Rob Hampton and John Morgan’s short Super 8 Daze is a nostalgia story of their youth. In the 1970s, Rob Hampton fell in love with the cinema. While goofing off with his friends, he would act as the director of their fantasy role-plays. The problem is Hampton didn’t have a camera. It was only a matter of time, and after extensive amounts of begging, he received his ultimate gift.
Now unleashed with this powerful weapon, Hampton began making movies with his good-looking buddy, John Morgan, in the lead of each one. Mostly remakes of his favorites, including Jaws, Flash Gordon, and Star Wars. The homemade films would only run three-minutes long, the same length as the roll of film for the camera, and edited on a cheap editing machine. Hampton also provided narration and voice-over during his “screenings.”
Cut to the present, and Hampton uncovered his Super 8 movies, digitized them, added a proper soundtrack, and posted them on the internet.
“…unleashed with this powerful weapon, Hampton began making movies with his good-looking buddy…”
One of my earliest memories is watching my father’s Super 8 films of trips that I had been on as a toddler that I didn’t remember. He had shot enough of my life to occupy several hours of entertainment. My biggest regret is that after my father’s camera broke, I never got to shoot a single frame of film on it. This small child’s dream of becoming a filmmaker was destroyed at the age of five.
I’m watching Super 8 Daze with a great deal of admiration along with an intense level of envy and jealousy. The jealous side of me will also say that making a documentary about yourself can come across as narcissism. Yes, I’m being petty at the moment.
Now that I have a chance to breathe, Super 8 Daze is the story of early low-budget indie filmmaking for kids. Hampton had a story to tell, and he used every single resource available to a young boy and told his stories his way. It didn’t matter to him or his audience (friends and family) the final quality because the burgeoning filmmaker accomplished what he set out to do.
Super 8 Daze is fun and inspiring and a must-see for any young person dreaming of making movies.
"…the story of early low-budget indie filmmaking..."
