Anyone know about using 8mm?

humanji

I recently got my hands on a Paillard-Bollex (enough tittering!) 8mm camera and was thinking of shooting a college short with it. I was wondering if anyone else here has had any experience with shooting 8mm and have any advice and expecially any good places to get the film and get it developed?

mycroft

jomanji wrote:

I recently got my hands on a Paillard-Bollex (enough tittering!) 8mm camera and was thinking of shooting a college short with it. I was wondering if anyone else here has had any experience with shooting 8mm and have any advice and expecially any good places to get the film and get it developed?

The camera shop on george's st sells 8mm film as does one of the ones of grafton st.

It costs around 20 for a 2 1/2minute roll of film. The good news is developing is included in the cost, you get a envelope with the film, and once you exposed your film you send it to kodak and they develop it.

Now the catch's (you knew this was coming)

1) 8mm isn't syncable. The camera don't have a crystal sync motor, and runs around 23.376 frames a second, which means you can't have sync dialogue.

2) what you get back from the lab is well 200ft of film. In order to edit it, you're either going to need a 8mm moviala, a 8mm splicer, and a projector to screen it. Or alternatively, you'll get it telecine'd onto beta sp, or digi. The problem with that is an hour's telecine could set you back 300-400 quid. Both screen scene and windmill have 8mm gates for their telecines' and may do you a deal for a late night onelight session.

So you see to shoot an hour's worth of material could set you back 600 to 700 quid.

Minidv is looking very good round about now, right?

Now 8mm is great it's a lovely effect, fantastic colours, but unless it's integeral to the look and feel of your project, I'd go with a more traditional format.

Miguel_Sanchez

Ok I'm probably just being a stickler for details but I presume you're talking about Super8 here as opposed to standard 8mm. Cuase I don't think anyone makes standard 8mm anymore - could be wrong though.

humanji

Thanks for that. I don't have to worry about sound as it's all being put in in post. I have a splicer, but what happens after that is anyones guess.

I'm mainly doing the short for myself and so I don't really care about the cost (and in my course we'll be doing another 5 or 6 shorts on hi-def cameras), so I'm definitely going to consider shooting with 8mm film until someone smacks some sense into me.

And as for the type of film, I'm pretty sure it's Super8, but I don't have the camera with me, so I'll have to make sure. I assumed 8mm and Super8 would have the same availability anyway, but I'll have to check that out too.

Thanks.

Chevano Riley

jomanji wrote:

And as for the type of film, I'm pretty sure it's Super8, but I don't have the camera with me, so I'll have to make sure. I assumed 8mm and Super8 would have the same availability anyway, but I'll have to check that out too.

Thanks.

when people nowadays refer to 8mm they mean super8, generally. Standard 8mm has fallen by the wayside entirely.

mycroft

Jeff_Lebowski wrote:

Ok I'm probably just being a stickler for details but I presume you're talking about Super8 here as opposed to standard 8mm. Cuase I don't think anyone makes standard 8mm anymore - could be wrong though.

Sorry I just assumed this was obvious.

Thanks for that. I don't have to worry about sound as it's all being put in in post. I have a splicer, but what happens after that is anyones guess.

Well without any kind of viewing equipment you'll have no way baring a guestimate for pacing, and certainly no way to sync audio or do a mix.

I'm mainly doing the short for myself and so I don't really care about the cost (and in my course we'll be doing another 5 or 6 shorts on hi-def cameras), so I'm definitely going to consider shooting with 8mm film until someone smacks some sense into me.

Can I ask where are you in college? and what is the film?

Creative and hardwork using a package like AE and a few plug ins could go allong way to achieving your visual effects.
And as for the type of film, I'm pretty sure it's Super8, but I don't have the camera with me, so I'll have to make sure. I assumed 8mm and Super8 would have the same availability anyway, but I'll have to check that out too. [/quote]

BlitzKrieg

what you get back from the lab is well 200ft of film. In order to edit it, you're either going to need a 8mm moviala, a 8mm splicer, and a projector to screen it. Or alternatively, you'll get it telecine'd onto beta sp, or digi. The problem with that is an hour's telecine could set you back 300-400 quid. Both screen scene and windmill have 8mm gates for their telecines' and may do you a deal for a late night onelight session.

here's the cheapo way of telecining. It wont be perfect, but you said it was for yourself. (please not i have only done this with 16m so it might not be 100% the same, but theory should be sound)

Get a decent 3 chip camcorder. (One of the ones from your college.) DO NOT use one of the home camcorders. I used a sony vx2000 (my uni's standard.)

Next get a 8mm projector (relatively cheap on ebay or some shops might have it.)

Find a suitable white wall project the image onto the wall, but keep the distance so the size of the actual image is just about the same size of a computer screen or a bit bigger.

Set up your camera so that it is as close to the projector lense as possible. same hieght, distance from wall etc. Zoom until only the projected image is being viewed by the camera.

Run the 8mm from beginning, record footage...import into pc and edit.

Very simple and surprisingly effective way which can be done if you have enough friends or people who owe you favours and have the essential pieces.

pgernon

I have a super 8 editor mint cont for sale if you fancy it!! Its €70 mind.