Super 8 Specialist Study:

Super 8 is a film format that massively impacted the film industry in the 1960s/70s. It birthed
many film makers because of the simple design of the film and cheaper price tag. The format
was designed for amateur and beginner film makers to pursue their ideas into an actual film,
this was a big step forward as it was more accessible. Families became interested in it as well,
as it was simpler to film, with many automatic controls and not having to load the film in,
instead it being in a cartridge.

When Super 8 came about in 1965, lots of amateurs and beginners ran to see what it was
about. It became a cheaper alternative to 8mm which was its predecessor. 8mm looked fuzzier
and undetailed, this was because the frame wasn’t as big as on Super 8 because the sprocket
holes were smaller. The film quality also had a different development method which meant it
wasn’t the highest standard compared to super 8. It had more capabilities because it had a
bigger picture allowing for more detail to be captured (Roemer, 2022).

(Roemer, 2022)
(Kodak, Cine film identification, 2022)

Film makers began to use the format to create short films and experiment on it. While it wasn’t
a professional cinema-style film format, many still used it to create movies to show a smaller
audience, not on a worldwide scale and as it was cheaper, people liked to film things and
experiment with how it looked. Super 8 was accessible to most people as it was a quick and
easy way to load the film into the camera, this was a major drawing point to the film as it was in
a cartridge and could be loaded in daylight. (Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K., 2004) Families used
it to capture their favou3rite moments on film so they could watch it back with other family and
friends to show a trip to the beach. A film could be bought at the time for around £5-10 (around
£40-80 in today’s money from 1975) which was expensive for a lot of people, but it was
cheaper than 16mm and 8mm as its production was less expensive (Weingarten, 2022). 8mm in
many ways, there was a bigger frame on the film, even though the width was the same, the
sprocket holes on the left was much larger on 8mm, meaning it couldn’t have much detail for
the camera to capture, but super 8 had the sprocket holes smaller to allow more colour and a
more detailed picture. The way it was filmed was very different as 8mm was a film roll, meaning
you had to go into a dark room and load the film manually in the camera. Sound whilst filming
became possible in the same device in the early 1970s, meaning film makers could make their
films more dynamic with foley sound recorded on the film as well (Guide to Film Types: 16mm,
8mm, and Super 8 | Nostalgic Media, 2021). This was a major step forward in home movie
making as it became possible for these people to make movies about their family life. These
films wouldn’t usually be edited as it might have been too complicated. Overall, the amount of
people now using film cameras increased as more people were appealed to the idea of having
memories of a holiday to watch or a party they could look back on at any time. This is
somewhat similar to today’s world with social media, where lots of people want to document
their life to remember events, arguably the beginning of this age was being born. In the
beginning of the super 8 age, it was mainly led by the Americans, then it became global and
being a new ideal in the family, other countries didn’t know if this new format was worth it.
Sources suggest that people would have owned a projector before a camera as you could watch
movies from the cinema in your own house by buying or renting film reels (like Blockbuster in
the VHS age), this was more affordable and became popular so didn’t have to go to the cinema
to watch a cartoon or movie again. There were lots of resources to help you get filming with
super 8 at the time, such as magazines and how to guides if you were unsure on how to work
with film with home movie making. This was a cultural practice of something like a photo album
where you can look back on moments, but didn’t overtake popularity as you couldn’t see them
all at once because it is a reel (Smith, p.41-43, 2004).

When setting a scene up with using Super 8, there are lots of things to consider to make sure
the scene is suitable to get a satisfying outcome. One thing is you will need sufficient lighting as
when recording on film, it imprints a picture from light exposure onto the film so the lighter the
scene is, the clearer and brighter the final image will be. Things like filming outside in daylight
or with several artificial lights will suffice, using the manual controls on the camera will also
help, such as switching the exposure control around. Using different film stocks will achieve
different results in how exposed and well-lit the sequence will be, for example Kodak currently
sells several types, differentiating with the ISO, 50D (daylight use), 100D Ektachrome, 200T
(Tungsten, or artificial light use) and 500T film, this is the highest ISO for the darkest filming
conditions. However, filming in daylight will always look better on film as is it is getting natural
light into the camera lens (KODAK Super 8 Films, 2022). When filming, using a tripod will avoid a
lot of issues, such as not holding a heavy piece of equipment (depending on how professional
the camera was, e.g., having sound capabilities would make it heavier) which could injure your
arm for a while. Another reason for using a tripod is to avoid jitter and wobbliness as the film
would often not expose parts of the film to light and the frame was not lined up with the lens
frame as it was incorrectly held (e.g., holding it sideways). As you could only get one set ISO per
film, you could not film a sequence where the camera enters an interior location while in
daylight and vice versa. You would have to swap films out as the final result would look
under/overexposed at the point. This means you can’t film an ‘all-in-one shot’ like some famous
directors use to create a sense of environment.
 Editing with super 8 is very different than in today’s digital world, you would need lots of
physical equipment depending on what you needed to do, a splicer would help when you need
to cut out scenes and glue the loose ends back together, it was a simple way to basic post-
production. There was no way to alter colour in Post as any changes to the way the film looks
can only be done while developing, such as Pushing or Pulling the exposure. You could also
create titles by filming a piece of paper in production with the movie name or credits, but this
also couldn’t be done in post. Visual edits could also be possible such as fading, some cameras
had an option to fade out whilst filming so you could get a more cinematic look to the film
(Henderson, 2018), (Jelley, How to shoot Super 8 film in 2020, 2020).

