Film-to-Video Tutorial:
Who I Am

About Selecting "The Best" Standard 8mm Film, Super 8 Movie Film, and 16mm Movie Film to Video Transfer Method for You.

Me, first haircut, 1955 (Picture from 8mm movie film)	Me, thankful to still have some hair.

Bruce Mayfield
MBA, MSPsy, BSCS
d.b.a. (doing business as)
Film-to-DVD.com & Film-to-Video.com & Film-to-Blu-ray

Resume

Experience: Doing business as Mayfield Productions and as a former Producer at WFGX TV, now a Fox affiliate, Bruce has over 20 years experience in photography, videography, and television.

Film-to-Video: "The first" small format movie film transfer company to switch to MiniDV -- literally a couple of days after MiniDV technology was introduced in the national press. Bruce invested in the first "fully digital studio" dedicated to 8mm movie film transfer in the USA and is a pioneer in Digital Movie Film Transfers for small format movie films. Less than a decade later, Bruce expanded the "Master Video" concept to a new product called Digital-Film Master Files™ -- as the MiniDV camcorders went into market decline. 

Most recently, Bruce was first to introduced "virtual video disc" products -- trademarked as Virtual Home Movie Disc™ (i.e., Virtual Movie Disc™ for short).  A Virtual Movie Disc™ for example, "act like" a DVD disc.  On a Mac, it will mount itself and play just like a real DVD -- without need of a physical drive or player. When you "drag and drop" it onto a blank DVD disc, it will burn an identical "physical DVD disc" of itself. When loaded onto a Memory Card -- what Bruce calls a Home Movie-Card™ -- it is transportable to any PC, Mac, or hand-held video device that will accept SDXC Memory Cards or SDHC Memory Cards. Multiple DVD Virtual Movie Discs™ can fit onto on of these cards, thus making both the Home Movie Card™ and the Virtual Movie Discs™ contained on it, the perfect gift or portable home movie theater on a card -- the size of a postage stamp.

Of course, Bruce makes physical Blu-ray discs and DVD discs, and with such a broad line of both virtual and physical products, Bruce introduced the concept of 3 State Digital Archiving™ which consist of 1)Video Format Diversity™, 2)Virtual Disc Diversity™, and 3) Physical Media Diversity™ -- into an industry where most studios offer only a generic DVD.

Bruce is now pioneering "streaming video" in H.264 for Webcasting products targeting iPhones, YouTube, and most handheld mobile devices. Like using NetFlix,  a client can have a centralized internet distribution point for Home Videos on Demand™.

Bruce also introduced HDTV Re-Colorization™ to the small format movie film transfer industry -- an aggressive technique for re-adapting RGB black balance to the new standards allowed by HDTV -- a procedure previously unthinkable within the limits of NTSC TV technology.  The result is a restoration of deep green, and  to video where the dye colors in the original  movie film have grown "tired" rendering the unprocessed image "black" instead of "green"; and, "normalizing"  the "magenta shift" and "red shift" -- so typical of Super 8 movie film and Regular 8mm movie films -- at the same time. These color anomalies can not be corrected by traditional "white balance" and "blank balance" technologies -- and in extreme cases -- can never be corrected by any technology.

Bruce literally trashed much of the digital video technology that is still being used today by most movie film transfer studios -- to which he refers to as "the transfer mills" -- adapting to the shift to HDTV, Blu-ray, and H.264 AVCHD technologies while at the same time, avoiding their pitfalls on behalf of his clients.

Years ago, as a Computer Systems Specialist, he successfully side-stepped the error of using MPEG2 (DVD) digital technology for archiving movie film -- instead, choosing MiniDV -- which later become "the standard" of consumer, prosumer, and professional studios. 

Today, as that technology shifts toward Solid State Disk (SSD) and SDHC, once again, he is reinventing the industry and continues to be a consumer advocate in the Movie Film Transfer Industry -- making the public conscience of the pros and cons of domestic movie film preservation.

Education: BS in Computer Systems, MBA in Marketing & Management, and MS in Clinical Counseling & Psychology. Minor in Music and Theater Arts with an emphasis in Media Arts.

Other: CEU credits, as a graduate of Landmark Education, Bruce continues both his professional and personal education. 

Personal

Bruce has a personal interest in helping families preserve their sense of identity and unity. "Who we are as a family?" and "Where we come from?", are very important questions that a family must answer -- to stay a family. Home movies are nothing short of a resurrection of both the images and memories of our "loved ones" past and present.

Old "home movies" allow family members, of all ages, to celebrate their own "cycle of life" -- birth, rites of passage, mythological motifs, survival, and death -- in a very personal way.

Bruce states, "I know of no better way to get families to talk to each other again than letting them watch their Film-to-Video Legacy together. It invites families to think about what is really important!"

Now we are one of the few companies that offer a true "master file archiving concept". This is more expensive and time consuming, but it is "the right way to do it" -- so we do it. It is something I am personally proud of.

