Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank
Sorry, I forgot to paste in the correct subject. As much as I appreciate 35mm, I generally recommend that my film programmers avoid booking old 35mm prints, because the large distributors can't easily control or guarantee the quality of the print shipped. Sandra, that's an excellent point. If I were a programmer, I would steer away from renting such prints altogether for precisely the reasons you describe. However, instructors usually have very specific reasons why they want to show particular films when they're tied to a course. By now they realize it's a crap shoot. I'm not sure that Swank always gets easy access to new prints of old films, even on new reissues. Actually, that's true. The studios maintain completely separate print pools for theatrical and non-theatrical venues. For example, there are always good-looking 35mm prints of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY that theatrical venues can rent, but the last I heard it was no longer possible to obtain *any* 35mm print of 2001 non-theatrically. Just because there's a new print showing in theaters does not mean that's what you'll get if you're a non-theatrical outfit. Swank probably has no say in this. At some point in the future, we'll all be able to show pristine 2K or 4K digital versions of many older (and newer) films. But for now I think most colleges are stuck with 35mm, and still more can show only DVDs. I suspect that relatively few can handle even Blu-ray discs at this point. -- James M. Steffen, PhD Film and Media Studies Librarian Theater and Dance Subject Liaison Marian K. Heilbrun Music and Media Library Emory University 540 Asbury Circle Atlanta, GA 30322-2870 Phone: (404) 727-8107 FAX: (404) 727-2257 -- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:45:20 -0400 From: Jackson, Sandra F. jackso...@uncw.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question! To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Message-ID: 88185c1f3afb384bb1bcc3de86115581150a76d...@uncwexmb1.dcs.uncw.edu Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I've run 35mm theaters for the past decade and am a skilled projectionist, as well as a manager.As much as I appreciate 35mm, I generally recommend that my film programmers avoid booking old 35mm prints, because the large distributors can't easily control or guarantee the quality of the print shipped.You could get lucky and get a good print. Or the color may be washed out. Or the print could be dirty. Or the sound will be damaged. Or the print may have scene jumps caused by numerous splices required after unfortunate brain wraps, tail wraps, or other projection disasters. Older films are far more likely to be brittle and prone to breakage than new prints. Your best bet is to create a very good relationship with your booker, in hopes that that person will manage the shipment with a bit more detail, rather than letting the depot send the print that is handy. Unfortunately, the depot and the distributor may not always know a print is bad.Some theaters do not report the damage that occurred in their facilities, for fear of incurring large charges. Distributors do not have time to watch every film that is shipped back to them, so they rely on the report of the theater that just received the print for the first time. In fact, a Criterion rep told me that it is nearly impossible to make sure the depot sends a good print regardless of the age. He said he just does not have control over what they ship, regardless of his requests. Make sure you build the print in ample time to preview it, report problems to the distributor and get a replacement reel or order a replacement print. It's not fun having an old film break during a show, then having to spice it while 300 audience members are staring with hostility at the projection booth. The audiences still thinks that a 35mm runs the same way as a VHS tape. If you get it fixed, some bright person in the audience will ask you to do the impossible and rewind the film to show it without the break. Younger audience members probably think that it runs like a DVD and have even less tolerance for technical difficulties. If you do decide to show an old 35mm, educate your audience about the possible challenges, so they will be patient if you experience technical difficulties. By the way, I have received excellent customer service from Swank for the past three years, even though our rep has changed three times, so if you have trouble with your rep, be sure to report the situation. Sandra F. Jackson Film Program Coordinator Lumina Theater Sharky's Box Office Department of Campus Life The University of North Carolina Wilmington Phone 910.962.7971 Fax: 910-962-7438 jackso...@uncw.edu http://www.uncw.edu/lumina NOTICE: Emails sent and received in the course of university business are subject to the North
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
I've run 35mm theaters for the past decade and am a skilled projectionist, as well as a manager.As much as I appreciate 35mm, I generally recommend that my film programmers avoid booking old 35mm prints, because the large distributors can't easily control or guarantee the quality of the print shipped.You could get lucky and get a good print. Or the color may be washed out. Or the print could be dirty. Or the sound will be damaged. Or the print may have scene jumps caused by numerous splices required after unfortunate brain wraps, tail wraps, or other projection disasters. Older films are far more likely to be brittle and prone to breakage than new prints. I'm not sure that Swank always gets easy access to new prints of old films, even on new reissues. Your best bet is to create a very good relationship with your booker, in hopes that that person will manage the shipment with a bit more detail, rather than letting the depot send the print that is handy. Unfortunately, the depot and the distributor may not always know a print is bad.Some theaters do not report the damage that occurred in their facilities, for fear of incurring large charges. Distributors do not have time to watch every film that is