Super 8 experimental films by Simon Cooper, Canberra & Sydney 1986/7

Autoportrait. Super 8, 15 minutes, 1986. Produced from footage left over from an unfinished short project about the Canberra inner city area, Autoportrait explored my thoughts and memories after moving to Sydney. Widely screened at the time, as evidenced by the scratches. I walked with a zombie. (unfinished segments) Super 8, 10 minutes, 1987. Unfinished film, experimenting with filming and re-filming images. I was unwell for a long period of time and this may be reflected in the film. I was unable to get the funding to pursue the full project. Some sections are too shadowy on this transfer (!) The films utilise the "sampling" and "quotation" (ironic or otherwise) that was a feature of the medium in the 1980s. The films were never made for commercial intent. These transfers were done as part of a project to preserve many of the Super 8 films screened at the popular Super 8 Film Festivals, exhibited in galleries, and analysed in journals, through the 1980s. Compilations on video were placed in the National Library’s Film Study Collection. Unfortunately, after I had collected all the films, my contact at the National Film & Sound Archive unexpectedly moved to another job before the project got moving. The NFSA were happy to accept films but decided not to do the originally planned telecine compilations. Eventually, a technician arranged for us to do the work after hours, though the transfers were only done by filming off a wall (with a broadcast camera). Best we could manage.