Super 8: An Illustrated History
Photographer Danny Plotnick, author Danny Plotnick


Hardback (B402) | Aug 2020 | Rare Bird Books | 9781644280324 | 160pp | 254x254mm | GEN | AUD$69.99, NZD$84.99

Super 8 is a coffee table art book showcasing the history of Super 8 filmmaking. In addition to featuring stunning photography documenting the sleek mid-century design of Super 8 cameras and projectors, the book also offers a detailed history of the beloved medium-one not only embraced by suburban dads, the target audience of the format, but by the art world, punk rockers, and ultimately popular culture. 

Filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 include, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Jarmusch, Todd Haynes, Sam Raimi, Wes Anderson and Alex Gibney. Thanks in part to a renewed interest in analog technologies, Kodak will be bringing a new Super 8 camera to market in 2019, their first new camera to roll off the assembly line in over thirty years. Super 8 also features interviews from filmmakers who got their start in Super 8 and individuals who were instrumental in the development of the medium. Interviews include filmmakers Richard Linklater (Slacker, Boyhood, Dazed and Confused), Dave Markey (1991: The Year Punk Broke), Rocky Schenk (music videos for Adele, Devo, Nick Cave, The Cramps, Robert Plant), James Mackay on Derek Jarman (Last of England, Jubilee), James Nares (Rome '78), Beth B (Black Box), Lenny Lipton (The Super 8 Book), GB Jones (The Lollipop Generation), Bruce LaBruce (Hustler White, The Misandrists), Peggy Ahwesh, Matthias Muller, Paul Clipson, silt, Norwood Cheek, Melinda Stone, Karissa Hahn, Martha Colburn, John Porter, Narcisa Hirsch, Paul Sheptow, Gerry Fialka, Jonathan Tyman, Frank Martinez, Lisa Marr and Paolo Davanzo. On the technical front, the book features interviews with Roland Zavada (Kodak), Bob Doyle (Super8 Sound), Phil Vigeant (Pro8mm), Frank Bruinsma (Super8 Reversal Lab), and Tommy Madsen (Logmar Camera Solutions).