Camera and Processing Questions

[imissedthesixties]

Hi to all
I am relatively new to the super 8 world of filmmaking, and so I have a few questions I hope can be answered.

1. As a cheap start off, I bought a Sankyo CM-300 off eBay. It seems fine and is a very sturdy & solid camera (by looks). I haven't shot a roll of film with it yet (except the Kodachrome II that came with the camera which in all honesty I tossed in the garbage because I saw the processing costs). Does anyone own this camera or know anything about its performance? Maybe if someone has info on this camera, negative or positive, I can just toss it and get a better one. After all, the film I ordered from Kodak cost more than the camera itself.

2. I know it's been posted a million times - The Wal-Mart issue. Do they really process this film? I know better than to ask the morons behind the counter but, i called one near where I live (Connecticut) and the guy told me it was like 20 bucks to process super-8 movie film and it gues through Fuji. Also, it is only transfered on to vhs. What is the deal with Kodachrome from everyone else's experiences? Did the film come back on a reel? That;s what I want. If it comes back on video, i will throw a fit. I will probably just have Kodak do it, but anyways...

3. Where can I read a nice simple tutorial about Adobe Premiere 6.0 or 6.5? I'm a dope when it comes to understanding software, but my friend let me boot a copy of his and so I want to understand how to use it... seems like a good program.
If I record my projector with a MiniDV camera, patch it through IEEE, edit it with Premiere, and burn it to a VCD, will it lose any quality (like pixelization)or will it look just like it looked going in? I tried this already with an analog Hi8 Sony camcorder and after capturing it with a P.O.S. Dazzle usb port, the file came out like complete crap (probably from the transfer to digital in the computer, but don't know for sure)

Ok, sorry to take up so much time...i have millions of questions but these are the most important ones. I'm sure I can figure out most of the other stuff by trial and error, but I want my film to come back on a REEL and in one piece.

Thanks for taking the time to read this

Regards,

Mike Thompson

[tfunch24]

Re: The Wal-Mart Issue...

It varies from place to place. Some Wal-Marts will process K40. Others can't (or won't). I've read on the S8 forum that Wal-Marts on the East Coast can't outlab to Dwayne's.

For developing K40, send K40 either to Kodak or to Dwayne's. For more info on Dwayne's, check out this link: www.k14movies.com. Fuji outlabs to them.

You have a greater selection of labs for Ektachrome and the B&W stocks. Since you're in Connecticut, I'd recommend Pac Lab in New York City. They're relatively inexpensive (compared to some labs whose names I won't mention here coughcoughRocky Mountain Film Labcoughcough), and they're fast and reliable. More info on Pac Lab can be found here: www.pac-lab.com

Don't worry, your film will come back on a S8 film reel.

Good luck.

Tom

[tfunch24]

Concering video transfer...

Unless you want flickery, low-quality transfers of your S8 opus(es), don't use a regular projector. Get a five-bladed variable-speed telecine projector or check out this website: www.moviestuff.tv. Roger Evans provides a line of S8/R8/16mm telecine equipment that produce hiqh-quality, flicker-free transfers of small-gauge films to video.

Also, you could look into getting your footage ranked on a Rank Cinetel but that costs an arm and an leg--$275/hour. Something to look into if you're planning on shooting professionally, but if you're a hobbyist, I would stick with either a DV-8 transfer, a Workprinter, or a CineMate.

Just my $.02

Tom

[Mike Buckles]

Classroom in a Book from Adobe Press will teach you the basics on Premiere..I use 6.0, and it's a very versatile, high quality program. If you use MovieStuff transfer, have them transfer to a Mini dv, then use the firewire via Premiere to capture to your computer...the footage should not deteriorate in quality when you export it. Make sure of your codec settings when importing and exporting, to keep the quality high..I use Microsoft dv codec, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps.