Viewable options

Why offer a DVD version?
For high definition transfers your films will be supplied on Blu-Ray disc which is now the standard medium for high definition viewing. DVD Players do not support Blu-Ray discs so if you also require a DVD version for family members who don't yet have high definition equipment then you'll need to select your transfer to "Blu-Ray & DVD". You will get 1 copy onto Blu-Ray and 1 onto DVD as standard but can order extra copies further down the order form.

Mobile Device

We can now offer IPod Touch and IPhone support so you can take your movies with you and share them with your friends and family.

Mobile files can be supplied on CD/DVD disc or Hard Drive

So easy to use, just import your movies to your itunes (exactly as you would import songs from a CD).

Synch your ipod to your computer, and your movies will be on your iPod/iPhone! It's as easy as that.

Tape/Archive Options

HDV Tape?
HDV is an inexpensive high-definition video recording format which uses MPEG2 compression to fit HD content onto the same DV or MiniDV tapes originally developed for standard definition recording. The compression used results in some quality compromises compared to higher bandwidth HD recording formats.

We generally put around 1 hour of footage onto each tape.

Editing Options

What format should I choose?
All of the editing options are transfers to Hard Drives only due to the file size of the final films in high definition.

A good idea is to opt for a DVD/Blu-Ray to view, plus one of the options below. This way you can enjoy your films immediately then edit at your own pace.

Transfer to HDV Quicktime (Hard Drive Only)
Films will be transferred using the Mac HDV Codec and saved onto a hard drive to edit from

Transfer to Apple ProRes
With this option, we save the film using the Apple ProRes Codec onto your hard-drive. There are 5 levels of quality you can choose from using the ProRes option which are as follows:

ProRes 422 (Proxy)
This option exports the film at in HD at 38MB/s, roughly 17GB per hour of film.

ProRes 422 (LT)
This option exports the film at in HD at 85MB/s, roughly 38GB per hour of film.

ProRes 422
This option exports the film at in HD at 112MB/s, roughly 55GB per hour of film.

ProRes 422 (HQ)
This option exports the film at in HD at 184MB/s, roughly 83GB per hour of film.

ProRes 4444 (Alpha)
This option exports the film at in HD at 275MB/s, roughly 124GB per hour of film.

BRAND NEW!!!

Image Sequence

What is an Image Sequence?
This is a brand new technology available exclusively from Alive Studios.
This exciting format utilises our scanning method to it's fullest by giving you, our customer, the individual cells of your film as individual photographs or 'images'.
If you look closely at your cine film, you'll see it's made up of thousands of photographic cells - a small 50ft reel of 8mm film contains approx. 4300 cells!
When we transfer your film, we scan each of these cells individually, and we're now able to give you these as separate image files.
We offer a choice of two styles for you to choose from which are explained below.

Why should I order the Image Sequence?
Two reasons - you will have an individual image file for every cell of your film, meaning you can extract any special moment from any point in the film, and use it in any way you choose...
Email them, print them, make a photo album - the possibilities are endless... and the quality is astounding!

In HD the image size is 1920x1080pixels
In SD the image size is 720x576pixels

DVD Menus - £5050

What are Chaptered Menus?
Gone are the days when you have to endlessly rewind & fast forward through your films to find your favourite parts... With the introduction of DVD we give you the facility to jump straight in at your favourite part - instantly - at the touch of a button.

For just £50 we will split your DVD into chapters (1 chapter per reel for cine film, with it's own title of upto 30 characters) and create a personalised menu screen to access them. Not sure what a DVD menu is? Just think about the index page of a book. Touch the chapter you want to read and the book falls open at that exact page.

A functionally essential tool to help you organise your films, and a beautiful visual enhancement if giving as a gift.

You can find a form to provide us your Chapters and positions at the end of the order if selected.

Highlights Now only £50

Imagine if your life flashed before you eyes... what would you see? Happy smiling faces, bursts of laughter, tears of joy, silly faces, hugs, kisses - pure happiness...

We call these "Highlights"

How does it work?
To order a Highlights chapter for your film, simply tick the highlights option and fill in the simple questions about music and dedications and leave the rest to us!

Our editors scrutinise your film for the best bits - the HighLights - and painstakingly put these together timed in to your favourite song, using slow-motion, black and white, and other eye-catching effects to create your very own Hollywood trailer of your life.

You can find a form to provide us your Highlights information at the end of the order if selected.

Add Photos/Slides - 75p each

Why add pictures to my film?
You can enhance your enjoyment of your films even more by supplying us with a bunch of slides or photos that we can add at the end of your of films in form of a slideshow to summarize the experience.

If you wish to place the photos differently, at the start of the film for example, you can specify this in the additional notes section of the final order form print out.

Add titles to my film - £2.50 per screen

On-screen titles are now available to really personalise your film. Perhaps it’s a dedication to a loved one, maybe you want to have the title of your film displayed such as

“The Smith Family Movies 1965-1975”

or maybe you want a title at the start of each decade. You could even have a title come up for every chapter saying the date, place and event for each one. Whatever use you find, titles can really add the professional touch.

You can have upto 2 lines per screen, maximum 30 characters per line. £2.50 per screen.

You can find a form to provide us your Titles and positions at the end of the order if selected.

Draft Copy Service £25 per hour of film

What is this service for?

We offer the "draft copy" service to help you organise your reels into the right order and choose appropriate names for the chapter headings.

First, we transfer all your reels to DVD, making each reel it's own chapter - so if you have 12 reels, the DVD will have 12 chapters. We display a "Time Stamp", and current reel on-screen during the entire movie. So you don't have to worry about how to get your TV to display this information for you, it is ever-present so you always know exactly which reel is playing, and you make note of the exact time-code to request any changes to your film.

After watching the DVD with your family, you contact us with details of the exact order you want us to follow, deleting any reels you don't want included. At this stage you can also give each chapter a unique title for the DVD menu, and even add things like on-screen titles, dedications and messages for just £2.50.

If ordering on Blu-ray your final film will be produced on Blu-ray but drafts are supplied on standard DVDs

Capturing Sound Reels - £40 per half hour

Why is there a charge?
On our current systems for transferring Cine Film, sound reels require 2 seperate transfers. Doing the transfer this way enables us to capture both video and sound at the highest quality possible.

While the reels are capturing, one of our transfer operators monitors the capture so that the sound and video can be matched back up without sync problems which can occur due to the variations of speed that cine could be filmed at.

Once captured, an editor will spend a large portion of time syncing the sound and video back together making sure it all matches up correctly whilst editing the video for splices, leader tape and colour correction.

The extra charge per hour is there to cover the extra time spent on this service which is approximately 3 times longer than a silent film transfer.

Silent Film Options

What is this about?
Even though we get alot of films with recorded sound on them, the majority of what we get are silent films. We offer several options to cover this aspect of your final product all of which are FREE of charge, please see below.

Add Instrumental Music - FREE
The most popular option for silent film is to use our 'instrumental music' with your films.

No Music Required - FREE
Some people prefer to leave their films silent for viewing. Choosing this option no sound track will be added to the final product.

Delivery/Collection Options

Copies on DVD
Pricing for delivery varies on your location.

Delivery to UK Mainlands: £10
Delivery to Scotland - Highlands & Islands: £15
Delivery to N. Ireland, Isle of Man & Scilly Isles: £15
Delivery to Channel Islands: £15
Delivery to Republic of Ireland (southern ireland): £15
International returns: Please email us for quote