More Proof of a Super-8 Resurgence...

[Alex]

Check out this link from Kodak!

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/students/onCampus/jan2002/super8. jhtml;jsessionid=DBCFD0C3YLMAZQHIO2SXWJA

[HenrySuper8]

Academy of Art College in San Francisco! Great school i think! The students learn how to make film, not video, its so great.

[Alex]

Just in case the link ever goes bad...here is the actual story....


Academy of Art College Students Learn on Super 8
David Oliver Pfeil believes he knows what it will take for today's film students to succeed in tomorrow's film industry. He spent 28 years in the industry, many of them as a director/cameraman, collaborating with such luminaries as director Sydney Pollack and cinematographer Owen Roizman, ASC. During the past four years, Pfeil has been re-shaping the curriculum in his role as Director of Motion Pictures and Television at the Academy of Art College, in San Francisco.

"When we were designing this program, I felt there was a need for students to experience what I did when I was studying at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles," says Pfeil. "We shot in Super 8 with little plastic cameras. It was a very inexpensive format but the experience was priceless."

With Pfeil's guidance, the Academy of Art College has acquired 60 Super 8 cameras. Many of them are Russian-made Kinoflex 101 cameras purchased through Super 8 Sound, in Burbank, California, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Super 8 Sound also perforates and slits 16 mm film into Super 8 format, and handles processing for Pfeil's students. The Academy has invested close to $3 million on film equipment during the past two years, including 18 16 mm sound cameras and a dozen 35 mm cameras. They only have one high-end video camera.

There are 860 students in the film and television program. All of them learn how to create storyboards during their first year. They also take still photos and shoot and edit Super 8 films. Most of all, Pfeil says they learn the difference between recording images of events and building a narrative story.

"I think that students who grew up with video cameras believe it's easy to make movies," he says. "But, it's one thing to take pictures of your mom or the family dog, and it's something else to create a story. It's too easy to shoot tape. You have to really work at shooting film." Pfeil believes it's a different mindset. Later in the program, students choose a course of study, including writing, special effects and production design. Some students choose to work in digital video and other formats, but by then they have learned the discipline of filmmaking.

Pfeil has also overseen the building of a film-based postproduction facility that augments electronic and computer-based editing gear. The school has a Super 8 optical printer used for making 16 mm blow-ups in experimental filmmaking classes, 16 mm upright Moviolas, and 16 mm and 35 mm flatbed Kems.

"Until you've cut a movie and have to splice something to move a cut a single frame, you haven't lived," says Pfeil. "Editorially, they cut in Super 8, so they get to feel the film. You don't feel tape. It's a detached reality. Film is a tactile reality. To me, that's a very important distinction; and seeing their projects projected on a larger screen really gives the students a sense of accomplishment."

Pfeil's students typically shoot Super 8 projects in black and white using either Eastman Tri-X 7278 or Plus-X 7276 reversal films. Light meters are banned and the internal light meter on the Kinoflex cameras is disabled, so the students must learn to see and judge light and exposure by eye.

"We put the Kodak guide on top of the camera," says Pfeil. "That gives them a rough exposure guide for backlight, direct sunlight, bright snow, etc., so the students must mentally go through the process of deciding their aperture. These are mechanical skills that most young filmmakers don't have. Our main goal is to impart skills that prepare students for jobs in the industry. That's why it's so critical that they learn these skills. They're going to be working with people who use film, and they're going to be expected to have that kind of knowledge."

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With the advant of digital, we need film pioneers to remind us about the uniqueness of film.

[Scott Spears]

I started out with Super-8, back in the day. Shooting Super-8 thought me discpline in my shooting style. To this day, even when shooting tape, I keep my ratio down. I think that some poor editor has to slog through footage. I know guys who don't cut the camera between takes when shooting tape. What a time waster in post.

Scott

[Alex]

Just thought I'd bump this topic to page one.

[Alex]

Here's more proof of a Super-8 resurgence from the Widescreen folks...

