1960-01
Early 1960s Regular 8
Regular 8 at the start of the decade: two passes through the camera, a 16 fps cadence, heavy grain and warm reversal color.
heavy grain
Why the 1960s look like this
The decade opened on Regular 8, the same two-pass, 16 frames-a-second system as the 1950s, now loaded with a brighter and faster saturated reversal film introduced in 1961. Then, in 1965, came Super 8. The film arrived in a plastic cartridge that you dropped into the camera and never threaded. Notches on the cartridge told the camera the film speed, so its automatic exposure could set itself. The sprocket holes were made smaller, which left room for a larger frame, about half as much area again as Regular 8, and the standard speed rose to 18 frames a second. The picture was sharper and steadier, and anyone could load it.
Reversal film was still the rule: one projectable positive per roll, no negative. Daylight film used indoors needed a filter or tungsten lamps, and Super 8 cameras built the orange conversion filter in. Many family reels of the decade swing between bright beach days and amber living rooms.
Photography went the same way. In 1963 the 126 cartridge made square snapshots as easy as dropping in the film, and labs printed them with a white border. In 1965 a cube of four flashbulbs that turned after each shot replaced changing single bulbs between pictures. Peel-apart instant color arrived in 1963: you pulled the print from the camera, waited, and peeled off a soft, pastel picture. Cheap instant black and white followed in the middle of the decade, and plastic toy cameras leaked light at the seams. The color prints of the decade have aged badly. Their dyes faded unevenly, and many have turned magenta.
Outside the home, television went to color, with tube cameras and composite signals that let the colors smear. Documentary crews put lighter 16 mm cameras on their shoulders and loaded fast black-and-white film, which gave the handheld, grainy look of cinéma vérité. In 1967 a battery-powered portable video recorder let a single operator tape in black and white away from the studio.
What the camera rebuilds
Super 8 Saturated Color holds frames to an 18 fps cadence in the 24 fps file, with slightly finer grain and a sharper lens than the Regular 8 looks, which stay at 16 fps. The color goes through the brilliant reversal response: warm, dense reds and full contrast. Indoor Super 8 Tungsten adds a warm white balance and more grain. Experimental Double Exposure leaves each frame lying over the next, like film run twice through the gate.
The two video looks drop film altogether. Colour Television Broadcast has scan lines, colors that bleed sideways and blooming highlights. Portable Video Tape B&W is softer and noisier, with a wobbling picture and a tear along the bottom of the frame where the tape heads switch.
In STILL mode the 126 styles print square with a white border, the slides sit in slide mounts, and both instant styles come in a peel-apart frame. Psychedelic Colour Cast turns the hues round to a strong yellow-green and lets the highlights glow.
The sound is a Portable Cassette / Tape Recorder. The compact cassette appeared in 1963, but home movies stayed silent, so on PERIOD your voice comes through as a battery recorder would have caught it: mono, about 100 Hz to 8 kHz, with cassette hiss and a little wow.
Shooting tips
- Film the holiday. Family Holiday Super 8 at DEGREE 7, in daylight, with short shots and a few zooms. Super 8 cameras often had a zoom lens, and every family used it.
- Shoot like a documentary. 16mm Vérité Handheld runs at a real 24 fps. Follow someone as they walk, keep moving, and let the frame shake. Push DEGREE to 9 for more grain.
- Use the flash up close. Cube Flash Snapshot lights the middle of the picture and lets the edges fall into shadow, like a bulb at arm's length.
- Peel a print. Instant Colour Pack Film works with soft window light, because the peel-apart color was low in contrast.
- Find the box of reels. Faded 1960s Film at DEGREE 10 gives weak color, scratches and a wandering gate.
Before this, the 1950s made Regular 8 the family camera. Next, the 1970s add sound to Super 8 and bring home video. See how it works for the stages behind each look.
