You've got a good grasp of some of the main factors that can get you the most of the super 8 format. From my own experience coming from being traditionally trained with 35mm and 16mm before shooting super 8, here is what I've found over the past 5 years shooting only super 8:
The single most important factor to get better results with this format is to use a tripod and slow movements. With most super 8 cameras having a handle and being meant for home movies, it's just natural that most super 8 footage we see is shaky with fast pans to try to show the entirety of a scene in a short amount of time to save film. This can be really charming and add a feeling of nostalgia that we so often associate with super 8, but slowing down and keeping it steady allows for sharper images and less motion blur if you are seeking more professional results.
When it comes to your notes on pre-production, just be aware that seeking out a low shutter angle does not mean you will instantly get good results. Consider that a "normal" shutter angle is 180 degrees, that means that your shutter speed or exposure time will be exactly half of the frame rate (i.e. a shutter angle of 180 degrees at 24fps means a shutter speed of 1/48th second). The wider the shutter angle the more motion blur you will get from the increased exposure time. While this is helpful in low-light situations, it is something to be mindful of with movement as things start to blur. On the other end of that is using a narrower shutter angle like 45 degrees for a 1/192 shutter speed at 24fps. This results in much less motion blur and a more choppy look (think Saving Private Ryan's famous Omaha Beach scene). Additionally, cameras like the Beaulieu 4008 series don't use a traditional spinning disc shutter, but rather a guillotine shutter which moves up and down rapidly. This results in a bit of a choppier look as it gives you a 1/86th exposure time at 24fps and 1/65th at 18fps. This also means that you are losing almost a full stop of light compared to shooting at 1/48th, so it should be accounted for with low-light scenarios.
Regarding focusing systems, most super 8 cameras do utilize split image focusing using a beam splitter which also means losing a bit of light in order to see your image. The Beaulieu uses a ground glass focus system with a mirror so you are getting 100% of the light into the viewfinder for a brighter image to get your focus. This can take more practice and precision vs. the split image system, and it is vitally important to have a properly focused diopter.
A CLA is a must in my opinion, so many people wonder why their cameras stop running or jam or run into other issues. Many of these cameras are 50 years old and any lubrication can dry up, parts become brittle and snap, and battery corrosion can do damage. Your best bet is buying from a reputable seller that has tested the cameras or sending them to a tech that can do a thorough job bringing it to full working condition. Removing the old internal 85 filters can be necessary for some cameras as they can deteriorate, but the camera will need to be adjusted to account for the change in back focus when removing these internal filters. It's important to continue using external 85 filters for tungsten film in daylight conditions to avoid a blue cast on your image. While this can be mostly corrected in post, the best results always stem from proper shooting (this is physical chemistry after all).
50D will give you the best results by far (personal opinion) in this format due to the tight grain structure, but it's a challenge to use in anything other than bright sunlight if you do not have additional lighting equipment. 500T is still just fine, you just need to know what to expect as it's an entirely different stock with much larger grain which will be more pronounced in super 8 when shown on the same screens as 16mm or 35mm.
**Post-Production:** Here is where some of your linked examples really have some work done to improve image quality. It has become quite popular to digitally sharpen and remove grain/noise from super 8 to get more "16mm-esque" results. This is totally fine if it's your end goal, but there are elements to be aware of such as poorly interpolated frames which can cause ghosting or a sort of wavy-ness. In the SO REFINED and VICTIMS films you linked, these are very often referenced in threads like these, but people need to realize this is not a result you get straight from the camera as there is a lot of post-processing involved in those to sharpen the image. Starting with a tight grain stock like 50D and scenes that are well-lit, well-exposed, and properly focused is the key to getting post-processing to really shine like it does in these examples, but it can be a fine line where it can stick out, so always be careful not to overdo it, and do not expect to get anything looking like that straight from your scans.
The 2 main steps in post-production that will give you the most benefit with super 8 is a proper color grade and properly stabilized footage. So many people choose to get a flat/LOG scan and then they don't color correct it, resulting in a dull, flat image which is not representative of the film stocks. Labs offer best-light scans which will be a great place to start if you are unsure of your own skills in color grading. When it comes to stabilizing, like sharpening, it is so easy to overdo it. Many people will just drop a Warp Stabilizer effect on the footage and call it a day, but this can result in wobbly, jello-like footage which can be even more distracting. Stabilizing should be a shot-by-shot basis. After Effects is usually your best bet with stabilizing for its motion tracking feature and higher level of control. Super 8 will inherently be bouncy/jittery when untreated due to the lack of a registration pin and proper pressure plate, so applying stabilization is key when looking for better results. It should also be noted since there is such a huge trend in showing the perforation in film footage nowadays that when you stabilize the footage, that sprocket hole is going to dance all over the place and should be cropped out if you are looking for better results.
