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Documentary film shoot film update S8 straight 8 super 8 super 8 film

S8: 22 – 3 Take Care, Tar Creek (Backstory and Idea)

Colored pencil on brown paper. Illustration by me.

Lots of progress made in a fairly short amount of time. I have been keeping notes and have some information to share over the next few posts.

Backstory

First, a little bit of backstory on where the idea originated. It’s been over 20 years since I visited NE Oklahoma and Picher, OK. Last time I was there was as a student collecting soil samples for a scientific research project associated with my Masters thesis. In that work, I was investigating the relationship between particle size distribution and heavy metal concentrations in chat for extrapolation to potential exposures and health hazards. Even then, I remember feeling like the research I was doing, while useful in some respects, did not convey or communicate any real message, the way I wanted to. I recall having a discussion with my advisor once, about a documentary or story – but at that time it only felt like a pipe-dream, nothing more. Soon after achieving my degree I got my first career-level job, life took over and I moved on to other things. I never forgot about the place, kept up with the headlines, but always wondered if my work made any difference. I kept tabs on issues and followed stories about the area but it wasn’t until recently that I felt like maybe there’s something more to contribute.

Idea

Straight 8 is something I have entered a couple of times before. I’ve always embraced the opportunity to try and think of a concept from nothing, to something, to execution. This year I registered before ever having a real idea. I just felt like the pressure of knowing I’d committed to it would be a good driver of having to come up with something. Going into this one, my mind was actually headed in a completely different direction. I was thinking much more fictional and experimental. I went back to some old notes I’d made years ago and worked through the concept. But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to explore something in a documentary style. I started thinking out loud, talking through it, talking about ideas accessible to me, relevant to Oklahoma. And something that I thought an international audience might find unique or interesting about Oklahoma. This idea was in my wheelhouse – I’d known about Tar Creek, I’d known the challenges there, and the continuing struggles that the place has experienced. So the more I thought about the more it began to seem possible.

What I’ve found many times is that an idea that feels right seems to take on a life of its own. It grows legs and starts to move in a direction that wasn’t necessarily planned. It morphs and evolves into something more, something greater and sometimes, something different. Part of this feels like trying to bridle a mustang. It can get out of control. Trying to get my arms around something with so much weight, so much impact, and such a vast and storied past is difficult – and i felt that right away in approaching this idea for a mere 3 minute and 20 second film. My intent, from the beginning was to create a multi-part story, even a multi-film story. But I’ve since come to accept that I need to handle this one piece at a time. And while I could enter the Straight 8 festival multiple times and have multiple parts, I felt like I would be moving away from the intent of being able to tell a story with only one roll of Super 8 film. Arguably, an even harder task than knowing that I might have more time with multiple entires. The idea was then re-centered on keeping the focus on a single roll.

More to come on the idea in future posts…

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Documentary S8 straight 8 super 8 super 8 film

S8: 22 – 2 – Film Notes

I have a film title. A subject. And a complete concept. Now, just to put it into action.

Going to be cautious in not revealing the idea or the title until I have some more solidified – so going to be a bit cryptic about it for now. But I am really excited about this direction and feel it has the potential for a must larger project.

Photo courtesy of wikipedia
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Documentary S8 straight 8 super 8 super 8 film

S8: 22 – 1 – Film Notes

In 2000 I completed a research project. Now I’m going back to that same place 22 years later to document what has changed. This time with Super 8 film camera in hand.

#straight82022

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S8 straight 8 super 8 super 8 film

(Un)announced – S8

Officially announcing the production and entrance to the 2022 Straight 8 Film Competition. This is my third time entering the competition and another opportunity to accept the challenge that comes with producing, from scratch, a motion-picture on a short timeframe.

I will do my best to document the process going forward.

If you want to see what some of the films look like you can visit here. As noted on their website: each straight 8 film is made entirely in-camera on just one cartridge of super 8mm cine film lasting up to 3 minutes 20 seconds. with each pull of the trigger, each shot taken goes into the final film, in the order taken, like it or not. there’s no chance for editing, post-production effects, colour-grading or sound-synching… because we get the films processed and then we just line up first frame of picture with the original soundtrack each entrant supplies blind. the very first time successful straight8ers see even their own film is with the audience at its packed premiere – at cannes film festival and other great screenings

I will be re-visiting and posting links to my previous films in future posts.

#straight82022