I have been in business long enough to have proven beyond any shadow of doubt, that my clients -- past and present -- are able to adapt their archives to technology shifts -- to face the future, with "full frame", "high resolution" masters. I know I have rendered a "true service" that will prove a "true value" -- time and time again -- which will span the test of time.

My Staff

One of my best kept secrets is that I hire some of the best people in the world to work for me. You can have the best equipment in the world to work with, but if the person running it has not both the "head and the heart" to do a superior job, you will only get a mediocre result. However, given some one with both the "head and heart" to do their best -- even with only "adequate" equipment -- you will get a superior result.

Most of my staff are to be regarded as artists -- not technicians -- which makes all the difference. Finally, but not lastly, they truly care about our clients and know them not only by name, but know them by images and faces that shaped their lives - and who they are today.

A Leader in the Movie Film Transfer Industry:

We are not just a “movie film transfer” studio – which is only a minor step in our multi-step service. We are multi-disciplined specialists in

1) Small Format Antique Movie Film Repair, and
2) Digital Transfer of Antique and Damaged Movie Films, and
3) Post-Production Digital Restoration and
4) Post-Production Digital Enhancement and Re-colorization, and
5) Digital Format Transcoding, and
6) Physical Media and Virtual Packaging, and
7) Mass Media Distribution & Webcasting.

Perfection in first stage is amplified by perfection in successive stages – making our final product “better than the original”. Over-riding a “state-of-the-art” machine with “knowledge-of-the-art”, is known as “value-added judgment”. This “value-added judgment” is what a jet pilot brings to a state-of-the-art jet -- that can literally fly itself – until it is disabled by a flock of geese and forced to land in a river.

Most companies, who would elevate their image by calling themselves, “competitors”, simply are not in our league. Ours is the league of “hard work”, “long hours”, and “commitment” to our own personal best – not the best of “competitors” or their best machines. That “we lead” and “they follow” is an quiet observation at day’s end -- rather than a boast, to start each day.

We prep your movie film, then capture it digitally, then enhance the images, and then re-color the images in your movie film – in a work flow from one technology to another – getting to know your movie film -- “what it is” -- but also knowing -- “what it can be”. This “value-added” – or added value – added stage by stage -- to the exceptions and problems in your very old and very worn original images, is the reason I can guarantee your final product will be BETTER THAN YOUR ORIGINAL MOVIE FILM – better than what ANY "competitor's" single-pass machine – run by someone living -- to punch-out for a break, lunch, and the end of a boring day.

Highlights of our History:

We have done transfers for PBS and for other national broadcasts. Some of our recent work – national treasures of both the US and England -- is being studied, frame-by-frame, by 2 major universities. We have worked with some of the oldest movie films in the US and with movie films that can only be termed “national treasures”. -- like Admiral Byrd’s 1935 expedition to Antarctica; like the first movie filmed expeditions into the Nyragongo Volcano in 1958.; like the1940 Ringling Brothers Circus archives.

We did the oldest movie films of the indigenous people of Taiwan and Philippines -- shot by the first missionaries to those areas – before WWII. We did the Emperor of Japan's personal news correspondence's world-wide movie film report from Pre-WWII – as they prepared for that war; and we did the 1942 Philippines’ Los Banos Japanese Prison Rescue (largest “last minute” prison rescue in WWII history) and saw what living skeletons the same Emperor made of the people of Taiwan and Philippines.

Our Most Important Client:

The list goes on, but we are equally proud to have preserved images just as important – those of the American Family. Yes, we have done “private work” for families whose names are internationally recognized; but we treat your family movie film as no less valuable than any of the above – because, in truth, yours are part of a much larger story of the extraordinarily, ordinary men and women  and children of this, our, great nation who have repeatedly risen to the challenge to become the unsung heroes of every war and peace and economic tribulation and natural disaster  -- to champion the cause of principles higher than our own -- knowing life for both "what it is" and "what it can be" --  and fighting for both -- to ultimately find our true selves -- in testing the words, "In God We Trust" -- both on our knees in Prayer and on our feet, to Fight, just one more day -- to "add value" -- of our own sweat and blood -- to what we are asked to do, even when there is no one left to ask -- except us, asking of ourselves and God -- if but to do and die - and still, if so, "In God We Trust" -- to fight "just one more day", as an ordinary, everyday hero. Yes, his and her and their story -- of simple pleasures and thanks given for the gift of being born into the extraordinarily ordinary America family -- during the "best and worst of  times" -- must be preserved -- because it is our story, as told by us, about us -- the way it really was and really happened; and for better or worse, let our story it be seen by all those who's roots will forever be grounded in, and shaped by,  what happened here, upon the hollowed ground trodden by you and I -- part of the American Family.

It is because of this kindred realization, I offer my services you in a profession I did not choose, but rather, I feel,  chose me; and, after 20 years, I have grown and matured to embrace -- like so many other things in my life -- knowing both "what it is" and "what it can be", is by my own choosing. I also realize "IT" - that chose me - is no "IT" but rather "THEY" and "THEM" and "YOU" -- my clients who asked of me  -- (paraphrased) " that I do unto them as I would have others do unto me". It is to this "choosing" or "calling" that I try to exceed my own expectations of myself in business, and those whom I trust to work on my behalf, sharing in the collective identity -- as a company -- that of "we" and "us" -- and, collective owning the work for each client -- as "ours".

