Modest Mouse spec video shot on Super 8

Tanner Almon

Tanner Almon

Member
Hello,

A while back I shot this spec video for the Modest Mouse song Wild Pack of Family Dogs. Anyway, I finally got it processed and transferred and figured I'd post it here to see if I could get any feedback. For any Super 8 enthusiasts I shot with a Eumig Nautica using Kodachrome film.

Thanks so much for your time. I apologize in advance if I'm posting this in the wrong forum, I realize it is not necessarily a "film" but I didn't see a section for music videos or super8.

Cheers!
Tanner

 
I love Super 8

I think you did a nice job. Would rather have seen more off the shoulder shots and variety but I still think it's nicely done. Reminds me of an old 80's music video.
 
I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who took the time to check out my Modest Mouse spec video.

J.R. Hudson - Wow, in my mind you are a living legend! A few years back when I was still in school lurking on this forum pretty much 24/7 you were the f-ing man on this site. I remember when you released that video of yourself on like your 10,000th post or whatever and how big a deal that was on this forum. I'm so stoked that you watched one of my videos. Thanks so much. Seriously, my wife just looked at me like I was crazy when I yelled out "HOLY S@*!, GUESS WHO WATCHED MY VIDEO!!!". Anyway, that made my night. I agree 100 percent my shots could have more variety. I regrettably played it safe knowing I only had 3 cartridges of super 8 to work with. I'm glad you still seemed to enjoy it.

Nathyn - Obviously this wasn't really your cup of tea but that's cool, you still took the time to watch it. Thanks man. I'd love to somehow get Modest Mouse to see it but aside from posting my video here and on the one Modest Mouse fan site I could find I'm not sure how to reach them. I know from casually browsing these forums the past few months that you very well may be the most resourceful guy on this forum. If you have any ideas on how I could get this video to the band I'd love to hear em.

Zack - Thanks for the compliment man. Regrettably I had to work the night of the show but I heard it was rained out anyway and they'll be coming back in September.

Thanks again guys. I know everyones time is precious and watching other people's videos takes a lot of time so I really appreciate the feedback. Still can't believe Hudson watched my video. Wish my wife understood the magnitude. Sigh...
 
Tanner,

Watched your other videos and really enjoyed them. In particular, Soda Pop Cough Drop was lots of fun. I'm really a sucker for the Wes Anderson aesthetic and your work clearly pays homage to that. Keep it up.

e
 
Erik,

I wish I could shake your hand. Wow, I can't believe you watched Soda Pop Cough Drop. Thanks dude! A few years back my wife and I literally packed up a bunch of gold fish and balloons and drove out to the desert to shoot that for some contest that Amazon was having. We finally found a spot right before the sun went down and shot the whole thing the next day, just the two of us. We came pretty close to killing each other that day. It was like 105 degrees, I could never get the mic to work, the balloons kept popping, the fish all looked like they were gonna die, our tent wouldn't stay up, there was no wind for the kites, and so on and so on. I'm not sure if you noticed or not but every shot with the two of us was on a tripod and every shot with just one of us was handheld. One day I want to edit all the behind the scenes that was inadvertently recorded during all the tripod shots. I've don't think I've sworn as much in my whole life as I did during that one day.

Anyway, thanks so much for watching man. Sorry for my rant, I'm just so glad you watched and enjoyed Soda Pop Cough Drop. Thanks again. And yes, I'm definitely a Wes Anderson fanatic.

I have one more Super 8 video I'm finishing right now that I'm hoping to post soon. If anyone cares I have embedded Soda Pop Cough Drop here. It's about 8 minutes long so no big deal if you start it and don't finish, it's definitely not for everyone...

 
Last edited:
Tanner Almon said:
I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who took the time to check out my Modest Mouse spec video.

J.R. Hudson - Wow, in my mind you are a living legend! A few years back when I was still in school lurking on this forum pretty much 24/7 you were the f-ing man on this site. I remember when you released that video of yourself on like your 10,000th post or whatever and how big a deal that was on this forum. I'm so stoked that you watched one of my videos. Thanks so much. Seriously, my wife just looked at me like I was crazy when I yelled out "HOLY S@*!, GUESS WHO WATCHED MY VIDEO!!!". Anyway, that made my night. I agree 100 percent my shots could have more variety. I regrettably played it safe knowing I only had 3 cartridges of super 8 to work with. I'm glad you still seemed to enjoy it.

Nathyn - Obviously this wasn't really your cup of tea but that's cool, you still took the time to watch it. Thanks man. I'd love to somehow get Modest Mouse to see it but aside from posting my video here and on the one Modest Mouse fan site I could find I'm not sure how to reach them. I know from casually browsing these forums the past few months that you very well may be the most resourceful guy on this forum. If you have any ideas on how I could get this video to the band I'd love to hear em.

Zack - Thanks for the compliment man. Regrettably I had to work the night of the show but I heard it was rained out anyway and they'll be coming back in September.

Thanks again guys. I know everyones time is precious and watching other people's videos takes a lot of time so I really appreciate the feedback. Still can't believe Hudson watched my video. Wish my wife understood the magnitude. Sigh...
Click to expand...


Lol

That's awesome. :beer: Thanks dude !

Serious, that's rad !
 
I liked your music video. I'll watch Soda Pop Cough Drop in a bit. I normally don't like music videos that literally interpret the song, but I loved the idea of the men with dog masks, and the disgruntled mall Santa. And I loved the look of it. This is one of my favorite Modest Mouse songs too. Are you a fan of Wes Anderson by any chance?
 
