Super (Duper) 8
Today we got to mess around with a film based camera, The Canon 1014XL-S Film camera. mainly designed for home use such as family films, they were originally not intended for professional filming, However since the digital format took over, it has however used as a gateway to film and is mainly used by artists and film students. We didn't get to see what footage we shot today, but we were shown this example of super 8 film made by KODAK.
Much like how we use the AVC camera, it is recommended to film at 24/25 FPS but 24 is considered "True Cinema" quality. Thanks to a demonstration by an ex student called Gary, a few sessions back he came in to show how to develop film, though i don't remember the process, i do however learned that film is highly sensitive as he developed it under a custom black box to make sure that the film isn't over exposed. There is however, to sort out the exposure through a device called the "Light Meter".
Much like a calculator, The Light meter Tells you what the recommended "F stop" the camera must have for the best exposure in the room. you first input the sensitivity of the film, for the film we used he had "200T" with the "T" Meaning tungsten lighting, a Orange dull form of lighting. With the sensitivity found out, you then input the ISO of the room aswell( also known as gain which is how sensitive the lens is to light). next input the frame rate that you are shooting on (which again 24fps) and then it will display the recommended f stop for you.
With the Setting all inputted its time to load up the film cartridge itself:
1.open the hatch at the side with the handle:
2: insert the cartridge at an angle
3: push the cartridge down until it clicks
4. And finally close the lid and you're good to go
Now with the film set up and the right f stop ready for the best exposure, its now time to learn the "pristine focus". The camera is all manual meaning there is no digital finder so to actual see how focused it is (or to set the frame rate) you are required to look through the eye piece and manually focus the camera.
when looking through the eye piece, you will see this circle, this is what will help you focus you're shot. The goal to focus you're shot is the middle circle, notice how the pipe has been shifted to the left and the middle of the circle has cut the pipe. the goal is to align the circle using the manual focus on the lens to align your shot, making it "pristine".
Once we learned the basics of the camera, we were split up into three different groups and to film up to 9 seconds of shots using the light meter to get the right exposure in each shot, the reason for 9 seconds is each cartridge can only film up to 3 minutes and 1 cartridge costs £30 meaning you are paying £10 per minute.
from what time we got to use the camera, i feel confident in using the camera in the future, especially if i'm needed to use it in a film project.
Resources:
Image: chinon-ce-4-manual-focussing
http://www.cameratim.com/photography/about-photography/focus
Kodak Super8. (2017) Super 8 Camera footage[online]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXzv_F07BNo&t=47s