You can have your film optically printed at a film lab, but that's costly. You can purchase a quality optical printer, but again, that's expensive. The option for most of us involved in Super-8 filmmaking is to make your own printing device. It may not be quite as sophisticated as the professional models, nor give you the same quality effects as those available from the lab, but it will allow you to create the effects you need. A homemade optical printer will let you add dissolves, split screens, fancy wipes, and faces to your films in addition to duplicating your best movies.

What It Takes

Building a printer is simple and inexpensive. To start, you'll need an old 8mm or Super-8 editor/viewer. The machine doesn't have to be in perfect working condition, since all you'll use from it are the electrical system, including the lamp and socket, one of the mirrors and the screen. Look for an editor/viewer to suit this purpose at a flea market, used camera store or through a camera club. You'll also need a projector that has an inching knob (a knob turned by hand that pulls the film down past the projector gate one frame at a time) and a zoom lens, plus a camera with single-frame capability and a zoom lens.

If your camera doesn't have a macro zoom, you will want a high-quality magnifying glass or close-up lens that will fit over your camera lens. You can purchase either of these items from a camera store. You should also have a tripod, a small piece of wood about 3- by 3-inches and 1/4-inch thick, some electrical wire and tape, aluminum foil, Epoxy glue, three two-inch screws and masking tape.

Electrical Systems

Unplug the editor/viewer and remove the all electrical systems. This includes the plug, wire, on/off switch, 6-volt AC adapter, socket and 10-watt/6-volt lamp. Take care to insulate any exposed wire or terminals with electrical tape. Also remove the mirror and viewing screen. Attach the voltage adapter and on/off switch to the small piece of wood with a couple of screws or Epoxy glue.

Using a piece of cloth or foam, remove the lamp from the projector. Do not touch the projector lamp with your fingers, since the chemical coating on these laps reacts adversely to body oil, causing the lamp to burn out prematurely.

Replce the projector lamp with the lamp take from the editor/viewer. Secure the editor lamp in roughly the same position as the projector bulb had been (see photo). I was able to screw the base of the editor lamp socket to my Eumig 822 projector by using available holes and rubber washers. On other projectors you may have to secure the lamp with electrical tape. Connect the lamp socket to your voltage adapter and on/off switch, using additional electrical wires as necessary.

The Image Box

Make a rectangular box out of heavy black posterboard or cardboard and glue. This is to hold the miror and screen for your re-shooting set-up. The box should measure about 6- by 3- by 2 1/2-inches. Cut a hole 1 3/4- by 2- inches in one long side of the box. Glue the mirror into position inside the box at a 45-degree angle to the projector lens plane as shown in the diagram. Use masking tape to attach the editor's viewing screen onto the front end of the box opposite the mirror.

Mounting the Box

Make a holder or mount to keep the box in position between the projector and camera. The specific arrangement will depend on the type of projector you use and the table or support that will hold your optical printing set-up. With my Eumig 822 projector, I was fortunate to have a front-mounted daylight viewing screen that is easily removable. I decided to mount my box right onto the projector itself, using the holes that became available when I removed the screen. The photo shows how this conveniently positions the box at an apropriate level to the projector lens. The camera and tripod are then brought into position, with the camera lens aimed at the viewing screen taped onto the front of the box.

If your projector doesn't have a removable front-mounted screen, devise your own mount for the box. Use a small block of wood, or several blocks glued together, or build a small shelf from scrap wood to support the box at the proper height for your projector.

My Way

For a projector with a removable front-mounted screen, here's a way to attach the box to the projector itself (see diagram). Make a mounting strip of plastic or wood about 3- by 3-inches. Attach the strip to the box with Epoxy glue. Put two 2-inch screws into the strip in a position corresponding to the daylight viewer mounting holes on your projector (on my Eumig the distance was 1 3/4 inches). Place a third 2-inch screw at the far side of the mount. This will be used to move the box horizontally by adjusting the screw in or out, thus centering the projected image.

Now you can either screw the box onto your projector as I have done (see photo), or place the box, on a mount of your own devising, in position between camera and projector.

Camera and Printing

I used a silent GAF camera with an 8-48mm zoom range and a f/1.8 lens, but any Super-8 camera with single frame capability will do. Attach the close-up lens or magnifying glass to your camera lens with masking tape. This permits the use of the zoom without loss of focus. Place the camera on a tripod facing the screen.

Work in a room with low, indirect lighting. Place film in the projector and advance it (using the inching knob) to the pont you want to re-shoot. Turn on the editor lamp (attached to the projector). Project the film directly onto the mirror inside the box (see diagram). The mirror then deflects the image onto the viewing screen at the end of the box.

Remove the camera's daylight filter and use Kodachrome 40 film for best results (Editor's note: trying pushing the film a stop to reduce contrast in the print). Use a cable release to take pictures so as to avoid any jarring of the image. Test and adjust the camera's focus by placing a piece of paper with drawings or letters over the viewing screen on the box, and check focus through the viewfinder. Move the camera on its tripod back or forth vary slightly until good focus is achieved.

Zoom in the camera lens and move the camera up or down on the tripod to center the image in the viewfinder. Zoom back to the image size you need. The image should totally fill your viewfinder, as you don't want to pick up black edges on the refilmed frame. Experiment by filming test footage to know you're operating your printer satisfactorily.

You can make duplicate prints of all your movies by simply reshooting them frame by frame on your optical printer. No more lab costs for extra prints. The best part is that duplicate prints can be made even better by adding that slow motion sequence or fantastic freeze frame. Your own imagination is the limit for creative optical printing.

--Raul Lopez Herrera, Zacatecas, Mexico

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