Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Do you "edit" the green bands off?

This is topic Do you "edit" the green bands off? in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-15-2011, 04:44 AM:

For a long time, many of the lower-quality theaters and operators would cut the green bands off of the film trailers citing that it made for a better presentation or some such nonsense. But now that film is illegal, how are these same theaters dealing with green bands on the front of trailers? How are these green-band-cutting operators surviving in today's high-tech world?

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 10-15-2011, 09:46 AM:

In the earlier days of DCinema, the green and blue bands were separate files and could be included or excluded at will. I've noticed that over the last three years or so they've switched to including them in the same file as the trailer.

Showmanship wise, on digital, it's a toss up. An independent chain might want to exclude them if they don't want to adhear to the MPAA guidelines. Personally, if I were instructed to remove them, I would insert one of the 2 sec black files between them, just so that they feel less rapid fire television-esque.

On film, of course, cutting the green bands is absolutely bad showmanship. Since the soundtrack runs ahead of the picture, this practice usually results in the first bit of audio being cut from each trailer. When assembling film trailers, I always cut well ahead of the green band, just after the 2 ft mark on the leader.

Posted by Victor Liorentas (Member # 5272) on 10-15-2011, 10:22 AM:

In Canada we are not supposed to show them and they are usually cut off at the lab or depot or printed without the green band altogether,
Now that film is illegal i find them still intact more and more so I have to cut them myself.
The one good thing about that is cutting on the frame line is easy but I hate cutting sound starts.

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 10-15-2011, 12:41 PM:

I'm honestly not a big fan of them anymore.

If there are 7 trailers on the print (or digital print) seeing them can get tiring. At my former establishment, we were told to cut them, most times resulting in no loss of soundtrack. It made the trailer pack appear smoother, and I would argue was better showmanship. I always hated that jarring fade to black from a trailer and immediately cut to BRIGHT GREEN rating band.

Now that the place mentioned above is all digital, it's actually weird seeing green bands on everything.

AJG

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 10-15-2011, 01:46 PM:

quote: Aaron Garman
I always hated that jarring fade to black from a trailer and immediately cut to BRIGHT GREEN rating band.

The only time I find it a jarring switch is if the person cuts AT the green band.

Posted by Victor Liorentas (Member # 5272) on 10-15-2011, 02:03 PM:

Lazy cutters!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-15-2011, 06:27 PM:

quote: Aaron Garman
If there are 7 trailers on the print (or digital print) seeing them can get tiring.

If there are 7 trailers on a print, you are at a shitty theater. Do not go there any more. Good theaters do not put that many trailers on a print. There is no need for that. Anyone who does this deserves to be fired as they are making the world a more deplorable place.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-15-2011, 09:21 PM:

quote: Mike Olpin
An independent chain might want to exclude them if they don't want to adhear to the MPAA guidelines.

Independent chains like AMC and Cinemark? That was always their policy.

quote: Mike Olpin
Personally, if I were instructed to remove them, I would insert one of the 2 sec black files between them, just so that they feel less rapid fire television-esque.

And sadly you are one of the few people left in this industry that cares about presentation and showmanship. I too cannot stand that in-your-face bang-bang-bang approach to running trailers into each other without even a single second in between them. Fortunately with D-cinema (at least right now) assembling the trailers back to back does provide that brief pause. If it didn't, I would absolutely be putting in some short slugs like you speak of.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-15-2011, 09:27 PM:

The green bands are more useless now because most of the trailers are "un-rated" anyway. The rated trailer doesn't come out until a month before the movie opens.

A more useful system would show what kind of movies the trailer should be exhibited with.

Green band - play with any movie
Blue band - PG, PG-13 or R
Orange band - PG-13 or R
Red band - R only

Put a letter code indicating the band color into the DCP file name and you would have a winner!

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 10-15-2011, 10:39 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
And sadly you are one of the few people left in this industry that cares about presentation and showmanship. I too cannot stand that in-your-face bang-bang-bang approach to running trailers into each other without even a single second in between them

Since my months are numbered now with running film until we go full digital (6 houses digital in a 14 screen plex), when I do trailer paks, the tail lead on the trailer gets snipped off one frame before any image scenes on the tail lead itself, and the head leader is snipped off about eight frames ahead from the green band. This buys me a good 3 seconds of dead black between credit fadeout and the appearance of the green tag. I then snip off the head lead of Reel 1 one frame after the number, and attach the trailer pak at that point.

Having the 3Q setup with my Christies, I have enough black leader where the start cue opens up the douser in the black of the lead, and with my first trailer, I leave the lead on full and just snip one frame after the black begins.

A very smooth 'storybook' opening procedure. I tell fellow operators, that when you see DVD movies on your TV with trailers prior, they are presented in a smooth fashion. Thus, why not simulate this form of presentation?

-Monte

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 10-15-2011, 11:41 PM:

I never took it as far as Monte, but I always left some black before the green band and at least 12" after the last frame. I prefer the smooth transition as well.