Super 8 101

By: Stephen Duffel

Super8 gained wide popularity in the 1970s before VHS and the short lived Beta formats came out. Super8 came from the already established 8mm format. This means that the film is 8mm wide in the standard format. It works just like 35mm camera film. The difference between super8 and 8mm is the frame size. Super8 has a wider frame and this is achieved by removing one side of the sprocket holes. This allows for a more rectangle frame and simply more room to fit images on the frame. Super8 is different in other ways as well but none of them are set in stone. The film quality of Super8 is better but that is to do with the different films that are available and not so much the frame size. The frame size however does help in clarity when blowing up the image, ie when projecting it at larger sizes.

Types of Film

Since super8 is film there are a few fundamental types you need to know before you get started. They are Negative and Reversal, Color and Black/White, Tungsten and Daylight. Sound Film is no longer made, don’t worry about sound on cameras or projectors.

Negative films: Just like photography film these films capture the image in a negative. This is means they are not able to be projected because the colors are the inverse of what they should be and also the frame is inverted as well. Negative film is not as common in super8 as the larger formats because it was intended for home use and projection. However it is available from some places. The advantage is it is better for Telecine when compared to Reversal films.

Reversal films: These are like slide films in photography. Once they are processed they can be projected. Kodachrome40 is a reversal film and the most commonly used film at the moment.

Color films: This is pretty obvious, these films have color images. They can be purchased in a variety of speeds and balances as well as negative and reversal. The most common is kodachrome40 as a reversal, but Vision stock is also fairly common however it is a negative stock. Pro8mm makes there own films which are all color.

Black and White or B/W films: Again this is really obvious. These are films that are not color. Kodak makes two films for the super8 stock in B/W, these are Plus-X and Tri-X. Both are available in reversal so they can be projected once processed.

Tungsten films: This is a little more complicated, tungsten has to do with the color balance of the film. This means how the colors will react to certain light, specifically the tempeture of the light. Tungsten is balanced for lighting, ie not sun light. The color temp of tungsten is measured at about 3200k. The k is for Kelvin. There are a few different types of tungsten, A,B are the most common, A is the most common out of A and B. The slight difference in temp will not really matter in super8 so don’t worry too much. Just know Tungsten is for “indoor” or lights. Kodachrome40 is balanced for tungsten not daylight. More will be on that later.

Daylight films: This is the other type of balance. They are set for light temp of 5400k which is what the sun is. Daylight is pretty simple, if you have a daylight film you are good to go.

****Special Note: B/W films are not going to change depending on light temp. The amount of light needed will change for proper exposure but the color value stays the same because it is black and white.

Shooting and related things.

Loading
Loading the film into the camera is super simple because super8 comes in cartridges. This was designed so that non film friendly people could still use the cameras. All you need to do is open up the packaging for the film, remove the paper wrapper on Kodak film and take out the black plastic cartridge. Then open the door on your camera, should be on the side of most cameras. Load the film cartridge into the open space of the camera. The exposed film portion should face the front of the camera. For most cameras you will only be able to load it the proper way. If it doesn’t fit then don’t force it. The film is ready to be shot, a good test to make sure the film is being moved is to take out the cartridge, and grab a sharpie. Make an “X” or something similar on the actual film, the emulsion of the film. Don’t worry about it and just do it. Load the film back up. Then hit the trigger for just a couple seconds. Pop out the film and see if the “X” moved. If you can no longer see it then that is a good sign. Your film is being run through the camera.

Shooting

Autoexposure is the most simple and common method. The camera will take care of what it needs to do. You don’t even have to insert film speed because the cartridge gives that info to the camera. But here are some things you should know about film and exposure even if you use autoexposure or if you are going to shoot manual mode.

Always run a test roll of film when you get a new camera. Don’t shoot anything super important because you want to make sure everything is proper and you need a test reel to do this. Just shoot some different scenes, and what not. Just factor in the price into your education or something.

ASA/ISO: This is the film speed. It is important to know because it has to do with the amount of light needed to get a proper exposure. The lower the number the slower the film. This means that more light is needed. ASA40 is slower than 400. 40speed is going to need much more light than 400. The payoff with slower film is this, the image is going to be less grainy. This is because on the surface of the film you have cells that pick up light. The faster the film, the larger these cells are, but they are spaced out further. This makes it easier to pick up light but produces grain. Slower speeds are sharper or more fine meaning the grain doesn’t show as much. The difference between ASA and ISO is the country you live in. Don’t really worry about it.