shipped back to them, so they rely on the report of the theater that just received the print for the first time. In fact, a Criterion rep told me that it is nearly impossible to make sure the depot sends a good print regardless of the age. He said he just does not have control over what they ship, regardless of his requests. Make sure you build the print in ample time to preview it, report problems to the distributor and get a replacement reel or order a replacement print. It's not fun having an old film break during a show, then having to spice it while 300 audience members are staring with hostility at the projection booth. The audiences still thinks that a 35mm runs the same way as a VHS tape. If you get it fixed, some bright person in the audience will ask you to do the impossible and rewind the film to show it without the break. Younger audience members probably think that it runs like a DVD and have even less tolerance for technical difficulties. If you do decide to show an old 35mm, educate your audience about the possible challenges, so they will be patient if you experience technical difficulties. By the way, I have received excellent customer service from Swank for the past three years, even though our rep has changed three times, so if you have trouble with your rep, be sure to report the situation. Sandra F. Jackson Film Program Coordinator Lumina Theater Sharky's Box Office Department of Campus Life The University of North Carolina Wilmington Phone 910.962.7971 Fax: 910-962-7438 jackso...@uncw.edu http://www.uncw.edu/lumina NOTICE: Emails sent and received in the course of university business are subject to the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. ยง132-1 et seq.) and may be released to the public unless an exception applies. From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Jessica Rosner Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 11:55 AM To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question! I would not bet on the Swank salesperson being a big film buff. Things might have changed over the year, but that certainly was not their reputation in the past. My favorite of all Swank stories involved a school that had ordered a 35mm print of classic film for which a studio had done a major reissue just about a year before. It was not a small reissue and I would bet several dozen new/restored prints were made. The programmer reminded the Swank booker to MAKE sure they got one the new prints as the old ones were known to be horrid. The day of the show the print arrived, it was red, splicy, and very beat up. It was clearly a decades old print. The irate programmer called up the Swank booker to complain as we could not even show the print. The Swank booker looked up the title in the Maltin TV/Movie book and pronounced The film is 50 years old. What did you expect? Apparently they had no concept a NEW print of a 50 year old film. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.commailto:milefi...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.edumailto:maureen_tr...@emerson.edu wrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains
[Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.eduwrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains that they are non-profit and we should treat them better, they don't get as good a break. The retired Edith Kramer at the Pacific Film Archive is a legend in this regard. She would spend two or three hours on the phone charming the salesperson until she got the rate she could afford. Funny thing is -- we had the same automatic friends rate for her for twenty years and she still would spend an hour with us. One of our favorite customers. -- Best, Dennis Doros Milestone Film Video/Milliarium Zero PO Box 128 Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 Fax: 201-767-3035 email: milefi...@gmail.com www.milestonefilms.com www.ontheboweryfilm.com www.arayafilm.com www.exilesfilm.com www.wordisoutmovie.com www.killerofsheep.com AMIA Philadelphia 2010: www.amianet.org Join Milestone Film on Facebook! VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
I would not bet on the Swank salesperson being a big film buff. Things might have changed over the year, but that certainly was not their reputation in the past. My favorite of all Swank stories involved a school that had ordered a 35mm print of classic film for which a studio had done a major reissue just about a year before. It was not a small reissue and I would bet several dozen new/restored prints were made. The programmer reminded the Swank booker to MAKE sure they got one the new prints as the old ones were known to be horrid. The day of the show the print arrived, it was red, splicy, and very beat up. It was clearly a decades old print. The irate programmer called up the Swank booker to complain as we could not even show the print. The Swank booker looked up the title in the Maltin TV/Movie book and pronounced The film is 50 years old. What did you expect? Apparently they had no concept a NEW print of a 50 year old film. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.edu wrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains that they are non-profit and we should treat them better, they don't get as good a break. The retired Edith Kramer at the Pacific Film Archive is a legend in this regard. She would spend two or three hours on the phone charming the salesperson until she got the rate she could afford. Funny thing is -- we had the same automatic friends rate for her for twenty years and she still would spend an hour with us. One of our favorite customers. -- Best, Dennis Doros Milestone Film Video/Milliarium Zero PO Box 128 Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 Fax: 201-767-3035 email: milefi...@gmail.com www.milestonefilms.com www.ontheboweryfilm.com www.arayafilm.com www.exilesfilm.com www.wordisoutmovie.com www.killerofsheep.com AMIA Philadelphia 2010: www.amianet.org Join Milestone Film on Facebook! VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
