Super 8 mm film

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Kodachrome 40 KMA464P Super 8 Catridge
Kodachrome 40 KMA464P Super 8 Catridge

Super 8 mm film, also called Super 8 is a motion picture film format that was developed in the 1960s and released on the market in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older 8mm home movie format, and the Cine 8 Format.

The film is 8 mm wide, exactly the same as the older standard 8 mm film and also has perforations on only one side, but the dimensions of the perforations are reduced, allowing the exposed area to be increased in size. The Super-8 standard also specifically allocates the rebate opposite the perforations for an oxide stripe upon which sound can be magnetically recorded.

There are several different varieties of the film system used for shooting, but the final film in each case has the same dimensions. By far the most popular system was the Kodak system.

Contents

[edit] The Kodak Super 8 system

Launched in 1965, the film comes in plastic light-proof cartridges containing coaxial supply and take-up spools loaded with 50 feet of film. This was enough film for 2.5 minutes at the U.S. motion picture professional standard of 24 frames per second, and for 3 minutes and 20 seconds of continuous filming at 18 frames per second for amateur use, for a total of 3600 frames. A 200-foot reel later became available which could be used in specifically-designed cameras, but that Kodak cartridge is no longer produced. Super 8 film was typically a reversal stock. In the 1990s and today Super 8 color negative film is available for professional use and is typically transferred to video through the Telecine process for use in Television advertisement, music videos and other film projects.

A Super 8 Film cartridge beside a Compact audio cassette for scale
A Super 8 Film cartridge beside a Compact audio cassette for scale

The plastic cartridge could be loaded into the camera in seconds, without the need to directly thread or even touch the film. In addition, coded notches cut into the cartridge signaled the film speed to the camera to allow automatic film-speed setting. Not all cameras can read the notches correctly though and not all cartidges are notched correctly such as Kodak Vision2 200T. See also http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Super_8_Cartridge_Notch_Ruler for a proper guide to how the notches work and finding compatibility with various camera models. Canon also keeps an exhaustive list of their super-8 cameras with detailed specifications on what film speeds can be used with their cameras at http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/cine/f_index.html.

Color stocks were generally available only in tungsten (3400K), and almost all Super 8 cameras come with a switchable daylight filter built in, allowing for both indoor and outdoor shooting.

The original release was a silent system only, but in 1973 a sync-sound version was released. The sound film had a magnetic soundtrack, and came in larger cartridges than the original so as to accommodate a longer film path (required for smoothing the film movement before it reached the recording head), and a second aperture for the recording head. Sound cameras were compatible with silent cartridges, but not vice versa. Sound film was typically filmed at a speed of 18 or 24 frames per second. Kodak discontinued the production of Super 8 sound film in 1997, citing environmental regulations as the reason (the adhesive used to bond the magnetic track to the film was environmentally hazardous).

A Super 8 Film cartridge with a closeup of the film
A Super 8 Film cartridge with a closeup of the film

Kodak still manufactures several color and black-and-white Super 8 reversal film stocks, but in 2005 announced the discontinuation of the most popular stock Kodachrome. This is to be replaced by a new ISO 64 Ektachrome. Kodak has also introduced several Super 8 negative stocks cut from their Vision film series, ISO 200 and ISO 500 which can be used in very low light. Kodak reformulated the emulsions for the B&W reversal stocks Plus-X (ISO 100) and Tri-X (ISO 200), in order to give them more sharpness. Many updates of film stocks are in response to the growing popularity and availability of non-linear editing systems. Films may be transferred through telecine to video and are then imported into computer based editing systems such as Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro or Avid. Despite this availability a number of enthusiasts still choose to edit super 8 film with a viewer and rewinds.

Kodak Super 8 mm cartridges cannot be reloaded, however a reloadable cartridge was manufactured in the Soviet Union.

[edit] The Fujifilm Single-8 system

Fujifilm of Japan developed an alternative format called Single-8, which was released in 1965 as a different option to the Kodak Super 8 format.

Single-8 cartridges are of a different design than a Super 8 cartridge, resembling a cassette-style design (both supply and take-up reels side by side) as opposed to Super 8's coaxial cartridge design (both reels on top of each other). Therefore, Single-8 film cartridges can only be used in Single-8 cameras. However, the film loaded in a Single-8 cartridge is exactly the same as Super 8 (with the exception of being made of a thinner & stronger polyester base, rather than the acetate base of Super 8 film), and can be viewed in any Super 8 projector after processing.

Although never as popular as Super 8, the format continues to live in parallel. As of early 2006, Fuji still manufactures Single-8 film, and filmstock and processing is still available from several sources.

[edit] Double Super 8

Double Super 8 film (commonly abbreviated as DS8) is a 16 mm wide film but has Super 8 size sprockets. It is used in the same way as standard 8mm film in that the film is run through the camera twice, exposing one side on each pass. During processing, the film is split down the middle and the two pieces spliced together to produce a single strip for projection in a Super 8 projector. Because it has sprockets on both sides of the film, the pin-registration is superior to Super 8 film and so picture stability is better.

