A New Year

A lot can happen in a year, and in my case, a lot has happened in a year. To say I've learned a lot would be an understatement. I have made friends old and new, met a handful of cool people, who reminded me what life is all about. There is plenty to look forward to, even if the future is uncertain given the state of the world we now live in.

I turned to filmmaking to celebrate this milestone. :)

Humble Beginnings:

I was desperate for connection after yet another cross country move, and this café became a safe harbor in the midst of a storm I couldn't quite escape. I befriended a really cool girl there as I turned up once every few days. Over time, we slowly clicked and opened up more. We shared our creative endeavors - she was in university and wrote poetry, I was working in corporate and pursued photography part-time. After all, art is what feeds our souls, right? I felt particularly inspired towards the end of 2025, and a vague idea started to take shape as I looked over at my super8 camera I got from San Francisco, sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust.

I was baking to Spotify radio on shuffle. Quickly, a pattern emerged, and I discovered some really cool music from my classic rock era. A new playlist was created. As I listened to the songs more and more, I felt some connection with the ever changing nature of life and death, the paths we all must take. I had this immense feeling about living in NYC and this particular stage in my life, so I sat down and watched Saturday Night Fever on a whim. I knew immediately that I wanted to make my very own version of the intro sequence. I went to R, and a deal was struck. 2pm, New Year's Eve. East Village apartment.

Tech Specs:

The super8 camera I had was discovered by the store owners at Glass Key Photo in SF, in their basement, collecting dust. It wasn't catalogued and was never even listed for sale until I randomly showed up one day, inquiring if they had a super8 camera for budget. Built like a heavy tank, it takes in six AA batteries and an additional lithium battery for its light meter. And yes, miraculously, the light meter has worked perfectly despite the electronics being made back in the 1970/80s. When the camera starts rolling, you can hear the distinct sounds of the film gates shooting at 18fps, which is incredibly satisfying.

The more interesting part of this specific event was that I decided to shoot color reversal super8 film for the first time, completing my repertoire of modern super8 film types. Traditionally, I stuck to ECN-2 (200T, 500T, 50D) for their versatility and post-editing flexibility, given that they produce a relatively flat footage that can be edited more freely. However, I did get tired of the look, and wanted to see the vivid colors (especially the reds and blues) of Ektachrome come to life on my super8 projector (yes, I fixed up a broken projector from the 80s, and I am very proud of this guy).

Filming Difficulties:

I actually had some trouble loading the film cartridge at first, it was jammed at first and the film wasn't rolling. I had a moment of panic, I didn't want to waster any of the color reversal film footage, and we had limited time before the sun would go down. On second try, the film loaded just right. It was a miracle that things worked out smoothly for the rest of the day, even despite the below freezing, brutally windy weather of the northeast. We had fixed together a list of locations we would follow as a tentative path, occasionally stepping into these establishments to rehearse/shoot a scene. We had the most delightful encounter standing in front of a Russian orthodox church. After admiring the stained glass windows and the red brick exterior for a solid minute, I rang the bell to the front gate. Out came a half-asleep old Slavic man, who suspiciously asked about our intentions. I begged him to let us in and see the inside of the church. He said no, come back Sunday. I did not give up, and after annoying him out in the cold insistently, he said fine, you have five minutes. We were over the moon for this opportunity to film inside an empty church. He turned on the lights for us. All I can say is... these orthodox churches are simply magnificent. Even better than the Catholics with their gold trimmings and exquisite décor.

Processing and Editing:

The best thing about living in NYC is that there are goods and services for everything you might need in close vicinity. I sent the cartridges to Negativeland, a super8 film lab in Bushwick. Now, I don't think they actually process the rolls in house, but the turnaround was reasonable for the holiday season and slow start to the year, and it's close enough I could go in in person. I have never been to a super8 studio in person before, and have only mailed in, which is a bit of a hassle. The graded and ungraded footage they sent back were marvelous, and I just spent hours editing this one in iMovie, my old friend. After endless cutting and grading scene by scene, I am proud to announce that a minimal amount of the film was cut, and as a contiguous strip, my magnum opus thus far. :P

Sample Images:

NYC cool at its finest.