VIDEO PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT!!!!

[RageCranker]

- Okay I have been looking for stuff all day, but I do not know what the hell I need. I need to know, what equipment do I need to get to edit 8mm film. I also need to know how can I transfer 8mm into a standard VHS and a DVD. WILL SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!?

[DAD]

First are we talking 8mm film or 8mm (Hi8? Digital8?) video? If we are talking film, are we talking standard 8 or Super8. There are a lot of things to discuss regarding what ever format you are actually using. Some are simple some can very complex. IE: If it is film, getting it to VHS or into the computer is more difficult than if it is 8mm video. Please provide alittle more info.

[RageCranker]

OKAY the it is an 8mm camera I put an 8mm tape to record. WHAT AM I GOING TO NEED TO EDIT IT and to TRANFORM IT INTO A DVD AND 16mm

[DAD]

First off, unless you have exceptionally DEEP pockets forget about output to 16mm film. Transferring film to video through Telecine is one thing and it costs pretty good money, putting video out to film is something completely different and cost big bucks. So unless you are shooting on at least MiniDV with a 3CCD camera it isn't even worth considering . I wouldn't even consider putting back out to film from video on anything less than HiDef.

That said.

Shooting on consumer 8mm is good a place to get started and learn how to shoot, don't expect wonders. You are basically shooting at a computer resolution of 320x240. Since most new computers display at 800x600 and above and 35mm is WAY above that ... well, don't expect film quality images.

Depending on the computer you have you may be able to get by with an external device such as the Dazzle or one of the Pinnacle capture devices. These will hook up to the USB port but you should have at least USB2.0 or you might suffer a lot of dropped frames in the transfer. Both of these devices will come with edit software, probably Ulead VideoStudio, and it is a good place to get your feet wet for video editting. Another very good software package for editting for the beginner is Sony's Screenblast.

Most of these packages come with basic DVD creation software too. Like Sonic MyDVD or NeoDVDplus. Both are good places to start and offer a lot of nice features. Obviously you will need a DVD burner to create your DVD's and if your edit software doesn't come with DVD software the burner will.

Understand, you will be shooting composite video at VHS (NTSC) video resolutions with is pretty much cr&p to begin with. Each time you make a copy of the master tape you loose color definition and resolution. I recommend you make ONE copy of the master tape for backup and capture directly to the computer from the master tape. This will cause a generation loss but once it is in the computer you are free from generation loss because the signal is digital. Any device you get for cature will allow for output back to tape and that will be another generation loss since it is a composite export to tape. So from initial shoot to final tape output you will suffer two generation losses from the original tape but burning to DVD you will only suffer one since the signal remains a digital one.

Hope this helps.

[RageCranker]

THREE MORE THINGS:

PLEASE LIST THE EXACT NAMES OF THE ITEMS

LIST HOW MUCH THEY COST (AT THE CHEAPEST)

THEN LIST WHERE CAN I GET THEM

[DAD]

Dazzle video capture - between $100 to $150.
Sony Screenblaster - $100
DVD Burner - between $100 to $350
DVD software - free with any of the above.

Best Buy will have most of this and you can also get very good deals on this stuff on eBay. I bought a DVD burner on there for $90 and it came with a very good authoring software package. You can spend a whole lot more than this but if you are just starting out this is as good a place to start as any.

[RageCranker]

Thank you, now this stuff is pretty self explanitory to use right?

[DAD]

The average individual should be able to use any of it without to much difficulty as long as they have a pretty good understanding of computers and software.