[edit] Super Duper 8 (AKA Max 8)

Super-Duper-8, or S-D-8 was created out of the need for widescreen compatibility without having to use expensive optical adaptors or excessive cropping. Since magnetic sound-striped film is no longer available, the creators of Sleep Always experimented with widening the camera gate to expose into the sound track region to achieve this. The result is a 20% wider image than previously possible which also gives better clarity to the image.

[edit] Equipment

There are no super 8 mm cameras in production; the last type made was the Russian spring-driven (as opposed to most Super 8 mm cameras being battery driven) Quarz cameras, known as the Kinoflex in the USA; it was last produced in the early 1990s. However, old Super 8 cameras are available at reasonable prices from specialized retailers and auction sites such as eBay.

Kodak is the only company recently making Super 8 film stock and the films available from Kodak now include Super 8 Vision 2 color negative film. One or more other Super 8 specialists (such as Pro8mm, Wittner-kinotechnik and Kahlfilm) slit raw 35 mm film stock from Fuji, Kodak and ORWO, perforate it, and repackage it in Kodak Super 8 cartridges. Effectively there are now more varieties of Super 8 film available than ever before, but ironically very few retailers still stock Super 8 film, as there is virtually no consumer demand.

One country where it is still stocked in every High Street is the UK, where the chain Jessops carries one film: Kodak Ektachrome 64T. Until recently (2002) it was also available in Boots, a British high-street chain-pharmacy.

There were rumours of Super 8 cameras and films being manufactured and sold in North Korea and indeed this has been confirmed by North Korean embassies, but the only way to buy such products is to visit the country itself.

[edit] Popularity

A Silent Super 8 Film cartridge in a Canon Super 8 Sound Camera
A Silent Super 8 Film cartridge in a Canon Super 8 Sound Camera

Amateur usage of Super 8 has been largely replaced by video, but the format is often used by professionals in music videos, TV commercials, and special sequences for television and feature film projects. For a professional cinematographer, Super 8 is another tool to use alongside larger formats. Some seek to imitate the look of old home movies, or create a stylishly grainy look. Many independent filmmakers such as Karin Hoerler, Derek Jarman, Mark Pirro, Jesse Richards, Harmony Korine, David Horvitz, Nathan Schiff and Guy Maddin have made extensive use of 8 mm film, and it appears to have made something of a comeback in both the art and experimental film world. Oliver Stone, for example, has used it several times in his more recent films, such as The Doors, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, U Turn, and JFK where his DP Robert Richardson employed it to evoke a period or to give a different look to scenes. The PBS series Globe Trekker uses approximately 5 minutes of Super 8 footage per episode. Says creater Ian Cross, "it gives our show a particular look."[1]

Mark Pirro became a "hero" to legions of Super-8 filmmakers who dreamed of becoming directors when his film "A Polish Vampire in Burbank" was broadcast three times in the early 90's on the USA Channel television show called "USA Up All Night". Apparently this buoyed other super-8 filmmakers to call U.S.A. Channel to see if they could have their crude super-8 films evaluated for broadcast, allegedly quelling the demand for future repeat broadcasts of Mark's film. Mr. Pirro grew to dislike the format as he felt he had been pigeonholed as a super-8 filmmaker rather than a director.

Other feature films have also been shot exclusively on Super 8 by serious amateur film makers hoping to gain more experience working with film, and as a stepping stone into productions shot on 16 mm and 35 mm.

To give further support to filmmakers dedicated to shooting on Super 8 mm film, many film festivals and screenings such as the Flicker Film Festival exist to give filmmakers a place to screen their Super 8 mm films. Many of these screenings shun video and are only open to films shot on film. Some require film to be turned in undeveloped and thus not permitting any editing, providing an additional challenge to the filmmaker. These include such the Bentley Film Festival, and the Kodak Straight8 Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where a sound track is required to be supplied on CD. In the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, a Super 8 short film (The Man Who Met Himself) by British filmmaker Ben Crowe shot on the now discontinued Kodachrome 40 format was the first Super 8 film to be nominated for the Short Film Palme D'Or in the Official Selection. The United States Super-8 Film + Digital Video Festival receives close to 100 Super-8 entries every year. [1].

Until 1999, the University of Southern California's famous School of Cinematic Arts required students to shoot some of their projects using Super 8, but digital video is now favoured instead. However, it is still used elsewhere by film students wishing to learn the basics of shooting and editing.

Outside of Hollywood and university settings Super 8 has been enjoying a long renaissance within the Wedding videography industry. A popular addition to the normal use of videotape, 8 mm adds an aspect of nostalgia that many bridal couples enjoy.

Thanks to over a dozen film stocks and certain features common in Super 8 cameras but unavailable in video camcorders--notably the ability to expose single frames and shoot at several non video standard frame rates, including time-exposure and slow motion--Super 8 provides an ideal inexpensive medium for traditional stop-motion and cel animation and other types of filming speed affects not common to video cameras.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Videography (unknown). Globe Trekker: Around the World With PBS' Travel Series. Videography.com.

[edit] External links

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