Entertainment Technology News

While Academy Award Nominee "The Hurt Locker" brings military stories to the big screen, a Minnesota film conversion company called "Saving Tape" strives to support our troops and bring their stories to the small screen by providing a unique Smiles for Soldiers media conversion service.

(Minneapolis, MN) As Hollywood gears up for its annual trip down the red carpet at this year's Academy Awards, a lot of the buzz is circling around the military epic "The Hurt Locker." But while the blockbuster film brought our soldiers stories to the big screen, Saving Tape, a local Minnesota company, is striving to bring our soldiers stories to the small screen.

Saving Tape is a media conversion company operating out of Minneapolis, MN. Most of their business revolves around transferring old home movies onto more modern mediums: VHS to DVD, tape to CD - even offering some of the highest quality Super 8, 8mm or 16mm film to DVD transfers. In addition to basic media conversion services, Saving Tape also offers its customers custom editing and multi-media hybrids like digital slide shows with music, subtitles and narration.

As interest and demand in these unique services have continued to grow, owner Thor Anderson developed the "Smiles for Soldiers™" program that not only makes newly formatted digital versions of home movies, but also makes the day of a U.S. soldier serving overseas.

For families of active U.S. military personnel who are deployed overseas, through Smiles for Soldiers™ they will receive a 10% discount on all video to DVD services, as well as a free copy of each DVD and a mailer to send it safely to wherever their loved one is stationed.

A lot of ink has been used to document the struggles military personnel have trying to reconnect with their families when they return from a tour. But far less has been discussed concerning the struggles those same soldiers face each day abroad, simply because they cannot keep current with the lives of their children and spouses. Keeping up with daily milestones in the life of a family helps make for an easier return at the end of a long deployment.

"There's no reason someone serving our country should have to miss out on at least seeing family memories," explained Anderson. "Birthday parties, a baby's first steps, their kids softball game - even old home movies they were around for but have forgotten about, if someone brings it in, we'll make an extra copy for free. It's our way of supporting U.S. troops as best we can."

So while "The Hurt Locker" heads into Oscar season with 8 nominations and a full head of steam, a slew of other military movies are also heading into production. The budget may be smaller, the camera may be shakier, and the hollywood stars have been replaced with family members. But for the overseas recipient of these somewhat modest home movies, simply being able to press play is reward enough.

It's a reward that Thor Anderson, through Smiles for Soldiers, believes is worth more than any bald headed gold statue ever could be.

For more information on the unique "Smiles for Soldiers™" program or any of our other media conversion services please log onto www.savingtape.com or call us toll free at 1-800-445-9491.

Resources:

Saving Tape: www.savingtape.com