All too true, Jessica. *Unlike* independent distributors such as Janus, Kino, New Yorker and Milestone, the staff at Swank have little knowledge of their 35mm inventory. The prints are very hit-or-miss. Sometimes they're pristine (as was a print OUT OF THE PAST), but other times they're virtually unprojectable (ask me offline about our KUNDUN disaster). There's literally no way to find out in advance what you're getting. I think the problem is twofold. Swank has not been investing very much in new 35mm prints, because it's cheaper and easier for them to rent out DVDs of older titles. Also, the major studios themselves are not striking as many prints as they used to--many recent restorations are available *only* in digital formats. We're seeing fewer and fewer old films available on 35mm, period. It's a shame, because most academic institutions lack the equipment to show high definition video, effectively leaving them out of the loop apart from lower resolution DVD versions. Call me old-fashioned, but there isn't very much magic in watching a DVD blown up on a big screen. --James -- James M. Steffen, PhD Film and Media Studies Librarian Theater, Dance, ILA/IDS and LGBT Subject Liaison Marian K. Heilbrun Music and Media Library Emory University 540 Asbury Circle Atlanta, GA 30322-2870 Phone: (404) 727-8107 FAX: (404) 727-2257 Email: jste...@emory.edu -- Message: 4 Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:54:38 -0400 From: Jessica Rosner jessicapros...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question! To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Message-ID: aanlkti=vgy_jxepexyij=7qqb8wyt4hxp0ybz3a1_...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I would not bet on the Swank salesperson being a big film buff. Things might have changed over the year, but that certainly was not their reputation in the past. My favorite of all Swank stories involved a school that had ordered a 35mm print of classic film for which a studio had done a major reissue just about a year before. It was not a small reissue and I would bet several dozen new/restored prints were made. The programmer reminded the Swank booker to MAKE sure they got one the new prints as the old ones were known to be horrid. The day of the show the print arrived, it was red, splicy, and very beat up. It was clearly a decades old print. The irate programmer called up the Swank booker to complain as we could not even show the print. The Swank booker looked up the title in the Maltin TV/Movie book and pronounced The film is 50 years old. What did you expect? Apparently they had no concept a NEW print of a 50 year old film. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.edu wrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains that they are non-profit and we should treat them better, they don't get as good a break. The retired Edith Kramer at the Pacific Film Archive is a legend in this regard. She would spend two or three hours on the phone charming the salesperson until she got the rate she could afford. Funny thing is -- we had the same automatic friends rate for her for twenty years and she still would spend an hour with us. One of our favorite customers. -- Best, Dennis Doros Milestone Film Video/Milliarium Zero PO Box 128 Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 Fax: 201-767-3035 email: milefi...@gmail.com www.milestonefilms.com www.ontheboweryfilm.com www.arayafilm.com www.exilesfilm.com www.wordisoutmovie.com www.killerofsheep.com AMIA Philadelphia 2010: www.amianet.org Join Milestone Film on Facebook! VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. -- next part -- An HTML attachment scrubbed and removed. HTML attachments are only available in MIME digests. -- Message: 5 Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:50:29 -0500 From: Rudy Leon rudy.l...@gmail.com Subject: [Videolib] Duplicate copies? To: videolib videolib@lists.berkeley.edu
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
But a 4K or 6K scan off of Technicolor 3-strip negatives with proper color balance and digital correction for registration can look absolutely stunning! I know it's not at colleges now (though I think Indiana U and a few others do have it) and I know that by the time that becomes commonplace the technology will have changed again and it'll be more wasted dollars, but at some point, the future will catch up with the technology and bad prints will be a thing of the past. And of course, such as the Warner DVD-R library, you'll be able to get a lot more obscure films to view. I'm very sad about the death of 35mm as well, but there will be advantages such as no more bad sprockets, scratched prints, and the cost of shipping 100 lb. prints in dented and warped containers. Did anyone read the NY Times today? Herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13wifi.html?ref=technologyand herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13broadband.html?_r=1ref=todayspaper. My HD files for I AM CUBA (a 141-minute film) is about 200 gigabytes at most so a 4K scan is probably about 4 terabytes. At a gigabyte per second, it wouldn't take long to send it over home lines. Much less than three or four days by Fed Ex and a hell of a lot cheaper. Dennis On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Steffen, James M jste...@emory.edu wrote: Call me old-fashioned, but there isn't very much magic in watching a DVD blown up on a big screen. --James -- James M. Steffen, PhD Film and Media Studies Librarian Theater, Dance, ILA/IDS and LGBT Subject Liaison Marian K. Heilbrun Music and Media Library Emory University 540 Asbury Circle Atlanta, GA 30322-2870 Phone: (404) 727-8107 FAX: (404) 727-2257 Email: jste...@emory.edu -- Message: 4 Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:54:38 -0400 From: Jessica Rosner jessicapros...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question! To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Message-ID: aanlkti=vgy_jxepexyij=7qqb8wyt4hxp0ybz3a1_...