William Scaff

b. 1947
d. 2020

I met William Scaff in 2010 and inspected all of his films around that time, gathering contextual info from him when possible. This was prompted by Los Angeles Filmforum’s Alternative Projections project, as part of the Getty’s first Pacific Standard Time initiative. He was a longtime friend of Terry Cannon, who founded Filmforum (originally as Pasadena Filmforum) in 1975, and who was a passionate advocate for Scaff’s filmmaking. It was Terry who connected Scaff with Filmforum and me, and the reason why Scaff’s films were deposited at the Academy Film Archive for conservation. All of the filmographic information here is based on a mix of inspections of the film elements and interactions with Scaff, and there is little other external information or documentation on his body of work.

Short biography from Los Angeles Filmforum’s Alternative Projections site:
William Scaff was born in Austin, Texas in 1947. He began making Super 8 films as a child. His family moved to Southern California in 1960 where he became involved with the folk music scene centered around The Paradox, folk music club in Orange County, and he played in a jug band. He attended Chouinard for a short period before being drafted to fight in Vietnam. He served in Vietnam for 14 months in the Public Information Office as photojournalist and earned the bronze star. He moved to Pasadena, CA in 1975 to attend Fuller Theological Seminary, but quickly learned about Pasadena Filmforum and entered an extremely active period making Super 8 films that screened regularly at Filmforum as well as other regional venues. In 1983 and ’84 he was awarded the Western States Regional Media Arts Fellowship. Scaff lived in Nevada City, CA.

MEMORIES (1967)
8mm, color, separate audio, 16/18fps, 9m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

URANUS OLD LADY (1971)
8mm, bw & color, separate audio, 16/18fps, 12m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

RED HOT DRACULA (1972)
8mm, color, separate audio, 16/18fps, 19m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

SOMEDAY EARTH (1973)
8mm, color, separate audio, 16/18fps, 11m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

LATE (1973)
8mm, color, separate audio, 16/18fps, 7.5m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

SPIRITUAL THINGS (1975)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 8m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

SELF-PORTRAITS (1976)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5m

SEARCHING FOR PLANES (1977)
Super 8, color, sound 18fps, 15m
This film is part one of The Dream Trilogy, though it also should be considered as a discrete film of its own.
Soundtrack: John Cage, ‘Book of Music, part 2, Sonatas 14 & 15’

WAY INSIDE (1977)
Super 8, color, sound 18fps, 16m
“This is a pre-existing film that I bleached.” (Scaff)

HEAD PICTURES (1977)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 14m
Soundtrack: “I believe I used 2 different tracks for this film. One or both should be on a cassette tape. 1. Little Esther “Talkin’ All Out of my Head”, “Private Memorial Service” from Sikkim; 2. L.A. Free Music Society” (Scaff)

IN THIS TREMBLING SHADOW (1979)
Super 8, color, sound 18fps, 15m
This film is part two of The Dream Trilogy, though it also should be considered as a discrete film of its own.
Soundtrack: The Glass Orchestra

THE DIET OF WORMS (1980)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 24m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

BATHERS (1981)
Super 8, color, sound 18fps, 45m
Soundtrack: “Each bathing scene has a different piece of music. One scene is silent.” (Scaff)
World premiere was December 14, 1981 at Pasadena Filmforum.

RITE OF PASSAGE (1982)
Super 8, color, sound 18fps, 17m
This film is part three of The Dream Trilogy, though it also should be considered as a discrete film of its own.
Soundtrack: Original music by Don Kirby & William Scaff.

VERA’S PARTY (1982)
Super 8, bw, separate audio, 18fps, 9.5m
Soundtrack: “Selections from ‘The Comedians’ by Kabalevsky (cassette tape)” (Scaff)
Vera’s Party and Kitty’s Party (in that order) are compiled onto a single reel by the filmmaker, and typically shown together.

KITTY’S PARTY (1982)
Super 8, bw, separate audio, 18fps, 12.5m
Soundtrack: “Sun Ra (cassette tape)” (Scaff)
Vera’s Party and Kitty’s Party (in that order) are compiled onto a single reel by the filmmaker, and typically shown together.

