THE LOOK OF THE FILM

[Guest]

I often see in this forum about things like this: "you can use super 8 for aesthetic reason" or "you use super 8 if you want a nostalgia look".
So if I want a 70's look I can shot with the same type of film that George Lucas used to filmed Star wars or Coppola The Godfather?

Is there any type of super 8 stock that can be said "Hey this look like a 90's movie"

[reflex]

Sure. Check out the Flying Spot demo reel -- properly exposed and colour corrected K40 looks fantastic.

And try Kodak's Vision 2 500T negative stock - you'll get a modern look with it, but it will have higher grain and a different look than S16 or 35.

re-reflex.

[Santo]

A pretty silly question if you think about it.

People talk about nostalgia look for super 8 when they are refering to using film stocks like Kodachrome K40 which originated in the 1930's. Most people shooting K40 get the warm fuzzies of watching old Uncle Bob's or dear old dad's home movies from the 60's or 70's. It's the colour and texture and look of reversal that says "home movie".

But you take the latest Vision2 negative film stocks with their razor sharp definition and fantastic shadow detail and extremely fine grain, and "modern" colour, and there is no home movie or nostalgia look involved. Your film will not look like it was shot in the 60's, or 90's even -- it will look like it was shot this year. It's the same film stock you're seeing when you go to see one of this year's features, after all.

[reflex]

People talk about nostalgia look for super 8 when they are refering to using film stocks like Kodachrome K40

I love shooting my son on Kodachrome because it looks so much like the stuff my parents took when I was his age.

[B.K.]

I disagree, the new Vision 2 stock has much more pleasing color pallete akin to the EXR stocks of the pre-90's. I'd say if you want a 90's look, go with the candy colors of something like the '74 (200T original Vision) or the '20 640T Primetime which was really distinctive as a 90's popping-colors look.

[audadvnc]

There's a lot more to the look of an era than just the film emulsion; lighting, camera technique, hair styles, you name it. Modern film stocks have a relatively neutral color response and can be finessed to look like older stocks in post production. But you're not going to get a "Godfather" or "Star Wars" look in S8; you'd need to go at least 16mm, with slow stock, before you'd even be in the ballpark.

What kind of project are you working on?

[steve hyde]

I don't know - my S8 Vision2 transfer looks pretty nostalgic. Someone looking over my shoulder in the studio said: "Wow, cool -it looks like an old documentary"

Steve

[Justin Lovell]

comparing the vision stock to the vision 2 stock:

1. vision has slightly larger grain and a warmer colour tone. This is reflective of what was popular when that stock was developed. People were more interested in warmer rich colour tones.

2. Vision 2 is an 'improvement' on the original vision stock. With newer technology, it yields slightly smaller grain and resolves better detail and less grain in the shadowy areas. Like everyone says, the color tones are much more neutral. This, again, is reflective of what is popular right now. People seem to rather shoot things more neutral or slightly on the 'cool' side.

If you're ever around the Kodak headquarters, or are able to get in touch with a customer service rep, take a look at their comparison reel. It's actually a very good demonstration of the differences in the stocks.

jusetan