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Film / Media

Can I Transfer My Regular 8 and Super 8 Film To DVD Or A Hard Drive?

June 1, 2015 /

There are several different ways to have your film transferred into a digital format. In order to get a quality transfer from your film you will want to find a company that specialized in film to DVD or other digital media.

If your film was stored properly most 8mm and Super 8 film will last between 75-85 years without to much degradation. If you still have a working film projector and you can play the film without a problem then you should get a good quality transfer from your film. Even if the film does not run smooth through your projector, many companies will have the expertise and equipment to get your film to play back smoothly.

Most film transfer companies use a film projector that displays the image through a telecine and is picked up by a 3 chip video camera to record the image. The quality of the transfer will depend on what type of telecine is being used and what type of video camera is tied into the transfer system. A professional quality 3 chip camera is going to give far better results than a cheaper 3 chip consumer camera. The average charge to transfer your film to a digital format is anywhere between $.012 to $0.18 per foot of film. Archiving your home movies to a digital format is an investment that should be taken seriously since you may not have another chance to transfer them again. The old saying you get what you pay for applies here, so cheaper is not always better.

Creating A Successful Business Printing Campaign

September 12, 2014 /

Your business printing media will be one of the most important marketing tools you will need to create. Each printed item carries important business information that will be handed out to your customers and prospects. From business cards to letter head, and brochures your message needs to be clear, easy to read and look professional.  Below are a few suggestions on how to make your business printing campaign successful.

Create a one line slogan or tag line – If your business name is not clear on what you do, then it is important to create a one line slogan that will help people remember what you are selling.

Add your logo to all business printing – this is where you might want to have a professional designer help you create your logo. A good logo design should symbolize your service or product in some way. Your logo should be designed to work on a scalable basis to fit your brochures, letter head, business cards and other print media.

Make sure and include your website and email address – Your future customers will want to know your email and website address so they can look into your product or services.

Make your print readable – Make sure your font size is large enough to read and your font color stands out on your business printing media. Light colors on a light back ground are very difficult to read and if your customers can not read the information you could lose a sale. Your printed materials should clearly communicate how to reach you and what you do.

Make your print media stand out from the rest – Your brochure, business card or flyer can end up on someone’s desk or in a drawer. By using high gloss paper and effective bright colors will make your marketing efforts stand out.

Have your printing done by a professional business – If your printed material looks like you printed it yourself or is flimsy to hold, it can leave your customer with a first impression that they are dealing with a cheap company. Make sure and have all your business printing done by a reputable print company.

Technique Tips for Architectural Photography

August 4, 2014 /

Every building or landscape has its practical uses. However, many architects take pride in designing their projects to be aesthetically striking, as well. When using architectural photography to capture the bold lines of a stadium or the shapely patterns of a swatch of terrain, there are a couple of techniques that can help you show off your subject in the best light, so to speak.

During a photo shoot, it’s important to consider the source and direction of your lighting. If the purpose of your piece is to feature high levels of contrast, your camera may need some adjusting to prevent incorrect scene exposure. You can try applying compensation, or you can bracket your shots at varying exposure values before you merge them in an editing program.

Architectural photography is a great means of trying new perspectives. Wide angle lenses (also called “fish eye” lenses) are useful tools for framing whole structures within their environments. If your camera isn’t able to entirely capture the scene you want, consider a panoramic format. You can stitch multiple shots together in the camera, or you can employ editing software after you’ve finished your photo shoot to achieve the same kind of effect.

Each artist has a story to tell. While many pictures may be worth a thousand words, why not aim for a piece that renders your audience truly speechless? With architectural photography, you have a powerful visual medium to show off your subject and your talents at their best.

Canon Camera

Using a Compact Digital Camera for Product Photography

July 21, 2014 / / 0 Comments

A digital compact camera will most likely have a fixed lens with a zoom range that can go from a wide angle to full telephoto. The compact camera will not allow you to change lenses so you will want make sure and find a camera where the lens will meet your requirements. When doing product photography it is important to use a camera that has a good wide angle function. You will find that many of the compact cameras have a very close macro capability, some can be as close as 2 centimeters or 1 inch. On most cameras the macro will only work on the wide angle setting.

When using this function your images can sometimes suffer from wide angle distortion and make some of your product shots look odd. If you end up using your digital camera in macro mode you can place your product so it takes up a small portion of the frame. You can then take the photo into an editing software program and crop the image tighter. You will loose some image resolution but if you have a camera that has a pixel count of 12 mega pixels or higher the image should still be good enough for displaying online. This will help get rid of the wide angle distortion you may see if you end up filling the frame in a wide angle macro setting. There are many new compact digital cameras that have touch screen technology. This allows you to touch the screen to be able to set focus points which is a big benefit when doing product photography.

Pros

  • Custom white balance control on most models
  • Ability to adjust settings with touch screen on some models
  • Manual focus control on some models
  • More compact than a DSLR
  • Multi exposure control modes

Cons

  • Some the older digital cameras may not have a manual focus control or macro mode

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