This is topic Super 8 Madness! - the documentary in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.
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Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on December 23, 2013, 06:15 AM:
Why is a message called "Super 8 Madness!" posted in the General Yak section? read on…
30 years ago, I was working for a magazine called "Mad Movies" (our equivalent to "Fangoria", and still being published). At the time, a couple of us had made super 8 shorts and we decided to organize a small film festival in Paris to display our work (essentially scifi, horror, fantasy…)
This festival ran successfully for six years, before enthusiastic audiences up to 1500 people.
When most of the aspiring directors switched to video, and when the crowds got slightly out of our control, we decided to pull the plug.
2 years ago, while having dinner with old friends from our super 8 festival days, we all agreed it was time to produce a documentary about what it was like to be an amateur filmmaker in the 80s. JJ Abrams's fictionnal work about kids making a horror movie was being talked about by fans all over the world. Our ambition was not to compete, but to show some of the real people who, three decades ago, were trying to be the next John Carpenter or the next Lucio Fulci.
Some of them have become bona fide film pros, be it VFX designers, make-up artists, screenwriters or directors. Others have simply chosen other careers (lab tech, lawyer…)
We tracked down two dozens of them, interviewed them extensively, digitized all the films they had done at the time and collected video archives of what the festival was like back then.
Our documentary is not only about the films and the festival, but also about the context (censorship was strong in the 80s), influences, finding a way to express oneself, the long road towards adulthood and how hard it was to make the most out of this small format support (as opposed to how easier it is technically today to make amateur films).
I've just finished editing and creating the animated graphics of this 90 minutes monster. We're in the final phase of postproduction: an original soundtrack is being composed, then the film will go to mix and colour correction. We should be ready by the end of January '14 as we will start touring the film festivals. A DVD release is planned for later.
In the meantime, you may have a look at the trailer
(with english subtitles):
CLICK HERE
Merry Xmas to all and long live super 8...
[ January 25, 2014, 02:51 AM: Message edited by: Jean-Marc Toussaint ]
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on December 23, 2013, 07:48 AM:
Well done ! I can't wait to see the full documentary.
Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on December 23, 2013, 04:55 PM:
Interesting project...the trailer looks good ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Graham.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on December 23, 2013, 05:56 PM:
Thank you, guys.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on January 16, 2014, 11:20 AM:
I'm pleased to report that our documentary, "Super 8 Madness!" has been selected for the International Fantastic Film Festival in Gérardmer, France, one of Europe's leading events.
Here's our official poster :
All details on our FB page.
Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 16, 2014, 12:16 PM:
Magnificent Jean! (I'm surprised that I didn't see this post originally!!!).
I started out in "film" the same way, making short little sci-fi flicks, mostly stop motion and pencil/ink animation, (mostly little STAR WARS epics!), and now, looking at my productions I do, it's a fond thing to look back at that pimp laden teenager making those films. Most fond!
Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on January 16, 2014, 01:57 PM:
Looks great, I really hope to see this Jean-Marc, as I spent ALOT of time shooting super 8 epics as a teen and pre-teen!
That kid (animating Kong)was way more advanced than I was. I usually built my monsters out of plastacine and then covered them with fur - as they slowly melted under the hot lights!
Cheers
Terry
Ahh yes the glory days!
Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on January 16, 2014, 02:50 PM:
Jean and Terry
Looks good...any chance you might put some of it up on "Vimeo"?
Graham
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on January 20, 2014, 04:38 AM:
Well done, Jean-Marc.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on January 25, 2014, 03:14 AM:
Osi, a bunch of us here on this forum are roughly the same age and I guess we all started the same way.
Terry, those screenshots look great. Indeed, one of these days, you should put them online for us to enjoy.
Our Kong model was provided by stop-motion wizard Jean-Manuel Costa. Something he "built quickly" (in his own words) for the film and we are extremely grateful. We are seriously thinking about producing a documentary about Jean-Manuel. Check out his website.
