12/13/2006
Zine Scene: Flicker Super 8 Guide, Volume 1
Flicker Super 8 Guide
Volume 1, 2003
Distributed by Desert Moon Periodicals
I've known about the "Flicker" phenomenon for a couple of years. Super 8 film equipment is still relatively available, despite its age, and still more affordable of a medium than 16 mm. Though Kodak still manufactures different types of stock (five different types, as of the zine's printing in 2003), there are no sound stocks. Luckily, 8 mm has most recently been adopted as a format for artist's work - that is, an antiquated, oppositional type of filmmaking that stands in bold contrast to Hollywood's perpetual gloss. Derek Jarman's experimental The Last of England (1987) serves as a benchmark.
Super 8 is for budding filmmakers just seeking a good time, too. Flicker, the blanket term given for these amateur film festivals, is a not-for-profit, loosely affiliated body that supports 8 mm filmmaking. Film festivals often have astronomical entry fees and oftentimes no longer accepted 8 mm submissions. Flicker festivals (located from Adelaide, Austrailia to Cleveland, OH) are free places to show your work. Held in alternative spaces - often venues meant for rock music - these showcases have the feel of a neighborhood bar-b-que and none of the snootiness of the festival circuit proper.
The Flicker Guide serves a brief introduction to the whole scene. It sports attractive typography but feels like a zine through and through. Covering equipment, prominent personalities, and places to turn for film stock, the Flicker Guide is indispensable for first-timers while remaining useful for veterans.
Since the guide was compiled in 2003, it is probably a bit out-of-date. For the latest information on Flicker, consult on of its constituent websites (Flicker LA and the Richmond Moving Image Co-Op are good places to start). This guide can be purchased through the Flicker LA website. ¶ 3:21 PM
Flicker Super 8 GuideVolume 1, 2003
Distributed by Desert Moon Periodicals
I've known about the "Flicker" phenomenon for a couple of years. Super 8 film equipment is still relatively available, despite its age, and still more affordable of a medium than 16 mm. Though Kodak still manufactures different types of stock (five different types, as of the zine's printing in 2003), there are no sound stocks. Luckily, 8 mm has most recently been adopted as a format for artist's work - that is, an antiquated, oppositional type of filmmaking that stands in bold contrast to Hollywood's perpetual gloss. Derek Jarman's experimental The Last of England (1987) serves as a benchmark.
Super 8 is for budding filmmakers just seeking a good time, too. Flicker, the blanket term given for these amateur film festivals, is a not-for-profit, loosely affiliated body that supports 8 mm filmmaking. Film festivals often have astronomical entry fees and oftentimes no longer accepted 8 mm submissions. Flicker festivals (located from Adelaide, Austrailia to Cleveland, OH) are free places to show your work. Held in alternative spaces - often venues meant for rock music - these showcases have the feel of a neighborhood bar-b-que and none of the snootiness of the festival circuit proper.
The Flicker Guide serves a brief introduction to the whole scene. It sports attractive typography but feels like a zine through and through. Covering equipment, prominent personalities, and places to turn for film stock, the Flicker Guide is indispensable for first-timers while remaining useful for veterans.
Since the guide was compiled in 2003, it is probably a bit out-of-date. For the latest information on Flicker, consult on of its constituent websites (Flicker LA and the Richmond Moving Image Co-Op are good places to start). This guide can be purchased through the Flicker LA website. ¶ 3:21 PM
