Frame-by-Frame 4k Film Scanning
Every Frame Preserved, Every Color Restored
Why Your Home Movies Can’t Wait
Home movie film doesn't last forever. Over decades, the dyes in the emulsion fade, colors shift, and the film base itself becomes brittle and prone to cracking. Vinegar syndrome, mold, and improper storage can accelerate the damage even further. If your family has reels sitting in a closet, attic, or basement, the footage on them is actively deteriorating.
The good news is that even film in rough shape often has more image left than you'd expect. A proper 4K scan can pull out detail and color that you'd never see by projecting the film on a wall, and it preserves every frame as a digital file that will never degrade. At Archival Works, we scan all motion picture film frame by frame in DCI 4K, which produces a sharper and more detailed image than the UHD resolution that most other scanning services offer. Color correction is always included at no extra charge.
All Types of Film
We scan all common home movie and professional motion picture formats, including Regular 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, and Super 16. We handle both silent and sound film, including optical and magnetic sound tracks. Whether it's a handful of 3-inch reels from the 1960s or a collection of 7-inch 16mm reels with optical sound, we can handle it.
Most home movie collections contain Regular 8mm or Super 8 film. Regular 8mm was introduced in the 1930s and was the standard home movie format until Super 8 replaced it in the mid-1960s. Super 8 is easy to identify by its smaller sprocket holes, which allowed for a larger image area on the same width of film. 16mm was typically used for institutional, educational, and semi-professional productions, though some families used it too. If you aren't sure what format your reels are, don't worry. Send them to us and we'll identify everything for you.
If you have 35mm motion picture film, please contact us for a custom quote. If your film is older than the early 1950s or you believe it may be on a nitrate base, please let us know in advance, as nitrate film requires special handling.
Our Scanning Process
Every reel we receive is inspected by hand. We check for mold, vinegar syndrome, broken splices, brittle film, and warped reels. If your film needs repair before it can safely run through the scanner, we handle that before scanning begins. Broken splices are repaired and leader is added as needed to ensure no frames are missed.
Before scanning, we clean each reel to remove surface dust, debris, and any residue that has built up over decades of storage. Clean film produces dramatically better scans with fewer artifacts, which means less cleanup needed in post and a better final result.
We scan every frame individually using a frame-by-frame process. This is fundamentally different from the real-time telecine approach used by many cheaper services, which project the film and record it with a camera, often introducing flicker, uneven exposure, and motion artifacts. Frame-by-frame scanning captures each frame as a distinct, high resolution image, then assembles them into a smooth, stable video file. The result is a cleaner, sharper transfer that preserves everything the film has on it.
All scans are captured in DCI 4K, which is 4096 pixels wide. This is a higher resolution than the 3840-pixel "UHD 4K" that many scanning services offer, and it captures noticeably more detail, especially on 16mm and Super 16 film where the larger frame size rewards the extra resolution. Even on 8mm and Super 8 film, scanning at full DCI 4K ensures that every bit of detail the film holds is preserved in the digital file.
Color Correction and Restoration
Color correction is included with every film scanning package we offer. This is not an add-on or a premium upgrade. We believe every reel deserves it.
Film fades in predictable ways depending on the stock and how it was stored. Kodachrome tends to hold up remarkably well, sometimes looking almost as good as the day it was shot. Ektachrome and other reversal stocks shift toward blue or magenta over time. Most consumer negative stocks from the 70s, 80s, and 90s lose saturation and shift heavily toward orange or red. Cheap drugstore film often fades the worst.
We correct each reel individually, adjusting color balance, exposure, and contrast to bring the image as close as possible to its original appearance. This is a manual process, not an automated filter applied to an entire batch. The before and after comparison on this page shows a real project, not a staged example. Many services either skip color correction entirely or charge a significant per-reel fee for it. We include it because the difference it makes is too important to treat as optional.
Your Files, Ready to Watch and Share
Every project includes high quality MP4 files in multiple resolutions, optimized for compatibility with any computer, phone, tablet, or smart TV. We deliver files on a flash drive or via digital download, ready to watch, share with family, or upload to cloud storage.
We provide files in multiple resolutions as part of every package because not every device or situation calls for a full 4K file. You'll receive a 4K version for large-screen viewing, plus smaller versions that are easier to share via email, upload to social media, or play on older devices without stuttering.
For clients and organizations that need preservation-grade files, our Archive Package includes master scans in ProRes 4444, which preserves the full quality of the original 4K scan with no additional compression. We also include high resolution photographs of your film reels, cans, and boxes so that any handwritten labels, dates, or notes are documented and preserved alongside the footage itself. Technical metadata and spectrogram images are also included for advanced cataloging.
Find the Perfect Film Scanning Solution For You
With three packages to choose from, we have options for every film scanning project. Whether you have a single reel from a grandparent's collection or hundreds of reels from an institutional archive, we can handle the project. We've worked with families, museums, historical societies, and production companies. Contact us for a custom quote on projects over 100 reels.
Please note that if your film has sound, it is an additional 15 cents per foot, regardless of package.
Access Package
45 Cents per Foot, plus a $29.95 one time setup fee
High quality 4K film scan with color correction
Files delivered in 4K, 1080p, and 720p resolutions for maximum compatibility
Access Plus Package
54 Cents per Foot, plus a $29.95 one time setup fee
Our most popular package
Everything listed for The Access Package
File naming based on original film title, notes, or documentation
Contact sheets for rapidly searching through many reels of film at once
Archive Package
72 Cents per Foot, plus a $29.95 one time setup fee
Everything listed for The Access Plus Package
Archival master files in ProRes 4444 or another codec of your choosing
High resolution scans of any film reels, cans, or boxes that contain notes or writing
Technical metadata for advanced cataloging needs
Spectrogram images for any films with sound
We understand that a pre-made package is not suitable for everyone. If you have special requirements, or just are not sure what package is the best fit for you, please feel free to contact us.
In addition to these packages, we can include extra flash drives for $14.95 each, DVDs for $4.95 each, or audio clean-up for $75/hr of labor.
Ready to Get Started?
Getting started is easy. If you're in the Minneapolis/Twin Cities area, you can schedule a curbside hand-off. If you're anywhere else in the US, we'll send you a free prepaid USPS shipping label so you can mail your film to us at no cost. Most projects are completed in two to three weeks, but that can vary based on project size. Questions? Call us at 651-366-0906 or use our online estimate tool to get a quick price for your project.