As fas as postproduction is concerned, colour timing and sound mix are done. Animation for the end titles was finished last night and I'm currently encoding the master that will be sent to the lab this coming monday.
World premiere at the Gérardmer Festival: thursday Jan. 30 at 11pm. Have a look at the page that the festival created for us HERE.
Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on January 27, 2014, 11:50 AM:
Jean-Marc thanks for the link to the Jean-Manuel Costa site. Wonderful stuff I'll be spending some time there.
I'll be uploading a little film (Distant Planet) soon, as I have a mpeg of it somewhere. I had put the film on DVD for my "star" for his 40th birthday. I'll start a new thread with it.
Cheers
Terry
Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on January 27, 2014, 07:50 PM:
Congratulations - this looks fantastic! I hope it might actually inspire a few people to shoot on Super 8, as although doing so is more challenging and expensive now, I expect an equivalent film about video/digital productions shot a few years later would be look much less fun.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on April 06, 2014, 06:15 AM:
"Super 8 Madness!" has started its festival journey. Our documentary will be screened at "Hallucinations Collectives" in Lyon, France (April 20 2014) and "Bloody Weekend" in Audincourt, France (May 31 - June 1st 2014). A national TV channel has expressed some interest in acquiring the film, yay!
More madness to be announced soon. English subtitling in progress as the international leg of the journey should begin late June, early July...
Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on April 06, 2014, 10:11 AM:
Exciting news Jean-Marc, please keep us informed.
Cheers
Terry
Posted by Mark Williams (Member # 794) on April 06, 2014, 11:02 AM:
Good luck Jean-Marc
I used to love Mad Movies magazine but I couldnt read french in my youth so just looked at the pictures!!
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on April 06, 2014, 11:49 AM:
Waw. Good news !
Posted by Pasquale DAlessio (Member # 2052) on April 06, 2014, 11:59 AM:
Excellent!
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on May 03, 2014, 10:25 AM:
Thank you for your support, my friends. (And Terry, thank you for linking the trailer to your own website).
New screening announced, and I'm particularly happy with this one as our documentary will make the opening night of "Tourné Monté", the Super 8 Film Festival in Strasbourg, France.
May 9th, 22:45, at Cinéma Star in Strasbourg. And I'll be there for introduction and Q&A.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on June 06, 2014, 07:17 AM:
And I'm proud to announce that our documentary is playing tonight in Paris at the Max Linder Panorama (the best theatre in town!)
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 06, 2014, 09:06 AM:
Fantastic !
Posted by Gerald Santana (Member # 2362) on June 06, 2014, 10:34 AM:
Congratulations Jean-Marc! Well done.
Posted by Clay Smith (Member # 4122) on June 06, 2014, 10:42 AM:
Fantastic! We need a screening in the SF Bay Area.
Posted by Yanis Tzortzis (Member # 434) on June 06, 2014, 07:18 PM:
...Felicitations! Maybe a screening at the next BFCC?...
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on June 08, 2014, 04:45 AM:
What a great night! The house was nearly full. We're getting great feedbacks from audience members. Not only did we screen our documentary, but also a selection of shorts from the Festival's heyday. And there were free drinks for all.
"Super 8 Madness!" will hopefully play again in Paris this fall, prior to its DVD release and I'll soon be able to announce international dates. Subtitled version should be finished this week.
Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on June 08, 2014, 11:19 AM:
There have been next to no documentaries or other projects chronicling the history of Super-8, so kudos for making this a reality. I can't wait to see it when it is available in the US.
Claus.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on June 09, 2014, 02:47 AM:
Thanks Claus. Actually, it's more about people making films than the format itself. There's a good portion of explanation about cartridges, cameras, sound, editing, stop-motion, etc. but we didn't want to be too technical as we feared it would be boring for the non super 8 savvy. For instance, we mention the package movies as the only mean at a time to watch films at home, but this part lasts for 30 seconds or so, and we just show a few box covers.
