Home movies document the baby boom generation
Any movie connoisseur knows that film has been around for well over 100 years. The 16mm and 35mm formats were pricey and mostly used by movie studios and professionals. Kodak introduced the more affordable 8mm format during the Great Depression but it wasn’t until the 1950s that it really took off. Movie cameras and projectors using 8mm and later Super-8 film, were a hit with amateur film makers. The home movie let baby boomers see themselves on their own silver screens.
Archiving Our Region’s History
While it appeared that most home movie makers were mainly interested in family gatherings or baby’s first steps, some had the foresight to archive their community and its changing landscape. In the late 1950s, one region going through a monumental transformation was the St. Lawrence River valley between Montreal and Iroquois. With the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project the river and its shoreline would be changed forever.
Residents along this segment of the river where being displaced as their ancestral homes, entire villages and their way of life would be lost to inundation. Some local film makers realized the importance of capturing scenes of the huge engineering feats while getting shots of the old towns and canals before they were gone.
Like many, I find the film footage of the pre-Seaway era fascinating. As a kid, I would watch my father’s old films with keen interest. My dad, Robert Lamoureux, shot lots of footage around Cornwall and area in the 1950s. He also captured some unique perspectives while navigating the river and the old canals during the Seaway construction.
THE LAST SHIPS THROUGH THE CORNWALL CANAL
Sharing vintage footage
While still in high school, I developed a fascination with filmmaking. My dad gave me a few pointers, then let me borrow his old 8mm movie camera. My first film in 1979, was a compilation of street scenes filmed around Cornwall and area. This footage had been long forgotten until it was used in a trial run of a KAV’s new digital film scanner in 2019. Some music and titles were added to the old footage then the video was posted on the KAVProductions Facebook page. In no time, the video went viral as it generated nostalgia with local history buffs and those living int the area at the time.
CORNWALL, ONTARIO – WINTER 1979
Digitizing your old home movies
At KAV, we use high-definition film scanning technology to digitize your old home movies. A scan is made of each frame of 8mm/Super-8 movie film. It is then reassembled and edited into a continuous video file. Optionally, scenes can be rearranged, while background music, your own narration and titles can be added to the final cut.
If you would like to have your films digitized, simply make an appointment to drop them off. We will make an estimate based on the footage. Reels come in 50, 200, 300, or 400-foot lenghts. While some of your film may not be in the best of condition, we will clean the film before scanning. On the most part, if the films have been stored in in their boxes or cans in a dry environment and not exposed to extreme temperatures, they will maintain their original quality.
8mm/Super-8 Movie Film Scans
We’ll preserve the cherished memories on your old 8mm or Super 8mm movie film reels by converting them to high definition video.
