Thursday, April 22, 2010
Hollywood News Writes About The Power of Super 8 Film
Hollywood News Writes About The Power of Super 8 Film
Cine journalist Bob Fisher writes about Phil Vigeant's book, The Power of Super 8 Film. To purchase the book, or find out about one of our workshops or seminars go to www.thepowerofsuper8film.com
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Super 8 Film is The Power Connection
Filmmaking is a collaborative process. Just look at the end of any motion picture and you’ll notice that the list of individuals and companies involved in the making of a single movie runs into the thousands. And these credits show only the individuals who have a contract specifying that they be named. There are additionally thousands of other people who contributed their talent toward the project who are not listed in the credits.
Before you can collaborate with anyone, you have to connect with them. Connecting requires one of two things to happen; either you have something that someone needs for their project, in which case they seek you out, or the other option is that you are simply there at the right place at the right time, and you can impress upon them that they need you as part of their team to do this thing.
Experience in Super 8 film provides you with the great power of being connected to the filmmaking process. By its nature, just using Super 8 allows you to grasp the technical issues involved in filmmaking and be able to express yourself with the lingo that makes film work, particularly when you use Super 8 in the same way professional people use 35mm film. Your acuity with the process makes you one with the elite group of people who do the majority of motion picture work.
Let me give you an example. Say you shot some Super 8 and you used the new Fuji Vivid 47 stock in your project. You shoot, you scan to HD, you edit. It really doesn’t even matter what you’re shooting, even if it’s just shooting a friend in your own back yard.
Now you’re at a gathering, say a film screening or a festival where you meet a celebrity film person who works in the industry. Because they are in the industry, they know about the new Fuji stock but they can’t just grab a $600 roll of this stock and spend another $1,000 to test it out, so they haven’t tried it yet. So you start a conversation about your experience with the stock; how you like the blacks in Vivid 47 and how much more punchy the color was compared to when you shot with the older stocks, etc. You are instantly part of the group.
You are connected.
Compare this to what it would be like if you knew nothing about film and were just doing the gaga over the fact that you just brushed elbows with a celebrity and told them how much you loved their work…just like everyone else on the outside looking to get in.
Practically everyone over the age of 30 began their careers in the film industry using 8mm films. The community of people in the film industry that has fond memories of their beginning in this business, whether at school or just making movies with their friends, is a staggering collection of some of the most influential individuals and organizations in the film world. Most of the top filmmakers of our time trace their roots to 8mm beginnings. Because they started in 8mm, when they learn that you are also shooting in 8mm, there is the bond. It’s impossible for them to resist taking you in under their wing and telling you stories about their first experiences, about how A led to B and how it was their first Super 8 project that got them connected to the world of film.
Again, compare this to you meeting one of the greats and talking about digital and how film is dead, and you claiming you have no use for learning the craft that is the life blood of these peoples’ existence.
I have seen this connectivity through 8mm film happen so many times over my career that I rate the experience up there with love at first sight and other mythical relationships. I was once working on a film for Neil Young called Year of the Horse and during a break, director Jim Jarmusch and I were in the front office when Oscar-Winning Actor Forest Whitaker came into the shop to get his Super 8 camera repaired. Jim asked me to introduce him to Forest and the two got straight into their Super 8 experiences. They were both so engrossed in each other’s experiences, they decided to take off and go get some lunch together. Jim didn’t return until the next day’s session. Their connection through Super 8 created an instant bond leading to their collaboration on the film Ghost Dog.
We are all connected in this world through different things, whether it is religion, nationalities, language, etc. For film people, we are connected through our film experiences. Ever notice how you will see a group of famous people who all worked on the same beginning film project? How did all these people come together to make a film like American Graffiti and then all go on have enormously successful careers? The only explanation is connectivity.
I always bring along my Super 8 camera whenever I travel. I use it to document my family and do tests on the various technical things I have going on at the shop. Everywhere I go, filmmakers stop me to talk about their Super 8 experiences. A Super 8 camera is like a lightning rod for fellow filmmakers.
Like the filmmaking process itself, there is nothing that I have done in Super 8 that I have done by myself. Even some of my proudest accomplishments were really just massive collaborative efforts between many people. One great thing the process of filmmaking has taught me is that great things are most often the sum of these collaborations.
