WORKSHOP SUPER 8

curated by Karianne Fiorini and Gianmarco Torri

We have always thought and presented the Super 8 format as a practice rather than an aesthetics. A practice that because of its characteristics – technical, economic, ergonomic – elicits different aesthetic and poetic choices.
In spite of everything – the gradual disappearance of emulsions, scarce availability of processing laboratories, significant increase in the cost of the rare film stock still available (even though John Porter’s definition of ‘$50-budget film’ holds true) – the Super 8 practice exists and resists, owing to the commitment and craftsmanship, creativity and experimental approach of several filmmakers and devotees, who either individually or collectively through the international network of artists’ laboratories (www.filmlabs.org) pursues the survival of the equipment and skills that serve to make films in this small gauge as well as to project them in their original format.
Therefore, this year we are very glad to propose for the first time at the Pesaro Film Festival a workshop on shooting in Super 8 conducted by Argentine filmmaker and curator Pablo Marín.
For Pablo Marín, the Super 8 is both a working tool – several of his films are made in this format – and an object of study, as the Super 8 played a crucial role in the development of Argentina’s experimental cinema, of which Marín is an expert and scholar. The workshop focuses on the basic concepts and creative potential of practicing the Super 8; it also foresees the shooting of a collective film directed by the participants with the guidance of Pablo Marín.
The workshop includes processing the resulting footage, with the help of Livio Colombo – also a Super 8 filmmaker and craftsman – who will also make a brief presentation of the principles and tools for handcrafted film processing.
On the last workshop day, the resulting works will be projected on film for the festival’s audience, along with some of Pablo Marín’s own Super 8 films.

A cura di Pablo Marin

Meant as a fresh approach to Super 8 – the youngest and most austere among film formats – this workshop explores the possibilities of its rather simple and automatic nature of image making. By embracing the practicality of in-camera editing, we will explore the basics of any camera, from shooting speeds to procedures that go against the
format design (like breaking and rewinding film cartridges to create multiple superimpositions). Designed for both artists and film enthusiasts, the aim of this crash course is to transform the supposed fragility and technological limitations of this tiny medium into new creative advantages.
This workshop will include:
A brief introduction to Super 8 format
Shooting two rolls of film collectively
Introduction to rewinding cartridges
Processing exposed film
Introduction to splicing and projecting