SHOOTING FOR THE MOON
A SUPER 8 FILM
STRAIGHT 8
THE ONE SUPER 8 CARTRIDGE NO EDITING FILM COMPETITION
THE SHORT FILM IDEA
Shooting for the Moon was created for the Straight 8 2024 competition.
Why not take the camera format meant for home videos and aim it at something way out there? The moon seemed like the perfect target, offering both a challenge and a chance to get really creative without using post-production tricks.
You know how the old Apollo 11 footage has that raw, gritty feel? And there's all that talk about whether it was staged or not? Well, that just added to the excitement of the concept. All we had to do was figure out how to pull off filming it without anything that we would need to travel into space. Check out the breakdown of our process below!
MAKING THE MOON
The moon was divided into two sections to facilitate shooting and eliminate the need to construct a full-scale moon or travel to space. The initial phase involved creating a 3D model for close-up shots depicting the lander's contact. The second part involved a 2D painted backdrop, serving as a background element.
MAKING THE MINATURES
Both the Lunar module and the Command module needed to be build as minatures for the detatch and landing sequences. A combination of 3D printing, model making and various techniques were used to get to the end result and many more techniques were used to continuously make changes and fix broken parts as and when needed.
FILMING
After spending 2 months of evenings and weekends outside of work making costumes, minatures, props, and a full sized space shuttle, it was time for the next 2 days of madness.
Shooting everything in low light conditions on Kodak 50D film with an untested Canon 1014XL-S camera, one roll of film and no retakes. Best hope a picture develops on the other side.
