8mm Forum: Curious about S8 printing process

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Posted by Julian Baquero (Member # 2520) on November 07, 2014, 03:01 PM:

Can some one explain the process to make a super8 print out of a 35mm film? What sort of equipment is needed? What type of film, negative or reversal?

Posted by Maurizio Di Cintio (Member # 144) on November 08, 2014, 04:26 AM:

I am sure others here are more knowledgeable than I on this topic but, as far as I know, what you need, if you start from a positive 35 print, is basically a 16mm internegative from which to strike 2 S/8 prints simultaneously on Super 8 print stock (1-3: which means a 16 mm wide film with two S/8 sprockets, one on the edge and the other mid-width, so it's totally different from Double S/8). In fact optical printers are conceived so that you have to strike two prints at the same time on this peculiar stock. After processing the film is slit and wound on spools. Striping may take place either before or after slitting (if I recall properly, Derann would stripe before).

So basically you need a 35-to-16 optical printer loaded with 16 interneg film stock (which is low con, low speed neg film): this way you get a master from which to print all copies by a multiple of 2; then you need a 16-to-S/8 optical printer loaded with print stock. I guess the same machine can be adapted to both purposes but I am not sure. What I am sure of is it's darn expensive, espcially these days... And let's not forget about expertise: a skilled techincian who can set the lights for proper color grading is crucial...

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on November 08, 2014, 09:38 AM:

A firm called Colour Technique run by John Hall in England used some custom built printers to do direct 35mm to Super 8 and vice-versa and almost any gauge to any gauge. However he must have retired or died since, it was over 20 years agoi and he was elderly then. In those days you could get low contract Kodachrome duplicating film - long gone. I wonder what happened to the printers.

I believe the first rental Derann standard 8 prints were direct reductions as only a few were produced. I think they originally used pre-striped Kodak stock for Super 8 and when that was discontinued they striped after processing (they also offered a service to home movie makers for a while) but had trouble getting the stripe to stick at first. A change of paste eventually cured this, I suspect the old stuff was designed to be applied to the anti-halation backing some stock had.

Posted by Maurizio Di Cintio (Member # 144) on November 08, 2014, 10:15 AM:

Interesting, Brian: this explains how it is possible there are some prints of - say - Snowhite - struck on Kodachrome: I've seen one in Italy once and it was stunning.

Posted by Julian Baquero (Member # 2520) on November 10, 2014, 01:50 PM:

Thanks for this amazing information. The process in general seems more complex than what I had consider. It´s pity there is no more Kodachrome. I have super 8mm films and slides from my parents filmed in the sixties and they beautiful, perfect color.

The process describe by Brian seem pretty extraordinary, strike a print directly from 35mm into a S8 positive. Where are this machines? What companies made them?

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