Research

[Swink]

Hi, everyone.

I'm not a film-maker but I'm hoping to tap into your collective wisdom. I'm a writer and I'm working on a novel set in the 70s. One of my characters is going to make a low-budget documentary. I thought I would have him do it on 8mm film, but I've learned that most 8mm film does not have a 'soundtrack' (pardon my layman's terminology). If he shot the film on 8mm that had no sound, but did use a tape recorder, can he dub the sound in when he's editing? If so, how? I mean 8mm usually has no sound track. This is where I'm confused.

Weren't those student films I sat through back in my university days shot on 8mm, and yet when I saw them projected on the screen they had sound (often it seemed "The Girl of Ipanema"). How? Maybe they weren't 8mm, but 16?

Any facts and explanations would be enlightening. Thanks. I've spent half the day googling this, have learned a lot but not what I need. Perhaps my question is too stupid.

Tom

 

[Zensteve]

'sup

Kodak stopped making S8 film, with the magnetic sound stripe, several years ago.

Sure, you can use an external device to record audio and import that audio into your editing software.

The thing to watch out for is this: Unless your camera is crystal-sync'd (a special motor to make sure the film is recording at exactly 24fps), the film recording rate will wander. The longer each single take the more drift you'll have, as the cameras motor speeds up or slows down.

That makes it really hard to simply plop the audio into place. You'll end up with something that looks like a badly dubbed 70's kung-fu flick. If you are awesome at sound, you can change the rate of your sound to match, but it will be a real bear to do.

If you keep your shots short (dunno exactly, but I'd say 10 secs or less) you ought to be able to get away with it okay.

 

[Swink]

'sup

Kodak stopped making S8 film, with the magnetic sound stripe, several years ago.

Sure, you can use an external device to record audio and import that audio into your editing software.

The thing to watch out for is this: Unless your camera is crystal-sync'd (a special motor to make sure the film is recording at exactly 24fps), the film recording rate will wander. The longer each single take the more drift you'll have, as the cameras motor speeds up or slows down.

That makes it really hard to simply plop the audio into place. You'll end up with something that looks like a badly dubbed 70's kung-fu flick. If you are awesome at sound, you can change the rate of your sound to match, but it will be a real bear to do.

If you keep your shots short (dunno exactly, but I'd say 10 secs or less) you ought to be able to get away with it okay.

Thanks.

I'm wondering about the early 70s, though. There was no software, no computers.

Also, I was wondering. Once the original film as all spliced together the way you want, presumably that's not what you load into the projector at the student film festival. What's the next process called and what's that final piece of film called (final print?). I guess one had to send the taped together film off to a lab of some sort to have the final film made?

Thanks again ....

 

[Zensteve]

Oh yah, I totally misread what you wanted.

Sure, Super-8 could be made with sound. It was recorded on a magnetic stripe on the edge of the film. If you edited it yourself (with a splicer), the sound would still be there... though it would cut & start at the same place where the actual frame cuts were made.

For non-amatuer work, you could master a soundtrack and lay it down as an optical track. I'm not exactly sure how that process works, though I have a few boxes of 16mm editing gear to be used for that. Never used it.

what's that final piece of film called (final print?). I guess one had to send the taped together film off to a lab of some sort to have the final film made?

Chop & Edit the negatives >>
Interpositive (colour correction here) >>
Answer print (adding soundtrack here) >>
Internegative (master copy to duplicate from) >>
Release print.

That's assuming you were using negative film, I suppose. I have no idea what filmstocks were available for S8 in your chosen time period, nor which ones had sound capability. Nor even which S8 cameras were out at that time, with the ability to record sound.

If he shot the film on 8mm that had no sound, but did use a tape recorder, can he dub the sound in when he's editing? If so, how? I mean 8mm usually has no sound track.

Same way he'd do it for any other film guage, I'd reckon.

Dunno how it's phyically done. I got some readin' up to do.