A Monster movie AND it is based on a true story: the Auckland Graveyard has run out of space. The Auckland Council Graveyard Department go on a quest to find new places to put the dead bodies.
The 48 Hours Competition 2025 in New Zealand started Friday, 15 Aug at 7pm with the surprise requirements dropped on us:
Our genre: "Monster Movie".
Elements to include: "miniature", "accident", "something precious", "a slow motion shot".
The camera is a Canon Zoom 8 released in 1959. Except for the titles and dolls house graphic shot on a Canon 8 EEE released in 1962. The film is Fomapan ISO-100 negative Double-8mm (aka Standard-8) produced in the Czech Republic. DIY processing in Ilford DD-X diluted 1+4 for 14 min at 14 degreesC. Great moment Sunday morning. I hung out the wet film to dry at 1am. Fomapan usually takes 5 hours to dry but I got to work on it with a hair dryer. Dry in 1 hour! That 4 hours saved probably saved us. Then it was into my home made digitiser that slowly advances frame by frame taking digital stills. It is reasonably reliable and it kept its act together overnight while I went to bed and got some sleep. Digital transfer was ready at 10am and it was a comfortable edit to get it over the line about 6pm.
The version you see here has the opening title visible for slightly longer for readability. It also has 2 credits added. There is a minor music edit to cover the longer credits. Otherwise this is retro film production done under competition conditions in 47 hours.
We re-started 8mm filming in Jan 2025, aiming to take on the 48 Hours challenge and working up to it with a series of shorts. What really happened is that we were plagued by old camera unreliability which is a reality check on the romantic idea of retro filming. Some of us were filming with Super-8mm in the 1980s. We have 5 old cameras between us and only 1 works now. Main fails are electric motors. So we went with Standard-8mm. These usually cost 20 dollars NZ (USD 12) and have faults but they are easier to fix. They also have much more of a vintage look and vibe that the actors and crew enjoy. We thought we had found a reliable specimen with a Canon Zoom 8. It let us down during the competition by doing a film tangle losing about 30 percent of our footage. We were able to do a rescue edit and get a complete qualifying film into the festival screening. We did not win any awards but so good to be part of it and get a lot of positive attention for being the retro film team.
We are continuing the retro film project. The test filming now is with the surviving Super-8 camera. Using Fomapan Double Super 8, split down the middle and loaded into cartridges in complete darkness. I was nervous about trying this but when I got into the darkroom and did it, it went OK and was easier than I expected. We are also trialling DIY cartridge loading of bulk Orwo NP100 film from Wittner.
Things we have learned.
- The cameras are too old. Never pay much for an untested example. There is about an 80 percent chance of being seriously defective.
- Myth: Standard 8 has steadier gate registration = less gate jiggle than Super-8.
Not true. Much the same gate jiggle. Just watch "Graveyard which has no steadying corrections. - Myth: The "reversal" process gives better grain and sharpness than "negative".
Not true. Which is good because negative uses standard low hazard chemistry, and reversal is way more challenging. - Myth: Prime lenses are sharper than zoom lenses.
Not true. Our line resolution chart tests are giving the similar results for both.
