If you know me at all, you know I'm a huge lover of 8mm film. Family vacay footage for proof...
But it's a hit-or-miss game for me because they don't make the cameras anymore. Three out of every four cameras I buy on E-Bay don't work. But regardless of videophiles who say the look can be duplicated... I can tell. And tell much.
And so can others. South By Southwest is featuring a whole panel discussion on the power of 8mm film by [this guy]. Scroll down to see his amazing work.
What's a good/reasonable 8mm camera? It would be really cool to shoot some footage with one.
Posted by: Sam Frederick | February 23, 2010 at 12:25 PM
the cameras are affordable; it's the film processing that'll get you. $100 for about 15 minutes
Posted by: Ben Arment | February 23, 2010 at 03:00 PM
Wow. That is a chunk of change. The footage has that timeless feel though. I guess you get what you pay for.
Posted by: Sam Frederick | February 23, 2010 at 04:15 PM
Dumb question... but how do you digitize it?
Posted by: B Hoang | February 24, 2010 at 03:08 PM
i buy film direct from kodak in los angeles, shoot it, ship it to seattle for processing, and then it gets sent to Norcross, GA for transfer... and then delivered to me on a hard drive or miniDV cartridge.
painful.
but it's the only way.
and i like it. =)
Posted by: Ben Arment | February 24, 2010 at 03:42 PM
Got it - love that, and helpful thanks! Anthony and I fell in love, (in small part), over our mutual affection for old-school machinery and processes... When we met he was using a type-writer and old Polaroid camera regularly and I was using a record player, lots of old vinyl, and a film SLR from the 80's. Maybe 8mm is the way forward for our family...
Posted by: B Hoang | March 01, 2010 at 01:35 PM
i do remember that about Anthony. He was shooting with fish-eye lenses before anyone else. =)
Posted by: Ben Arment | March 01, 2010 at 02:24 PM
Analog! My friend John tours quite a bit and shoots nothing but analog Leica. When you look at his photo pages, it's unmistakably the real deal, even though it's been digitally scanned.
http://www.johnvanderslice.com/slideshows.php?level=picture&id=1075
http://www.johnvanderslice.com/slideshows.php?level=picture&id=1059
Like an analog signal path in audio recording, there's a rich musical quality that digits fail to capture.
Posted by: John | March 02, 2010 at 12:25 AM
great artist, your friend
Posted by: Ben Arment | March 02, 2010 at 07:45 AM
Out of all the visuals at Story, this footage stuck with me the most. It made me think of my family growing up; my past. But it also pointed me to the future as my family is just starting. So excited for all the stories and memories we are about to make.
Live a great story! Make a difference.
Posted by: Kevin Rush | March 23, 2010 at 09:11 AM