Motion Picture Film Scanning

Basic Information

8mm film has a frame size of 4.5mm by 3.3mm. Super8 film has a frame size of 5.79mm by 4.01mm. However, sometimes both record more image beyond the frame into the sprocket area (click to view the full image):

As you can see, overscanning into the sprocket area provides more flexibility in framing.

Moreover, sound can also be recorded on the edge of the film (the wide grey stripes are the sound strips):

So it's best to scan the full 7.90mm width of the film if it has an audio track. Film has a resolution of up to 4,000 dpi. Nyquist says to double that, to 8,000 dpi. 7.90mm × 4.01mm at 8,000 dpi comes to 2,488 × 1,263 pixels for Super8 yielding a real-world image size of 912 × 631 pixels (almost 720p HD), and 7.90mm x 3.3mm comes to 2,488 x 1,039 pixels for 8mm yielding a real-world image size of 709 × 520 pixels (just over 480p SD).

Here's the kind of quality you can expect from 8mm film of good chemistry, with a good lens and good technique:

With super-resolution image processing:

8mm reels are:

Reel Diameter (inches)	Film Length (feet)	Runtime (minutes at 18 fps)
3	50	3-4
4	100	7-8
5	200	14-16
6	300	21-24
7	400	28-32

8mm is typically 16 fps. Super8 is typically 18 fps.

Choosing a Transfer Service

Choose a transfer service with the following features:

1. Offers either wet-gate scanning or, better yet, scanning with a diffuse light source to hide scratches. (Wetgate scanning imposes a sharpness trade-off.) The LaserGraphics ScanStation¹⁾ uses a diffuse light source. Rank Cintel scanners support wet-gate scanning but double-check that the transfer service offers it!

2. Cleans the film before scanning.

3. Offers overscan framing which is to scan a little outside of the visual frame to give you more flexibility in cropping.

4. Offers scan resolutions of at least 1,200 pixels across. 8mm film is 7.9mm wide, and 4,000 pixels per inch comes to 1,244 pixels across. Not all of that will be picture area, so 1,200 pixels is a good rule of thumb.

5. Offers flat scans which don't bake color corrections into the scan on capture. Color corrections can be done later.

6. Outputs to ProRes Raw²⁾, ProRes 4444, or Uncompressed AVI or MOV. DPX and TIFF are uncompressed formats but are not suitable for home use³⁾.

List of Film Scanning Machines

List of Transfer Services

Name	Location	Technology	Output	Cost
Cinepost	Marietta, GA	Wetgate on Rank Cintel	ProRes 422 HQ or 10-bit Uncompressed AVI/MOV	$25 per 50-ft. reel + $5 for sound, min. order $75
CineLab	New Bedford, MA	Spirit Telecine (not wetgate) for 1080p, ScanStation (diffuse) for 2K scans, Xena Dynamic Perf (diffused?) for 5K scans	DPX or ProRes 4444	$1.10/foot for 3K overscan + $0.15/foot for sound
Digital Treasures	Toronto, ON	Wetgate frame-by-frame	ProRes (inquire for RGB/DPX)	$0.43/foot for 1920×1080, audio, manual colour & light correction, and scene-by-scene editing.
Gamma Ray Digital	Allston, MA	ScanStation (diffuse)	16bit DPX log or linear, TIFF, or Apple ProRes 4444 or ProRess 422 HQ
Pro8mm⁴⁾	Burbank, CA	Rank Cintel	ProRes 422 or 4444	$1/foot includes flat scan & overscan, 20% home movie discount available