Hi everyone, im new to super 8 and film making, but im hoping to make a short surfing film including some footage taken from the water with a eumig nautica that i have just purchased. Im really interested in using super 8 and it seems an exciting project. However i was hoping of trying to minimise the costs in any way really and maybe by doing a bit of home processing for shots of landscape/driving etc.
Does anyone know of where i could still get a lomo tank or simmilar, iv had a trawl round the internet and they seem preety rare and quite costly. If the price was high, i was thinking of trying to make my own tank or just using really raw processing methods? How do these sort of methods compare to the results from the lomo?
Ill probably pay for the development of the water shots as i would like them spot on. If i shoot in 18fps on the nautica, would slowing it down digitally look bad? Also if anyone has filmed from the water do they have any ideas on how to minimise camera shake, when filming surfers?
Anyway, sorry if this sort of thing gets asked all the time, iv had a good look round the past topics. Any advice would be appeciated to get me on my way! Im based in the UK.
Cheers
Surf Film - Home Processing and general advice please
Moderator: Andreas Wideroe
Hey Static, first off sorry about your footy team this season. 
Processing at home can give excellent results, not sure how available the chemicals are in UK, but that would be my biggest concern.. Angus can help ya out there I'm sure.
I would certainly invest in a Lomo tank that can do 15meters (50ft) of film. Much more even and consistent results this way. I have two Lomo's, one new in box and one old that I use. I have often thought about selling the old one, I bought it from a forum member many years ago for quite allot a money. The new one was much cheaper, but I haven't seen one that cheap since. Keep an eye out, they pop up cheap once in a while....
Lots of resources available here to help you along the way. You may even find results to be so good that there will be no need for a Lab. All depends on how critical you are with the process...
Processing at home can give excellent results, not sure how available the chemicals are in UK, but that would be my biggest concern.. Angus can help ya out there I'm sure.
I would certainly invest in a Lomo tank that can do 15meters (50ft) of film. Much more even and consistent results this way. I have two Lomo's, one new in box and one old that I use. I have often thought about selling the old one, I bought it from a forum member many years ago for quite allot a money. The new one was much cheaper, but I haven't seen one that cheap since. Keep an eye out, they pop up cheap once in a while....
Lots of resources available here to help you along the way. You may even find results to be so good that there will be no need for a Lab. All depends on how critical you are with the process...
Hi Static,
sounds like a neat project. Good luck with it. Buy yourself a single cart of a filmstock that the Nautica can handle and is also capable of being home processed easily (eg Tri-x), get yourself o-rings and grease and your wetsuit on and go AND TEST! Even if that is only paddling around on a boogyboard or swimming a little. Get this processed from a lab. See if the camera works and if you like the results the setup is capable of ....oh, and read thru some of this,
viewtopic.php?t=18128&highlight=nautica+surf
viewtopic.php?t=14531&highlight=nautica+surf
viewtopic.php?t=7903&highlight=nautica+surf
viewtopic.php?t=18763&highlight=processing+plus
viewtopic.php?t=18522&highlight=calculating+focal
all the best,
ade
sounds like a neat project. Good luck with it. Buy yourself a single cart of a filmstock that the Nautica can handle and is also capable of being home processed easily (eg Tri-x), get yourself o-rings and grease and your wetsuit on and go AND TEST! Even if that is only paddling around on a boogyboard or swimming a little. Get this processed from a lab. See if the camera works and if you like the results the setup is capable of ....oh, and read thru some of this,
viewtopic.php?t=18128&highlight=nautica+surf
viewtopic.php?t=14531&highlight=nautica+surf
viewtopic.php?t=7903&highlight=nautica+surf
viewtopic.php?t=18763&highlight=processing+plus
viewtopic.php?t=18522&highlight=calculating+focal
all the best,
ade
-
steve hyde
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- Real name: Steve Hyde
- Location: Seattle
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...I've not used the Eumig, but I have shot action and I own and use a LOMO. Processing in a LOMO does not save you money, but what it does create a look. It will remind viewers of films shot in the 1920s. This could be nice for life style shots. I like to use the LOMO for static portraiture because you end up with a wild dance of film grain and specs around the subject.
That is more or less what I did with this:
http://allbuiltin.com/clients/hyde/film_D76.html
I need to make a high res version of this available because you can't really see the grain in this example. In high res you can actually see the individual film grains.
RE: frame rates
I wouldn't shoot surfing at 18fps from the water for a few reasons.
