This is topic Decoy Titles in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 11-11-2002, 11:11 AM:
I have no idea what good, if any, the use of decoy titles on film cans does but I'm willing to give the studios the benefit of the doubt on this and suggest that the specifics not be discussed in an open forum (e.g. F-T Feature Info & Trailer Attachments).
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 11-11-2002, 11:43 AM:
I'm with you Steve. I get films with decoy titles. I will only post the real title. The studio's and labs use it for security. A few years
back at Deluxe in Hollywood they were missing a million feet of film
a month. It's used for security in shipping of titles.
Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 11-11-2002, 11:45 AM:
It seems reasonable to release the information once the film opens (isn't it?).But recent examples of releasing them before movies open are probably bad idea.
--jhawk
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 11-11-2002, 12:03 PM:
Of course for such a 'decoy title' system to be effective the distributor or depot needs to use it all the time: I remember both my SW:Ep1 and LOTR cans having labels with BOTH the decoy and real titles on them!FWIW, I have no problem with disclosing the decoy title within 24 hrs of opening day, as the print will usually already be at its destination, built up, and have its real title on the leaders anyways.(LOTR and SW:EpII being rare exceptions)...
-Aaron
Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 11-11-2002, 12:08 PM:
Aaron, I believe the decoy titles are only relevent prior to the film openning, and perhaps even stages of the process before the film gets to the exchange. So by the time you see it (unless it is a preview screening), it doesn't matter anymore, hence the double-labelling.
--jhawk
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-11-2002, 03:40 PM:
For projectionists, I must say that decoy titles are stupid on some titles. With TES prints, the decoy title is printed on the cans with no hint of what is really in the cans. Fine, I've no problem with that other than general Valenti paranoia annoyance. (We all know most of the bootlegs these days are coming from studio tapes.) However, any print coming out of an ETS depot always has both the fake AND the real title on the cans, which is moronic. Anyone listing data on a print out of ETS should definitely list the decoy title, but should probably wait until the day before to post it.
Posted by Ken McFall (Member # 845) on 11-11-2002, 04:01 PM:
I recall a few years back an Odeon cinema lost a show of a BIG opening film. The print was in their film dump with a decoy name on it and no one told them. This was a multi screen so they often got prints in they did'nt need due to hold overs etc which is why apparently no one checked it out! Quite funny in hindsight but not at the time I'm sure.Our two prints of Harry potter Chamber Of Secrets arrived labeld Harry Potter Chamber Of Secrets, yet we got three pages of security instructions etc. A consistent policy would be helpful for everyone.
Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 11-11-2002, 04:20 PM:
Back in the "old days" (before some of you were born) we didn't have this kind of a problem. The prints were picked up at the "exchanges" by a "film delivery company" and delivered to the theatres. But apparently the film delivery companies are no longer in business, the exchanges (which inspected the prints) are apparently gone and the film passes through many hands (freight companies, package delivery companies, bus lines, etc.) and are vulnerable to theft. I agree with what you are saying about such a "security system". Seems kinda dumb to me. Are we talking about selective theft here? I get the impression from other threads that apparently no one is inspecting prints when they move from house to house. Right? I also get the impression that there are a lot of "film handlers" out there that don't give a rip about how they handle the film.------------------
Bob
The Old Showman
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 11-11-2002, 04:56 PM:
I did a special screening of 'A Bugs Life' about a month before it hit theatres (the screening was arranged by a Pixar employee for a co-worker's kid's birthday, IIRC). Two prints were shipped to us from TES with PADLOCKS on them, and Kent Peterson from Disney had the only set of keys.with that kind of security there wouldn't be any need for 'decoy' titles at all 
-Aaron
Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 11-11-2002, 05:04 PM:
That's a mixed bag. We (well, not one of our movies, really) had a Nepalese film show up padlocked in a suitcase a few weeks ago, but no one showed up with the keys, so of course we had to cut the lock off...--jhawk
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 11-11-2002, 05:07 PM:
The padlock thing, I get a lot of on the big Warner and New Line titles that are just finishing post-production. A few years back Disney lost a 70mm back-up print, because of a bad projectionist. So at that theatre you had to have a manager, sign off on a sheet when you opened and closed the booth.
Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-11-2002, 05:21 PM:
quote:
Two prints were shipped to us from TES with PADLOCKS on them...
Now if I were going to steal a print, I'd like something to carry it in, like the cans. Cutting the lock off at home wouldn't be too much of a hassle. Although if I was a lazy print stealer, I might look for an unlocked print before I stole the locked one.
TWO prints?! That's one heck of a birthday party if you need two prints to fit everybody into the theatre.
Posted by Darren Briggs (Member # 1071) on 11-11-2002, 05:24 PM:
My print of Harry Potter II was just dumped in the foyer clearly labeled, all this after the three page memo faxed by warner bros abouthe film!
Obviously they didnt fax securicor!
