Transfer .mov to Super8

[Chris Reed]

Hi,

 

this is a bit of an odd question but basically I'm a Uni student that is making a short horror film and we'd love to film in Super8, but its just too expensive.

 

However, we still want the look of Super8 so thought about filming on a Sony Z7, editing in Final Cut Pro and then transferring that on to Super8, and back again to a digital file.

 

My question is, would we get the same effect? And if so, do you know anywhere that can do it for us (cheaply..!)? We're based in Gloucester but anywhere in the UK would be great.

 

If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.

 

Thanks a lot

 

Chris

[Matt Stevens]

That sounds more expensive than Super8 to me (because of the transfer/conversion costs).

 

How long of a film is this intended to be?

[Chris Reed]

That sounds more expensive than Super8 to me (because of the transfer/conversion costs).

 

How long of a film is this intended to be?

 

Well I've only done a quick look on the net but the cheapest I found (buying 5 reels, then processing and conversion) was 200 quid. I assumed as it is only a ten minute short that the conversion of 10 minutes would be cheaper than 25.

Plus, i really don't think we'd get everything shot with 25 minutes of footage, especially if we had to reshoot...

If we were to buy the reels, play it on a projector and record it on to a super8 camera ourselves then send that to be processed that would be cheaper right? about 70 quid in all right?

[Matt Stevens]

I think you are best staying digital and giving it a super8 'look' in Final Cut. Or maybe if you have access to After Effects. That will be cheaper and less work intensive.

[Geoff Howell]

there's lots about digi to film transfershere

 

by shooting digital video and transferring it to film you won't actually be saving any money in that you'll still be paying for all the same materials: film stock, processing and transfer back to tape.

 

If you take in to account that you can buy a pretty decent camera for under £50 I'd bet that it's actually some what cheaper to just shoot your movie straight on to film and forget the digital transfer.

[Jock Blakley]

You can shoot film outright for less than you might think. Talk to Kodak or Fuji directly to buy your stock - you're probably entitled to a student discount of some sort. Find a good lab and see if they offer discounts, even if it's only a "package" discount on processing and scanning - and scanning can be pretty cheap if you're only going out to standard definition. Again, shop around; there might be an affordable lab a bit further away from you if you trust the postal service or a courier.

 

You can also get your stock costs down by ensuring you don't have to shoot more than you need. Do plenty of rehearsals so that everybody knows their stuff and wasted takes are minimised. Consider even doing a full run-through shot with whatever camera you can find - even a phone camera - but that way you can make a very rough cut and see how you film works without committing a single frame of film.

 

However you do it shooting on film is a very rewarding experience and I hope you succeed!