Black and White Super 8 Film

[Mike Buckles]

I'm starting to plan a project for a friend of mine who's done huge favors for me recently...I'm going to be videotaping a martial arts instructional video for him. It would be far too long to use film, and since I'm doing it for free, would not be cost effective for me, either...however...as I was developing a style for this show, I thought to jazz it up a bit, it would be fun to film a few rolls of super 8 b/w film to incorporate in the show...kind of give it that raw, powerful look...the b/w film scenes would be indoor and outdoor...which stock do you think is best...the finer grain kind or the lower light/grainer type? Is the finer grain film grainy enough, or if I'm looking for a more dramatic departure from the smooth color video, should I go for the grainier type? Never used the grainier type before, so I'm not sure just how grainy it is...anyone have experience with these 2 film stocks?

[Alex]

The grainier BW Super-8 stock probably makes more sense. Mixing the BW Super-8 stock should be thoroughly thought out.

For instance, when you cut to the black & white footage, you probably want to avoid showing the lips of that person IF that person is the same person that is speaking via voice-over while the black & white footage is being shown. Whether you like that idea or not, at least visualize it before you shoot.

You might be able to set up the BW Super-8 by starting your video with a real life re-enactment scene shot with the BW Super-8.

You could start with the regular Plus X for the re-enactment scene, and as soon as danger appears, it goes into the grainer BW. You may also want to experiment with a quicker shutter rather than an XL shutter as the motion blur during the marial art's sequence may not be as appealing as a shorter & sharper looking shutter speed.

Don't forget the cautionary verbiage that warns people not to try anything that can endanger their lives. You don't want to be liable for someone who watches the video and acts and gets hurt because of the message of the video.

[Mike Buckles]

Thanks for the good advice..as to the precautionary warning, this is an instructional video that will show demonstrations by people who are experts in the martial arts field...showing different training techniques that my friend teaches in his classes..but some sort of precautionary statement is a good idea, nonetheless! As to the faster shutter speed, good thought..I was going to just use the super 8 footage for inbetween the real lessons, so blurring is not as much of a concern...might even be good!

[dr.sanchez]

I envision these film shots to be sort of an interlude between instructions, like 20-second shots of martial arts dudes doing cool stuff to keep the audience psyched about what they're learning. If you're going for raw and powerful, try the following: shoot on Tri-x, underexposed by two stops, and push the film two stops in processing. That will give you golfball sized grain (which I think looks pretty cool). When you get the film back, run it a few times through your worst projector to scratch it up a bit. The difference between that footage and your video will make your video look even sharper and the colors brighter.

I have some experimental footage I shot with that technique and my audiences always think it's found footage from the 1940s. It's a pretty cool look.

[Greg Crawford]

I think I would go for a grainy look.

Knot knowing project let me hit you with another idea. If you have a chase / danger scene leading up to the fight. Try "under crank," the camera. 4-6 pr 8 frames per second and playing back at the same or similar film speed. You will get a sequence of overlapping stills incorporating blur motion and some sharp items in each frame, in a shoppe motion feel.

(speed of camera movement, subject mater motion and film rate determine sharpness / blur... you should try a few variations for safety. )

Try it you may like it.

[Mike Buckles]

Thanks for the great ideas, everybody! I was actually planning on using the filmed portions as an interlude to the training sessions...the super 8 would be kind of a "bio" slant on the person, and the color video portions would be the actual training. I had thought of undercranking the camera in some shots, or doing it in post.