Posted by Jacob Huber (Member # 1138) on 11-11-2002, 08:23 PM:
I notice that even though the cans have a decoy title, most prints still mantain the true title. The only exception I've seen since I've been in the booth was SW Ep.2, with the leaders printed with the decoy title. Recently, I've noticed that most decoy titles only carry the decoy title on the can, as if it were the title (as opposed to LOTR, with different titles on either side.Funny story: The night before Fellowship of the Rings was opening, one of the managers got the cans with the decoy and was infuriated. He got on the phone with the depot (TES?) and started yelling about "We're not supposed to be getting Changing Seasons! Lord of the Rings opens up tomorrow and we need the prints!"
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-11-2002, 08:37 PM:
I think the decoy for the second Lord of the Rings movie needs to be "Changing Seasons II". 
Robert, I couldn't agree with you more regarding the superior way things used to be done with the depots. Unfortunately I don't ever see things going back to the way they used to be. Also, I may be wrong here, but I think the biggest issue right now with print security is video bootlegging. If a print disappears, the pirates have all the time in the world to dupe it to video (as opposed to going into a theater after hours opening night).
Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 11-11-2002, 08:43 PM:
Gosh, Brad, now you've screwed it up for us. You could have sent mail to newline quietly and maybe it would have happened, but now it's revealed and they can't do it 
--jhawk
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 11-11-2002, 08:52 PM:
>>TWO prints?! That's one heck of a birthday party if you need two prints to fit everybody into the theatre.<<The second print was a backup in case the first one had any defects (and the first print did have a bad reel 1 SDDS track-the film played in SDDS) We (the employees of the theatre) got to watch the QC screening a couple hours before the kids arrived.
-Aaron
Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 11-11-2002, 10:45 PM:
A few months ago I had a print with metal/plastic seals on the can. The studio guy told me another set would be inside and asked that I use them before sending the print back. I cut the seals and happened to notice another set of seals through the lock under the hasps. I thought that was kinda odd. Why would someone put seals underneath where they would serve no purpose? Then I started playing with them and realized the seals could be made to go right through the hasp. Obviously a prior user of those cases opened them without breaking the seals. Studio guy said had no idea that the seals offered no security although he did say he noticed the seals under the hasps when he shipped me the print and wondered about them. Naturally I used these same seals to pretend lock the cases when I sent them back.
Posted by Chris Erwin (Member # 176) on 11-12-2002, 06:58 AM:
Are the shipping "boxes" part of the security for some of these films? Got the "fake" name right beside the real title. Cute. Seven reels of a certain film this summer in a fold,tuck,fold,tuck,fold box made of a plastic like material? Gimme the cans!! Bet you can't guess this one! LOL!
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 11-12-2002, 07:06 AM:
I can't believe that the fake titles actually do any good, although I agree that we probably shouldn't post the actual titles here until the day of release. It should be sufficient to post something like "labelled with a fake title" or something.
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 11-12-2002, 09:02 AM:
One of the reasons also for the decoy titles is. Some of these prints
are finished months before release. I get major titles sometimes depending on release or post-production as far as a year to 6 months
before you guys in the theatres get them. Some of the film makers
feel safer when the early versions of the film have decoy titles.
The problem that happens here in New York is that people sneak
video cams into the theatres. About afew weeks ago, On a Saturday
Universal was holding a screening at the AMC Empire 25 of "Red Dragon"
. On the doors to the theatre near the line for that movie. There was
a paper sign that said "No Cameras were allowed in the Theatre".
Universal spend big bucks on that sign for that major release.Yes, it was a plain white piece of paper made from the computer at the theatre.
Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 11-12-2002, 12:01 PM:
I just hope that they are keeping track of all these decoy titles for future reference. I predict some titles will get "lost." (It would be interesting to know if anyone working for a school or repertory cinema ever has any problems--now or in the future--getting a movie that shipped under a different name.)For this reason, I would urge that we keep a record of decoy titles. I agree that it would defeat security purposes if we published the decoy titles when the movies are still new, but perhaps we could agree on a "trigger" event? For instance, when we ship the prints back or when the movie goes into a sub-run status or when they are released on video?
BTW, my prints of SWEp2 had one decoy title on the box and a second decoy title on the leaders.
~Manny (aka "Roots: The Christmas Special")
Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 11-12-2002, 12:42 PM:
All this talk reminds me of when I did a 'super secret screening' of "Jurassic Park: The Lost World". An armed guard arrived with the print - and STAYED with the print throughout the screening. He had to stand there while I built it up, ran it, and then broke it down.The only thing I could figure is that they knew it was a 'stinker' and they didn't want it to 'get out'. I believe I had to sign some kind of waiver with the film also.
Wierd.
------------------
"Running through life at 24 frames per second"
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 11-12-2002, 12:55 PM:
Dennis it is not that weird.When you deal with film way before release days. The studios can
and do crazy things in the name of security. Fox does that sometimes
with the guard, Warner has a studio rep sitting near or in the booth. I had to sign a waiver for the "Lord of the Rings", because I had it 3 months before release. So a lot of this security stuff, I have to deal with it every week. Because as a Studio Projectionist, you have to work with many projects and film makers. Each one is crazier than the next.