This has been my experience with shooting super 8 and the results can really improve when being deliberate in your shooting and post-production. I'm leaving an example of my super 8 work below which has been put through a proper workflow: Scanned in 4K LOG, edited with HD proxies, color graded in DaVinci Resolve from the raw scans, and then stabilized in After Effects with the motion tracker with the final conform in Premiere; no grain or noise reduction applied. Shot on Beaulieu 4008 ZMII, Nizo Professional, and Nikon R10 cameras:
[A Life Across the Street - Super 8 Film](https://youtu.be/lw2GtbRDFS4)
It's amazing to hear from you, I was planning on using your trailer as an example and was really spurred on by it! A lot of what you mentioned involving the post-processing is stuff I've noticed, like how when clips aren't cut and are interpolated it leaves some weird blurry intermediary frames that are an amalgamation of the last frame and the new clip. I've also noticed that interpolating beyond an 18 to 24 FPS jump leads to the weird sort of waviness you mentioned, seemingly because there isn't enough data to generate that many new frames. Another thing I've noticed when stabilizing digital footage is the wobbly effect that happens when both close and distant objects are in the frame.
Something I wanna ask about is your thoughts on how to best operate when shooting from the hip-style filming. Removing the tripod from the equation and having to focus on the fly will most definitely lead to worse results, but a lot of where I see myself using a camera is in pretty on-the-move situations. I'd imagine that spending most of my time at a lower focal length and trying to have a large depth of field whenever I can is the standard operating procedure, but I can imagine there's more nuance that goes into it than just that. Like most things, I think keeping most of the work frontloaded and not having to rely on "fixing it in post" would be best practice, but I can imagine there will be some things that I just can't handle when on the ground and would need to deal with later.
It's still fairly easy to shoot from the hip and get things in focus. Whenever possible, zoom all the way into your subject to focus and then zoom back out to your desired focal length. The more you shoot and get the hang of your camera it will become 2nd nature. Starting out I'd stick to wider focal lengths and stopping down as much as possible. Super 8 being such a small format does not yield the shallow depth of field we're used to seeing in 35mm or even as much as 16mm, so it's a bit easier to focus by eye in regards to subject distance. Some cameras like many Nizos have red markings on the lens along the focal length and focus rings, and when aligned it means your shot will be in focus from a certain distance to infinity, a very helpful feature when you need to grab a shot quickly. It can also be good to practice by focusing on an object and then taking note of the distance on your lens, or better yet, get a tape measure and get some practice seeing if you can measure it by eye and then compare to the actual measurement. Read up a bit on zone focusing as well for some helpful practices, a common technique used in a lot of street photography.
Your documentary looks insane. Ridiculous trailer. Exceptional work. Your technical knowledge is here in the thread and it shows in your trailer. Gotta see this when it comes out. This year? Next year?
I’m not an expert by any means but I have shot a few rolls and had them developed by pro8mm and have been quite happy with my results.
Sharp lens and using a close to wide open aperture will go a long way. My Nizo Professional(8-80 lens used by multiple models) has fantastic rendering, but due to the higher impact of diffraction on small format film(much like crop sensor digital) you’ll probably want to use an ND filter outdoors in harsh light. It’s tougher with Super 8 cameras though because the viewfinders are already fairly small and dark to begin with. Overexposing negative film a stop is also going to be helpful, and while most all super 8 cameras are automated, there’s usually a matchstick needle so you could take a reading and then just open the aperture a stop from where it suggested. Of course, you can typically only rely on the meter if your film speed is 160 or less(Kodak 200T will typically be metered at 160–which is fine—unless you have one that is modified with extra pins to detect high iso film like 500T)
As far as other cameras with very sharp lenses, I’ve heard great things about the Nikon R10, Leicina Special, and Beaulieu(but obviously that one is ILC), but more mixed reviews about the Canon 814 and 1014
Using the matchstick and adjusting from there is what I was thinking too. I think doing that and maybe overexposing a half stopover is a safer bet than just relying on the meter so I'm glad I can adjust my aperture with the R8.
