Just Finished a Super 8mm Film

[Roy Brown]

I made a 6 minute Super 8 film which was finished on film not transfered to video. The short drama was shot on K40 with a Canon 1014 e, and I used Dwaynes photo for processing. Below are some of the techniques I used.

1. Wrote script and did very basic storyboard
2. Lite scenes with two Lowell quartzw/barndoors and cheap work
lamps
3. Used a Marantz PMD 430 cassette recorder with a Shure SM 58 mic
4. Shot at 24fps
5. On sound scenes used pulse from camera on left channel sync
sound on right channel for later syncing
6. Muffled camera with blankets-(Not Very Effective)
7. Most shots were exposed at 2.8 to 4.0 using the cameras light
meter and then setting it manually.
8. FX's included Superimposed titles using a EWA backwinder and
dissolves using the cameras facilitys
9. After processing film, transfered all into Non linear editor using
GS 1200.
10. Edited movie on computer then watched tape selecting each
scene of original and splicing film using a Fujica roll tape splicer.
11. After movie edited Transferred finished movie into non-linear
editor, using pulses from original sound tape to run GS1200 at
same speed camera shot film.
12. transfered dialoge and sound fx into computer, also did ADR on
some noisy scenes. Synced up sound to picture
13. Processed wav file burned to CD with pulses in right channel
sound on left. Works perfectly, of course the Elmo GS1200 makes
this whole process simple.

I learned a lot from this project, but just as all the books preach good sound is very hard to achieve but is worth all the effort. I have shot several short videos and a couple of thousand feet of Super 8 home movies but nothing matches the excitement of shooting a story film with real film. Finally nothing against transferring your film to video but seeing your original Kodachrome projected on a 12 ft * 9 ft movie screen in front of a audience was fantastic and truly put Super 8mm in its best light.

Roy

[chas_ucla]

Congrats, Roy! Definite high-end approach to S8. Sounds like a great experience.
ARe you going to submit your film around to any short-film fests? It would be cool to see a synch-sound super-8 film.
What was your film about? What was the final running time?

[woods01]

Wow a S8 movie that was projected! That is
something to be proud of. But I have a few
questions about your gear.

What is an Elmo GS1200? I am guessing its a high
end projector?

Also I assume you got your camera crystal synced?

The whole sync sound bit has me baffled [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Roy Brown]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">ARe you going to submit your film around to any short-film fests? It would be cool to see a synch-sound super-8 film. What was your film about? What was the final running time?
</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

I might enter it in Britains infamous Ten Best contest which has been going on for decades. I doubt I would win but you never know. The contest may have lost some of its prestige but at on time hundreds of entries competed each year with the prizes being awarded by celebrities such as Jimmy Stewart.

The Story is about a man who drinks away his sorrow over the supposed loss of his 3 year daughter. The twist is she is just spending her first night away from Mom and Dad on a Sleep Over with friends.

[Roy Brown]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What is an Elmo GS1200? I am guessing its a high
end projector?

Also I assume you got your camera crystal synced?

The whole sync sound bit has me baffled
</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Elmo GS1200 is a stereo Super 8mm projector that has a syncronous motor. The camera is not crystal sync, instead while filming you record pulses from the flash sync jack onto your tape recorder. After processing you thread your film onto the Elmo GS1200 to a predetermined sync mark (Clapper Board shutting) and play back your tape with the pulses the projector hears the pulses and runs at the exact same speed your camera did keeping everything in sync. (Note your sound is on left channel and sync is on right.
Not the best explanation but I will be glad to try and explain it further if you desire

Roy

[mcarter4121]

Very nice. Quite desireable.
Were there any special modifications needed to be made to the Elmo GS 1200? Does it read the pulses right out of the box?
Michael