WELCOME to a help page in LittleFilm.org Please be advised that this page is an historic document and probably contains some references, phone numbers, products and services which may be obsolete.
Bulletin: Note that since many new stocks have appeared and the chemistry for the old stocks has been changed or discontinued, we advise you use and process old stocks sooner than later.
FILM IS ALIVE, especially in Europe!
The classic Super 8 Reversal Stocks
Negative film stocks for Super 8
FILM is *ALIVE* especially in Europe!
Special thanks to Leo Enticknap from this site's Admin.
Stanley Productions also sells Kodak Super 8 stock.
In Germany, KahlFilm, and
GKFilm and Wittner Kinotechnik all sell Fuji Velvia 35mm slide film, cut and reperforated in Super 8 cartridges. Kahl also does processing.
And if anyone is still shooting on 9.5mm, Graham Newnhame in Southampton, England is selling Velvia reformatted for 9.5 in both types of cartridge, too! Find him at Graham Newnhame..
In the USA, Super 8 film is available directly from Kodak. (Kodak's order line in New York City is tel: 212-621-3400 or a free number for inside the US 800-621-3456. (TIP: Check for the best price when ordering from Kodak as a student through your film tech room person at a collaborating university.) Kodak sells the OLD RELIABLE black and white reversal film: TRI-X Reversal 7266 and three color negative stocks. Reversal film is direct projection material, negative is not. See their page at Kodak's Super 8 film products.
Pro 8mm in Burbank, California pioneered negative stocks for Super 8. Super 8 Negative is quite popular among music filmmakers in the U.K. and the U.S.A. Pro8 also sells reversal stock (B&W and color) and offers a lot of special packages for filmmakers. See the Pro 8 homepage.
Pro8 is at 2805 West Magnolia Blvd. Burbank CA 91505. Contact: Philip Vigeant, tel: 818-848-5522.
Definition of REVERSAL Film
This term "reversal film" sometimes confuses the beginning filmmaker. It refers to filmstock created for camera to processing to direct projection. When held in your hands you will notice the images look like slides (like positive transparencies, color or BW). Reversal can be somewhat contrasty as it was intended for direct projection, for the original to look fine on a screen in a darkened room. Transfer or digitization needs to be done very carefully by technicians who specialize as sloppy work can lose the shadow detail of well exposed reversal film.
Reversal film merits correct exposure to see just how well it performs. To see reversal film at its best, we recommend you put the important subject or tones in the middle of the exposure range and you will have the best results, especially in high contrast playback such as a video or computer monitor. Reversal film suffers (or gets artsy, depending on your aesthetic) when over or underexposed. Push or pull processing further degrades the potential of any particular filmstock. Study each film's capabilities before you mess with exposure and processing.
REGULAR 8mm a.k.a. STANDARD 8mm film
8mm is available on Double 8 daylight reels. They hold 25 feet of film with 8mm perforations, 16mm wide. The reel is turned over halfway through exposing it. The processing labs will return it to you slit lengthwise as 50 feet of 8mm on an 8mm reel.
In the USA, Regular 8mm is sold by
JOHN SCHWIND tel: 707 678 2942.
MARTIN BAUMGARTEN, Plattsburg Photographic, 18 Elm St. Plattsburg, NY 12901 tel: 518 561 6312 Martin does processing of many special films by hand. He is also the author of many helpful technical articles about Super 8 and 8mm film all across the web. Contact him at Super8mm at aol dot com.
In the UK, The Widescreen Centre sells Standard 8mm film. Attention 8mm filmmakers worldwide: If you are in other countries and know of sources of 8mm film, please contact us as at the bottom of this page. Thank you.
Super 8 REVERSAL FILM STOCKS
and
SUPER 8 NEGATIVE
A departure from the historic look of 8mm reversal film, negative stock is used in 16mm and 35mm to compress contrast for going to release print or video display. We know of no labs making prints in Super 8 from Super 8 neg. In your hands, negative looks like the orange images that come back from the lab with your color snapshots. Negative was initially a more expensive way to work in Super 8 and does not replicate the historic look of reversal stocks than were associated with 8mm film. DPs like to intercut neg with its higher resolution cousin-stocks in 16mm and 35mm. Some prefer neg for its own aesthetic or the appearance of professionalism.
LEADER
Please attach only proper new Kodak triacetate leader to acetate film original for preservation. Any plastic leader from any source should never be used! Plastic leaders shrink at a rate different from the film they are attached to as leader!
Proper acetate leader, in quantity for archives in 16mm, Regular 8mm, or Super 8mm can be purchased directly from Eastman Kodak. The KODAK ORDER LINE is tel: 212-631-3400 or in the US, toll free at 800-621-3456.
