Jake Puts The 'Super' Into Super 8

(This article was printed in the October 2001 issue of In Camera magazine in shortened form. It aroused much interest, so the fuller version is reproduced here.)

London based Cinematographer Jake Astbury followed his College Tutors' advice. "They told me that Super 8 was dead and that I should transfer all my work to High Band U-Matic. That was years ago," said Jake. "It was bad advice; and not true. Now I can't watch my degree work because of drop out, poor tracking and lack of suitable players. Yet today the film and TV industry is using more and more Super 8!

"Many people still view Super 8 as an amateur format. A myth perpetuated by memories of watching home movies, shot by Dad, shaky, scratched and under-exposed. The reality of Super 8 is far different. So, despite the advance of the digital age, I want to say why it's still an excellent format.

"My first Super 8 camera cost me £25.00. It was a basic point-and-shoot Chinon XL. Now I work with a Nalcom with a 2X anamorphic lens, a Bauer Royal, and a Beaulieu 6008S with a Schneider 6-70mm 1.4 C-mount lens. I master my films on Super 8, transfer to Digi Beta and edit digitally without cutting the film. My range of cameras lets me explore film pushed to its limits at an extremely low cost.

"I know my images will last because they are on film. But Super 8 is not only the perfect medium for creating ideas on film at a low cost; I now shoot Super 8 for TV commercials!

It's not difficult to make Super 8 shine with images full of production value. It's the tactile feel of film that new filmmakers respond to when choosing between digital and film. Super 8 emulsions are some of the oldest available, and have a seminal feel harking back to the days of Technicolor®. Films like Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now have stunning colour and texture content that truly represents the infinite dynamics of film.

Super 8 emulsions bring images alive in a similar way, without the need for pre-flashing or complex processing. This is because most Super 8 stocks are reversal emulsions.

("Reversal film, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is positive transparency film, like slide film. Negative and reversal stocks have dissimilar characteristics. Negative has wide exposure latitude that allows for manipulation, both in printing and telecine. Reversal film has much less latitude. It's less forgiving of exposure errors, but offers higher contrast and deeper colour saturation, giving images with a very individual feel.")

Reversal film is beautiful. Before I discovered 16mm and 35mm negative stocks, the first film images I ever captured were on reversal film. I had spent hours at college shooting various high-grade tape formats, where images looked so disposable in their final form. Yet one roll of processed Kodachrome 40 made me feel I'd discovered magic. Film at its purest, shot and processed, no negative, just one positive print, making it so much more precious. Just one roll is all it takes to become hooked on this process.

"My main use for Super 8 is experimental, using various film stocks to achieve new looks for commercial use. Super 8 Cameras bristle with features such as variable shutter, time-lapse, single frame, slow motion, variable speeds, macro, auto 'B' setting, back wind, cross dissolve, fade, and fast 1.2 or 1.4 lenses used with a 180-degree shutter for low-light shots.

"Stanley Kubrick filmed Barry Lyndon in natural light using 35mm cameras and fast lenses. The cost of similar cinematic exploration is way beyond most independent filmmakers' budgets. But by using an XL model Super 8 camera you can explore this area with remarkable results. I have used various models of XL camera to push Kodachrome 40 to its limit to create exciting and surreal imagery. I love using slow stocks in low light because the colour saturation and the film grain become more pronounced if I slightly underexpose the film.

"Variable speeds also offer huge creative choice to the filmmaker, and some top model Super 8 Cameras have speeds ranging from 2-80 fps, something digital cameras don't offer.

"The philosophy of Super 8 revolves around freedom. The feature-packed compact cameras let the cinematographer make spontaneous split-second decisions, without the need to use dollies or heavy tripods. I always have a small Super 8 camera with me

"This convenience gave me some great urban footage in New York which landed me a Super 8 job filming The Yellow Wallpaper, a production based on the Victorian text.

"Our shooting schedule started at 3pm every day to capture the magic of September sunshine. This also meant shooting quickly. This is one of the key uses of Super 8 when shooting from the hip. Roll changes take seconds and different stocks can be swapped mid-roll; but remember you should make note of the footage used before removing a roll, because the counter will return to zero.

"Focusing is fast, all cameras have auto exposure, and they are quick to set up. Each Super 8 cartridge has a built-in pressure plate, so the usual camera checks are not needed; a big help in improving the flow on the shooting schedule. I chose Kodachrome 40 for night exteriors and Kodak Ektachrome 7240 for day interiors, which we also filmed on 7250 and 7251 in 16mm.

"I shot the Kodachrome 40 using a Bauer Royal with auto B setting, which allows for low light exposures. Car headlights streak, people blur and neon signs look gorgeous.

