I have worked in film and video my entire life, starting back when I was a kid and continuing professionally throughout my career. I’ve produced, written and edited hundreds of TV pieces and several documentaries, and in the past few years I’ve been shooting and editing all my own footage for network TV and independent documentary work. Visual images have always been at the center of my life.

That’s what makes me happy and gratified that I found FilmFix. Let me tell you now that this is a completely positive — very positive — review that is based upon long experience in film and video production, on having done a lot of research and, finally, having seen the superb quality of the work.

I had years and years of my dad’s old silent 8mm films and my own old Super 8 sound films, not to mention much more on VHS, S-VHS and miniDV that were never going to be viewed again unless I finally had them all digitized at higher resolution to play easily on computer, mobile device and TV. And, once digitized, they would be easy to edit in my studio as well.

But who is best to do the digitizing? I researched innumerable places online that perform the service but the devil is in the details. It’s clear that pretty much anyone can buy a cheap device and go into business doing this. A couple years ago I sent a test reel to one company but I was so dissatisfied by the low quality output that, once again, I put off doing the job.

Enter FilmFix. I read through their website. I could see that their equipment and technology are seriously professional and top-notch. Right away, I thought to myself, “These are people who really care about quality. They understand the visual image and how to bring out the best from any format.” Then I had a friendly and informative phone call with Nathaniel, asking him about his process and approach, and discussing our mutual ideas about the best way to save these visual memories. It was a great call and I knew my treasured films would be in good hands.

As for the options that are offered — color-correcting, grain/debris reduction, stabilization, etc. — I had my own opinions about how that should be done but I listened to Nathaniel’s advice, based on his long experience doing this, and I’m very glad that I did. He was right about everything, honestly. Anyone who uses FilmFix’s services should seriously consider whichever options they advise.

Organization was also key. I took on the challenge of numbering each reel by format and chronology as best I could because I knew that getting things out-of-order would make editing and distribution very difficult on the back end. There were more than 100 reels, some 400-feet long, and that can end up as a disorganized rat’s nest of data unless you’re careful. Nathaniel and Laura were extremely attentive to that organizing process so things have gone completely smoothly for me after receiving the digital files.

Oh, did I mention that these are great people, personally as well as professionally? I’ve never actually met Nathaniel and Laura but I‘ve had a lot of communication with them and I know with certainty that they actually cared about my film and delivering just what I wanted. Who could ask for more?

Lee McEachern

Greenbrae, CA

quality of transfer

customer service

order turnaround time

overall satisfaction