catapult magazine

I have recently purchased a Super 8 camera and will be attempting to film the next Bill Mallonee tour. I have always enjoyed the visual quality of super 8 VS digital film. One of my inspiriations is a documentary done on the band Fugazi using Super 8. The camera that I am using is silent so I will be recording the shows and interviews with a mini disc and then attempting to overlay the material. Wow…is this even possible?

I was wondering if anyone present has any experience though that they would like to share. All comments and info would be greatly appreciated.

The sync of the two will be a real trick…you have a super 8 going at one speed and an audio recorder going at another. Unless the two are slaved to a common sync source (I have no idea if the video camera has option) you will have tons of problems getting them to lock together. If the camera does allow for external sync (you did say digital correct?) Make sure you have a digital recorder that can send whatever the camera needs for audio sync (whether it be word, video, blackburst, etc) and make sure the camera is set to “chase” the audio recorders outputed sync. (The poles can also be reversed if possible)

Once you get the footage shot, you will have to play it all into some sort of editing system (such as Final Cut Pro) And you can edit away.

right…the camera that I will be using is from the 70’s and is a Keystone XL super 8. There is nothing digital about this thing, that I can tell. Is it fully impossible to sync the audio and and visual after the fact? I’m not looking for uncut music footage off the stage, but I would like a song or two in a row.

Hmmm, I may be in over my head…I do know that one thing Fugazi did with their film was actually create a whole soundtrack for the footage after the fact. I imagine the film maker knew the limitation of the super 8 and so he simply filmed the whole thing silent, and then the band came in afterwards and recorded for the footage. Its wonderful in technique and idea…

You may still be able to sync on the diting floor, but just get comfy…you are in for a long hard ride. I would suggest taping with a mini dv and get a signal from the board to plug into the mic jack. It may add for a nice effect to swap between the two on your final product and cut your editing/sync time down. Talk to Rob about that…my father in law (Jerry) runs a cable station and had a couple very nice cameras that could be used at Calvin. The station also has two Final Cut bays, and if the material is good enough (meets the stations standards) and Bill gives permission, it could be aired which could transfer some of that sync and editing time off to one of the producers at the station. My only insisntence is a dupe for CA enjoyment. :)

of course…I’ll give you access to whatever I end up with anyway. Thanks for the info and the help…I may take you up on the studio stuff…one day at a time though, one day at a time…