There's another french documentary, made in 2011, called "Super 8 Mon Amour", that deals a bit more with the "family movie" side of the format and how some artists used super 8 as their main tool of expression.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 09, 2014, 04:16 AM:
There is also a short French film about super 8. As the the title is rude I will exceptionnaly not translate it in English. It is "Le Super 8 n'est pas mort, il bande encore". This film was projected a few years ago in a cinema in Brussels.
Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on June 09, 2014, 09:50 AM:
Congratulations. I hope it will be available in some format in North America!
Cheers
Terry
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on June 20, 2014, 12:29 PM:
"Super 8 Madness!" is now officially selected for the Neufchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland.
Screenings on July 7 @ 6:15 pm and July 10 @ 8:30 pm.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 20, 2014, 01:21 PM:
Will it be screened at Argenteuil ?
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on June 21, 2014, 03:48 AM:
No as this is considered more as a retail event, ie a better place to sell the DVD once it is released.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 21, 2014, 05:29 AM:
Right, there are few organized projections. You see many projectors in use but that's sellers initiatives. Even the (small) projection room is not very used (and it is not very advertised, many people don't even know you can see 16 mm films). I personnaly it is a mistake and it would ad a lot to the event to organize projections together with the sales. It would keep people longer in the building.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on July 12, 2014, 02:25 PM:
The film, now subtitled in English, is heading to the Grossmann Film Festival in Slovenija. Screening planned for July 17 at 7pm.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on July 12, 2014, 10:57 PM:
Waw. I hope to see it one day.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on September 01, 2014, 05:09 AM:
Three showings of "Super 8 Madness!" planned for September:
Festival Européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg
Sept. 16 @ 6:00 pm and Sept. 17 @ 11:00 am
Festival International du Film Grolandais de Toulouse
Sept. 20 @ 2:00 pm
Other screenings to be announced soon.
DVD release planned for this winter (the film will feature english subtitles).
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on September 03, 2014, 03:18 PM:
Our documentary is finally crossing the Atlantic!
I'm proud to announce that "Super 8 Madness!" will be screened at the Montreal ComicCon in the HorrorFest section.
Sunday, Sept. 14 @ 2:30pm
Palais des Congrès (room 512B)
1001 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Montréal
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on September 14, 2014, 03:11 AM:
That's today !
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on September 21, 2014, 12:41 PM:
"Super 8 Madness!" heading now to one of the best festivals in Europe. Screening on Oct 10 at 2:00pm at the Festival Internacional de Cine Fantastic de Catalunya in Sitges, Spain.
As this is a documentary, it's not part of the competition, but screening will take place at l'Escorxador, which is the town's former slaughterhouse. I find that pretty cool.
More dates across the Atlantic for October and November to be announced soon!
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on October 30, 2014, 08:38 AM:
Screening in Sitges was a blast as legendary director Joe Dante was in the audience and we had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with him.
November dates are in:
- Thourotte, France, nov. 4 @ 8pm
- Buenos Aires, Argentina, during the Rojo Sangre Festival, nov.8 @ 8pm & nov.9 @ 6pm
- Bogota, Columbia, during the Zinema Zombie Fest (date and time to be confirmed soon).
Posted by Pasquale DAlessio (Member # 2052) on October 30, 2014, 08:49 AM:
Me too!
Posted by Ron Douglas (Member # 2990) on November 05, 2014, 08:05 AM:
What a fantastic project Jean-Marc!
The trailer is a perfect teaser and clearly the full film has been a resounding success. Huge congratulations to you, your hard work is clearly being enjoyed by many...the dvd will be due soon, perhaps? Please post details of where it's available from when it's released. Cant wait!
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on November 05, 2014, 01:11 PM:
Thank you Ron. Yes, there will be a DVD (as a matter of fact, it will be a double digipack edition with many extras, including some of the short films) and it's now planned for the first quarter of 2015 as we have a few more festivals lined-up as well as a possible limited theatrical release. The film will have english subtitled. DVD will NOT be region coded (but it will be in PAL system). I'll announce details here.
