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watch "Simulacrum", an ode to Kevin Smith

sonnyboo

sonnyboo

SIMULACRUM - 1 min, parody

shot on black & white Super 8 movie film on Sept 11th, 2001 (en route tot he New York Independent FilM Festival, minutes before the attacks).

QUICKTIME
http://www.sonnyboo.com/video/simul.mov

REAL PLAYER
http://www.sonnyboo.com/video/simul.rm



In the shameless pursuit to promote my movies, I posted a link to the (former PSA) short SIMULACRUM on the View Askew, Kevin Smith frequented messege board.

Within minutes, Kevin Smith himself compliments the movie.

http://www.viewaskew.com/newboard/messages534/430.html


And anyone who wants to see the newly re-edited, recently sold to distribution version of the short - you can see it here :
http://www.sonnyboo.com/onlinemovies/simulacrum.htm



_________________
S O N N Y B O O P R O D U C T I O N S
"Don't Go to the Movies, Go Back Online"
http://www.sonnyboo.com/
 
Sonnyboo,

I think you have talked dto E.T. but I wanted to just say I love your stuff.

I work on Rock Theatre www.rocktheatre.net TV show and we have showed ALOT of sonnyboo stuff including this one and I wanted to wish you a happy holiday season and hope you keep making these great acts of strangness.

Also if you get a chance, please check out what I have done, at least the movie site of the film. www.ambitionwithdraw.com

p.s. for some reason kevin smith hates it and hasn't even seen it! As a matter of fact I posted a link on his forum to this movie site and in result there are 10 pages of bashing by people who havn't even seen it! OH well, those who have seen it loved it only two people in a years worth of marketing have said its ok, noone has said it sucked that hjas seen it and I am sure you would love it too, it will be released worldwide in 2004 in various forms!

Good luck again, you have all my best wishes!

Jason Eustice
 
kick ass

chasm4u said:
Sonnyboo,

I think you have talked dto E.T. but I wanted to just say I love your stuff.

I work on Rock Theatre www.rocktheatre.net TV show and we have showed ALOT of sonnyboo stuff including this one and I wanted to wish you a happy holiday season and hope you keep making these great acts of strangness.
Click to expand...


Thanks Jason ! That means a lot to me.

I just mailed you a second DVD of material to use with ROCK THEATRE. Let me know when you get it.

A 3rd DVD of shorts is en route by the end of January when my first 16mm short is finished and rockin'.

I will check out your short by the end of Xmas.
 
Re: KEWL

sonnyboo said:
I just found this forum from www.scottspears.net


I really dig your trailer. Is that a 35mm feature? Looks really well done.


Where had you heard of Sonnyboo.com before? I thought I was fairly unknown.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

It's a High Def 24p shot Feature. I'd been to your site quite a bit over time. Mabye from MWS group? Or something like that...I don't really remember where I found your sight but I've definitely been there quite a bit, though it had been quite a spell until I saw you post here.

Keep it up,

Martin
 
high def

The HD footage looks spectacular. Whoever your D.P. and gaffer team were - they did amazing.

I am gearing up to put at least a new short ever 2-3 weeks on the site. I am fostering a few up and comers, and doing more "producing" as I prep a feature for myself.

- Ross
www.sonnyboo.com
 
That was awesome man, i really liked it! :D plus i was trying to find out what stuff looked like when filmed on super8 because we're using that in my film making class this year. Awesome work man :D
 
You have the most unique sense of humor... :D

I had previously just checked out the site to see your shorts but now Ive looked at the rest of the site, you've done a fantastic job. And as far as the filmmaker resources go, all I can say is thank you a ton. I just wish I had found the Word templates before I bought Final draft, but oh well. I'm always on the lookout for Royalty free stuff and I think some of your loops might be perfect for my first short. I will definitely be in contact with you and of course give credit should I use it. Thanks again ;)
 
THANKS!

I am trying to give out as much free stuff as I can on the site. Why horde resources like that when you can help others raise the bar for themselves?

The super 8 film looked fantastic. The really sharp, crisp images were thanks to the Kodak PLUS-X (50 ASA) reversal film and shooting in daylight. The grainier, near dusk shots were using the TRI-X (200 ASA) reversal film and holdup, but more as artsy, dirty film looks.

I transferred with FILM & VIDEO TRANSFERS ( www.thetransferstation.com ) and they do a real RANK transfer for $175 per hour, and I had the film developed by FILM CRAFT LABS in Michigan ($11 per roll).

After shooting several movies on Mini DV, I wanted to experiemtn with the processes of shooting film (synch sound, developing, telecine transfers, etc.). I started with Super 8 because I owned a high end professional camera (Nikon R10) and the film was cheap.

After shooting 4-5 Supe r8 films, I have moved on to 16mm film. It's like a graduated from DV to Super 8 to 16mm.

Long live Super 8 film!
 
funny!

I love this short. Super-8 is great, and with lines such as "Coming up with orginal stuff is hard, maybe I just need to go back to Ohio and rent showgirls", all I can say is classic. Ray and Silent Rob are going to go a long way.

Derek
 
I love this little short. Plus, the fact that you went all the way to New Jersey (okay, you probably did other stuff in New Jersey) just to shoot a one minute movie is incredible, and makes it very nestalgic in my eyes. A 10!
 
