Videography: The Super 8 Option

When talk began, for Mr. Beetle and I after we were engaged, over cakes, locations and the like, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about hiring a videographer. In truth, I had never actually seen a wedding video that I really liked. While I loved reliving the moments of freind's wedding, I wasn't a fan of cheesy fade-outs, fuzzy borders and the practice of passing the microphone around while one of your pals is trying to finish up their salads and not be blinded by the glaring light in their face. Though I wasn't really sure why, I also never liked the "look" of video. So, while I certainly loved the idea of having a record of our day, I wasn't sure how to justify spending thousands of bucks on something I felt so "eh" about.

Of course my need to obsessively research everything until my brain begins to hurt won over, and I set out to find a unique, out of the box videographer. That's when I discovered Super 8.

Super 8 is not actually video at all, its film. Introduced in the 60's, Super 8 cameras quickly became the must-have gadget of every growing family and filmmaker wannabe. Chances are, many of your parents have Super 8 cameras or projectors collecting dust down in their basements. Nowadays, however, despite the fact that technology has moved way beyond Super 8, there is a bit of a renaissance happening as people begin to rediscover and re-embrace the medium. Though few and far between, there are some wedding videographers out there who strictly stick with this old classic.

Super 8 films look very different than the crisp digital, or even standard, video we are used to seeing. Images are grainy and colors look muted and rich. Somehow everything manages to look way more romantic and ethereal. Once I saw some sample Super 8 clips I was hooked.

We now have the most fabulous, gorgeous, vintage-like art film of our wedding day and I could not be happier. Our entire film is only 18 minutes long, so I don't feel bad asking anyone to watch it (and we've watched it ourselves a ridiculous number of times already). Somehow in Super 8 me and all of my friends look more glamorous and chic than we do in real life, and that fantasyland works great for me.

Here are a few Super 8 resources:
* Some more info on the Super 8 phenomenon
* Wes Jones (New York)- If we had our wedding in NYC, this is totally who I would have hired
* Wilson Fontaine (New York)
* Worker Bee Designs (New York)
* Lady Flash (TX)
* Bliss* Video Productions (LA, San Francisco)