Date and time confirmed at Zinema Zombiefest:
Monday Nov 10 @ 7pm, at Cinemateca Distrital
[ November 06, 2014, 02:45 AM: Message edited by: Jean-Marc Toussaint ]
Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on November 05, 2014, 01:32 PM:
We saw the trailer at CineSea, so far it's the only thing ever on-screen there digitally projected! (This exception doesn't come without a good reason!)
I love the line "Super-8 film is only this wide: it's probably the reason I'm wearing glasses now"
(I sympathize!)
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 25, 2015, 10:43 AM:
Authoring and mastering of the DVD are now done. Packaging is almost ready so manufacturing should start very soon.
The documentary is now internationally represented by the All Rights Entertainment company. It was shown at the Berlin Film Market in February and will be screened at the International Film Market in Cannes this coming May.
I'm also pleased to report that a French TV channel of the Canal Plus Group has acquired the 52 minutes version.
More details soon ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Posted by Clay Smith (Member # 4122) on March 25, 2015, 11:06 AM:
Looking forward to seeing this on DVD.
Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 25, 2015, 11:59 AM:
Free Drink?! I should have been there! (haha!)
All kidding aside, kudo's on doing this project Jean, you and all involved!
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on March 27, 2015, 01:24 AM:
I'm curious to see that documentary, as well. Ossi, Jean and Jean-Marc are two different names ;-)
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on September 19, 2015, 05:55 PM:
I've been unlucky : I've spent two days in Paris and missed Super 8 Madness in the Luminor cinema as it was projected on Thursday night. It it had been on Friday night, I could have attended the projection :-(
Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on September 19, 2015, 07:44 PM:
The trailer is great,I wonder if it will get released on dvd or a download of some sort?
Maybe there's a link to watch it all?
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on September 20, 2015, 01:30 AM:
Clinton, from what I understood, there will be a dvd release. It has been delayed because a French tv channel will broadcast the documentary and the dvd cannot be on sale before.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on September 20, 2015, 07:26 AM:
Dominique, too bad for your last trip. Some theatres have available slots on tuesdays and thursdays for small films like ours as these are the less crowded nights for their regular schedules.
Because of the TV deal - broadcast planned for late October/early November - the DVD release is indeed postponed so we hope to have it in stores for Christmas.
It will be a double digipack with lots of extras, including some of the short films. The documentary itself will be available with English subtitles.
I'll post mail order details here.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on September 20, 2015, 07:37 AM:
Jean-Marc, I noticed indeed often that in Paris many intersting programmations are not available on week-ends or even in the evening. It seems that someone somewhere decided that people who work don't deserve to watch specific films. The same occurs on tv channels : interesting programms start after 11pm...
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on February 20, 2016, 05:49 AM:
It's been a long and winding road but, finally, "Super 8 Madness!" is starting its TV career soon.
French channel Ciné+ will screen the 52 min. version of our documentary from Sunday, Feb. 28.
Other territories, as well as VOD options, are still being discussed.
The DVD is going into production next week for a late march, early april release (awaiting final date from our distribution company).
As said previously, the double DVD set will be in PAL and region-free, it will play on any computer with a DVD player. SRP should be around 20 euros +s&h.
More details soon.
[ February 20, 2016, 09:53 AM: Message edited by: Jean-Marc Toussaint ]
Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on February 20, 2016, 04:45 PM:
Sounds brilliant Jean-Marc!
Let's us all know once the DVD becomes available please.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on February 20, 2016, 05:57 PM:
Definitly a must have.
Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 21, 2016, 03:33 AM:
Jean-Marc Toussaint, you are a star, this is great.
congratulations to everyone involved.
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on March 23, 2016, 12:01 PM:
The release date for our documentary, Super 8 Madness!, on DVD is now official: July 5, 2016.
Thanks to our distribution company, it should be available through online stores such as Amazon and the likes. See commercial here.
But for those who can’t wait, you may order it exclusively from our store in Paris. We have a limited quantity for advanced sales. You may send an email to store(at)metalunaproductions(dot)com and Bruno, our sales manager extraordinaire, will tell you how to proceed.
