Melbourne Super 8 Film Group
20th October 1997 - 30th December 2000
Task Summary
- Site Producer
- Visual Design
- Information Design
- Copy Writing and Editing
- Writing of HTML and CSS code
Project Details
The Melbourne Super 8 Film Group (MS8FG) were among the longest running screen culture organisations exclusively dedicated to Super 8 film in the world. Long after video assumed control of the home movie market, the MS8FG were screening Super 8 films from Australia and around the world on a monthly basis right up until the turn of the millennium.
In that time, they staged 10 International Super 8 Film Festivals, with the last in 1999. Their monthly feature presentation and Open Screening at the Erwin Rado Theatre in Fitzroy, Melbourne, drew regular crowds of film enthusiasts and featured a range of films from narratives to highly experimental art house and installation work.
For many years, the group’s website consisted of a few brief pages, promoting upcoming Open Screenings, publishing a few articles from the member newsletter, and some contact details. It was very spartan in both design and content, and it needed a change.
In early 1998, the group lost funding support from the Australian Film Commission, and was facing extinction. As part of my volunteer role as the administrator of the group in 1999/2000, I embarked on a redevelopment of the site, aimed at significantly raising the profile of the group in the online arena.
The focus of the change centred on content, and making the site a crucial resource for Super 8 filmmakers, and those interested in experimental films. It took on an e-zine format, with regular publication of articles submitted by members and contributors from around Australia and overseas. Accompanying the magazine format, was a moderated discussion list, where participants were able to find out about anything Super 8, ranging from stockists in their region, to Super 8 screenings and films.
The site profiled members of the group, including showcasing their work via stills and interviews, and at times, also posting video copies of their films for audiences to watch. It also retained a focus on the group’s core activities, by promoting upcoming events, workshops and activities the group was participating in, as well as facilitating potential members in finding out as much about the group as possible before signing up.
Within just a month of its relaunch, traffic to the site tripled, and continued to grow at a rapid rate as the site developed its content and user base over the next eighteen months. By the time I left the group two years later, the site was regularly seeing visitor numbers in excess of two thousand per month (which for a site of its nature, was enormous).
The final stage in the re-development of the site was to include the capacity for online subscriptions, as well as wireless/SMS delivery of event information. However these plans didn’t see the light of day, as after several years of trying to remain financial the group was finally overrun by the digital age, and folded in 2001. It continues on in a different capacity as the Moving Image Coalition, which now screens a range of formats including Super 8, 16mm and Video.