my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » Big Pile O' Duplicate Trailers (Page 2)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Big Pile O' Duplicate Trailers Daniel Alt Expert Film Handler Posts: 111 From: Lakewood, OH, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-11-2004 12:09 AM                     Just to reiterate: I am interested in RECYCLYING. While I know a number of people collect trailers, we're just not in the business of running a trailer clearinghouse. The logistics of trying to list just the duplicate trailers, and then send these 6 to Bob, and those 4 to Stewie, and the other 137 to Fred, etc, etc are just more than I care to contemplate. Scott asked first and asked nicely, so I'll probably send him a box, but I suddenly have nightmares about the "Me too! Me Too!" syndrome, and 17 people all wanting specific trailers. If anyone actually wants to come to Cleveland and poke through the boxes, fine. But doing this inventory is already going to eat a big chunk of my summer, and that would be too much. Plus, I want to stay as legal as possible. These trailers will NOT be appearing on ebay. This thread is NOT a solicitation for offers to buy the things, because they are not for sale. Thanks for everyone that offered useful advice. I'll probably be contacting the recycling center in Tennessee that John mentioned.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 07-11-2004 08:21 AM                        Maybe Film-Tech could have a "Trailer Exchange" forum, in addition to the "Equipment and Supplies Wanted / For Sale" forum.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 07-11-2004 09:44 AM                        If the situation in the US is in any way similar to that in the UK, I can see that being very useful, especially for second run and arthouse/rep cinemas. In all the time I worked in the business a batch of trailers got printed when the film was first released, but after they were sent out the distributor didn't keep any. There were (and I think still are) two agencies which handle trailers and publicity material on behalf of the big distributors. Theoretically you were supposed to send trailers back to them after use, but in practice no-one can have done. One of them didn't even provide postage-paid labels, so of course no cinema is likely to spend £10-20 a week in mailing the things back if they weren't forced to. If you got a film back (or for the first time at your theatre) six months to a year off release, you had about as much chance as Osama bin Laden in Mossad headquarters of getting your hands on a trailer - the relevant agency just no longer had any. So of course I started hoarding them, using intuition to decide how likely we were to get a given film back again after it went through the first time. I recently visited a projection box I used to work in and saw around 100-200 trailers I'd collected over a year or so, most of which probably hadn't been used since. If cinemas could be confident that distributors would hold onto one or two prints of every trailer relating to a film they have in distribution, no-one would feel the need to do this.  |  IP: Logged Alexander Smith Expert Film Handler Posts: 128 From: Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Registered: Jun 2003 posted 07-11-2004 06:35 PM                     You refer to National Screen Services (who don't supply pre-paid postage labels) and Moving Print Distribution (who _do_ supply postage labels). We return all NSS trailers via our film-transport people, and all MPD trailers get posted back to them.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 07-12-2004 08:48 AM                        Our film transport people wouldn't take NSS trailers unless either we paid for the transport on our account or NSS raised an order before the collection. Basically I just couldn't be doing with the hassle of it. If they asked us for specific trailers back then of course I'd send them. But to be honest I don't think they really wanted them back. In fact the only instance I can remember of them taking any interest was when the last Star Bores film came out before I left the business, when they kept bombarding us with memos about how we'd be shot at dawn if the trailers ever left the building, blah blah. They must have been afraid that we'd try to flog them on eBay or something like that. Unlike posters and standees and things, trailers have no resale value to Joe Public, so my guess would be that NSS didn't make any serious attempt to get them back because they didn't want the hassle of disposing of them.  |  IP: Logged Andrew Shingleton Film Handler Posts: 63 From: Richmond, Victoria, Australia Registered: Feb 2004 posted 07-12-2004 09:39 AM                     Off topic, but I worked at a place where one of the Phantom Menace trailers went walkies and never came back. Caused all sorts of trouble, and I believe cost a few people their bonus'. Apparantly we had to do some serious negotiations in order to be allowed to actually play the movie! But on topic, we send our trailers back with our regular film courier as soon as we have enough used trailers to fill an old chip box from the candybar. I think the main reason is because despatch wants to reuse the boxes - whenever new trailers come they're in old boxes with a new sticker slapped on the top. I have no idea what happens to the actual trailers though. But from what I've gathered from discussions on film-tech the system must be different here because we very rarely play the attached trailers on prints (in fact prints rarely come with attached trailers anyway).  