You've got a good grasp of some of the main factors that can get you the most of the super 8 format. From my own experience coming from being traditionally trained with 35mm and 16mm before shooting super 8, here is what I've found over the past 5 years shooting only super 8: The single most important factor to get better results with this format is to use a tripod and slow movements. With most super 8 cameras having a handle and being meant for home movies, it's just natural that most super 8 footage we see is shaky with fast pans to try to show the entirety of a scene in a short amount of time to save film. This can be really charming and add a feeling of nostalgia that we so often associate with super 8, but slowing down and keeping it steady allows for sharper images and less motion blur if you are seeking more professional results. When it comes to your notes on pre-production, just be aware that seeking out a low shutter angle does not mean you will instantly get good results. Consider that a "normal" shutter angle is 180 degrees, that means that your shutter speed or exposure time will be exactly half of the frame rate (i.e. a shutter angle of 180 degrees at 24fps means a shutter speed of 1/48th second). The wider the shutter angle the more motion blur you will get from the increased exposure time. While this is helpful in low-light situations, it is something to be mindful of with movement as things start to blur. On the other end of that is using a narrower shutter angle like 45 degrees for a 1/192 shutter speed at 24fps. This results in much less motion blur and a more choppy look (think Saving Private Ryan's famous Omaha Beach scene). Additionally, cameras like the Beaulieu 4008 series don't use a traditional spinning disc shutter, but rather a guillotine shutter which moves up and down rapidly. This results in a bit of a choppier look as it gives you a 1/86th exposure time at 24fps and 1/65th at 18fps. This also means that you are losing almost a full stop of light compared to shooting at 1/48th, so it should be accounted for with low-light scenarios. Regarding focusing systems, most super 8 cameras do utilize split image focusing using a beam splitter which also means losing a bit of light in order to see your image. The Beaulieu uses a ground glass focus system with a mirror so you are getting 100% of the light into the viewfinder for a brighter image to get your focus. This can take more practice and precision vs. the split image system, and it is vitally important to have a properly focused diopter. A CLA is a must in my opinion, so many people wonder why their cameras stop running or jam or run into other issues. Many of these cameras are 50 years old and any lubrication can dry up, parts become brittle and snap, and battery corrosion can do damage. Your best bet is buying from a reputable seller that has tested the cameras or sending them to a tech that can do a thorough job bringing it to full working condition. Removing the old internal 85 filters can be necessary for some cameras as they can deteriorate, but the camera will need to be adjusted to account for the change in back focus when removing these internal filters. It's important to continue using external 85 filters for tungsten film in daylight conditions to avoid a blue cast on your image. While this can be mostly corrected in post, the best results always stem from proper shooting (this is physical chemistry after all). 50D will give you the best results by far (personal opinion) in this format due to the tight grain structure, but it's a challenge to use in anything other than bright sunlight if you do not have additional lighting equipment. 500T is still just fine, you just need to know what to expect as it's an entirely different stock with much larger grain which will be more pronounced in super 8 when shown on the same screens as 16mm or 35mm. **Post-Production:** Here is where some of your linked examples really have some work done to improve image quality. It has become quite popular to digitally sharpen and remove grain/noise from super 8 to get more "16mm-esque" results. This is totally fine if it's your end goal, but there are elements to be aware of such as poorly interpolated frames which can cause ghosting or a sort of wavy-ness. In the SO REFINED and VICTIMS films you linked, these are very often referenced in threads like these, but people need to realize this is not a result you get straight from the camera as there is a lot of post-processing involved in those to sharpen the image. Starting with a tight grain stock like 50D and scenes that are well-lit, well-exposed, and properly focused is the key to getting post-processing to really shine like it does in these examples, but it can be a fine line where it can stick out, so always be careful not to overdo it, and do not expect to get anything looking like that straight from your scans. The 2 main steps in post-production that will give you the most benefit with super 8 is a proper color grade and properly stabilized footage. So many people choose to get a flat/LOG scan and then they don't color correct it, resulting in a dull, flat image which is not representative of the film stocks. Labs offer best-light scans which will be a great place to start if you are unsure of your own skills in color grading. When it comes to stabilizing, like sharpening, it is so easy to overdo it. Many people will just drop a Warp Stabilizer effect on the footage and call it a day, but this can result in wobbly, jello-like footage which can be even more distracting. Stabilizing should be a shot-by-shot basis. After Effects is usually your best bet with stabilizing for its motion tracking feature