Super 8mm

Searching around my house, I stumbled upon a Bell & Howell Super 8mm film camera, a Bell & Howell 8/Super 8mm film projector, a Sixon light meter, a few projector bulbs and a 3 way Super 8mm/8mm/16mm Cement Splicer. All work. So I figured my next project would be someting small and shoot it on super 8mm.

I've noticed Super 8 is a little hard to come by in my part of Canada. Looking at Kodak's new film stock lineup I found out they don't ship to Canada, but I believe B&H carries the stock I'm looking for.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/687712-REG/Kodak_1326941_7285_Ektachrome_100D_Super.html#CAD
How much stock would I need? I assume two or three. Would it even work with an old Bell & Howell?

Another Issue.
But im in a little island off the east coast of Canada. The closest 8mm developer is probably in Halifax. Is it worth to buy the film if I can't get it developed around here? Should I pay extra to ship the film there and back?

And Finally the sound.
I want to use some narration for the project. This can be put over after. But how do I put both film and sound together? This part I don't know much about I grew up in a digital world. Any suggestion about this would be awesome.

Let me know if it is even worth my time.
I really have gained an interest in this kind of filmmaking after finding this stuff.

Thanks
 
I believe on cartridge on Super 8 is 3 to 5 minutes depending on how many fps you shoot. If your Bell & Howell is functional, there no reason the Kodak carts shouldn't work in it.

The cost of developing is what's most cost prohibitive these days. I have a couple cartidges of Super 8 that I shot recently. I called a couple of places in LA to see how much it would cost to get it developed and the average cost was around $85-$100 for up to three cartridges. This price included the conversion to digital files, so you may be able to find someone to do it cheaper if you plan on editing with your splicer, but the cost put kibosh on my idea to film on Super 8 myself...

As far as narration, I would think it would be much easier to have the film processor just convert it to digital format for you and that way you can add any audio you want...
 
how do I put both film and sound together?

You'll want to have your film telecined (converted into a digital file, or onto tape) if you want to have sound with your film. Probably also if you want to share your finished film on teh internetz when the edit's complete.

You should check to see whether the processing lab you send it to does this as well. There's usually a minimum charge for telecine. At the local lab here, that works out to be about 4 cartrdidges worth to get the most bang for ya buck.

Let me know if it is even worth my time.

Maybe it is; maybe it isn't.

For myself, I've used Super-8 in two film projects. Both times learned an incredible amount about the technical side of shooting film, was forced to learn how to use a lightmeter, and to pay attention to light placement. I certainly didn't end up with masterpieces, but it was a great learning experience. :cool:
 
How much stock would I need? I assume two or three. Would it even work with an old Bell & Howell?
LVIRA is correct. A super 8 cartridge is about 3 minutes of film. How
much you need depends on the project you are shooting and your
shooting ratio. Yes, the stock you link to will work in the Bell & Howell.

Another Issue.
But im in a little island off the east coast of Canada. The closest 8mm developer is probably in Halifax. Is it worth to buy the film if I can't get it developed around here? Should I pay extra to ship the film there and back?
You don't really have a choice. There isn't a place nearby so you must
ship it.

And Finally the sound.
I want to use some narration for the project. This can be put over after. But how do I put both film and sound together? This part I don't know much about I grew up in a digital world. Any suggestion about this would be awesome.
You will have the film processed and transferred to a digital format of
your choice (called telecine). You put this footage into your editing
software. You can then add the audio track. Narration will be easy -
record the narration and put it into your editing software.

Let me know if it is even worth my time.
Is is very much worth your time.
 
Yeah, Im sure I would go for it if I had the camera and light meter. I would not bother with editing film though.. It just about the look for me and not so much the processes..

Curious, what the highest resolution telecine you can get with 8mm? For reasonable price that is..
 
The thing with Super 8 is that it has a very distinct look to it. Personally, I love the way it looks, but I wouldn't shoot on it for its quality and resolution. It's going to be a "messy" looking film, not to mention that if you want any kind of length out of each cart, you'll have to film at 18 or even 12 fps.

Long story short, don't expect it to look anything like 35mm film...
 
its not the resolution of the film.. its the resolution of the scan.. I've seen scans of 8mm that have macro blocks, this just runis it for me. Id want the scanned image to be able to zoom in and see the film grain in painful detail.

I think that 2k scans of 8mm are the best thing going, quality wise.. 4k is out there.. http://www.cinelicious.tv/fresh/
 
Last edited:
highest resolution telecine you can get with 8mm? For reasonable price that is..

The lab I used did not have HD capability (for super-8, that is) at the time, so I had options of mini-DV, Beta SP & Digi-Beta tapes and their associated resolutions.

Pro8mm had a 2k-res scanner for Super-8, but was too pricey for me at the time. Delivery on a harddrive, which was also novel at the time.

FotoKem prolly has some amazing machinery too, but dunno much about them.
 
Back
Top