The slower frame rate will mean slower shutter speed unless you have a variable adjustment on shutter angle. A slower shutter speed means more motion blur on each frame. At 18fps you will probably be around a 45th of a second which is not fast enough to stop water droplets. For this reason I would shoot at 36fps or faster to go for a more dramatic slow motion effect that captures spray and splash. Also a faster frame rate means you can open the aperture of the lens more for optimal images in bright sunlight. Furthermore, a faster frame rate also slows down the shaky camera work that you will be doing from the water...
..some food for thought.
Steve
That is more or less what I did with this:
http://allbuiltin.com/clients/hyde/film_D76.html
I need to make a high res version of this available because you can't really see the grain in this example. In high res you can actually see the individual film grains.
RE: frame rates
I wouldn't shoot surfing at 18fps from the water for a few reasons.
The slower frame rate will mean slower shutter speed unless you have a variable adjustment on shutter angle. A slower shutter speed means more motion blur on each frame. At 18fps you will probably be around a 45th of a second which is not fast enough to stop water droplets. For this reason I would shoot at 36fps or faster to go for a more dramatic slow motion effect that captures spray and splash. Also a faster frame rate means you can open the aperture of the lens more for optimal images in bright sunlight. Furthermore, a faster frame rate also slows down the shaky camera work that you will be doing from the water...
..some food for thought.
Steve
Hi, thanks everyone for the input, its all made me think. Im going to get my fins on and shoot a roll asap in the water to get a bearing on the camera. Then if that all goes well hopefully ill move onto some home processing if i can get my hands on a tank.
In relation to the frame rates, the nautca is unfortuanatly stuck on 18fps. It would be great to up the frame rate for the effects mentioned but as the eumig is really the only super 8 camera i can take out in the sea, theres not a lot i can do. Its a shame because slow motion effects look great with surfing, but hopefully it will still look ok with some good waves. I think my aspirations are bigger than what i can accomplish already!
In relation to the frame rates, the nautca is unfortuanatly stuck on 18fps. It would be great to up the frame rate for the effects mentioned but as the eumig is really the only super 8 camera i can take out in the sea, theres not a lot i can do. Its a shame because slow motion effects look great with surfing, but hopefully it will still look ok with some good waves. I think my aspirations are bigger than what i can accomplish already!
I can process 7 films in 1 agfa e-6 kit which cost me $13cdn. I don't post this stuff, because up until recently it's all been home movies and very personal to me. The B&W is something I'm still experimenting with, the reversal bleach doesn't last long and that is my biggest problem at the moment with B&W. Needless to say processing to a negitive is no problem at all.
For good results, use good water! Use distilled water to mix your chemistry and use distilled water at the proper temps for all washing steps. I occasionally use tap water when I'm just mucking around and it shows. Spots on film uneven waves of whatever running through the film. You must treat processing as a scientific en devour in order to get great results. It's not necessary for good to fair results or an aged look which is something that I rather like, but for great results, Be CRITICAL!
Use old film stock to practice and experiment, you will often be rather suprised by the results. Once you slip a new stock of film in there, you will be blown away! At least thats how it goes for me...
For good results, use good water! Use distilled water to mix your chemistry and use distilled water at the proper temps for all washing steps. I occasionally use tap water when I'm just mucking around and it shows. Spots on film uneven waves of whatever running through the film. You must treat processing as a scientific en devour in order to get great results. It's not necessary for good to fair results or an aged look which is something that I rather like, but for great results, Be CRITICAL!
Use old film stock to practice and experiment, you will often be rather suprised by the results. Once you slip a new stock of film in there, you will be blown away! At least thats how it goes for me...
Hi again static,
yeah just get out there and have some fun. You're going to get some fantastic results, but the point is that they are probably not going to be in line with either what you expect or your expectations! The point is to see if you like what you can produce.
By the way, Bolex Switzerland still support the Nautica in terms of service and repair, and will (for a fee, which you may or may not think is expensive depending on your point of view) upgrade the camera to 25 fps. A useful increase, but as has been pointed out, not exactly a slow motion speed. THEY will NOT increase the speed higher than this. Whether the camera is capable of being usable at 'overclocked' speeds only experimentation could find out.
Anyway, keep us updated on the project!
All the best,
fogo
yeah just get out there and have some fun. You're going to get some fantastic results, but the point is that they are probably not going to be in line with either what you expect or your expectations! The point is to see if you like what you can produce.
By the way, Bolex Switzerland still support the Nautica in terms of service and repair, and will (for a fee, which you may or may not think is expensive depending on your point of view) upgrade the camera to 25 fps. A useful increase, but as has been pointed out, not exactly a slow motion speed. THEY will NOT increase the speed higher than this. Whether the camera is capable of being usable at 'overclocked' speeds only experimentation could find out.
Anyway, keep us updated on the project!
All the best,
fogo