jason duncan

Please tell me what I did wrong. I have about $250 in film that I can't use and I need to re-film them again and I really don't want to have the same mistake know what I mean!? Would the strobbing lights have any effect even with the exposure set to man. and not auto.? But how come the mini-dv looks perfect?

Please help. I shot lots of footage of a band at a club and it's all underexposed. I used a Canon 1014 XL-s and a 814 XL-s both are "Low Light" cameras. The film was 7266 b/w Tri-X, I had the shutter speed set for low light (the Window setting 220 degrees), and I had the exposure set to manual at 5.6fstop on the lens. I did not use a light meter but apart from only going down to 1.4f what else can I do? I do have the option to set the expousre dial to +/- 1fstop. I also recorded the same show with a mini-dv cam and that footage looks great. If anyone gets a chance, please look on YouTube. I made a short promo clip from the mini-dv footage. My username is "videoaudiomaster" and the 50 second clip is called "miles beyond" This will give you the exact conditions of the room. Thank you.

Alessandro, yeah, it' hard knowing which method to use for filming a live band as far as one on a stick and one roving or both on sticks etc. Like you said it does depend on the crowd size, stage access. But one good thing about on cam on a stick and one roving is even if I get the other camera guy in the shot I can just cut to the other cam in post. It's a pain but no one wants to watch a "vhs" style home video with just one camera angle right? That's the whole reason for using more than one cam. Althought I just bought the movie Rude Boy (the Clash) and heard that some or all of the concert footage was with only one cam going so what do I know. That spider pod you had, whould that work with a super 8 only having at the most 3min 20sec?

Thanks Alessandro for your responce. I wouldn't say my way is brilliant. The only reason I thought of this method is because sound film is no longer made. All of my problems would be solved if they still made sound film. Again, I wouldn't actually use the mag audio, it would just be for reference so I would know excalty what bits and pieces of the song I filmed with the second or third camera. Or if Super 8 had a 400 foot magazine housing then I could film a complete song with two cameras constanly going and then cut the angles for the final video in post. But @ 24 fps only holding 2.5 minutes I have a choice of either having one guy film for 2.5 min and then the other kicks in with going back and forth like that or I have one camera going all the time on say a tripod and then one guy moves around getting close-ups and what not but only shooting for 5-30 seconds at a time. This would be much eaiser if either there was sound or the carts held more time. Thanks again.

The project I'm going to be doing is filming a live band with three cameras going and then I can switch back in forth in post on which camera angle I want to use. But as you might guess since there is no sound it's going to be very hard to tell what song it is as I'm watching the film or even where in the song. I don't want to make a montage video, I want to make an actual live video performance. I'll be able to get the mixed down 24 track cd of the live show so I'm not actually using the camera audio. It is just for reference so I can tell what and where the song is by labeling each exposed cartridge. I've already tried using the "stop and go" record method but it's hard trying to hold the cam and the portable audio device and pushing record at the same time on both units. With the method I want to use, it will be a no brainer because the audio will be recording the whole time but it will be "blank" untill I pull the film trigger and then sound will come through from the camera. This would be 1000 times easier with a video cam with sound because then I would know exactly where and what song it is but hey.......we love Super 8 right!

No, I'm going to have the audio recorder going the whole time. That way there will be no sound untill I go to film. I'm not going to use the audio. It's just for reference purposes.

Hello all: I have a Canon 1014 & 814 both XL-S. I?m trying to figure out how to use the ?MONI? (audio output) with an external audio recorder while using a silent film cartridge. For a test I have the mic turned on and plugged in the camera, pull the trigger to record and with the cartridge door open and the button at the lower left of the film compartment depressed ( I assume this button is the indicator for a sound cartridge) it runs for about two seconds and stops. I can hear sound from the mic through my headphones which are plugged into the MONI jack the whole time the trigger is depressed even after the motor stops. When I do this same test and DO NOT push in the sound cartridge indicator button it stays running for as long as I hold the trigger down. At first I was thinking it stopped because the cartridge door was open. There are various buttons inside the film compartment and even on the inside of the cartridge door that I?ve pushed while filming to try to fool the camera in thinking there is a sound cartridge in place. I?ve also tried this with and without a cartridge (silent) installed. I?ve even messed around in the sound strip area as far as pushing things in, pulling them out while it was filming. And I?ve tried these tests with both cameras. I realize there are other ways of recording the audio but this way I will be able to match the audio easier for the project I?m doing by knowing exactly where the audio kicks in. Thanks, Jason.

