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Author Topic: AMC now leaving green bands on? Jason Burroughs Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 654 From: Allen, TX Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-08-2006 08:28 PM                     To essentially indicate the rating of the trailer itself, Green Band = G rated trailer Red Band = R rated trailer not sure of what other colors were used  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 09-09-2006 03:05 AM                     Green - trailer approved for ALL audiences. Red - Trailer approved for RESTRICTED audiences. No other color was chosen. Lot of circuits refused to run RED BAND trailers for the simple fact of operators not knowing the procedures on RED BAND trailers - in not putting these trailers on films rated lesser than a "R." Even if they knew the procedures, the risk of public outcry was horrendous when a RED BAND trailer was accidently played on a lesser rated film, thus the simple rule of no RED BAND trailers ARE to be played...period. Colors set up a few years later by the MPAA, when back in 1968 is when the movie ratings begin to appear at the beginning of the films. In the early 70's is when the rating tag was moved to the rear of the film, esp when the original "M" rating was changed to "GP" (General Parental). Then the following year, that one rating was changed to "PG" (Parental Guidance) and has been with us since.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-09-2006 11:46 AM                        quote: Donna Siegwart So why were the bands made green to begin with? Ive been curious, why not yellow, or blue? Anyone know the answer? (Im sure someone does) I can't be certain of the answer Donna, but I would guess that they didn't use the colors you mention because Yellow is associated with caution, which you wouldn't want people to associate with a General Audience film, and certainly Red is associated with danger or stop and also XXX rated films. Why they use Green for everything is the question. Seems they could take advantage of the general meanings people associate with certain colors and apply them to the rating system -- that's what the government did when they made up those very informative color codes for terror threat. I can live with the green bands, but I think they are too repetitive when you're running more than a few trailers AND they are too damn long. All you need is "read time," which for a MPAA rating is about 10 seconds, because all anyone really reads is the rating letter in the box, not the rest of the gack, especially after the third or forth rating band goes by. And here's an interesting observance: I've played four trailers without green rating but with daters or just five seconds of added black to pace the transition. Without the greenies, patrons seem to be fine with four trailers. I've also played the same show WITH the greenies left in -- patrons would MOAN when the third and forth green bands came on the screen. I wouldn't hazard a guess at the psychology behind this, but there it is. It may also be that the length of the bands -- much too long -- people don't like being forced to stare at a static (and aesthetically downright ugly) graphic for way longer than necessary. And lastly, if they've been stupid enough to cut the trailer so that audio runs into the green, naturally I leave it on, but it's cut down to the bare minimum, just short of looking like a mistake -- ten seconds seems excruciatingly long when it's something you don't want to look at.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-09-2006 12:26 PM                     I don't know if it's Carmike Cinemas' policy to leave green bands intact or not, but the green bands (and red bands in case of R-rated trailers) are always intact on movie trailers at the one here in Lawton. I've seen green bands left intact at the other Carmike locations I've visited. I personally prefer the green bands left on trailers with plenty of black in front of them. As over-bearing as most trailers are (with all the disco-whoosh phiggidy-slam/thud bullshit cliché sound effects) the green band and black in front of it serves as a badly needed break from the racket. The current convention in designing movie trailers is very tired and really needs to be reinvented. All of the whoosh rumble stuff has actually become very silly. It's been more than a decade since that stuff seemed cool. The style of it is just as silly as the last dying days of hair band metal in 1990. Film distribution marketing departments are definitely sleep-walking on this -just like their penchant for setting many movie titles in Trajan. I'm all for the D-Cinema trailer files encoding in the green bands and a couple seconds of black in front of them. Screw it if they have to create a number of different digital files for overseas markets. They have to do that anyway for subtitling and/or different language dubs anyway. Frankly, when the green bands are cut off of movie trailers then the trailer pack just plays like a never-ending TV commercial break (complete with all the TV commercials thrown into the mix). If I want home TV style, I'll just watch TV at home.  |  IP: Logged Scott D. Neff Theatre Dork Posts: 919 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Oct 1999 posted 09-10-2006 03:12 PM                        I've seen a lot of trailers from the early 80's where the rating was shown on a blue screen with a wide stripe running across the bottom of the screen. Was this actually a BLUE screen or have the prints faded?  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-10-2006 06:59 PM                     It was blue. I remember that style of thing mainly from 1970's era movies. The rock band Queens of the Stone Age put out an album a few years ago titled Rated R. The cover art looks very much like that old end of movie MPAA rating notice, except that the fine print says "restricted to everyone everywhere all the time."  |  IP: Logged Mike Heenan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1896 From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-10-2006 07:11 PM                     Yeah it was definitely blue... I have a lot of those trailers and some on fuji that still have color left in them.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-10-2006 08:30 PM                        The difference on those old trailers was, the rating band used to be at the END of the trailer...I remember many a time, a cool action packed trailer would play, then the "R" rating would show, and all the kids in the audience would collectively groan!  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 09-11-2006 01:15 PM                     When the MPAA started approving trailers the "All Audiences" tag at the beginning was blue, not green, and the lettering was different. It usually said "This special preview has been approved...." I think it changed to green around 1980. Prior to this, they used the ones with the white stripe (usually at the end of the trailer) which also showed the film's rating; this was also used at the end of movies to show the rating until they changed to the current format in 1984 when they added the PG-13 rating.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-11-2006 02:44 PM                        In reply to whether the MPAA has a "legal" right to demand the color bands be shown, the answer is definitely NO. The ratings have no basis in law. They are suggestions from the motion picture industry as to the suitability of the film for children and are totally "voluntary." Maybe, just maybe, they could make a copyright or contractual argument that you are required to show all of the trailer or none of it, but they'd have a damn hard time enforcing it. As a single screen art theatre that is totally opposed to the ratings and volunterally chooses not to participate, I have the green/red bands removed and black leader put between them. As we only run trailers for movies we have booked, this is not a big deal.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-11-2006 07:04 PM                        So you just let anyone into any movie they want to see?  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-11-2006 10:11 PM                        quote: Mike Blakesley So you just let anyone into any movie they want to see? Yup. It's between them and their mommies.  |  IP: Logged Jarryd Beard Expert Film Handler Posts: 229 From: Hellertown, PA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 09-12-2006 07:17 PM                     As far as other countries go, are your ratings systems voluntary for theatres to follow (like the MPAA in the United States) or are they government regulated?  |  IP: Logged Ron Curran Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 504 From: Springwood NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2006 posted 09-12-2006 07:40 PM                        In Australia, the ratings are government issued and policed, with heavy penalties for cinemas. It is illegal to screen a trailer for Chicken Little (PG) in front of Pride & Prejudice (G). It is illegal not to attach the ratings tag on the front of a trailer once it has been classified. It is unlawful to display a poster in the foyer without the ratings symbol, complete with the qualification (i.e. MODERATE VIOLENCE, MILD THEMES, etc.) As you know, unlawful means against the law and illegal is a sick bird.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-13-2006 10:43 AM                     Jarryd said "As far as other countries go, are your ratings systems voluntary for theatres to follow (like the MPAA in the United States) or are they government regulated? " In canada each province has there own film review board with there own rating system as such the green bands must be removed as they are not valid here  |  IP: Logged

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