We were staying at a hotel in New Jersey (not far from Quickstop) while a few of us were goign to the New York Independent Film FEstival (the one that's an obvious sham). This was shot on September 11th, 2001. We had no idea what was going to happen that day.
 
SIMULACRUM was shot on the very pretty PLUS-X (50 ASA) reversal Super 8 (the very sharp images, better than a lot of 16mm) and also on TRI-X (200 ASA), fairly grainy film stock.

If you have a lot of light (as in daylight) the PLUS-X Super 8 film can give you amazing results, and it looks better than TRI-X 16mm film, but you need the sun to light it and get an exposure.

Then there's telecine (getting it to video). It's actually getting cheaper and a few new places have started using Super 8 gates in their full telecine suites.

http://www.thetransferstation.com
http://www.pro8mm.com
http://www.posthouse.com/SUPER8.html

For anyone that's been shooting on DV for a while and wants to experience what shootingo n film is like - Super 8 is an inexpensive alternative.

- Ross
 
Super 8

That's the thing though isn't it... just the grain structure of the ultra slow super 8 films make it all the while - fine you need loads of light but loads of light isn't too hard to come by (unless your doing night stuff). I shoot a lot on the common kodak k-40. Grain? What grain!? (well ok, there is a little) But considering the actual frame size - its very NICE!
Vive la Film!
 
I would assume you guys are paying more for developing and stock than most of us are paying for our entire productions on Mini-DV?
 
Not so sure..

Ah I'm not so sure there... giving that super 8 film stock in the UK costs £11.99 for a 50ft cartridge with developing included - and you get a good 2 - 3 mins out of it depending on your frame rate. I always shoot at the standard 24 but some choose to go down to 18 for that special look ;) But yea... so £11.99... so $19.00 etc... but in the US you'll find it cheaper!
But it's an aesthetic thing I guess... but in my personal opinion its an aesthetic that's hard to beat!
 
semantics

Yes, it definately costs more to shoot on 16mm and even Super 8 film than to shoot on DV.

Is it worth it? That depends on the filmmaker.

I find it very rewarding to shoot on film, for myself, if the project calls for it or even if it's a simple "can I afford to shoot film? No? Okay, get out my Canon GL1...." . I still shoot DV a lot, and I have nothing against it. I'm not one of those "film is better than video/video is better than film" types. These are just OPTIONS.

So what could the benfit be for shooting film? For starters, if you seek any kind of distribution, even if it's super 8 - film is easier to sell, and will almost always sell for more. Your movie, which after it's completed is a PRODUCT. You made a more valuable product by shooting with celluloid.

Secondly, there are still film festivals that screen film originated material only, and in the case of the FLICKER FILM FESTIVALS, they are exlusive to Super 8 and sometimes 16mm.

The only other benefit is the subconcious of the viewers. Popular culture has been training viewers to view VIDEO as "reality", as in the news, reality TV, documentaries, talk shows, and more. In the few exceptions where video is used as a narrative fiction (porno, soap operas, and a few others) - it's alwasy viewed as "cheap" by the viewers. Most things shot on film have a subconscious way of being more palettable by viewers. There is a voluntary suspension of disbeliefe on the part of viewers that helps them forget the technicals and get into your story.

The cost per roll of Super 8 is about $10 per roll, plus $5.45 developing, and then you send several rolls to be transferred to video for about $130-175. So you can get about 20 minutes of raw footage for about $200-250 onto video for editing non linear.

As opposed to a $6 tape. The difference? Your short film is actually shot on film, and you have a product that is worth more to distributors and it opens small doors to certain film only venues.

Is it worth it? That's up to you.

It was worth it to me, but it might not be to anyone else. I learned about lighting, telecine, synching sound, colour correction, and other things I had not experienced with just shooting DV. Now that I have stepped up to 16m and 35mm film - I have a better idea how to handle it all.
 
Great info, both of you. Thanks for taking the time to explain it so thoroughly as well.

Of course I would never dream of shooting a feature on anything but film and it would tear me apart from the inside to shoot on anything other than 35mm. For me, when it comes to my first feature we're not talking "playing with a script and figuring it out as we go along.", no way, its all about doing it right from pre to post. Ok had to get that out of the way.

Now knowing those actual costs, I can say I am really considering my 2nd or 3rd short to be on 8 or s8... you know, the one I send to festivals. I've made my decision that Mini-DV is not for when I'm serious, and discounting beta or digibeta or some such format, celluloid is the way to go to acheive cinema worth a damn.. definitely. I have witnessed firsthand many times and have observed audience opinions, there is simply no replacement for the palettability of film whether its 8 or s35. So it appears I'll find an 8 camera and where to develop/buy stock around here and I thank you for making my life and my future that much more clear. Actually, I'm just down in OC, can you PM me your place, Sonny? I'd like to look into it a bit more. Also I'm pretty covered as far as links but is there any must check sites for shooting on 8?

Also, I know it comes down to directorial style and a million other factors but what is a good baseline average of how many reels I could expect to go through for say a 10 minute short - and how many feet per reel are you talking per $10 reel?

TIA bro. :D

And not to take this too far off track, this parody is pretty funny but I said that earlier. I just love that 8 b/w grain too (of course I wouldnt be going for the grain for my stuff).
 
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