A) The most common sized reel is 50 feet and measures 3 inches across. Typically they come inside of yellow cardboard boxes or in the case of Super 8 films, the reel will be encased in a round plastic snap on cover. Larger sizes include the 200 (5 inches), 300 (6 Inches), and 400 foot reels (7 inches). To get an estimate of how much film you have simply add up the number of reels and multiply by the appropriate footage. If some of your larger sized reels are not full, an adjustment in the footage will be made and the price of your order will be reduced accordingly.
A) All that’s required of you is to determine the order of the films and supply a brief title describing the contents of each reel. Very often this information can be gotten from markings right on the box. Most people opt to follow a chronological order while others may choose to group their movies thematically – that is, a section of birthdays and/or holidays, another for vacations, etc. Film is charged by the foot, not per DVD so there is no extra charge to split you transfer up if you choose to do so.
A) From my experience, unmarked reels are probably among the last reels shot. The first reels shot were more than likely carefully labeled and dated. New camera owners were more apt to splice their small 50 foot reels onto larger 200, 300 or 400 reels. When I come across an unmarked reel, inspection of the content usually bears out my theory that the reel was a lone reel shot many years after one had gotten out of the habit of consistently using the camera for holidays and events. One solution – I can run the first few feet of the unmarked reel through the transfer machine so the you can determine its place in the timeline.
