The Super 8 Guide
So you’ve heard the term Super 8 tossed around. You’ve seen more and more vendors offering Super 8 for weddings. But what the heck is Super 8, anyway? And why should you choose it for your wedding? The Super 8 Guide is here to demystify all of that for your and help you decide, well, if Super 8 is right for you.
What is Super 8?
Super 8 is a film stock manufactured by Kodak beginning in the 1960s. As video cameras got smaller, Kodak developed the stock to make home movies easier and more accessible. Think: precursor to the camcorder your parents had in the 80s and 90s. The original Super 8 film stock was produced to capture both audio and video. However, current Super 8 stocks only capture video. They’re set to capture up to 3 minutes of film per roll, largely in short snippets.
For those who want to talk shop and know the nitty-gritty: there are two main types of Super 8 film that Kodak produces: daylight and Tungsten. Daylight (Vision3 50d and Ektachrome 100d) are rated for outdoors. Both are equipped to handle all manner of outdoor lighting conditions, from very bright sunlight to sunset. Tungsten film is better for indoors, as it’s produced to handle the yellow tint that indoor lights cast.
Why Super 8?
If you love the look of old home movies, Super 8 is hard to beat. And when I say the look of old home movies, I don’t just mean the film look; lots of people replicate that look when editing digital video. I mean the ephemerality, and by that I mean the short snippets. Super 8 video feels like a window into a time and a place. It grounds those moments in time and reminds us how fleeting the moments of our lives are, big and small.
Why Choose Super 8 Over Digital Video?
Wedding films are, by definition, a kind of cinema. They turn our lives into a movie with us as the main characters. The question then becomes how you want your wedding filmed: do you want an epic cinematic picture? Or do you want something more akin to a gorgeous, real, raw silent film? Do you want to relive every moment, or do you want to view your life in a nostalgic, romantic way?
Super 8 isn’t the right choice for everyone. If you want to have every bit of your day preserved, regardless of if it’s turned into a cinematic film or not, you shouldn’t choose Super 8. Or, if you want the best of both worlds, find a videographer who can offer both: one videographer filming with a digital camera on a tripod or a gimbal and another shooting Super 8 (or one who’s set a digital camera up on a tripod and runs around with the Super 8 camera).
What Can My Wedding Look Like on Super 8?
In a word: amazing. I mean it when I say there’s absolutely nothing like Super 8 for wedding videos. It’s cinematic in that classical way we often don’t get anymore.
Here’s a quick teaser video of a couple walking down the aisle after their ceremony. You just can’t replicate this feeling or this authenticity with digital video.
In Conclusion
You might be reading this and say to yourself wow, she sounds biased. And you’d be right! The Super 8 Guide is here to convince you that your wedding or other big life event should be filmed on Super 8 film. It’s also here to tell you why Super 8 might not be right for you, both presented in an easily digestible way.
The most important thing on your wedding day is to have a day that celebrates both of you. Let me say that again: your wedding day is YOUR wedding day. Believe me, I remember being caught up in expectations of what others wanted or what we should do to please other people. But when it comes down to it, they’re not the ones getting married — you are. However you’re getting married, whether you’re eloping or having a big celebration with everyone you love, your day should reflect you. It should celebrate your unique love story. No one’s love story is exactly like yours.
And just as everyone’s love story is unique, how you capture it should be unique, too. It should reflect how you want to remember your day. Again: Super 8 isn’t for everyone. But if you want to remember your day where you’re the main characters in a timeless, nostalgic, classic piece of cinema, Super 8 would be perfect for you.
Contact Me
Want to talk shop? Curious to learn more about Super 8? Let’s chat; I’m an open book. Reach out via my contact page or the form below and we’ll get this thing started.
