Schlagwort: super 8

Gesäuse!

And this is what happened in Austria recently:
For days now it has been raining permanently night and day and snowing 100 m higher …
I am here in the wetlands haha part of a small family-like minifestival (called »Enchanted Garden«) giving a workshop. All was supposed to happen outside in the huge natural park called »Gesäuse« but all is now happening inside … feeling sorry for the festival but people are in a good mood (we’re talking about 15 people, not more, it’s really nice and tiny).
How can I translate »Gesäuse«? Something making a whispering sound like the running water of the river, of the falling rain, of the wind in the leaves …
We’re filming in a small group, just 6 people and me, developing in a soup of what nature gives us. Cheers!
You can see some results here on YouTube!

Stein! Berg! Kirche!

So at some point, when I was looking at the village sign where my parents live, I thought: “Stein! Berg! Kirche! … Stone! Mountain! Church! … Rock! Paper! Scissors!” …
and a new film idea was born.

3 women playing it, simply having fun. Mountain beats stone, stone beats Jesus (Church) and Jesus divides the mountain.

They played it, I filmed it. Super 8 of course, black and white. It’s been developed and right now waiting to be digitized, then edited. I recorded voices and laughter.

Let’s see what I can tinker!

Thank you, Mama and Antje and Birgit (and my brother who is holding the subtitles!!)

Ode An Juni 2023

Now I start editing my 11th Ode an Juni / Ode to June film!

“In diesem Monat werde ich sehr viel unterwegs sein, Workshops und Filmfestival und Bokel, wo der geheimnisvolle Zirkuswagen steht und seinen Zauber voll entfaltet und wo ich eigentlich hauptsächlich die coolen netten Hühnchen abfilme!
I will be on the road a lot this month … a workshop, a film festival and Bokel, the Bokel, place of the mysterious gypsy caravan which is unfolding its magic … the place of funny and friendly free running chicken!
Und wo es das schönste Freibad von ganz Norddeutschland gibt! They have the most beautiful public pool of North Germany there!”

Shot completely on super 8 (what else …) … it will be about 20 minutes long. Here is some info about all my June films.

So Sachen / Such Things

This is a report about how things can go awfully wrong and in the end can become something beautiful and just … magically matching somehow.
Maybe it will be a bit too chemical and diving deep in photographical layers … but it will be funny too, promised!

I spent a week at my friend’s spot on the countryside and we had some very cool film and story ideas. Yes, sometimes I am not totally self-centered … with the right person there can be a swinging mood in the air vibes!!

We took a black&white TriX film (fresh from Kodak), filmed our ideas and then decided to develop it reversal. Meaning: positive. It is much more complicated than developing it negative. Which I do all the time using coffee and my breakfast remains and such things.

Reversal developing needs a very strong bleach to get rid of the first developed black silver. Then there’s a second exposure to light (the first exposure happened when the film was, well, exposed in the camera!) to activate the sleeping silver salt molecules which will then turn black when they get in contact with the second developer. Phew!
We used FOMA chemicals. FOMA is a czech factory that produces lovely stuff like foto paper, films and chemicals.

First developer, bleach bath, clear bath, and then: the moment when you shiver and open the tank lid and see: YES! Pictures! (a film that has just come out of a bleach bath looks milky-white with clear images). The rest of the procedure can be done in daylight.

So we rinsed it and then poured the second developer over the 15 meters of well-bleached film … and then Yell and Shriek: the emulsion began to fall off! To peel off! To run away in flakes!!! The images that we just saw just slipped away under our fingers! Out with you, developer! Some seconds in fix, no rinsing, just carefully hanging the long spaghetto to dry … and then scanned it the next day.

Now what happened here? I know that this bleach made from permanganate and sulfuric acid gives a lot of stress to the emulsion … softens it and makes it very sensitive and vulnerable – better not touch or rub too much! So was it the harsh and strong second developer that crushed it? Is the Czech soup too strong for a TriX?

Next day brings freshness in mind and mood. Somehow the two-third destroyed film appeared miraculous to us … and to the film story. We thought about defocussing, about stuff that happens in the corners of your eyes, of your consciousness, about second sight … and the film and the story melt, kiss and prosper!

This is just a little glimpse into it, I think the real film will be a longer one than usual and it will take a while. I am happy.

Watch a little Trailer on Youtube!!

Yksi Kaksi Kolme

Sometimes films just fall from heaven. I was ready, trees were sugared, friend was happy to help with camera, the dung heap – all odor and vapor. I count to three, yksi kaksi kolme in Finnish, so beautiful words, resembling to nothing else!
And the film came.
Double, triple exposed, two Dagies, three Dagies and my ever questioning how the hell does the universe ticktocktackle??

Here’s the film (German)

Here’s the film (English)

Lametta

Spontaneous filmmaking. Me and my lover, a super 8 camera, a TriX film, very bad German winter weather, a village, no people around, just one dog called „Bine“ (Biene = Bee) … some pun about merde and la merde and lametta … a tripod, no wind, good mood, a field full of fallen winter apples that I collected and used later for developing this very film.

And I must say: when I go out filming I make the experience that almost never there’s anybody feeling offended – could be because super 8 cameras look very much like toy cameras, could be because I smile, could be because I don’t come around with an army of a crew … I don’t know … well anyway that lovely old lady just popped out of her cozy house, smiled at the scenery and popped in again. Loved her.

Here’s the film >> X

Eastman Ektachrome Commercial Film SO-425

This post is dedicated to Peaceman / Friedemann and his film experiment blog called Filmkorn!
He bought a heavy load of very expired (1971!!!) old colour double super 8 film rolls and gave me some to play and experiment with.
This film is rare, has about 6 ISO and was used as a copy film.
He did several tests with E6 and some replacements of the not too well working first developer, used Dokumol and Diafine and got very very different results!

He inspired me to continue his tests using eco friendly first developer!
And what came out is just fantastic.

E6′ first developer is weak and boring, Caffenol is best, Rodinal is lovely, black tea, if too strong, distroys the colour layers beautifully and Vodka makes you think you are hallucinating!!!!!

(from left to right: E6, tea, Rodinal, Caffenol)
(The vodka film stripe comes later, not yet scanned)