SUPER 8 IS ALIVE AND WELL. THANK YOU!

On Monday night Phil and Rhonda Vigeant presented their first seminar of the series of workshops and just released book    "The Power of Super 8 Film" at the Missing Piece Theater in Burbank to a pack house of Super 8mm film enthusiasts,  cinematographers and other film and video professionals. Pro 8mm is the premier production and post production house in USA in all related Super 8mm filmmaking.

 Phil started the presentation with the evolution of  the Super 8 film, from his earliest days at working Super 8 Sound in Cambridge, Mass,  until today and later explaining his reason to upgrade his workflow M2 HD 4K scanner to Pro Res 444 workflow. 

Pro8mm post production facility in Burbank

 Along with his entertaining story telling about his experiences with the medium and interaction with the end users of Super 8mm on the early days, when it was an ubiquitous item in any household, educational institution or industrial production company and how the medium  was resurrected from an almost total eradication from the industry with the advent of the Betamax and later VHS tapes and the immediate gratification of video playback.

 To illustrate the chronology of the renaissance of Super 8mm, Phil presented 8 classic MTV groundbreaking music videos from the early days to today, including Madonna's "Erotica" to Boys Like Girls "Two is Better Than One", all shot with Super 8 and the last one shown was shot combining Pro8mm retrofitted Canon cameras loaded with Fuji film stock and the RED ONE camera.

 Film Stock sold with processing and HD scanning

The Pro 814, a newly rebuilt, re-calibrated classic
Super 8 Canon 814 camera, modified to
optimize results from modern film stocks.

 All videos presented were originated on Super 8mm film stock at one time or other and transferred to DVD with the in-house M2 HD 4K scanner or Pro Res 444. The last two videos presented, a music video and a fashion industrial video were of the highest post production and finishing quality paired with outstanding cinematography. 

Cinematographers George Manzanilla and Craig Kief joined Phil on the stage for a conversation and a Q& A ensuing many questions from attendees about their experience in using such narrow gauge to capture 16x9 aspect ratio visuals and the aesthetic reasons behind the decision to combine them or inter-cut them with HD footage.

 Chris Manes, Phil Vigeant, Steve Moses

 Craig Kief, George Leon, George Manzanilla, Phil Vigeant, 

Jackie Di Crystal, Rhonda Vigeant
(Daniel Lee photo)

Also,  Pro8mm announced their 2 Day Boot Camp,  September 11 & 12 2010, and those in attendance were allowed to pre-register at a huge discount and bring a friend for free.  Also, for details on more free Super 8 seminars, purchase of the book and events. Call 818-848-5522 or log onto Pro8mm website!

To learn more about the Power of Super 8 Film book and to watch a video click here!