What do you think?
Rate this book
Super 8: An Illustrated History
Super 8: An Illustrated History is a coffee table art book showcasing the history of Super 8 filmmaking. In addition to featuring stunning photography documenting the sleek mid-century design of Super 8 cameras and projectors, the book also offers a detailed history of the beloved medium―one not only embraced by suburban dads, the target audience of the format, but by the art world, punk rockers, and ultimately popular culture. Filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 include, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Jarmusch, Todd Haynes, Sam Raimi, Wes Anderson, and Alex Gibney. Thanks in part to a renewed interest in analog technologies, Kodak will be bringing a new Super 8 camera to market in 2019, their first new camera to roll off the assembly line in over thirty years.
Super 8 also features interviews from filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 and individuals who were instrumental in the development of the medium. Interviews include filmmakers Richard Linklater (Slacker, Boyhood, Dazed and Confused), Dave Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke), Rocky Schenk (music videos for Adele, Devo, Nick Cave, The Cramps, Robert Plant), James Mackay on Derek Jarman (Last of England, Jubilee), Lenny Lipton (The Super 8 Book), James Nares (Rome ’78), G.B. Jones (The Lollipop Generation), Bruce LaBruce (Hustler White, The Misandrists), Peggy Ahwesh (Martina's Playhouse), Paul Sheptow (Super-8 Filmmaker magazine), Ed Sayers (The Straight 8 Film Festival), Melinda Stone (Super Super 8 Film Festival), Jonathan Tyman (Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival), Norwood Cheek (Flicker zine and screening series), Martha Colburn, Narcisa Hirsch, slit, Matthias Müller, John Porter, and Karissa Hahn. On the technical front, the book features interviews with Roland Zavada (Kodak), Bob Doyle (Super8 Sound), Phil Vigeant (Pro8mm), Frank Bruinsma (Super8 Reversal Lab), and Tommy Madsen (Logmar Camera Solutions).
Super 8 also features interviews from filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 and individuals who were instrumental in the development of the medium. Interviews include filmmakers Richard Linklater (Slacker, Boyhood, Dazed and Confused), Dave Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke), Rocky Schenk (music videos for Adele, Devo, Nick Cave, The Cramps, Robert Plant), James Mackay on Derek Jarman (Last of England, Jubilee), Lenny Lipton (The Super 8 Book), James Nares (Rome ’78), G.B. Jones (The Lollipop Generation), Bruce LaBruce (Hustler White, The Misandrists), Peggy Ahwesh (Martina's Playhouse), Paul Sheptow (Super-8 Filmmaker magazine), Ed Sayers (The Straight 8 Film Festival), Melinda Stone (Super Super 8 Film Festival), Jonathan Tyman (Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival), Norwood Cheek (Flicker zine and screening series), Martha Colburn, Narcisa Hirsch, slit, Matthias Müller, John Porter, and Karissa Hahn. On the technical front, the book features interviews with Roland Zavada (Kodak), Bob Doyle (Super8 Sound), Phil Vigeant (Pro8mm), Frank Bruinsma (Super8 Reversal Lab), and Tommy Madsen (Logmar Camera Solutions).
160 pages, Hardcover
Published June 9, 2020
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 26, 2020
Exceptionally entertaining and colorful look at the history of Super 8 filmmaking, with some terrific personal anecdotes and interviews that illuminate the type of filmmakers who fell in love with this format. Especially enjoyed the interviews with Bruce LaBruce, Dave Markey, Martha Colburn and of course Plotnick’s own stories of foiled film transfers and Super 8 screenings gone wrong. It’s also a technical love letter to the cameras, the film stock and the processes that go into making a low-budget Super 8 feature or featurette, with an eye-popper of a layout laden with 60s and 70s ads from old film mags. Great stuff.
Displaying 1 of 1 review