Outstanding. I like your sense of humor and your style. I watch both the music video and "Soda Pop Cough drop". I really liked them. Of course they both are not a "slick filmmaking" tour de force, but I don't think that matters. What I like is that they are obviously over the top, but they are absolutely positively unapologetically over the top. A lot of films will try to be over the top, but will hedge their bets with a wink and a nod, you don't do that. I like that. Way to go. Those videos are great fun.

I also love Super 8, and first learned filmmaking using it. The first paying gigs I every got was shooting Super 8 punk rock videos and and commercials for a fetish leather shop in and around Detroit. I love the stuff. BTW, where did you get Kodachrome? If you have any left, I think that Dwaynes photo, the last place I know that develops it is going to discontinue offering development at the end of this year. That makes me very sad. I love Kodachrome. What a beautiful stock.

Oh well, times, they be a changing... huh? Nice job keep up the good work.


Here is a couple of things I shot using Super 8, BITD..... I had a different aesthetic then than you do, but what the hey....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8WLDNG5tl8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ9nFuSmYqs
 
Hey David and Billy,

Thanks so much for checking out my videos! I really appreciate it!

Billy - I definitely went full steam a head with the literal interpretation. I realize it's not everyone's cup of tea but I thought for such a specific little story it made sense. I'm glad you liked the disgruntled Santa, every time I was editing that's the only part I didn't get sick of. My dad plays the Santa (as well as the basset hound) and he HATED every minute of it. I think he aced it though. And yes, much like you, I am a huge Wes Anderson fan. I've just been reading through your Carte Blanche post. I'm so excited for you man! That's great you just had a screening! I hope the momentum keeps growing.

David - Thanks for the kind words. It seems like you really "get" my films which is awesome. I wish my mom did. It's definitely all or nothing with me when it comes to going over the top. And I really appreciate you 'slick filmmaking' comment, which I think some would take as an insult, I take it as the ultimate compliment. Nine times out of ten I deliberately set out to make films that look "hand-made" or "amateur", which ironically often seems to lead to more work behind-the-scenes. It's definitely my aesthetic of choice. Oh, and I checked out your Super 8 Video DEVIL GIRL and wow, that song is gonna be in my head for the next week. Great energy in that video man! Devil Girl Live just would never work on one of those new HDSLR Computer Robot Cameras, it can only exist on grainy Super 8. And the arms on that guitarist... Awesome!

Anyway, I guess now I'll add a bit of shameless self-promotion. I added another Super8 Music Video to User Films that seems to have just gotten buried so I figured I'd add the video here since this thread seems to have a bit of life still in it. Here it is, DANCE EPIDEMIC by Electric Six...

 
Both of these videos are absolutely insane. Still think you should try to get "Wild Pack of Family Dogs" to Modest Mouse. Go through an entertainment attorney or something. BTW Pam Almon is great in these vids. Where'd you find her?

-Nate
 
Wow, I love it. Now I am gonna have "Dance Epidemic" in my head for a week!! Very nice work.

Let me ask, did you add the film deficiencies, i.e., the light leak edges, flash frames and such, in post? As just a personal thing, after trying so many years to try and make Super 8 look good (with all reversal film and DIY transfers), I never was a big fan of the digital "Film Effects" in NLE plug ins. Sorry. Other than that I love that video. Nice work.

Thanks for the comments on "Devil Girl". That was a lot of fun. The video was part of a six song video album we made for the band, The Almighty LumberJacks of Death. A few years after making that, I ran into the front man, Jimmy Doom (what a great handle) and he told me that he was in a record shop in Chicago, and they were selling bootleg copies of the video. Since I was paid a flat fee for the gig, I got kind of a kick out of know that stuff I had shot had been bootlegged....

Keep it up. I look forward to more of your stuff.
 
Thanks for the replies Nathyn and David.

David - Not all film deficiencies are 100 percent real. Some light leaks are 100 percent real, others are sort of real in that the I figured out a way in Final Cut to cut and paste my real light leaks. It's hard to explain but using sliders I was able to make the entire frame invisible except for the light leak, and then I would layer just the light leaks over any shots where I wanted them. So those light leaks are "sort of real". The flash frames also are sometimes real but are mostly fake. I was honestly hoping for more "real" happy accidents to occur but when they did not I'll admit I did try to add some of my own. I was bummed about having to "fake it" and spent quite a bit of time trying to decide if I should do it or not but ultimately went ahead and did it. Ideally next time I'll get it all in camera but I think I need to sort of damage my camera to get that to work.

Nate - I'm glad you appreciate the talents of the lovely Pam Almon, ha-ha. I auditioned hundreds of women but ultimately Pam won me over with her dance moves and incredible charisma. I'll definitely let her now that she has a fan in Chicago!

For those who are by chance reading this but have not watched the videos Pam is my Mom. I actually have a website where she has been reviewing some of my daily photographs. You can check it out HERE. She is awesome.
 
LOL, I just realized your name is Tanner Almon. This stuff is better than most of the over produced crap on MTV. I'll take these "I Git Money" any day.

-Nate
 
Had to revisit this insanity again. These vid are so awesome. The Dance Epidemic one just popped into my mind out of nowhere. LOL.

-Nate
 
Yeah! +1 ^
That was the best music video, I've seen in ages. Cool song and an entertaining clip! Awesome!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top