[Frameworks] DIY Super 8 telecine

[David Tetzlaff]

There are several problems with DIY Super8 telecine. If you have a standard S8 projector, it runs at 18fps, which just doesn't divide into 24, 25, 30, 50 or 60 very well. So you get flicker as one video frame will have less illumination than the next due to the projector shutter being open and closed different amounts of time. If you want that 'home movie' feel, just project the image on a nice matte white surface in a dark room, shoot it with the DV camera and live with the flicker. Don't waste your money on any of the mirror and screen boxes that go between the projector and camera. They're an absolute pain to align properly, and the video image isn't going to be any better. (I had a well made, all metal and real glass one of these things, as good as you can get... got better results easier just projecting on matte board. 

For shooting a projected image, you want to get the camera as close to the projector as possible to minimize parallax, and no farther back than the projector, so light leaks from the projector don't hit the video lens. You'll also want to mount the camera on a 3-way type photo head, not a video head, otherwise you'll never get the horizen line horizontal.

In theory you could eliminate flicker with a variable speed projector by tuning it to match the video camera. The problem is that the variable speed controls on affordable S8 projectors (I have a Chinon) A). aren't that precise so the sweet spot is hard to hit, B). worse aren't that stable some speed will drift, meaning the flicker will come and go, getting worse and better, which is more distracting than a steady flicker.

So if you want to telecine Super-8 WITHOUT flicker, you need fairly sophisticated technology -- a Moviestuff, Paul's modified Bauer rig, or have Phil at Pro8 scan it. None of these options are cheap. There is something unique and 'cool' about S8 footage blown up or scanned in HD, but it's a 'look' that requires a budget. 

If you want to shoot film for a workflow that's going to end up on video, it's cheaper and easier to shoot 16mm. You can find used Kodak Pageants for cheap: they run at a steady speed, are gentle with film, and don't have funky rubber parts that turn into goo. (The sound amp may be dead, or the rewind gear busted, but as long as the projectsd properly at forward speed, you're good for your purpose.) As long as you have an HD camcorder that runs at the same rate as the projector (24 or 25 fps, depending on your side of the pond) you don't need a special telecine projector or modified shutter or anything. It'll sync up good enough. You can get flicker-free footage that looks quite nice w/o any special pricey gear.

A 'good' Super8 cmaera, like a Nizo, Beaulieu or Canon, will be as expensive, if not more so, than a functional basic 16mm rig. The S8 camera will probably have a few more bells and whistles, and the smaller size makes it better for the kind of projects where you always keep your camera on hand for an impromptu shoot. But getting the image digitized w/o flicker is a major obstacle. Unlike 16mm, there's no middle ground. It's basically: shoot it off the wall and take what you get, or find a good professional service (and there are folks out there who are not cheap, who are not good...)

Another tech/aesthetic issue is how you feel about dust. Super-8 = small frame = bigger dust spots. Again that could be part of that home-movie-ish look you desire. But if you want that Super-8 saturation and grain and resolution, but you want it to look clean, well that's a huge chunk of work in the video file as you basically have to edit the dust out of the images frame by frame... In 16mm, the junk is nowhere near as noticeable...


> Hi all
> 
> I purchased a eumig 610D duel film projector ages ago in the hope of making my own telecine machine. I have a Panasonic DVX100B camcorder for SD and a Canon 550D for HD I could could capture to. I've been meaning to start faffing about with this project for over a year now but haven't got around to it. Any ideas on the quality of images I could produce with the devices I have available? How could I get this to work... etc..? 
> 
> Kind Regards
> Kevin
> 
> 
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