Because of "our" guarantee, our “added value” and the way we do business, we routinely have pre-sales roughly 3 to 5 months in advance -- from clients who feel our quality is worth waiting for.  Proof of their satisfaction is their many letters of thanks; repeat business, referrals -- and, the one letter we have NOT received -- for all my years in business – a letter asking for a refund. This honor, given to us from clients past, is the foundation of our commitment to you and your movie films.  This honor – something freely given to us -- something money can not buy --  is the only requirement for true "competitors" to be “in our league” -- and thereby welcomed. This honor is "our" true honor -- to serve you, too.

A Consumer Advocate In the Movie Film Preservation Industry:

We were informed by a member of the Smithsonian that our clients constitute a majority of movie film archives that are "acceptable" by the Library of Congress as a part of our National Domestic Archive.  The great tragedy is that almost all footage now on VHS and DVD does not qualify, and will be lost to future generations because of "transfer mills".  We encourage our clients to make copies of their MiniDV tapes and donate them to the NDA -- as there is no funding to acquire domestic footage for this archive.

For years now, we have been the only consumer advocate in our industry -- pleading the virtues of digital longevity of digitizing to metal particle tape -- shunning DVD as an archive medium. As the archive world, including the Library of Congress and IBM, now take a firm stand against DVDs as an archive medium, stating that only movie film footage preserved on digital metal particle tape will stand the test of time, we now rest our case -- triumphantly -- against the damages to our domestic archives -- wrought by the "transfer mills".  Both our products and our quality will endure the test of time -- at the shame of the "transfer mills", and (unfortunately) at the expense of their clients. It is our opinion, in light of public data now available about the longevity of DVDs, that any "transfer mill" selling that DVDs -- as an archive -- may well be inflicting damages upon the public -- for which they, "the mills" may be liable.

As demand for magnetic tape declines in the market -- shifting to chip technologies like SSD and SDHC, we would like to think that our voice, joining the choir of so many others who have joined our cause -- for "archive worthy media" -- has been a motivational and economical force affecting the recent development of the "archive gold" type technology in both DVDs and Blu-ray. Even though the formats of DVD and Blu-ray fall profoundly short of "archive standards" the longevity of the new "archive gold" type media - as a "data store" does provide a safe haven for any given data format. Video data format must be chosen wisely and MUST NOT be left to the media manufacturers who cater only to those companies who's interests are served by "play only" formats like MPEG-2 and AVCHD and H.264 formats. 

In the face of recent technology shifts, we have been force to examine all video formats and all media types in the many combinations that will satisfy our definition of "archive worthy". We are confident that we can achieve our own standards -- the highest in our industry -- and thereby, once again, challenge our industry to new standards.  These new standards will become the subject of this website -- which is -- has always been -- a work in progress.

 In short, we are proud of our work, of our stance -- to archive movie films with integrity and longevity; and, we are proud of what we have done to preserve the National Legacy of the American Family -- which is predominated by a long list of our clients. In context of our success, we do not need your business, but rather, we want your business, and, it is now your choice to add your name to that list of proud successes who have "honored us" and who's "honor" we now strive to uphold.

Finally, the highest honor we have -- though out the years, comes not from money, nor having "big"   ( internationally recognized ) clients", nor even the high visibility of some of our work. Our highest honor, sadly, comes from our hospice clients. They choose our service to preserve their memory as a last act of their love to their family. This is a holy charge that we do not take lightly. We are deeply honored and humbled and made to realize -- with true gratitude for what is important in life, and life itself -- the work we do is so important. It is a sweet sorrow where laughter is found in tears and the restful repose in a smile and nodding of the head becomes the ultimate gift of peacefully letting go -- in order to just let go, as we all must.

As one of my clients said to me, paraphrased, "My video is nothing short of a brief, but priceless resurrection of so many people I have loved..", (chuckle), "...and, now finally, learned to love -- which is good, because I will soon join them. The most important thing to me now, is to want to watch this thing with my family -- one last time -- and know I have passed my living memories on to my kids; and I know these memories will become the only living memories for their kids, and their kids -- of us, our lives, and our times -- which now have the chance to live on in them."

That I strive to be a leader in this industry, comes from the inspiration from my clients, not the desperation for clients. I think you understand.

Now that you know who I am and why I've made this tutorial, let's go to my Tutorial.

Trademark and Tradename Notice: Home Movie Disc™, Home Movies Disc™, Virtual Home Movie Disc™, Virtual Home Movies Disc™, VIRTUAL-Blu-ray™, VIRTUAL-DVD™, VIRTUAL-DISC™, Home Movie Card™, Home Movies Card™, Digital-Movie-Film™, Digital-Film™ Master-File™, Strategic Digtal-Film Archiving™, Video Format Diversity™, Virtual Disc Diversity™, and Digital Media Diversity™ -- are all trademarks and tradenames of Bruce Mayfield.