8mm Forum: Any views about this report

This is topic Any views about this report in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=003258

Posted by John Richard Almond (Member # 2939) on October 16, 2014, 05:06 PM:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/kodak-movie-film-at-deaths-door-gets-a-reprieve-1406674752#livefyre-comment

If this has already been talked about then ignore.

I found some of the comments very interesting and thought provoking.

One comment I read made me laugh out loud..........quote......

I always hated waiting to have your film developed, and then paying for crummy pictures because you couldn't see the pictures beforehand.

Other than nostalgia, there is nothing better about film in my opinion, and any technical advantage film currently has over digital will almost certainly be overcome with digital technology.

Preferring film over digital is like that one person in the office who likes the fax machine over email attachments. You just smile at them, but walk away scratching your head.....unquote.

But then again I can understand his view in this day and age of FILM being expensive, but back when a roll of K 40 was £2.something or other including process I loved the anticipation of hearing the postman shove that little yellow envelope through the letter box............or am I just be being nostalgic?

And thats another thing, are we all being nostalgic? I myself think I am, it brings a warm feeling to me just to be able to shoot some movie film and recreate that feelng of waiting for the film to be returned from where ever you have had it developed, thread it into a projector and enjoy the results of your own handy work weather it be bad or good.

Posted by Clay Smith (Member # 4122) on October 16, 2014, 06:25 PM:

Yes John, it was good to hear about Tarantino, Abrams and the others in negotiation with Kodak to bring back film stock. I've also been very interested and involved in the Ferrania campaign. As far as the nostalgia, in my case right now it's more of anxiety waiting for my Super 8 film to come back. Slight deep anxiety as in "assembling my volunteer cast, the one day donation of a business interior for shooting, was my lighting good enough. should be but I'd like to know for sure" anxiety.
But I know what you mean. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 16, 2014, 09:27 PM:

To me the whole process of making a movie using Super-8 is a goal in of itself as much as having the end product when I'm done.

There are easier, more predictable ways of winding up with a motion picture, and if I was doing a "film" for work S8 would be a crazy thing to use. (I can't imagine explaining it to my boss, for one thing...)

-but to me it's an artform I've basically grown up with and the chance to do it after all these years is very satisfying.

As far as immediate feedback goes, when I first started to film, and when I restarted in my late thirties, every cartridge came out better than the last. This is because I began to see what would be on screen in my head.

This makes the results more a result of skill, and therefore more uniquely my own work.

Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on October 17, 2014, 08:42 AM:

Steve makes some very good points.
I think much of the film shot today is not only filmmakers but artists trying out different mediums.
There is no doubt nostalgia is a powerful thing and I can say much of my continued interest is fuelled by nostalgia.
It is unfortunate that the person John quoted shares a view held by many.

quote:
I always hated waiting to have your film developed, and then paying for crummy pictures because you couldn't see the pictures beforehand.

I assume he’s still shooting crummy pictures (well at least until he puts the Instagram filter on it).

I believe there is a deep satisfaction in understanding your craft, and film making is a craft. If you can shoot, light, and compose on film by creating the vision in your head and then seeing it on film without the help of instant replays shows you understand the craft.
This is in no way meant to be anti-digital – economics aside, digital movie making opens up a whole new world of possibilities just as “artistically” relevant as film ushering new and great movie makers – heck, don’t digital images really shine when they look as good as film?

For me digital fails when we become too concerned about 4k and hyper realistic images – great when documenting nature and such. But it totally sucks the enjoyment out of me when used in many movies these days when I go to the theater for that 2 hr escape from real life.
For me that is one of the things film has given us – a look – a feel…..hard to explain, but, YOU know what I mean.

That, I hope is preserved.

Cheers
terry

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on October 17, 2014, 09:37 AM:

Back in the day film makers used to push a project through whatever.. These days they just talk about it more often than not. If a film wants making get cracking, well that's my take.. [Smile]

If you love it enough make it!

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 17, 2014, 01:18 PM:

shooting with any kind of camera is an art, whether 35MM camera, film (super 8 and otherwise) or digital. You have to know what your doing.

I remember seeing some "Gawdawful' super 8 home movies, (I always felt that it was pretty darned hard to overexpose super 8 or standard 8, but one of my friends proved me wrong everytime, no matter how much I tried to educate him), and then some super 8 Kodachrome (and standard 8mm Kodachrome) that even to this day, looks literally like Technicolor (OK, not quite Technicolor, but you get the gist of it).

Even when filming outside with digital, I always wait for an overcast day full of clouds, as colors always seem to be richer and better facial tones with some thick clouds.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on October 19, 2014, 03:28 PM:

I remember reading a long time ago a director told an amateur the way to get good results was to film 16 to one. Not the picture ratio, but how much you actually filmed to what was usable. I doubt even with a director's monitor on digital cameras much has changed.

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2