"I spent some time taking shots in the back streets of lower Eastside N.Y., with each frame taking six seconds to expose. So patience was a must. The Kodak Ektachrome 7240 I shot with a Grad filter and the 85B to darken the sky giving a moody atmosphere to the shot. In other shots I removed the Wratten 85B (built into camera) to create a much cooler look for some of the daytime rushes.

"The production schedule also allowed me time to do some personal filming.

"Using a Beaulieu 6008S I set up early morning in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to film as the hard morning light hit the incredible view of Manhattan spread before me.

"As mentioned earlier, reversal film has little exposure latitude. Fortunately I had the time to use a light meter. The Beaulieu cameras have a guillotine-shutter to transfer light readings direct. (All other Super 8 cameras use a prism system, which diverts as much as a stop of light to the viewfinder and away from the film. So you should only under or overexpose Super 8 film when you're familiar with your equipment.)

"I was after a hard graphic look, a kind of 'Frank Miller Sin City' comic book image. Kodak Tri-X 7278 is my first choice for taking urban architecture. I rated it at 200 ASA, and push-processed slightly, to get a harder contrast and a fatter grain. The final images I got back from processing responded perfectly to the city's raw, uncompromising structures. After the shoot the Super 8 was optically printed up to 16mm, adding stunning texture to the film.

"On a different shoot - in a tiny flat in London's Shaftsbury Avenue - I used the 200 ASA tungsten colour negative stock for a one-shot backtrack involving hugely variable lighting.

"This shot pulled back through a broken kitchen window, with little space to spare, along a narrow hallway and down a winding stairwell. So I rated the stock as 400 ASA and shot without the Wratten 85B filter at 18 fps for the extra light. Without the filter, the image has a cold blue wash to it. It's this creative freedom that doesn't involve post-production tricks and big money that makes Super 8 the champion of demanding situations.

"On another shoot my materials cost alone was just under £300. Time wise, it was hours -- instead of days.

"A final thought. Startling moments in history were captured on this gauge. John F Kennedy's assassination was shot on an 8mm Bell & Howell clockwork camera. These frames haunt history with their power."

The Super 8 Stocks:

Kodak produces five Super 8 stocks; each has its own unique look.

My favourites are Kodachrome 40, Kodak tri-X 7278 and Kodak Plus-X 7276. Though for commercial work, Kodak Ektachrome 7240 and Kodak Vision 200T film 7274 prove their worth.

Kodachrome colour reversal film - 40 ASA to Tungsten

This stock owes its gorgeous look to the final stages of its processing.

Kodachrome starts off as a black and white stock, which gives it a longer shelf life. Colour dyes are added during processing, giving highly saturated colours to the final image.

Because it's a colour dye process this stock is less prone to fading, making it ideal for archival use.

Kodak Ektachrome 7240 colour reversal film - 125 ASA to Tungsten

This is a true colour film originally designed for media use in 16mm as a multi-purpose stock, also known as Video News Film, or VNF.

This was introduced to the Super 8 family to replace Kodak Ektachrome 160 ASA. The majority of Super 8 cameras are designed to read notches on the cartridges that set the film speed rating for automatic exposure. These in camera setting are usually for 40, 160, 200 and 250 ASA.

This would mean that Kodak Ektachrome 7240 is rated at 160 ASA, its minimum in terms of exposure and for most people the results will be satisfactory.

I prefer to overexpose this film by a third of a stop. This gives the image a sharper look. The grain size is similar to that of the Tri-X 7278 so it's ideal for creating a retro look.

Kodak Tri-X 7278 black and white reversal film - 200 ASA to Daylight

I just love black and white film. This is a grainy high contrast stock and, being black and white, it has more latitude than colour. It's a great stock for shooting in both low light, and with a neutral density filter in bright conditions.

Kodak Plus-X 7276 black and white reversal film - 40 ASA to Daylight

This is a beautiful stock. For that classic black and white image, this fine grain stock is in a league of its own. Images shot on this stock look so smooth. I recently shot some Kodak Plus-X for a pop promo using an anamorphic lens giving the Super 8 a 2:35-1 ratio. Two of the telecine specialists compared its quality to 35mm! Super 8 Kodak Plus-X in CinemaScope is pure magic for the eye.

Kodak Vision 200T colour negative film 7274 - 200 ASA to Tungsten

Being a negative 'T' stock its fine grain and colour reproduction give the image a more realistic feel. However this stock is designed solely for telecine to digital tape. It has a slightly thicker emulsion than other Super 8 films and it is, therefore, important to use it only in top model cameras with a good torque and fresh batteries. Processing of this stock varies in quality from lab to lab. So it's best to always shoot a test roll first before going ahead with the job.

This stock in Super 8 is another workhorse for the industry and has proved very popular in both film and television productions.