Kodak Regular 8mm leader in 50 foot rolls is no longer available from Kodak, so, in the USA, if you need a small amount, order it from URBANSKI FILM who stocks Kodak leader in all three small gauges of film.
Here are the Kodak CAT# (catalog number) for ordering the supplies they are still carrying:
- Regular 8mm white acetate leader, 1000 feet: cat# 145-2911
- Super 8 white acetate leader, 1000 foot box: cat# 882 7362
- 16mm white acetate leader, double perf, 1000 feet: cat# 800 1901
- 16mm white acetate leader, single perf, 1000 feet: cat# 821 0445
- Film Cement, 1 pt. cat# 166 9738. Smaller quantities of cement available through Urbanski as above.
In 2007, Kodak made the requirement of a 7 roll, or 7000 foot, minimum order on 16mm leader.
To reinforce the need to use good acetate leader, we quote Russ Suniewick at Colorlab who wrote us in 2005: "PLEASE FOLLOW THE CARDINAL RULE OF PREPARING ANY SMALL GAUGE GOING TO A FACILITY FOR PRESERVATION...ABSOLUTELY NO PLASTIC LEADERS OR LEADERS MADE FROM ANYTHING OTHER THAN ACETATE. When you don't do this, we have to releader all rolls (and reslug all combined rolls) before we even begin evaluating the material through a sync block, let alone the telecine's idler roller or the sprocket drives of an optical printer. These products are never shrunk, directional stability (is) always excellent, and one perf is always the same shape as (hello) the one next to it." - Russ at Colorlab (THANK YOU, RUSS! -ed.)
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SPLICES
The most affordable way to join together your films is to make cement splices if you are skilled that way. Use Kodak Film cement which is sold by the pint )Kodak Cat# 166 9738.) . Call Kodak's Order Line at 800-621-3456. A well made cement splice is also very durable. When we handle old family film splicedby an amateur filmmaker 60 or 70 years ago we often find cement splices which still hold.
If you are not willing to learn how to make good cement splices, www.URBANSKI FILM sells Presstapes which are tape splices. They are handy but not easy to make at first. Practice and plan to put them on both sides of the film. Presstapes are sold for Regular 8mm, Super 8mm or 16mm film gauges.
re: FILM CEMENT: Do not attempt cement splicing without instruction from an experienced person. If you have experience in making cement splices, then you probably have access to an appropriate hot splicer. Well-made tape splices hold a very long time but making them is quite fussy until you become very experienced at it. For instance, you have to be careful the film is properly positioned, scraped, scrapes are cleaned off, that extra cement is wiped off, and that the splice is dry before you go on and wind it up on other film.Top
VIEWERS, SPLICERS and other hardware
KARL THOMAS, Tucson AZ **** best source of used gear at fair prices**** Karl Thomas's website:.
tel: 520 888 3992, postal mailing address= P.O. Box 50672, Tucson AZ 85703. He's strong in 35mm and 16mm gear but also stocks Regular 8mm and Super 8 viewers, splicers, rewinds, projectors and sometimes cameras. Tell him what you need and he will find it.
REELS and CANS
Stil Casing in Quebec City Stil makes marvelous, stable, well designed archival containers. Consider their archival audio tape containers might house larger rolls of 8mm film. See Stil Casing site.
Tuscan 8mm reels and cans. Tuscan's site.
Look at their 8mm archival products and also their ProVent Audio Archival Container.
Taylor Reel 8mm reels and cans. Website: Tayloreel.
B&H Photo Internet orders of 8mm Gepe reels and boxes, which fit 8mm, Super 8 and Single 8mm film but are currently quite expensive. BHphoto.com
MPE: Motion Picture Enterprises Tarrytown NY 212-245-0969 MPE
PRC Plastic Reel Corporation in New Jersey tel: 800-772-4748 or 201-933-5100 PRCofAmerica
These listings are for information only. This publication cannot guarantee products, services nor service providers on its lists. -ed.
LittleFilm.org
Antoinette Treadway ©1999-2013. All rights reserved. Revised 2 Feb. 2013
Beginning in 1978, Toni Treadway and Bob Brodsky decided to aid filmmakers with advocacy and training about Little Film.
This site is dedicated to 8mm film and its filmmakers.
Write us at P.O. Box 335 Rowley, MA 01969 USA
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Before you email a question to the editor Ms. Treadway, we ask that you search the website.
Your patience is requested. Technical questions are complicated to answer and require time she does not have.
We prefer the telephone for contact. Telephone: 978.948.7985 Please call from 9-6 EST. If you are overseas and must email, please remove the word NOSPAM and standardize the form of the address to contact us....... TreadwayNOSPAM at LittleFilm dot org. In your note, indicate the best time and phone to reach you. Thank you.
Please visit other pages on this website for more information about 8mm and Super 8 filmmaking and preservation of 8mm films, artist's films, home movies, and for making films today.
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