Super 8 Memories

by Justin Franz | February 26, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

Andy Smetanka admits that it may be a little old-fashioned, but that hasn’t stopped him from using a fading medium: Super 8.

Take a family’s old home movies from the 1960s and you’ll likely see the old, scratchy quality of Super 8. And that’s what Smetanka likes about it.

“I like shooting Super 8 because it looks like memories,” Smetanka said. “Even once it comes back from processing, even if it was shot a few weeks ago.”

Smetanka’s own Super 8 films will be shown at the Crystal Theater Sunday evening, as he presents 15 short movies that feature his friends, family and his home, Missoula.

The short films, most lasting about five minutes, have been in the works for a decade, as Smetanka filmed family gatherings and anything else that caught his eye. He is only now starting to put this footage together with improving technology and the ability to edit on a computer.

Even with these advancements, Smetanka said he doesn’t want to leave the look and feel of the old Super 8, though some call it a “dinosaur” when compared to what is available today. But with rumors that Kodak will discontinue the brand, Smetanka said it is only a matter of time before he won’t be able to use the film he loves anymore.

“I look at it as a dotty old great aunt that lives in the attic,” he said. “You enjoy the company as long as you can.”

Kodak first released Super 8 film as part of its Kodachrome line in 1965. The Kodachrome name was at the forefront for the company’s line of color slide and movie film and was noted for its vibrant and true colors. This made it one of the most popular brands of amateur movie film and was immortalized in the Paul Simon song of the same name.

In 2005, however, Kodak announced that it would stop producing the Kodachrome line of film and would replace it with Ektachrome Super 8 because of advancing digital technology that has overtaken the old Super 8, as well as the high costs. According to Smetanka, one three-minute roll is $17. It takes another $20 for it to be processed and digitized so he can edit it. Because of this cost, he tries to use it sparingly, which can lead to the best shots because he takes the time to decide what image he shoots.

“When I take it out, it feels dense, like I got my money’s worth,” he said.

After that, he sends it away to be developed.

Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan., is one of the few places left that develops Super 8 film and the last place to process Kodachrome — a tradition that will end Dec. 31, when Dwayne’s discontinues Kodachrome development. This will conclude a long and storied history for the first color film.

“Kodachrome has been a special film and it has a special place in history,” said Grant Steinle, vice president of operations at Dwayne’s Photo.

“We’re sad to see it go,” he said. “We knew it was going to happen, but we hate to see it go.” 

Steinle said his company does not release information about how much film it processes every year, but did admit that the numbers have dropped in recent years.   

This certainly has people like Smetanka worried. He said he can’t imagine what the future will look like, but won’t be surprised when the Super 8 becomes obsolete, adding that rumors are constantly popping up that the end is near.

“Somewhere down the road, I’m sure it’ll be true,” he said, adding that he wished he could see into the future and prepare for that eventual “Super 8 Armageddon.”

Steinle said no one knows what the film industry will look like a decade from now.

“It’s hard to see that far into the future,” he said. “Our industry is involved in some major change so it’s hard to predict.”

If there comes a time when Super 8 isn’t available, filmmakers like Smetanka will have to move on.

“I suppose sooner or later I’ll have to adapt to video, but I’ll (use film) while I can,” he said.

But he said that ultimately, the video and digital technology available today just won’t look as good in his eyes.

“It doesn’t have that magic,” he said.

That “magic” will take to the big screen on Sunday night as he shows a decade’s worth of work for the first time in public, depicting people and life in Missoula and western Montana.

“It shows Missoula as it is, evidence you might say,” he said. “People will see a lot of places and people that they know, a lot of familiar faces.“

Yet while the scenes are from today, he said that they look like they are from another era.

“It’s some sort of document of contemporary Missoula, which is funny because it looks like it’s from 80 years ago,” he said.

Andy Smetanka’s short Super 8 films will be shown at the Crystal Theater on Sunday night at 7:30 and 9 p.m. Admission is $7.

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