Here's a tip...........Don't go to Wal-Mart.

Hey Lisa, I'm guessing with the scanning method you wouldn't be able to fix scracthes and dirt like a Rank can. But your NLE program can color correct. I'm sort of a newbie so I'm not sure of the wet gate. I have heard of it though. I'm Sorry.

I'm not sure about Final Cut. I have Pinnacle Studio and it has the capability to "flip" an imagine (negative to positive) if that's what you mean. I have a HP ScanJet 4890 and it can scan a negative 35mm so I was hoping your program would work for Super 8 negatives. Is this system better than a Rank transfer? Even the DaVinci 888 Dui System?

Does this work for both reversal and negative film?

I filmed a project and used my mini-dv cam for the audio, ran that back to my computer and saved them as WAV files. You can get 16 bit audio from most cams.

Thanks for the info Steve. Yea, I'll buy that too. I also appreciate you answering my questions about negative film. And I was floored when I saw your short clips of the bird flying inside. You said you want people to possibly send in films to you. Does that mean there can't be any copywrited material such as songs or audio clips from movies/tv shows? I make short films but I use "found" audio for the soundtrack. I'm not going to make any money so I was wondedring if that is ok?

Rick, I will by your film. Anything I can do to support indi Super 8 filmmaking!

Hey all, I hope this is appropriate in this forum, if not please delete. I just want to give plug to Justin Lovell for his film Stuntman. I read about it in Kodak's success storys link so I bought it. I'm currently obsessed with Super 8 but I'm not a great script writer so it's films like this (and troymotion) that give me hope. I personaly do not know Justin so this is not a marketing scheme. I think it's fascinating to be able to modify the camera to shoot widescreen. I think the ratio ended up being 1.85:1 although a ratio of 2.35:1 like the Star Wars movies in my opinion would have been even better. If you have a passion for making short movies and it would make you sick to have to shoot it on mini-dv, then I highly recommend the works of Justin.

If your mini-dv cam is a 3CCD then definetly by Panasonic AY-DVM80XJ 3CCD tapes

Hello all, Newbie question: Is a viewer/editior sort of like the old GAF ViewMaster plastic toys we had as kids that shines the light through each little frame of the disc? I want to view the film before I have it transfered but I don't want to use my old projector, it jams and scratches the films so I was hoping a viewer is easier on the films....like a ViewMaster.

Steve, that footage is absoluty beautiful. Is it 200T or 500T?

Thank you. Justin at Frame Discreet used a Canon 1014xl-s for the super 8 movie Stuntman. I'll email him and see what he says.

Hello all: I just bought a Canon 814xls. Two questions: One, there is what appears to be a 9v adaptor? Can I use this for indoor shooting? I've looked around for one with no luck. Two, In the past I've only used Reversal film but I never actually view the film, I have it transfered via a WorkPrinter XP to mini-dv tape and run it to my NLE program. Since this is the case, should I use Negative instead? I heard the quality is better plus it has a better lattitude and I'm not great with lighting yet. Either I can flip it or the telecine transfer can? Thanks

Canon 814 xl-s or 1014 xl-s are just a few good cameras. If you want good results that isn't too costly, find a person that has a DV Sniper or Workcenter to do the transfer (look up moviestuff.com for more info) These are frame by frame scans of the film. The reason you are filming with super 8 and not video is because you want that "film" look so why go on the cheap with a home telecine. They can put the film on a mini-dv tape and then you can run that back to your non-liner editing program via firewire for great results.