Image courtesy www.billyfire.com
The ongoing super 8mm film test is going slowly, but I sat down and watched quite a bit of super 8mm film footage and went into the suite to try to recreate it as accurately as possible using all the tools available, plus a few I created myself.
In the process of doing so, we were also contacted by bride.ca for a feature regarding the look and feel of super 8mm film. It’s interesting I was the only responder to support the idea of, “giving the bride what she wants”. Imagine that! The other guys either would try to talk them out of it, or lament the fact that it may be just a simple edit suite effect.
Although it’s commonly known that today’s edit suites can add film filters to simulate the basic look, there is something magical and ethereal that comes with proper super 8. It’s a combination of the speed of the image, the stuttering, the colours, the noise and the focus.
The blurriness is what I’m trying to work with the most, because any computer can add a film effect, sort of, but it’s the light passing through that particular lens onto that particular medium. It’s a really incredible look, and it’s interesting how the perfect digital world we live in can’t escape organic beauty.
Still, I’m pretty lucky that I’ve worked with super 8mm film in the past, and my Toronto office is close to not one but two film processors. That’s just taking more time than I thought, so I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to experiment.
Video coming soon!
