Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The astro [snipe] at the head of KILL BILL, VOL. 1...

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Posted by Brandon Crawford Smith (Member # 2445) on 05-24-2004, 02:35 PM:

I'm new to this site (wonderful site by the way) so just throw popcorn, jujubes, or reel cores at me if I'm posting this in the wrong forum...

The astro dater that follows the Shawscope logo at the head KILL BILL sparked an interest in the lost art form of daters . In my experience, these have become bland announcements created by the corporate offices of the major theater chains. So I've got a few questions for you seasoned projectionists and projection/cinema enthusiasts:

First of all, is "dater" the correct term for these announcements --PSA's, "No Smoking"; "Our Feature Presentation"; and so forth?

Do any companies still produce daters) that are not designed according to the specifications of the major chains. Although I know that www.drive-infilm.com has several of the old daters (including the astro dater) for sale in 35mm, are there better sources for this sort of ephemera?

Does anyone here still splice in their own (personal or their theater's material) daters? What are the general policies of the major chains and independents regarding this practice ?

Any favorite daters? Any resources (book, web, journal, etc.) that I sould investigate that cover daters in any detail?

OK, I know that is a lot to chew and I have no idea why I need this information other than curiosity. In other words, I'm not planning on writing a book or an article on the subject.

Thanks for any replies. I'm sure others on the board might find this information as interesting as I know I will.

[ 05-25-2004, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: Brandon Crawford Smith ]

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 05-24-2004, 07:31 PM:

quote:
First of all, is "dater" the correct term for these announcements --PSA's, "No Smoking"; "Our Feature Presentation" and so forth?

The correct term for most of these would be 'snipe', I believe 'dater' would specifically refer to snipes that actually referred to a date or time.

quote: Brandon Crawford Smith
Do any companies still produce daters) that are not designed according to the specifications of the major chains.

Cinema Concepts and Filmack still make daters, snipes and policy trailers ... The ones on Derek's site are mostly reproductions of older daters snipes, clocks, and courtesy trailers.

As far as books on the subject, I am sure someone out here will be able to point you in the right direction.

Good Luck!

-Aaron

Posted by Daniel Alt (Member # 2303) on 05-24-2004, 09:00 PM:

Ours were starting to wear out, so I went looking for just this sort of thing.

Turns out that Cinema Concepts and Filmack have a large number of older snipes still sitting on the shelf. If you call them and ask for a catalog, cc will even send you a videotape. Of course, if you call Filmack, you can talk directly to Mr. Mack, if that floats your boat.

Our film society had a long running tradition of everyone in the theater screaming along with the "Wide Screen Stereo" snipe, until the projector ate it. Everyone was very disappointed. It took three years for someone (Ok, me) to get off their ass and discover that the silly thing was still IN STOCK not more than two states away.

Now it's back, and everyone is happy. I'm sure you can find something to entertain you from one of these two companies, and they don't charge to send out a catalog.

Oh, and we still have a bunch of the astro snipes that match "Kill Bill" sitting in a drawer from God only knows how long ago.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-28-2004, 06:57 PM:

Aw, C'MON, GUYS! I'm right here!

SCREEN ATTRACTIONS We made the world's only DRIVE-IN THEATRE Policy Trailer.

Not too much demand for daters these days, although we sell a familiar "Coming Soon" on our catalog page, and we have several other classic series we can make on custom order.

We're planning to roll out a remastered Astro series in the future, but I can't say too much about it at the moment without giving away our marketing strategy.

Does anyone know if the Astro Dater in the Tarantino movie has the original music under it? I'd be interested to know this, because we own exclusive theatrical rights to that track and no one contacted us...

Posted by Daniel Alt (Member # 2303) on 05-28-2004, 08:27 PM:

The astro snipes we have seem to be silent.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-29-2004, 11:08 PM:

The 15ft. versions were silent, but the 25ft. "Feature Presentation", "Prevues of Coming Attractions", and "Intermission" snipes had the Keith Mansfield music on them.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 05-30-2004, 01:01 AM:

Tim,

Is this the music you're talking about?

I couldn't get it out of my head when I first heard it. Catchy tune. [Smile]

=TMP=

Posted by Craig Kocher (Member # 2432) on 05-30-2004, 01:30 AM:

The Theater Chain I work for has a Computer Generated Version before the film is to begin. It runs for 20 Mins before the previews begin and then it gives all the rules of the theater about cell phones, smoking and that our concession stand is open for their convience. They call it "The Twenty"

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-30-2004, 09:50 AM:

Thomas, yep, that's it! It's been a while since I heard it off a print. I'd forgotten how much of a difference there is. Check it out:

EDIT: Removed due to licensing restrictions.

[ 05-31-2004, 07:57 PM: Message edited by: Tim Reed ]

Posted by Steven J Hart (Member # 2340) on 05-30-2004, 10:19 AM:

I use snipes from Pike Productions (Newport RI 401-846-8890) In my single screen theater. They have a large selection, and most are of pretty good quality and reasonably priced.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-30-2004, 10:29 AM:

Tim--don't forget that you also have a negative for a "Not Coming Soon" tag! [Smile]

We use that one for after-hours employee screenings which usually include old trailers and a short before the feature.

Steven--aren't most of the newer Pike Productions trailers either mastered from video or low-res film recorders? The ones that I have seen usually have the dreaded "jagged edges."

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-30-2004, 10:45 AM:

Yes! I put "NOT COMING SOON" (Scott's custom trailer) in our demo DVD, and I believe there have been more questions about that than anything else. [Wink]

People wonder what's the deal with it. [Big Grin]

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 05-30-2004, 11:26 AM:

Tim, I like that clip a lot better. Sounds cleaner, and it's longer, too! The one on the head of Kill Bill has a LOT of negative dirt and scratches at the head and tail, and you can hear the pops at the beginning and end. They probably did this for aesthetics, though.

I wonder, if when the original plan was hatched to exhibit Kill Bill as one film, if they planned to use the "Intermission" snipe between Vol 1 and Vol 2?

Tim, you should sue Miramax. And share the wealth with us poor projectionists! [Big Grin]

=TMP=

Posted by Steven J Hart (Member # 2340) on 05-30-2004, 11:37 AM:

Scott,
"aren't most of the newer Pike Productions trailers either mastered from video or low-res film recorders? The ones that I have seen usually have the dreaded "jagged edges.""

I just received a couple of new snipes from Pike. I'll screen them and look for the artifacts you mentioned above.
Steve

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-30-2004, 12:19 PM:

Hey, Thomas. The whole cut is almost 3 minutes long, it's a pretty cool tune.

Thanks. I'm going to contact the licensing agent for that track on Tuesday, their lawyers are supposed to pursue infringements on our behalf.

Derek Maxwell's next. He's duping a bunch of stuff we own, too. Though we'll probably only get a cease and desist, unless we can go after his lab... [beer]

And, if Maxwell sold Tarantino the snipe to begin with... the [bs]

will really hit the fan!

Not trying to be a jerk, but we paid a lot (and I mean A LOT) of money to secure rights for this stuff.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 05-31-2004, 10:11 AM:

And don't forget everyone who bought the DVD now owns a reasonably good copy of that snipe, too. I'll admit, I had the urge to extract it from the DVD and use it on the head of stuff I play at home, hehe. [Smile]

But I'm too lazy.

Tim, You wouldn't happen to have the whole song, would you? It's quite... "groovy" [thumbsup]

=TMP=

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-31-2004, 08:00 PM:

Thomas, yes I do, but I'm not licensed to distribute it. I can only use it in the film. I even had to remove the short clip from an earlier post. Sorry. [Frown]