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Hey all- first post here, but I’ve been following this place for a few months now, and I have something very cool to share with you guys.
So a few months back, a 35mm print of the original Toy Story went up on eBay for I believe AU$5000? I don’t quite recall for sure… either way, this is pretty significant because it’s a version of the film that essentially hasn’t been available at all since it first released to theaters in 1996.
Here’s a link to the listing for those who are curious. It looks like it’s from Australia, so presumably an English print of the film, and looking at the pictures it seems to be in pretty great condition aside from some noticeable pink fading on some of the reels.
Anyways, I’m happy to say that after 3 months of saving up eBay funds, watching the price gradually go down and hoping no one else would beat me to the punch, I’ve finally sent an offer and committed to buying this print! I initiated a transfer of funds to my bank account earlier today, and as soon as that processes I plan on sending payment to the buyer. Naturally, my plan is to raise/save up money and eventually get the film transferred digitally, and I’ll likely be making another, more “official” post once I’ve actually secured the print.
That being said, I’m actually starting this post not only to share this news with you guys, but also because I have a number of questions about the process of digitally transferring 35mm film prints. As you can imagine, I have exactly zero experience with this sort of thing, but I’m hoping to learn how it’s done and maybe even use what I learn for other transfer projects in the future. I think it’s something I can pull off with enough help from this community.
As for my questions about the whole process, here are some that come to mind:
- First of all (and probably most importantly), I’m wondering how I would want to store something like this. I think I understand that it’s best to have it in a low-temperature environment away from ground level, but does anyone have any corrections or other tips they can give?
- From what I’ve read on here, I think I’ve picked up on the fact that you guys usually pay to have these prints sent in and scanned by another person. How does that work? How can I get hooked up with someone who scans 35mm prints? What does it usually cost to do this?
- What about donations? I guess that should be pretty self-explanatory, but I’d like to know how people usually go about it, as with college and other personal expenses I’ll definitely need some help raising money for this. I’m guessing PayPal would suffice? I thought it’d also be fun to stream Toy Story games for donations if y’all would be interested in that… 😛
- How are these things usually distributed? After all I’m sure at least some of you will be interested in seeing the finished product, and I’m not planning any donor-only shenanigans, so I’d like to know how I’ll want to share it with anyone who asks.
- Finally, would anyone be able to touch-up/restore the scan a little bit in the future? I mentioned that the print seems to be a tiny bit pink, so it could probably use some level of restoration, but I am very much unskilled in that regard, so I’d be willing to pay someone else to do it.
Any other advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Seeing the original theatrical print of this movie is something I’m extremely passionate about, and I’m sure some of you reading are as well, so I’m very excited about this and hoping we can achieve something amazing. I’ll try to post updates (and maybe a little blurb explaining the differences between versions if anyone’s curious), and like I said I plan on making an “official” thread for the actual scanning project once I’ve gotten my hands on the print. Until then, cheers y’all.
~Tristan