MEZCAL PARTY (“early ’80s”, per Scaff)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 3m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.
The film stock in the original is 1978, though Scaff had estimated this film as being made in the “early ’80s”.

MIXIE PIXIL (1982)
Super 8, color, sound 18fps, 11m
Soundtrack: “Fandango, Soler (cassette tape)” (Scaff)

DEATH VALLEY (1983)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 15.5m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

TIE DYE PARTY (1983)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 3m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.
Original box in which the film was housed was labeled by the filmmaker: “Tie Dye Party // Maya, Carla, Christina, Corina, Annie & Falfie”

A TRIP TO THE MOUNTAINS (1983)
Super 8, color, separate audio, 18fps, 8.5m
Scaff screened this film with sound (on separate record or tape), but he didn’t remember what he used for a soundtrack.

ISLE OF LESBOS (1986)
Super 8, bw, sound 18fps, 12.5m
Soundtrack: “L.A. Free Music Society, Tom Recchion” (Scaff)

UNFINISHED/AS-IS FILMS

In a number of cases, Scaff had begun films, working on them up to a point, then abandoning them as unfinished, but deciding they would then exist as discrete works under their intended titles. These are noted below. Though unfinished, they can be considered nevertheless as works of Scaff’s, though not quite on the same level of execution, deliberation, and completion as his truly finished works. In most cases, these works have been roughly dated based on the film stocks used and titles taken from cans/leader (and confirmed with Scaff). Scaff also confirmed all as 18fps and that they can be considered as silent films in their technically unfinished states, even if in a hypothetical finished state they may likely have had sound.

UNTITLED (1975)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 7.5m
Note that this film isn’t untitled, it’s entitled Untitled.
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

COLOR TEST FILM (1976)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

BOOMTOWN (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 8m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

CAROL’S FILM (1978)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 1.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.
The original box in which this film was stored was labeled “Carol’s Film / leaves”, though the filmmaker confirmed the intended title as Carol’s Film.

JACK AT SHACK (1979)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 1.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

BAPTIST CHURCH (1980)
Super 8, bw, silent 18fps, 15m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

LOVE POEM FOR C.L.L. (1981)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.
The original box in which this film was stored was labeled by the filmmaker: “‘Love Poem for C.L.L.’ by Billy B Scaff for Carol’s 27th Birthday”

BLACK MAMBA (1982)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 4m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

NIGHTPOOL (1982)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

UNDER SUICIDE BRIDGE (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 15m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

ZEKE’S GARDEN (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

LEWIS BACKYARD (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 14m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

RUINS / HERB HOUSE (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 15m
These two unfinished pieces arrived on a single reel together, separated by a short length of white leader. It is not certain whether they were intended to be finished and presented together as companion works, or if they were on the same reel for convenience, but the former is perhaps a bit more likely than the latter, if for no other reason that their assembly and labeling together on one reel, and being spliced together with a short leader gap in between.
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

AROUND TOWN (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 10m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

DINNER AT EIGHT (1983)
Super 8, bw, silent 18fps, 13m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

WICKIUP WIND / BURNED HOUSE (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 13m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

TEXACO STATION (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

FARMERS MARKET (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 13m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

BALCONY LIGHTS (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 8.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

OLD FASHIONED DAYS (1983)
Super 8, color, silent 18fps, 8.5m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

CHURCH OF SOFTBALL (1983)
Super 8, bw, silent 18fps, 7m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

KOREAN SAILOR CARTOON / FULL O FUDS (year unknown)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 18fps, 3.5m
This is a found footage collage, made up of numerous different stocks of pre-existing material – b/w and color, pos and reversal. Filmmaker also added a titlecard stating “William Scaff presents”.
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.

CHURCH OF PIE NIGHT (year unknown)
Super 8, bw & color, silent 18fps, 9m
As with a number of his works, this film was not finished or released by the filmmaker. He decided to leave it as-is, in its unfinished state, under its intended title.
The original picture roll for this film is on mag-striped stock, and it’s possible that there is sound present that was originally intended for use in the finished film, but the filmmaker indicated it should be considered as silent, in its unfinished state.