Status: U
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 10:16:21 +0100

SIGHT'N SOUND 209 Monday 22nd July 2002:

For ASTRONOMY * AUDIOVISUAL * MOTION PICTURES
SUPER-8/16MM * 3-D...AND MORE!
************************************************** *************************
JAKES PROGRESS:

Says Jake: "Two bits of news this week. One is that we are now supplying Kodak Vision 200T negative colour Super-8 stock process paid as well as in the non-process-paid form. This is a professional service, and what's more you get a Tuesday to Monday turnaround at the processing stage. That can't be bad.

My second bit of news is about the 'bog-standard' Kodachrome-40 stock. Such has been the success and demand for Super-8 stocks over the last couple of months that we have drained Kodak dry of their supplies in the UK and - at one point they were actually rationing stocks to us! Fortunately, they hve now fully restocked, but they tell us that sales of this Super-8 material has increased threefold over the last couple of years...much to their surprise, I might add"

You can contact Jake, as usual, either on 020 7935 2580, or eMail him at:

mailto:[email protected]

Either way, you can be guaranteed some of the best advice.

p.s. He tells me that he has now received some of the excellent Capital Light Meters back in stock. They're a snitch, with the cheapest Selenium-celled model (ideal for cine work) at around GBP 35.95 - and it never needs a battery! You can get one by contacting us at:

mailto:[email protected]

************************************************** **************************

SITES FOR SORE EYES!
Here's a few interesting locations that I have found worth visiting from time to time:

And first a correction!
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com
Beautifully designed web site for widescreen lovers and easy to navigate.

http://instantmoviemaking.com
Really practical movie making course. Featuring Ivan Watson's FREE 3-part 'Mini-Film-Making Course'.
Just download it. Yes, it's FREE to anyone interested in film making.

http://www.the-sli.de
Photokina site for Slide Enthusiasts.

http://www.ePHOTOZINE.com
A great online photo magazine. Lots of information on all aspects of photography.

http://www.telescopes-direct.com
Our 'other site' for astronomy enthusiasts.

http://www.howtowriteanewsletter.com
Some really useful hints and tips on this one, with ready-made 'fillers' for your own publications.

If you have any others to add to this list, just let me know: Mailto:[email protected]
************************************************** **************************
AUSTRALIAN WIDESCREEN FILM AND SLIDE FESTIVAL
Entry forms for this years 32nd Anniversary Annual Australian Amateur WIDESCREEN Festival.
Contact them direct at:
mailto:[email protected]
Alternatively, I can make available a PDF of the entry form for anyone who find this more convenient.
Interested? Contact me, Tony on 020 7935 2580 or at:
mailto:[email protected]
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________
Copyright (C) 2000 The Widescreen Centre. All rights reserved. May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes as long as attribution
is given.
************************************************** ************************

[Mike Buckles]

Thanks for the great links, Alex! Unfortunately, the slide website was in a foreign language, and the instant moviemaking site said "access forbidden." I'm glad that Super 8 has resurged...and think it's funny it's taking Kodak by surprise! I'm sure they probably wanted to kill off the format years ago..but the filmmakers wouldn't let 'em! I could tell by the wrinkled up frowns at the camera store that the guys behind the counter were more interested in pushing video **** camcorders than truly interested in the seminal art of creating your own lasting artistic experience that is film...

[BolexPlusx]

Ok, if usage of Kodachrome has recently tripled:

1) The price should be going down

2) There should be more labs interested in processing it.

Right?????????

I hope in a couple of years it triples again!

[Mike Buckles]

Well, Kodak did start offering the free processing mailers with the film, so I guess that could be considered a "price decline" of sorts!

[BolexPlusx]

I guess so, but I'm biased by my early days when a department store near me had these sales a couple of times a year when you's get a roll of K-40 and a mailer for Mystic photo for $4.50. I'd scrape together every buck I could get and walk out with about ten rolls. Even as a teenager it seemed cheap.......

Oh, well. It's good to still be able to shoot that same great film and format over 20 years later.......

In any case, it's great to see Super-8 showing such life at a point when most people would have filed it with 8-Track tapes and mood rings.