Your mistake wasn’t to digitize. It was to dispose of the original films. Unless there was a fire or similar, I can’t see why one would dispose of them. I had mine digitized in the 90’s onto VHS. And then again in the 00’s to DVD. And just now recently to 5K using Lasergraphics. Enormous differences.
The early digitizing was a bonus that gave us convenient access to the film, so no projector was needed. And provided a digital backup that will maintain its quality eternally (poor as it is) and can be backed up losslessly.
It wasn’t my decision. It was the decision of another family member who had vastly more say in the matter than I did. I wanted to keep all the footage which extended far beyond family films. I could have made a good living today in 2024 with modern technology actually selling digitalised productions from the original films - there is a strong enthusiast market for the subject matter. 8mm film scanned at high quality of the best modern equipment and then processed with Topaz Video AI would have been extremely watchable.
Hi Andrew! I want to say thank you so much for putting your marvelous video together of the original by the enhanced version on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SCQOxFdezU). I see on the description of the video that you are planning to do some tutorials for presenting how you did this. How is your progress coming along? Do you have any timeline on when you think you will have a tutorial out? Again, I want to say thank you for this work and I am looking forward to learning from your tutorials as soon as they are available.
@andrew.karno , I’ve just found this thread while searching for a way to thoroughly enhance some old family films. My father’s birthday is coming up and I would LOVE to know how you pulled this off. The side-by-side video you posted is completely next level. How can I get in touch with you to discuss how you did this so I can replicate for my old family 8mm/S8 films? Thank you so very much in advance for your help and insights!! I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Andrew, I’m digitizing some old family movies and came across your post and link. Your results are incredible. Thanks so much for sharing so the rest of us can see what’s possible.
Hi Andrew, hoping you still plan to complete your tutorials! Topaz community, have any of you seen this channel brining a photo to an AI Video? I know there are many websites/apps that do this, but this guy seems to be the best I have seen. Any idea what website he might be using? For example, here is one from the 1800s Annie Oakley from the Wild West https://youtu.be/zMLJzru5bts?feature=shared
I just tried starlight with some of the blurriest 8mm home movies from the family archive. Of course there can be a bit more tweaking but I’m very impressed overall. I stablized the original films in the side by side preview with the exception of the last clip. There may be some hope for some of dad’s really bad photography. Here’s the side by side on youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12E2FC7qNl0
I just tried the Film Stock 4K Light (custom) option for a family VHS clip from 1988 and selected the dedicated denoising, I was shocked at how well it came out. Have you considered trying the Film Stock 4K Light option for your 8mm clips and then compare the results to starlight mini?
Thanks for the info. I haven’t tried Davinci Resolve yet either. I am usually overwhelmed with new programs but I eventually fumble through and learn how to use them.