The convention of filming with super 8 is people enjoy the natural effect it gives with the aged
and vibrant look of the film that reminisces with old home movies and perhaps a simpler time
to many, looking back at memories.
Super 8 is filmed in 4: 3 aspect ratio before 16:9 was widely used in the 1980s on super 16mm
film. Depending on if you use black and white or colour film, the scene can look accurately
saturated and have a high quality. B&W film has a more refined look with a sharper image, it
can also work better when filming in slow motion (36fps+). Colour has some good qualities too,
a higher ISO film can handle being in high contrast situations and can have reduced grain in
shadows of a scene, meaning it can be more versatile in post-production with editing the
lighting or ‘Pushing or pulling the film’ in the development process (Laura, 2003). The frame’s
properties are it has soft edges and had a part cut out where the sprocket holes are, this is
where it is digitised through a scanner, it takes a scan of the whole film. At the bottom and top
of the frame it might leak some film from the next frame, where it has not been cropped to the
edge, some people like to leave it how it was originally scanned for the aesthetic and raw look
of super 8 film.

(MMT Telecine, 2019) (Navazio, 2020)

(Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K.,

Even though Super 8 was an amateur/ family type format, some directors liked to use it as a
way forward in their film career, Steven Spielberg started on Super 8 in his childhood by
creating his own short movies. Another director called Mark Pirro used Super 8 in a number of
his productions, he used it for the cheaper format as he is a low budget creator. His most
famous super 8 film: A Polish Vampire in Burbank generated over $1M from his $2500 budget,
it was screened at Cannes Film Festival. He focuses his movies mostly on comedy and some
horror is also used, which have also proven to be popular (Pirro, 2022).
His movie is one of the most high-revenue films that was filmed on Super 8. His Production
company “Pirromount Pictures” made other films called Color-Blinded which was his first
digitally made film in 1998 which premiered at Universal Studios with a full house also winning
3 awards. The film ‘Polish Vampire’ took over two years to complete, most of this time was
creating the soundtrack in post-Production and he voiced most of the actors himself for the
background audio. Editing with super 8 film takes a considerable amount of time as it is
analogue, mixing with audio is even more difficult to layer (mostly could record one track of
audio on the film without wiping it off) (Pirro, 2022).
In the mid-80s the production won a silver award from the Houston International Film Festival
and still being popular by being available in many video stores since its release in the US. As
well as his film being played on the USA network for two years in the later years after its
release. The director stood by several quotes including ‘I try to give my films standout titles. If
you don’t, they’ll be lost in a sea of low-budget movies’ (Mark Pirro - IMDb, 2022).

Even though super 8 was film was created and used in the 1960s/70s, it is still very popular in
today’s age. Many film makers still use the format for the aesthetic that super 8 gives, with the
grain and 4:3 aspect ratio and it can’t be exactly replicated by digital editing no matter what
overlay you use. Others use the film for experimenting on, as it is the cheapest cine film you
could get, film makers want to shoot on this film to see what it’s like and how those types of
cameras work. Film making with Super 8 film is much more indie than mainstream TV/film as
the film format at the time was more affordable than traditional 16mm or 35mm made for
more amateur or professional individuals, it was used for family films to record special
moments, but more recently, it sometimes is used for music videos to give it a 'nostalgic' look
because of the grain and in-excessive detail in the frame.

(Newton, 2020) (Kodak - YouTube, 2016)

Depending on how much budget you have for the movie, you will need most of the budget to
go towards the film, as it is much more expensive than filming digitally. 50ft of film will cost
around £60-70, which will last 3:00-3:30 depending on frame rate set on the camera, this
means you will have to think your shot sequence out carefully. You will also need more room
for budget for lighting as when using film as you need to make sure the scene is correctly
exposed. Allow other room for set props and character costumes as well, meaning for a short
film around 10 minutes, it would cost at least £400 (4 film rolls is ~£280 plus lighting and other
items) (8mm - Gauge Film, GF, Kevin.).

