Super 16 film

[Terry Sills]

Has anyone had experience with Super 16? For example - is it 16mm in width/ can you use it on a 16mm editor/ are the sprocket holes the same as 16mm? etc.
Thanks

[Brian Fretwell]

I think that only the camera gate is different, the picture extends over where the soundtrack would be on regular 16mm film prints. Everything else is the same.

[Terry Sills]

Thanks Brian - so where is the soundtrack or isn’t there one?

[Brian Fretwell]

It was mainly for TV use I believe so no married prints were made it would either be sepmag for telecine or edited on video as its ratio was approximately 14:9 which TV turned to before going full 16:9.
Other use would see it blown up to 35mm. I don't think it was ever intended to be a projection format.

[Terry Sills]

Great knowledge Brian. Thanks very much.

[Brian Fretwell]

It mainly came from the old Dr Who restoration team forum, where other technical matters were disused by Steve Roberts and other BBC technical staff who maintained the equipment. They also prepared the Blu Ray of Pride and Prejudice from the Super 16 negatives so the process was discussed in length, including the one shot that came from a positive print which is just about noticeable.

[Lee Mannering]

Used a modified Krasy 16mm camera before now. The do a kit to open up the aperture then you can scan it at the new ratio which is still happening.
Companies like Blackmagic do pocket sized Super 16 digital video cameras not wanting to miss the market place.
We for a time also had Super 9.5 memorable to see.

[Adrian Winchester]

Super 16mm has remained a choice for some directors who are keen to shoot on film. They sometimes want more conspicuous grain, as you might see in relation to a 1970s film shot on 35mm. A few examples are 'Moonrise Kingdom' (2012, Wes Anderson); 'Carol' (2015, Todd Haynes); 'The Old Man & the Gun' (2018, David Lowery).

Although it's not normally a projection medium, I once looked for evidence (online) of projectors converted to show Super 16mm, via enlarged gates and pressure plates. It has definitely been done with certain Eikis and I saw someone saying on a forum that they had converted "hundreds" of projectors. Customers would of course usually be filmmakers .

[Martin Davey]

I believe that 'The Walking Dead', a hit series that's run for 12 years, and 'Life on Mars' (BBC) are two shows shot on Super 16mm.

[Brian Fretwell]

The later series of Sharp (the widescreen ones) and, as I put earlier, the BBC Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ellie also were Super 16.