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I would not bet on the Swank salesperson being a big film buff. Things might have changed over the year, but that certainly was not their reputation in the past. My favorite of all Swank stories involved a school that had ordered a 35mm print of classic film for which a studio had done a major reissue just about a year before. It was not a small reissue and I would bet several dozen new/restored prints were made. The programmer reminded the Swank booker to MAKE sure they got one the new prints as the old ones were known to be horrid. The day of the show the print arrived, it was red, splicy, and very beat up. It was clearly a decades old print. The irate programmer called up the Swank booker to complain as we could not even show the print. The Swank booker looked up the title in the Maltin TV/Movie book and pronounced The film is 50 years old. What did you expect? Apparently they had no concept a NEW print of a 50 year old film. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.edu wrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains that they are non-profit and we should treat them better, they don't get as good a break. The retired Edith Kramer at the Pacific Film Archive is a legend in this regard. She would spend two or three hours on the phone charming the salesperson until she got the rate she could afford. Funny thing is -- we had the same automatic friends rate for her for twenty years and she still would spend an hour with us. One of our favorite customers. -- Best, Dennis Doros Milestone Film Video/Milliarium Zero PO Box 128 Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 Fax: 201-767-3035 email: milefi...@gmail.com www.milestonefilms.com www.ontheboweryfilm.com www.arayafilm.com www.exilesfilm.com www.wordisoutmovie.com www.killerofsheep.com AMIA Philadelphia 2010: www.amianet.org Join Milestone Film on Facebook! VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
Hmmm. They're doing at least 4K scans of some pretty obscure films (Monogram's Charlie Chan's for example) off of archival prints so anything is possible. Jessica, you're thinking film rental. They're thinking preservation/streaming. If theaters want to rent a 4K scan, I suspect they will be made available. Of course, I'm talking future Utopia, not necessarily this year's programming. Dennis On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 5:27 PM, Jessica Rosner jessicapros...@gmail.comwrote: Not holding my breath for studios to make 4K 6K scans of anything but there top titles available while trashing the 35mm prints of everything. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 4:54 PM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: But a 4K or 6K scan off of Technicolor 3-strip negatives with proper color balance and digital correction for registration can look absolutely stunning! I know it's not at colleges now (though I think Indiana U and a few others do have it) and I know that by the time that becomes commonplace the technology will have changed again and it'll be more wasted dollars, but at some point, the future will catch up with the technology and bad prints will be a thing of the past. And of course, such as the Warner DVD-R library, you'll be able to get a lot more obscure films to view. I'm very sad about the death of 35mm as well, but there will be advantages such as no more bad sprockets, scratched prints, and the cost of shipping 100 lb. prints in dented and warped containers. Did anyone read the NY Times today? Herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13wifi.html?ref=technologyand herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13broadband.html?_r=1ref=todayspaper. My HD files for I AM CUBA (a 141-minute film) is about 200 gigabytes at most so a 4K scan is probably about 4 terabytes. At a gigabyte per second, it wouldn't take long to send it over home lines. Much less than three or four days by Fed Ex and a hell of a lot cheaper. Dennis On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Steffen, James M jste...@emory.eduwrote: Call me old-fashioned, but there isn't very much magic in watching a DVD blown up on a big screen. --James -- James M. Steffen, PhD Film and Media Studies Librarian Theater, Dance, ILA/IDS and LGBT Subject Liaison Marian K. Heilbrun Music and Media Library Emory University 540 Asbury Circle Atlanta, GA 30322-2870 Phone: (404) 727-8107 FAX: (404) 727-2257 Email: jste...@emory.edu -- Message: 4 Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:54:38 -0400 From: Jessica Rosner jessicapros...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question! To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Message-ID: aanlkti=vgy_jxepexyij=7qqb8wyt4hxp0ybz3a1_...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I would not bet on the Swank salesperson being a big film buff. Things might have changed over the year, but that certainly was not their reputation in the past. My favorite of all Swank stories involved a school that had ordered a 35mm print of classic film for which a studio had done a major reissue just about a year before. It was not a small reissue and I would bet several dozen new/restored prints were made. The programmer reminded the Swank booker to MAKE sure they got one the new prints as the old ones were known to be horrid. The day of the show the print arrived, it was red, splicy, and very beat up. It was clearly a decades old print. The irate programmer called up the Swank booker to complain as we could not even show the print. The Swank booker looked up the title in the Maltin TV/Movie book and pronounced The film is 50 years old. What did you expect? Apparently they had no concept a NEW print of a 50 year old film. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.edu wrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains that they are non-profit and we should treat them better, they don't get as good a break. The retired Edith Kramer at the Pacific Film Archive is a legend in this regard. She would spend two or three hours on the phone charming the salesperson until she got the rate she could afford. Funny thing is -- we had the same automatic friends rate for her for twenty years and she still would spend an hour with us. One of our favorite customers. -- Best, Dennis Doros Milestone Film
Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question!
