New Super 8 Footage

Here's a photo of the Super 8 footage Surry shared with me. Most of it was covered
in a white mold or dust but wasn't so brittle that it got destroyed in the transfers.

In the past week, I have gotten several exciting emails about more B Roll that can be used in Abandoned Allies. As a result, I visited Skip Elsheimer of A/V Geeks (@AVGeeks) on Tuesday.

Working with Skip has made this part of the filmmaking process infinitely more fun. What was one of my biggest struggles has become one of my biggest joys. Knowing I have the help of an expert has been a huge relief.

Skip recently re-transferred the Super 8 footage that Surry shot during his time in Vietnam. When I visited Skip he skimmed through some of the newly transferred footage. It is BEAUTIFUL. The difference between the first and second transfers are amazing. Skip is such a pro.

Skip moderated one of the A&E IndieFilms Speakeasy Conversations titled One Foot in the Archives with archivist and filmmaker Rick Prelinger (@footage) at the 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, N.C., last April. Listening to Skip and Rick talk about old films--the preservation, cataloging, and sharing of it--has made my interest in the subject grow exponentially. They speak with such love for studying old films, the people in them, and the art of archiving it successfully so that it can be shared.

Since Skip's been kind enough to transfer the Super 8 footage for Abandoned Allies, I recommended him to a Special Forces Vietnam veteran who has offered to share his footage with me for the film. Joe and I are meeting for coffee on Saturday morning for an introduction. I can't wait to see his footage in hopes that I might share it with you in Abandoned Allies.

This was a photo I took when I transferred the Super 8 film using Skip's machine
last year. It was really cool to finally do that with his expert assistance..

The journey with this Super 8 footage has been a long, challenging, and exciting one. Read some of my old blog posts if you want more background about it:

• A Week and a Day (Jan. 31, 2009): 
• The 8mm Projector (Feb. 3, 2009)
• Super 8 Kodachrome Film (Dec. 13, 2009)
• Super 8 Adventures Continue (Dec. 19, 2009)
• Super 8 Adventures Continue, Part 2 (March 17, 2010)
• Transfers Complete! (June 10, 2010)
• Getting Super 8 in Place (June 17, 2010)