The consumer film format called Super 8 was dominant in the sixties, seventies and eighties until the upstart technology called ‘video’ challenged it in the nineties and vanquished it from the marketplace in the new millenium. HD video now rules. With the right lens use and lighting, we can shoot economical, cinematic images.
Nevertheless, are you nostalgic for the real film look? It’s too expensive to actually shoot on film, right? 35mm, even 16mm, is out of reach. But what about Super 8? Is it possible to shoot on Super 8 and transfer to video for post?
My memory of the look of Super 8 is slightly soft, jittery Kodak Kodachrome, with it’s very warm tone and super-saturated reds. I shot my first films on Super 8, physically splicing the shots together and projecting the original reversal stock which would jump slightly as the cuts chattered through the projector gate.
One of Super 8’s strengths was also one of its weaknesses. The cartridges were extremely user-friendly but their design meant that the film was held steady during exposure by a simple pressure plate. Jitter, therefore, was built into all Super 8 cameras.
Now, a Danish company called Logmar plans to re-engineer the Super 8 camera. Their idea is to pull the film out of the cartridge and pin register it during exposure. The footage is rock-steady.
What about Super 8 film and developing? North American rights, film and processing will be handled by Pro8mm of Burbank, California.
My take: at 5 grand, this will be an expensive camera. I love the modern technology Logmar is brining to a mid-century medium, like the digital monitor and SD sound recording. Neat that they can scale this up to 16mm and 35mm as well. And I love the discipline of film versus video. But film! I thought it was dead! That sample footage does look more like 16mm than the Super 8 I remember. Perhaps if they address the dust on the negative and the dirt in the gate by the frame lines….
