1st Edition

16mm and 8mm Filmmaking An Essential Guide to Shooting on Celluloid

By Jacob Dodd Copyright 2021
    280 Pages 97 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    280 Pages 97 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book is an essential guide to making traditional 16mm and 8mm films, from production to post, using both analog and digital tools.

    Focusing on low-budget equipment and innovative techniques, this text will provide you with the steps to begin your journey in making lasting work in the legacy medium of great filmmakers from Georges Méliès to Steven Spielberg. The discipline of 16mm or 8mm film can initially seem challenging, but through the chapters in this book, you’ll learn strategies and insight to develop your craft. You’ll discover the right camera for your needs, how to light for film, and the options in planning your digital post-production workflow. The book includes numerous hand-drawn diagrams and illustrations for ease of understanding, as well as recommended films and filmmaking activities to help you build your knowledge of film history, technical and creative skills within each chapter theme.

    By applying the suggested approaches to production planning, you will see how celluloid filmmaking can be both visually stunning and cost effective. This is an essential book for students and filmmakers who want to produce professional quality 16mm and 8mm films.

    Introduction

    Chapter 1: Why Film

    Chapter 2: Motion Picture Cameras

    Chapter 3: 16mm and 8mm Formats

    Chapter 4: Cinema Lenses

    Chapter 5: Motion Picture Film Stocks

    Chapter 6: Light Meters

    Chapter 7: Planning a Film Production

    Chapter 8: Cinema Lighting

    Chapter 9: Special Camera Effects

    Chapter 10: Magnetic Sound Recording

    Chapter 11: Film Processing

    Chapter 12: Film Bench Editing

    Chapter 13: Film Editing Machines

    Chapter 14: Magnetic Sound Editing

    Chapter 15: Film Finishing and Projection

    Conclusion

    Appendix: Camera Guide 

    Biography

    Jacob Dodd is an independent filmmaker and educator who creates short films in 35mm, 16mm, and 8mm motion picture formats. He specializes in personal memoir documentary and fiction filmmaking and combines traditional production techniques with experimental practices. Dodd uses traditional film methods to bring forth a feeling of nostalgia, a transcendence of time, and a sense of the familiar. He is an Associate Professor of Cinema and Screen Studies at Oswego State University of New York.

    "After reading chapter 9 on Special Effects, I grabbed my Bell & Howell Filmo 70 camera to examine it more carefully, amazed that it held so many possibilities that I had been previously unaware of. Dodd provides indispensable shooting tips, inspiring assignment suggestions, while sharing his passion for filmmaking."
    Mary Beth Reed, VCUarts