The year 2016 will go down as sad one for many people, with the deaths of many much loved celebrities, Brexit, the continuing Tory rule in the UK punishing the poorest members of society and the election of Donald Trump in the USA (and whatever that may bring).
So, what’s to look forward to in 2017? For me, as a script writer for hire I’ve got three high quality scripts in the works, and I’m really happy that the scripts are based in my home town of Leeds. I also have other projects bubbling away in the background.
Beyond the script writing and script consultancy work I’m really very excited about the new much anticipated Kodak Super 8 camera which is due to be released in spring 2017.
There’s been a building movement in the film industry about continuing to shoot on film, despite the rise of some brilliant technology in the digital realm. I started my career shooting on Super 8 as a youth, and my first professional short film Family Style was shot on Kodak Super 16. I love film, and I’ve already got the cash put aside to buy the new Kodak camera and use it for a project straight away.
Of course, in the digital age it’s pretty easy to ‘fake’ the Kodak Super 8 look, but there’s nothing as nice as real film being exposed in a camera. As you can see from the official Kodak video below that Super 8 has a very particular look, a look and a feel that can’t be digitally recreated properly.
So 2017 is the year that Super 8 makes a comeback, that’s something to really look forward to…
Matthew Cooper has been a script writer for hire for over 20 years. He’s written for most of the UK soaps, including writing award winning episodes of Emmerdale, Eastenders, Hollyoaks and Family Affairs. Matthew was winner of the first ever Lloyds Bank Channel Four Film Challenge, the Oscar Moore Screenplay Prize and has been BAFTA shortlisted and Royal Television Society nominated as a script writer. You can find some of his broadcast credits on the IMDb. You can get in touch with Matthew on matcoop23@yahoo.co.uk