The Super 8 film sector is growing in some ways as it has become a classic format for amateurs
to experiment on and other film makers want to use it to see the grain and saturation. Kodak
have even reinstated their popular film stock: Ektachrome which has more vibrant colours for
use outdoors, this is because the industry has grown over the decade with using any film for its
high quality (R. Vigeant and P. Vigeant, 2022). In some senses it is also declining as digital
cameras are now the dominant type of filming, since the 1960s/70s when Super 8 film sales
were very high as it was a cheaper alternative to 8mm and 16mm. As platforms are changing,
this has massively affected the physical film industry. Popularity for super 8 sat between new
hobbyists looking into film making and existing directors wanted to try and experiment with it,
this patterns correctly with the demographic of 16mm film, which was used for low-budget TV
and documentaries and 35mm motion picture film was mostly used as a popular ‘epic’ movie
film and this is still widely used for many films to film on and for cinemas to use (Wallace,
2021).

Not many debates were arisen with super 8 film, however there were some statistics that
shows the demographic could not include everyone. Before super 8 was used, there was 8mm
film which was different because you couldn’t load it into the camera as easy as a super 8
cartridge as well as it being much more expensive. In 1965, when Kodak brought super 8 out,
film and the equipment were generally still quite expensive for the general person. Film
cartridges at the height of popularity in 1975 ranged from £5-10 which in today’s money is
around £40-80 for ~3 minutes (Carlile, Cost of film over the past decades 2010). This means that
the lower/working class public could not typically afford it. With the added cost of the camera
which would be extensively more expensive, which would cost around £200-800 in the
estimation of the 1970s which would set the person back around £1,500-6,000 (Martin, Super 8
camera Info, 2007). This proves that middle class persons were generally the typical buyer, with
other film makers who wanted to use the format to make their own production. More
sophisticated cameras intended for this market contained equipment that a higher level of
technology, with better looking finishes and more precision on the body. If you wanted more
complex controls on the camera, you had to dish out a lot more money as manual cameras
were even more expensive, as they are more professional (Smith, p.8-10, 2004). Another issue
with the film format is that Kodak, the main distributor, didn’t release a range of film stocks for
people wanting to film in different lighting conditions, compared to other film gauges like
16mm and 35mm. There were only a few different types available, so to solve this, other 3rd
party companies developed other types with a higher ISO and others that could capture greater
colour. (Smith, p.38-40, 2004).

There is also a point that super 8 film was mainly used by males at the time, the source says
‘While literature remains scant in the field of social uses of amateur film, there is a respectable
literature in the related field of domestic photography. Work in this area makes a useful
contribution to examining Super 8 during its heyday as a domestic object (1965-1985). Slater
(1991, 1995), Hirsch (1997) and Holland (1997) have all described domestic photography as an
activity linked to a private sphere dominated by home-based commodity consumption. They
have characterised photography as being concerned with questions of individual and family
identity while propagating an ideal of normal family behaviour through the capture of
representations of 'appropriate' consumption-based leisure activities. The above writers have
also explored domestic photography as a gendered activity; both as a two-tiered category
encompassing 'feminine' snapshots of the family using simple cameras and as a more serious,
'masculine' artistic endeavour employing sophisticated equipment and artistic practices.’
(Smith, p.12, 2004). This source says that super 8 was more of a home movie making business
and not for professional productions with big budgets. This source also suggests that the
camera was an extension of the family where it could be carried around anywhere with the
family which is like another person documenting their life ‘The shooting of home movies as an
everyday practice suggests a subordination of textual aesthetics to the act of participating in
routine family activities. In so doing, the camera becomes an extension of the family unit.’
(Smith, p.10, 2004).

Super 8 still holds a big place in the film industry, amateurs and experimental film makers alike
still widely use it today as nothing can quite look like original film or the way it turns out in the
end with its raw authenticity. Some things I plan on taking toward into my final project are my
knowledge of film stocks to make sure I will have my scenes correctly lit and exposed with as
much as natural light as possible on the daylight film and more artificial lights on both types of
film (Tungsten balance and daylight balance film) depending on which scenes are interior or
exterior, using different films and compile them together in post-production. Another thing I
plan to carry onto my final project is to experiment a bit on what works and what doesn’t with
the film, meaning how I might portray a scene with the aesthetic of super 8. A previously
mentioned in Codes and conventions, I will use a tripod for most scenes to ensure the frame is
as stable as possible.
Bibliography:

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