletion.

Pros

Portability: USB drives are compact and easy to carry, making them a portable solution for storing and sharing cine film conversions.

Ease of Sharing: The digital files on a USB drive can be easily shared with others by simply handing over the USB drive or copying the files onto another drive.

Compatibility: Converting cine film to USB means you can play your old cine films in a huge variety of places, from your TV to your laptop and even your car if it comes with a screen and a USB port.

Cons

Potential Loss of Quality: If not done professionally, there's potential for loss of quality during the scanning, editing, or saving processes.

Data Corruption Risk: As with any physical media, USB drives are susceptible to data corruption, physical damage, or technical issues.

Limited Storage: The storage capacity of USB drives is a little limited compared to other digital storage solutions like external hard drives or cloud storage, although the modern sticks we use have a capacity of up to 256Gb which is usually ample.

Yes, additional features like subtitles or commentary tracks could be added to the cine films on USB, but this is not a standard option we offer. This can be done during the editing process using professional video editing software. Subtitles would have to be created manually, and commentary tracks would have to be recorded and added as separate audio tracks in the video file. The editing software allows for synchronisation of these additional elements with the video, ensuring they play back correctly in sync with the footage.

The time taken to convert cine film to USB varies based on several factors including the total length of the cine film, the resolution at which it is scanned, the capabilities of the scanning equipment, and the extent of editing required. For instance, high-resolution scanning and detailed editing can significantly extend the time required for conversion. The process could range from several hours to several days depending on these factors.

If you convert your cine with us, we’ll aim to get your reels on to USBs and returned to you within 7 days.

Maintaining the original aspect ratio and frame rate is critical to preserving the authenticity of the cine film. We always ensure your converted files are at the same aspect ratio and authentic cine frame rate as your original feels. We achieve this with:

Scanning Settings: Ensuring the scanning equipment is set to capture the film at its original aspect ratio and frame rate.

Editing Software Settings: Configuring the editing software to maintain the original aspect ratio and frame rate when importing, editing, and exporting the digitised footage.

Export Settings: Choosing export settings that retain the original aspect ratio and frame rate when saving the final digital files to the USB drive.

Yes, if your cine reel has a sound track, this can be enhanced or modified during the conversion to USB. This can be achieved through the use of audio editing software or the audio editing features within video editing software. Common enhancements include noise reduction to remove hiss or hum, equalisation to balance the frequency response, and volume adjustment to ensure a consistent level. Additionally, new soundtracks can be added or existing ones can be modified to improve the audio quality or correct issues present in the original soundtrack.

The resolution of the cine doesn’t affect it, as all cine reels are effectively the same resolution. But the resolution at which the cine film is scanned significantly affects the file size on the USB. Higher resolution scanning captures more detail, resulting in larger file sizes. For example, scanning at 4K resolution will result in significantly larger files compared to scanning at standard definition (SD) resolution. Our standard service provides your cine films at full HD (1080p) resolution, but we can provide 4k conversions as an additional service. Please contact us if this is something you are looking for.

The choice of resolution impacts not only the file size but also the quality and the amount of detail retained from the original cine film. Therefore, it's a balance between quality and file size, and it’s crucial to ensure the USB drive has sufficient storage capacity to accommodate the chosen resolution.

Yes, multiple cine films can be merged into a single file on the USB, or we can just add them as separate files. This merging process can be performed during the editing stage using video editing software. Each cine film can be imported into the editing timeline, arranged in the desired order, and then exported as a single file. Transitions can be added between each cine film to provide a smooth flow from one film to the next. The exported file can then be saved onto the USB drive, providing a single file that contains multiple cine films for easy playback.

Yes, there is a very notable difference in quality between self-conversion and professional conversion of cine film to USB. Professional conversion services such as ourselves have access to high-quality, professional-grade scanning equipment and software, along with the expertise to handle cine film correctly and perform high-quality digital conversion. On the other hand, self-conversion, especially if done without the appropriate equipment (which is prohibitively expensive for home use) and knowledge, may result in lower quality digital files, potential damage to the original cine film, or loss of important details in the digital conversion.