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-12-2004 11:54 AM                        For the second run and retrospective houses, trailers are like gold. Trailer are simply unavailable after a picture plays out. So when it comes around for us to play a titles, I have to find the trailer on the collector's market, which is absurd. So of course we collect them. Scott has the right idea, glean as many as you can when and wherever you can, especially if you know there is a likelihood that you will play a particular title in the future. Art houses who do collect trailers are usually cooperative enough to lend out titles to other cinemas who are in need of them. This kind of group support has saved my neck quite a few times (as it will this summer for MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES and THUNDERBALL, both of which are coming only through the kindness and generosity of other collectors and art houses. I have often toyed with the idea of creating a trailer cooperative for just this purpose, where the members would add the titles of the trailers they have saved and then that database would be made available to the members. When a title was needed, it could be requested from the member who had it. There would have to be some way to assure that each member ran a "film done right" booth and that the trailers would be handled with the utmost care. This might be easier said than done, but I think with a little creative thinking, some sort of guidelines could be established and verified that would let members feel comfortable about sending out their fairly rare trailer to another member theatre. I guess 1-sheets and other kinds of ads could be included as well -- press books immediately come to mind. It's crazy that there is this big issue of returning trailers and that the studios supposedly want them back (which is a joke) when everyone knows the distribs have not one iota of intention of storing them for future use, and the best we could hope for is that they dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way and not just toss them in a dumpster as we have seen happen so often in the past. What is just so absurd is that a trailer is an advertising aid; when the theatre has booked the feature at a percentage, that advertisement would only help to bring in more ticket sales which the distrib has a vested interest in (his percentage). Yet, book any older title and try to get ANY advertising for it, even the most fundamentals, like a trailer or a press book. Impossible. They even laugh at you when you ask. I have taken to making friends with a video store and asked for the standees when he's done with them. They are great advertising pieces, but impossible to get from the studio once the film is moved to the "classics" divisions. You have to do some creative stuff to block out the video references ("scenes not shown in the theatre" kind of crap), but it is worth it being able to display those incredible pieces in the lobby -- they are works of art in and of themselves....that they can create all these shapes and 3D effects, yet the thing folds up and compresses into a single box is, to me, a marvel. But you have to go and scavenge for these things for yourself or do without, because the studios certainly show no interest in supporting theatre advertising after the initial release. It would be great if such an arthouse cooperative would kept track of where all this stuff is who was saving what. Scott, if you sort out this box of trailers and send me a list the titles, I would be happy to share -- I have a list of mine as well; perhaps this could be the start of a mini trailer cooperative.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-12-2004 12:25 PM                        Frank--you (and anyone else who wants it) will get a list. I'd be more than happy to loan out whatever people need, given some advance notice (as others will attest--I can be slow at times) and reimbursement for shipping costs. Lest the MPAA have a fit about this, I'll make a point of saying that this offer applies only to theatres or other venues which have actually booked the film in question and will be paying the appropriate rental fees to the distributor. For those who don't know, I currently have a pretty good collection of mainstream trailers from the '80s and late '90s and also many art-house titles released in the early- to mid-'90s. This is not well organized yet, unfortunately, but someday will be. Nothing is for sale but, again, if anyone wants to borrow a specific title to advertise a film which has been booked and licensed, let me know (no, I don't yet have a list...sorry).  |  IP: Logged Daniel Alt Expert Film Handler Posts: 111 From: Lakewood, OH, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-12-2004 06:06 PM                     I think we would certainly be interested in getting involved with any sort of trailer cooperative. Frank, if there's anything else you're looking for for your upcoming season, drop me a private message? I'm about 1/2 way though cataloging our collection, and I've listed about 1200 trailers so far. The dupes I'm trying to get rid of are mostly newer titles, but the core collection (which of course is NOT getting recycled) has some amazing titles. Once the list is complete, I'd be willing to send it out to rep theaters that might be interested. The organization here is run by students; they would have to make the decision as to what we would or wouldn't be willing to loan out, but I'll certainly argue for reputable users to be able to borrow the things. Like Scott said, this would be ONLY for theaters that have paid for the rights to exhibit the film.  |  IP: Logged Daniel Alt Expert Film Handler Posts: 111 From: Lakewood, OH, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-15-2004 04:24 PM                     Update: I've finished our catalog. (give or take a dozen or two unlabelled trailers I've got to identify yet). If Frank, Scott, or anyone else would like a copy of the list, drop me a private message with a real email address. The file is in Excel. We'd probably be willing to loan out trailers for movies you've booked, in exchange for reciprocal loans of trailers you have that we need. I can't make a promise for certain until August when the student management of the film society returns, but I doubt they'd have a serious problem.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-17-2004 09:39 AM                        Hey guys, this is a great start. I have trailers that date back to the late 70s. I had a comprehensive list that got eaten by a computer crash and I am reconstructing it (very time consuming and one pain in the butt). As soon as it is complete, I will share it with anyone who, as Scott points out, is running a legitmate theatre operation, and by that I mean showing 35mm in a theatre setting and booking 35mm prints -- doesn't have to be a commerial theatre. And also as per Scott, lead time is essential as most of us have pretty full plates as it is. This cooperative is essential for anyone running older titles, given the absurd situation where even the big studios that have Classics Departments and who are striking prints of their older titles seem to be oblivious to the need for trailers, which are one of the most effective marketing tools known to man. Odd that they never seem to lack for trailer elements when they are making their chock-full-o-extras DVDs. Why they can't simply slice on the trailer negative to the end of one of the reels of the print negative when they are making new prints is beyond me. Then for every new print struck of a particular title, they would at least have a trailer to rent out with it. Anyway, as I said, this is a start. Anyone else who wants to give this a try....sign up here. We probably should set up some ground rules as well. Like, absolutely no cutting of frames -- ever, and how much insurance and what would be the best shipping method, etc.  |  IP: Logged Tao Yue Expert Film Handler Posts: 209 From: Princeton, NJ Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-21-2004 11:28 PM                        Daniel: 1600 trailers at half the collection is rather impressive, what's your final count and how long have you guys been operating? Frank: one step that could alleviate some repertory trailer problems is getting a (gasp) video projector and running them off DVD. Of course it's generally preferable to run 35mm for somewhat newer repertory titles, but once you get older than 1984 there's a real problem with fading, and odds are the trailers haven't been kept at ideal conditions. Often there's a better choice of trailers, too. If I had a choice of the following, I'd pick the first over the second, but it'd be tougher finding it: The "storybook" trailer for the reserved-seat engagement of Gone with the Wind or one of the numerous rerelease trailers. The 1989 rerelease trailer for The Ten Commandments or the 1966 rerelease trailer. The Hitchcock narration trailer for Psycho or the regular scene-sampling trailer. The French reserved-seat trailer for Cleopatra or the English one.  |  IP: Logged Peter Mork Expert Film Handler Posts: 181 From: Newton, MA, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 07-22-2004 02:02 AM                     At the West Newton we have tons of old trailers, mostly art and family titles, going back to the seventies. Yes, the old ones are faded but that is part of their charm. What I've always wanted to do was trade American trailers of current titles for English or Australian trailers of the same titles. Or in the case of foreign language films, the trailer shown in the country of origin. Unlike a lot of places we do run trailers for titles "now showing" on other screens, and I would USE these alternate versions and would like to hear from anyone desiring a one-on-one swap.  |  IP: Logged Daniel Alt Expert Film Handler Posts: 111 From: Lakewood, OH, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-22-2004 09:06 AM                     Tao: The CWRU Film Society has been around for about 35 years or so. Some of the trailers we have definitely predate our existance, and were probably aquired by raiding the assets of theaters that were closing in our area. The final tally is 2,176. (Turns out the second half by volume had fewer trailers, because they were in smaller boxes) That doesn't include two reels of 70mm trailers I haven't catalogued yet, or 3 boxes of 16mm trailers I have no intention of cataloging. There's also a couple of 3/4" videotapes, which is odd, because to my knowledge we've NEVER had the capacity to play those.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-22-2004 09:17 AM                        The videotapes probably came with Electronic Press Kits for films that you booked at one point. I guess you were supposed to have sent them to a local TV station to broadcast as part of a news or current-events show. (And if you're tossing any of the 16mm stuff, I'll take that, too!)  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.