Great Lakes Film FAQs
Why choose Great Lakes Video?
For over 26 years, we've helped thousands of people, just like you, preserve their precious family memories onto convenient video that can easily be shared with family members and friends. While we offer a wide variety of services, transfers and media archiving have always been the cornerstone of our business.
Why should your trust your films to us?
Every individual reel of film is carefully monitored with the utmost care and consideration. All of our work is performed in-house by real people --not machines --who treat your orders with the same precision and care they'd apply to their own precious memories. We never simply 'set it and forget it,' ---we have a 26-year reputation for quality and dependability. And, all orders come backed with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
What if I have questions?
If at any time (either while reading this guide or while preparing your order) you have questions please contact us at 800. 987. 5491. We are happy to help --remember, we want your transfer to be perfect too!
What is your transfer process?
We use a non compressed, completely digital frame by frame method utilizing the latest in digital technology to provide you the best possible transfer. Film orders are monitored every step of the way, frame by frame, by technicians who are constantly making adjustments for color, contrast, brightness, dark spots and focus changes. Once your reels have been loaded into our hard drives, we trim dead spots, leaders, and dark spots to give you a seamless DVD.
Can you add music or titles to my order?
We can add music, titles, and chapters to your order for an additional fee. Please see our film pricing page for more information.
What types of films do you convert?
We can convert Regular 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm (silent or with sound).
How do I estimate the cost of my order?
To give you an idea of how much film you have, a 3 inch reel holds 50 feet, a 5 inch reel holds 200 feet, and a 7 inch reel holds 400 feet of regular or Super 8mm. We can fit approximately 1800-2000 feet of Super 8 or 8mm film onto a standard 2-hour DVD Master, and up to 4,000 feet of 16mm onto a standard 2-hour DVD Master.. Larger orders will require more than one Master DVD.
What if my film is broken or needs splicing?
We will splice your film at no charge. Because our process does not involve tongue and groove sprocket fed film, we can also transfer most damaged films without problems.
What will you do if my film is overexposed or too dark to see faces?
Our technicians are able to make adjustments during the transfer process to provide you the best possible film transfer, however, if film is overexposed or out of focus, there is not much we can do. As a general rule, we transfer all overexposed or out of focus film unless it is impossible to see faces and images, so if you would prefer that we edit these spots out of your project, please let us know when you place the order. Film that is too dark to see faces or images will be removed from your edited project.
What if I have special instructions for my order?
Not a problem. Because all film orders are handled frame by frame, it's easy for our technicians to skip over a part of the film you don't want mastered, or to provide additional editing if needed. Simply provide additional instructions with your order, and we'll take care of the rest.
For over 26 years, we've helped thousands of people, just like you, preserve their precious family memories onto convenient video that can easily be shared with family members and friends. While we offer a wide variety of services, transfers and media archiving have always been the cornerstone of our business.
Why should your trust your films to us?
Every individual reel of film is carefully monitored with the utmost care and consideration. All of our work is performed in-house by real people --not machines --who treat your orders with the same precision and care they'd apply to their own precious memories. We never simply 'set it and forget it,' ---we have a 26-year reputation for quality and dependability. And, all orders come backed with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
What if I have questions?
If at any time (either while reading this guide or while preparing your order) you have questions please contact us at 800. 987. 5491. We are happy to help --remember, we want your transfer to be perfect too!
What is your transfer process?
We use a non compressed, completely digital frame by frame method utilizing the latest in digital technology to provide you the best possible transfer. Film orders are monitored every step of the way, frame by frame, by technicians who are constantly making adjustments for color, contrast, brightness, dark spots and focus changes. Once your reels have been loaded into our hard drives, we trim dead spots, leaders, and dark spots to give you a seamless DVD.
Can you add music or titles to my order?
We can add music, titles, and chapters to your order for an additional fee. Please see our film pricing page for more information.
What types of films do you convert?
We can convert Regular 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm (silent or with sound).
How do I estimate the cost of my order?
To give you an idea of how much film you have, a 3 inch reel holds 50 feet, a 5 inch reel holds 200 feet, and a 7 inch reel holds 400 feet of regular or Super 8mm. We can fit approximately 1800-2000 feet of Super 8 or 8mm film onto a standard 2-hour DVD Master, and up to 4,000 feet of 16mm onto a standard 2-hour DVD Master.. Larger orders will require more than one Master DVD.
What if my film is broken or needs splicing?
We will splice your film at no charge. Because our process does not involve tongue and groove sprocket fed film, we can also transfer most damaged films without problems.
What will you do if my film is overexposed or too dark to see faces?
Our technicians are able to make adjustments during the transfer process to provide you the best possible film transfer, however, if film is overexposed or out of focus, there is not much we can do. As a general rule, we transfer all overexposed or out of focus film unless it is impossible to see faces and images, so if you would prefer that we edit these spots out of your project, please let us know when you place the order. Film that is too dark to see faces or images will be removed from your edited project.
What if I have special instructions for my order?
Not a problem. Because all film orders are handled frame by frame, it's easy for our technicians to skip over a part of the film you don't want mastered, or to provide additional editing if needed. Simply provide additional instructions with your order, and we'll take care of the rest.