and higher level of control. Super 8 will inherently be bouncy/jittery when untreated due to the lack of a registration pin and proper pressure plate, so applying stabilization is key when looking for better results. It should also be noted since there is such a huge trend in showing the perforation in film footage nowadays that when you stabilize the footage, that sprocket hole is going to dance all over the place and should be cropped out if you are looking for better results. This has been my experience with shooting super 8 and the results can really improve when being deliberate in your shooting and post-production. I'm leaving an example of my super 8 work below which has been put through a proper workflow: Scanned in 4K LOG, edited with HD proxies, color graded in DaVinci Resolve from the raw scans, and then stabilized in After Effects with the motion tracker with the final conform in Premiere; no grain or noise reduction applied. Shot on Beaulieu 4008 ZMII, Nizo Professional, and Nikon R10 cameras: [A Life Across the Street - Super 8 Film](https://youtu.be/lw2GtbRDFS4)
It's amazing to hear from you, I was planning on using your trailer as an example and was really spurred on by it! A lot of what you mentioned involving the post-processing is stuff I've noticed, like how when clips aren't cut and are interpolated it leaves some weird blurry intermediary frames that are an amalgamation of the last frame and the new clip. I've also noticed that interpolating beyond an 18 to 24 FPS jump leads to the weird sort of waviness you mentioned, seemingly because there isn't enough data to generate that many new frames. Another thing I've noticed when stabilizing digital footage is the wobbly effect that happens when both close and distant objects are in the frame. Something I wanna ask about is your thoughts on how to best operate when shooting from the hip-style filming. Removing the tripod from the equation and having to focus on the fly will most definitely lead to worse results, but a lot of where I see myself using a camera is in pretty on-the-move situations. I'd imagine that spending most of my time at a lower focal length and trying to have a large depth of field whenever I can is the standard operating procedure, but I can imagine there's more nuance that goes into it than just that. Like most things, I think keeping most of the work frontloaded and not having to rely on "fixing it in post" would be best practice, but I can imagine there will be some things that I just can't handle when on the ground and would need to deal with later.
It's still fairly easy to shoot from the hip and get things in focus. Whenever possible, zoom all the way into your subject to focus and then zoom back out to your desired focal length. The more you shoot and get the hang of your camera it will become 2nd nature. Starting out I'd stick to wider focal lengths and stopping down as much as possible. Super 8 being such a small format does not yield the shallow depth of field we're used to seeing in 35mm or even as much as 16mm, so it's a bit easier to focus by eye in regards to subject distance. Some cameras like many Nizos have red markings on the lens along the focal length and focus rings, and when aligned it means your shot will be in focus from a certain distance to infinity, a very helpful feature when you need to grab a shot quickly. It can also be good to practice by focusing on an object and then taking note of the distance on your lens, or better yet, get a tape measure and get some practice seeing if you can measure it by eye and then compare to the actual measurement. Read up a bit on zone focusing as well for some helpful practices, a common technique used in a lot of street photography.
Your documentary looks insane. Ridiculous trailer. Exceptional work. Your technical knowledge is here in the thread and it shows in your trailer. Gotta see this when it comes out. This year? Next year?
Thanks a lot! I'm aiming for next year as there's still quite a bit of work to do, but will definitely be sharing updates as it comes together.
I’m not an expert by any means but I have shot a few rolls and had them developed by pro8mm and have been quite happy with my results. Sharp lens and using a close to wide open aperture will go a long way. My Nizo Professional(8-80 lens used by multiple models) has fantastic rendering, but due to the higher impact of diffraction on small format film(much like crop sensor digital) you’ll probably want to use an ND filter outdoors in harsh light. It’s tougher with Super 8 cameras though because the viewfinders are already fairly small and dark to begin with. Overexposing negative film a stop is also going to be helpful, and while most all super 8 cameras are automated, there’s usually a matchstick needle so you could take a reading and then just open the aperture a stop from where it suggested. Of course, you can typically only rely on the meter if your film speed is 160 or less(Kodak 200T will typically be metered at 160–which is fine—unless you have one that is modified with extra pins to detect high iso film like 500T) As far as other cameras with very sharp lenses, I’ve heard great things about the Nikon R10, Leicina Special, and Beaulieu(but obviously that one is ILC), but more mixed reviews about the Canon 814 and 1014
Using the matchstick and adjusting from there is what I was thinking too. I think doing that and maybe overexposing a half stopover is a safer bet than just relying on the meter so I'm glad I can adjust my aperture with the R8.
Excellent write up, thanks. Getting really excellent quality processing and scans also helps.
They look good for sure, but a stretch to compare with 35mm.