Analog film is both nostalgic and timeless with warm tones, soft focus, and natural grain - a quality like no other medium - producing images that are both classic and contemporary, evoking a sense of style that's unmatched by digital cameras.
Film allows for a more organic approach to photography, allowing me to be more present and intentional with every frame carefully considered. The thoughtful nature of shooting on film produces images that are stylish and sophisticated, while still retaining an air of authenticity and realness.
The โmoving picturesโ of Super 8 film, with it's loose camera style and paired with soulful tunes, creates a fun 'realness' to the footage. Adding film or super 8 is the perfect way to elevate any wedding collection and make your celebration truly unforgettable.
Super 8 videos are shot on old rolls of film, once developed in the lab, I curate these moving pictures into a highlight film of 5-7 minutes long, accompanied by some soulful tunes. These films are genuine and unapologetically raw, a stark contrast from the overly sentimental, cliche wedding films that can be common in the wedding industry. The feel of this vintage film truly compliments my style of photography making it the perfect addition to any wedding collection.
The beauty (and the challenge) of Super 8 film is that you only have a small amount of film to capture the essence of a day, you can’t play it back, take a look and then try again to achieve ‘perfection’, you just have to trust the process and embrace the imperfections. THIS is the true meaning of candid. Snippets from your wedding day infused with a touch of nostalgia from the ever so dreamy Super 8 film colours and grain.
- The first point of difference is the risk, unlike modern DSLR cameras, which have backup systems that greatly reduce the risk of data loss, vintage Super 8 cameras do not have this built-in safeguard. This means that in the unlikely event of camera or film cartridge failure there could be a loss of negatives from one part of the day, while the risk is still low, it is important that you understand the nuances of Super 8 film. When it comes time to book, in the contract, I cover more about the unlikely event of data loss and prorated refunds if at all necessary.
- The second point of difference is the cost, these Super 8 films, while relatively cheap to purchase the camera, it's quite expensive to buy and develop the film, costing around $200 per 3-minutes of captured film - one film cartridge records just over 3 minutes of film. On a wedding day, I generally shoot around 4-5 cartridges shared out across the day in order to capture the whole story (costing appox. $800-$1000 just for the raw footage, which I have to calculate into production costs and fees). Once developed and scanned, I then curate a 5-7 minute film into a digital video.
- Another thing to consider, is the limited light sensitivity of the film stock. Super 8 can generally only be shot during daylight hours. If inside or after the sun goes down, it must be a VERY well-lit room, which very few venues after sundown have adequate lighting to be able to record on Super 8 film in great quality. This means that any receptions/dinners/speeches/formalities/dance floors that are held indoors or after dark it's unlikely that the Super 8 film will be able to record much because of the limited amount of light - unless an LED spot light is used, which from experience can be quite distracting. If you'd like any of these 'events after dark' recorded you may want to consider a hybrid package adding in digital footage to the videography package.
- Finally, it's worth noting that while Super 8 is a unique addition, it doesn't record sound such as speeches or vows, so it's essentially raw, moving pictures mashed up with some soulful tunes. Though, to be fair, in a traditional wedding video generally only includes small snippets of vows and speeches stitched between scenes, unless the whole sequence, including the ceremony and speeches, is part of the package price. So if you do decide to go the Super 8 route and you're wanting the full ceremony and speeches recorded I'd recommend either hiring a videographer to do this or asking a camera-savvy person to put a camera on a tripod and press record - which may be easier said than done.