Light temp and filters:

Light temp and color

As mentioned earlier tungsten balanced film is made to produce the correct colors under light that is around 3400k. This means if you shoot tungsten film, ie kodachrome40 under sunlight you will not get the correct colors. Your colors are going to be blue tinted. This can easily be corrected though. All you need is a filter. The same thing is true about daylight balanced film indoors. The difference is that will produce an orange tint.

Correcting Tungsten

If you want to shoot tungsten outdoors it is simple. All you need is an orange filter or an 85 filter. If you have Tungsten A film you want an 85a filter or if you have tungsten B film you want an 85b filter. This is not the most important. The 85 or Orange is the important part. Many cameras have a built in orange filter. There is a knob on lots of super8 cameras that has a light bulb and a sun. If you turn it to the sun then a filter drops down. If your camera does not have a filter built in then just buy one.

Correcting Daylight film

This is not as common as correcting tungsten. But if you want to do it you need an 80 filter. These filters are blue. This will remove the orange tint that is naturally created by the film reacting with indoor light.

*****Special Note: Filters remove some of the light coming in so they will change your exposure rating. If they are built into the camera you don’t need to worry but if you are using your own it depends on where the light meter for the camera is. If it is not inside the lens then you are not getting an accurate measure and should by a light meter.

****Special Note2: You can also change the color by putting colored gels on your lights. So if you have daylight film and are shooting tungsten lights indoors instead of a camera filter you can put gels over your lights. You would but the opposite gel compared to filter, so in this example you would put an orange gel over your tungsten lights. This is more complicated than a filter and not recommending for most people. It works if you have tungsten lights outside and are shooting daylight film.

Manual Exposure

If you want you and your camera has many settings then you can set your exposure by using a light meter. I am not going to explain this because if you are you probably already know what you are doing.

So You have shot film and Need it Processed?
Remember that super8 is film so once it has been exposed you cant just watch it. It needs to be processed. This is different depending on the stock you used. Reversal and Negative are different as well as color and B/W. Some labs will only do certain types. For color reversal or Kodarchrome40 specifically and you live in the USA the Wal-Mart will do it. You just write super8 in the special instructions box and drop it in the 2day processing or whatever it is, NOT THE 1 HOUR. Many other places do it as well, but they send it out and takes longer.

Watching

Projection is very important too. If you want to watch your film and you shot reversal you need to project it. There are many projectors out there. Don’t worry about sound because the film is no longer made. Some projectors will do regular 8mm and super8 but not all super8 do reg, and most reg8 do not do super8. If you are just trying to watch your footy nothing special is needed. If you want to transfer then a better projector should be used, but more on that later. Negative is not going to be projected very well, so don’t waste your time. It is sense less and will just bother you. If you want to you can, it wont damage your film any extra but what is the point. If you want to watch your negative you need to get it telecined or transferred to video. More on this later.

Transfering To DV... DIY is Do It Yourself. Now this method is pretty common and not half bad either. There are different levels of quality depending on the equipment used but a very cheap and practical method. It is basically just projecting the film and recording it with a camera. There are different ways to do this depending on the quality you want. Using a 5Blade projector will help reduce flicker, this is because the shutter blade in the projector spins at a better rate for transfer. Traditional projectors are 3Blade. You can also project your image into a mirror box (sold for very cheap) and this way you can position your camera in a better place and easier setup for colors/focus/etc. The last part of this method is your camera, the better camera you have the better final product. You can also color correct the recordings in your favorite editing system. Rank or “Home Movie Transfer” These are basically your cheap semi pro quality transfers. Basically a DIY system but higher quality. They produce good results for a good price. They go by different names sometimes but if the price is not hundreds of dollars then this is it. Telecine: This is the best method. This is how movies and other professional film is transferred. It is a frame by frame processing that is very complicated. It has to do with getting 24 or 25fps to 30fps for video. Partial frames are duplicated and color correction is usually done on the spot. I don’t recommend this unless you are doing 16mm or have lots of money. Telecine will be a few hundred dollars an hour and you will not get an hour of film transferred in that time. $275 is about average I think, maybe more maybe less. It really depends. For most people this is out of there league. If you shoot negative film you need to telecine.