Analogue film · Guide
Super 8, 16 mm or Digital? Choosing Your Wedding Film
Couples often ask me which format to choose for their wedding film: classic Super 8, richer 16 mm, modern digital – or a mix. I shoot all three, develop and scan the analogue film myself, and every format has its own character. This guide explains the differences so you can choose what feels right for your day.
Super 8: the nostalgic one
Super 8 is the small-gauge film of family holidays in the 1970s – warm colours, visible grain, soft focus and a little flicker. That is exactly why couples love it today: a Super 8 wedding film feels like a memory rather than a recording. The cameras are small and quiet, so guests barely notice them.
Each cartridge holds only about two and a half minutes of film, so every shot is chosen carefully. Super 8 loves daylight; in the evening or indoors I switch to faster film or to digital. Today’s Super 8 cartridges record no sound, so the analogue film is edited to music.
16 mm: the cinematic one
16 mm film has a frame several times larger than Super 8, which means finer grain, more detail and the depth of classic cinema – many documentaries and feature films were shot on it. I shoot 16 mm on a Bolex H16, a mechanical camera that needs no battery and works in wind, snow and rain, which makes it a wonderful companion for an Iceland elopement.
A 100-foot spool holds under three minutes of film at normal speed, so 16 mm suits the key moments of the day: the first look, the vows, the portraits in the landscape.
Digital: the complete story
A digital wedding film captures everything the analogue formats cannot: the words of your vows, the speeches, the laughter at dinner and the dancing late into the night, in any light. It is the format for telling the whole story of the day, with sound, from the first moment to the last.
Why many couples choose both
The most popular choice is a combination: a digital wedding film with sound and the full story of the day, and an analogue film shot alongside it. The film shots are woven into the main film and also edited into a short film of their own. The result has the clarity of digital and the soul of film – like Belle and Cole’s weekend in Paris or Edward and Breanna’s elopement on the Isle of Skye.
What you receive
With an analogue film you receive a short film edited purely from the analogue footage, the film shots woven into your main wedding film if you book both, 4K scans of every reel, and the developed reels themselves to keep. I develop the film and scan it in 4K myself, so nothing leaves my hands between your wedding and your film.
How to choose
If you love the look of old family films, choose Super 8. If you want analogue with more detail and a cinematic feel, choose 16 mm. If you want every word and the whole day, choose digital – and if you cannot decide, combine them. Send me your date and place and I will happily help you choose. See all my analogue wedding films.