Take, for example, my introduction of Super 8 color negative film. It was filmmakers that wanted it and encouraged me to work out the issues to do it. It was filmmakers using it that made it possible to perfect it. Then there were the dozens of people whose technical skills helped me accomplish it. Even companies like Kodak helped me and provided technical support to make this product a reality.
I take credit for it like a Producer or Director does with a film because it was my house that had to be mortgaged in order to raise the money to get it done and my direction that got it accomplished, but I would also have a credit list as long as that of a major motion picture if I were to credit everyone who contributed to the project.
To be a filmmaker, you have to learn to reach out to the film world, connect and collaborate. If you’re a person in China who wants to be a filmmaker, is it insane for you to use film and to send it across the globe to California for processing and scanning? I say, “No.” In fact, it is the most powerful thing you could do, because you are reaching out to the film world. You are connecting yourself to over 100 years of motion picture making. If your career progresses, you may, like those who came before you, one day trace your roots to a tiny little 8mm wide film format.
That’s the Power of Super 8 Film.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Free Seminar on The Power of Super 8 Film
FREE EVENT! Tuesday, April 26th 7-9 PM
2811 Magnolia Blvd (2 doors down from Pro8mm)
at the Missing Piece Theater
Pro8mm will be kicking off a new series of seminars and bootcamps on The Power of Super 8 Film. On the heels of a very successful panel and large turnout at SXSW in March, we will continue offering filmmakers interested in Super 8 a chance to learn first hand from Phil Vigeant about Super 8 workflows, as well as filmmkaers who have used the format with great success.
Super 8 is the OG of guerilla filmmaking. Find out how you can make this beautiful, classic film gauge work in an HD world. From cameras to film stock and encoding, all-inclusive workflows that save time and money, shooting tips and more, Pro8mm's Phil Vigeant shares his secrets and tips about The Power of Super 8 Film that Hollywood insiders have used for years.
BONUS OFFER:
Phil's new book, The Power of Super 8 Film will be available at this event for only $5.00 where he will personally autograph it for you.
Limited to 60 attendees. Click on the link below to register now!
You won't want to miss this exclusive free filmmaker event! Tons of great information for filmmakers at all levels from newbie to pro. Get a glimpse at some exclusive Super 8 footage that will inspire you !
MISSING PIECE THEATRE
2811 West Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
2 Doors down from
Pro8mm
SEE THE VIDEO FROM OUR RECENT POWER OF SUPER 8 FILM PANEL at SXSW
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Power of Super 8 Film - A New Book by Phil Vigeant
The Power Of Super 8 Film
-Insider Secrets Every Filmmaker Should Know
by Phil Vigeant, President, Pro8mm, Burbank, CA
Many emerging filmmakers spend a fortune on equipment, expensive university film programs, private filmmaking boot camps, or over priced post-production, that often renders mediocre quality, and they still feel as if something is missing. They look at their progress as marginal compared to their financial investment, time commitment and ability to work the craft. That is the purpose of this book. Filmmakers will get the expertise I can offer from running my company, Pro8mm that has worked with industry insiders who have shot Super 8mm film for over 30 years. The Power of Super 8 Film illustrates why I invented products that changed the way filmmakers and the entertainment industry have used Super 8 film, emerging from a format used to shoot home movies in the 1950's-1970's to a professional production medium. Pro8mm workflows have been used in hundreds of commercials for national brands, dozens of 35mm theatrical releases, and award winning music videos and television shows. The Power of Super 8 Film will guide filmmakers through the steps they should take to immediately get the experience of shooting film on film, the way all the greats did.
The book is written in a non-technical style that will be easy for any newcomer to film to understand, while providing fantastic tips for filmmakers at any level on finding cameras, shooting different film stocks, choices in processing techniques and integrating Super 8 film into digital workflows and new media applications. I explain how to get a huge bang for your filmmaking buck by using an inexpensive Super 8 camera, a 50 foot cartridge of film, chemistry and the very best in digital scanning.
This book fills a much needed void among other books written on cinematography as it encapsulates the use of Super 8 film as a professional production medium giving real examples of work done in the format. It is not a technical manual on focus, lighting or other technical nuances of the craft, (of which there are plenty of existing references) but rather a guerilla guide that gets down to the nuts and bolts of Super 8 today. Nothing else like this currently exists.
The book is 104 pages, paperback and is available for $14.95 at www.pro8mm.com
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
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