Make It Forever - A 16mm Film

Make It Forever - A short film by me!

I found a 50 year old, russian, 16mm camera in the basement of Huseby. Shane Mcfalls urged me to spend my time during project week fixing/using the camera. 16mm film is already the style I have always leaned towards in my videos. I always end up putting imperfections on my digital videos during the editing process. This was a perfect next step.

I’d wanted to make a film to “Make It Forever” by George Clanton since I first heard the song, but since I loved the song so much, I was worried about taking that step and possibly ruining it. The vibe of 16mm film perfectly coincides with George’s music though, so I knew I needed to use that song.

The process was truly eventful. First, spending days loading expired film into the camera and running it. I wanted to be prepared for when my “Kodak 16mm Vision3 100ft 250D” film roll arrived.

What you see in the video is the result of my first day of filming. By the second day, I was comfortable and more confident. I spent the whole second day of shooting completely ecstatic about my shots. The sunrise, squirrels in slow motion, people dancing, quirky face shots.

Unfortunately, at the end of the second day, I opened my camera to find the film “spaghettied”. Tons of film still left on the original spool. I had no idea if ANY of my film was actually ever exposed, and there was only one way to find out. I shipped out what did make it onto the second spool, in hopes I would get literally anything back.

I was pretty gutted to be honest. I stopped working on my project for a few days after shipping the film out. Just getting minor B-roll shots of the camera, which I now slightly resented. I had grown incredibly attached to the film, which in hindsight, is probably rule number one of what NOT to do when shooting your first roll of 16mm.

Regardless, the film came back, and I had my whole first day of shooting. I had to accept that day 2 was gone, and work with what I had. It was kind of a miracle that I got anything to work on my first ever 16mm roll, I’m super happy with the result. The imperfection of 16mm cannot be recreated, the color is unmatched, and the vibe is enthralling. I’m very proud of what I ended up making (Proud enough to actually put it on my Instagram). I hope you like it, and I hope George Clanton sees this! Thank you Shane, for pushing me out of my comfort zone and helping me expand my range of skills and mental fortitude!

[bridgerleavitt]

Some of your best work jack, I love you bro, don't stop anytime soon ;)

[eleanorpm]

This is so amazing, i was looking at george clantons instagram and i saw ur comment about a music video so i came and i watched and ugh this is just very beautiful and matches the song so weel