So, what’s inside?
DVD1
Feature length version of the film, available with English and Spanish subtitles.
Shorter TV version of the film, available with English subtitles.
DVD2 (extras)
Trailer, 5 Deleted Scenes, Slideshow, Complete original score, Premiere in Paris clip, Archives from the Super 8 Festival, plus 6 super 8 short films from the festival heydays.
PAL, region free, SRP is 20 euros + p&p
Posted by Dave Groves (Member # 4685) on March 24, 2016, 04:44 AM:
What about a dvd so we can all see it?
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on March 24, 2016, 04:49 AM:
Dave, I don't understand your question. What Jean-Marc is talking about is a dvd.
Posted by Dave Groves (Member # 4685) on March 24, 2016, 11:35 AM:
Dominique, When I read this was being shown publicly I immediately thought it only existed in a cinema format. All the better that we shall have a chance to enjoy it ourselves.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on May 10, 2016, 02:36 AM:
I was in Paris yesterday and passed by this shop :
which sells :
They sadly close on Mondays so I will have to wait for the next time (about two weeks from now) I go to Paris to finally be able to buy this dvd.
Posted by Raleigh M. Christopher (Member # 5209) on May 15, 2016, 05:50 AM:
You should get this on Vimeo (vimeo.com and iOS and Android apps), as a movie rental. This would go over very well on Vimeo, as it is a YouTube like site/service used in the main by Pro, Semi-Pro and amateur filmmakers and videographers, to post their content. They also have movies for streaming rental, mainly independent narrative and documentary, as well as some international and art house films.
I'd pay to stream it, for certain. I'd like to see this.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 09, 2016, 04:41 PM:
I finally got my copy and have just watched the film ! I was so impressed to see what amateur are able to do (there are extracts of super 8 shorts). I only watched so far the documentary, Jean-Marc appears in it , and still have to watch the 6 shorts that are on the second dvd (yes, there are two discs !). Super 8 Madness is definitly a must have.
Posted by Pasquale DAlessio (Member # 2052) on June 09, 2016, 05:15 PM:
Great news! Looking forward to the DVD release.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 09, 2016, 05:50 PM:
It is on (a double) dvd, Pasquale !
Posted by Pasquale DAlessio (Member # 2052) on June 09, 2016, 08:10 PM:
Is the one in Paris region free? I will have to do a search to see if it's available in USA or at least a format that will play here.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 10, 2016, 12:48 AM:
It is, indeed a region free dvd
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on June 10, 2016, 12:51 AM:
Thanks Dominique!
Raleigh: the full length documentary should be available on VOD for streaming some time this summer but you'll miss all the extras, including the shorts.
Pasquale: answers to your questions are on this page.
Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 10, 2016, 08:28 AM:
When you open the double dvd box, you see a GS 1200 and the two discs (with a spool looking like design) are on the two arms of the projector
Posted by Tom Dee (Member # 4468) on June 11, 2016, 09:46 PM:
I myself have done something very similar to what Jean-Marc has done, not to the professional level as Super 8 Madness but still very watchable. I interviewed most of the guys we made movies with over 35 years ago getting their input on what it was like making super 8 and the problems we had doing them. The documentary runs for about 90mins and has a lot of clips from some of the movies we made back then. I only really made it for a bit of nostalgia, but its still very interesting to watch..of course it has more than enough copyright music in it, but again it is only intended for private viewing.If anyone on here would like a copy then I would be more than happy to make one, the only thing I would ask for is some help on the shipping...depending where you live.
Thanks
Tom
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on July 05, 2016, 11:40 PM:
Our documentary has been officially released, it can be ordered from Amazon.
Posted by Bruno Heughebaert (Member # 2756) on July 05, 2016, 11:57 PM:
I watched it yesterday. Great !
Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on July 06, 2016, 10:21 AM:
Thank you, Bruno.
Posted by Luigi Castellitto (Member # 3759) on July 15, 2016, 05:25 PM:
I'm interested, I would like to take on Amazon!
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