Again I would not be so sure they will make them available for screening. For YEARS WB refused to allow theaters to project DVDS of films they had actually released on DVD. To be fair they will be no less helpful with 4K material than they are with 35MM with the notable execption of Universal. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 5:50 PM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: Hmmm. They're doing at least 4K scans of some pretty obscure films (Monogram's Charlie Chan's for example) off of archival prints so anything is possible. Jessica, you're thinking film rental. They're thinking preservation/streaming. If theaters want to rent a 4K scan, I suspect they will be made available. Of course, I'm talking future Utopia, not necessarily this year's programming. Dennis On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 5:27 PM, Jessica Rosner jessicapros...@gmail.comwrote: Not holding my breath for studios to make 4K 6K scans of anything but there top titles available while trashing the 35mm prints of everything. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 4:54 PM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.comwrote: But a 4K or 6K scan off of Technicolor 3-strip negatives with proper color balance and digital correction for registration can look absolutely stunning! I know it's not at colleges now (though I think Indiana U and a few others do have it) and I know that by the time that becomes commonplace the technology will have changed again and it'll be more wasted dollars, but at some point, the future will catch up with the technology and bad prints will be a thing of the past. And of course, such as the Warner DVD-R library, you'll be able to get a lot more obscure films to view. I'm very sad about the death of 35mm as well, but there will be advantages such as no more bad sprockets, scratched prints, and the cost of shipping 100 lb. prints in dented and warped containers. Did anyone read the NY Times today? Herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13wifi.html?ref=technologyand herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/technology/13broadband.html?_r=1ref=todayspaper. My HD files for I AM CUBA (a 141-minute film) is about 200 gigabytes at most so a 4K scan is probably about 4 terabytes. At a gigabyte per second, it wouldn't take long to send it over home lines. Much less than three or four days by Fed Ex and a hell of a lot cheaper. Dennis On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 2:33 PM, Steffen, James M jste...@emory.eduwrote: Call me old-fashioned, but there isn't very much magic in watching a DVD blown up on a big screen. --James -- James M. Steffen, PhD Film and Media Studies Librarian Theater, Dance, ILA/IDS and LGBT Subject Liaison Marian K. Heilbrun Music and Media Library Emory University 540 Asbury Circle Atlanta, GA 30322-2870 Phone: (404) 727-8107 FAX: (404) 727-2257 Email: jste...@emory.edu -- Message: 4 Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:54:38 -0400 From: Jessica Rosner jessicapros...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Videolib] thanks for all the help with my Swank question! To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu Message-ID: aanlkti=vgy_jxepexyij=7qqb8wyt4hxp0ybz3a1_...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 I would not bet on the Swank salesperson being a big film buff. Things might have changed over the year, but that certainly was not their reputation in the past. My favorite of all Swank stories involved a school that had ordered a 35mm print of classic film for which a studio had done a major reissue just about a year before. It was not a small reissue and I would bet several dozen new/restored prints were made. The programmer reminded the Swank booker to MAKE sure they got one the new prints as the old ones were known to be horrid. The day of the show the print arrived, it was red, splicy, and very beat up. It was clearly a decades old print. The irate programmer called up the Swank booker to complain as we could not even show the print. The Swank booker looked up the title in the Maltin TV/Movie book and pronounced The film is 50 years old. What did you expect? Apparently they had no concept a NEW print of a 50 year old film. On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 11:16 AM, Dennis Doros milefi...@gmail.com wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp maureen_tr...@emerson.edu wrote: As Sandra Jackson said, it seems it depends a lot on the film, anticipated audience size, and other factors--but I now have a ballpark range of estimates--I appreciate it, everyone! I should also mention that it depends a lot on how well you get along with the salesperson at the company. Most of us are in the business because we love films. If you discuss favorite films (and books and museums) and what's out that week and how's the family, you'll do well. If somebody comes and complains that they are non-profit and we should treat them better, they don't get as good a break. The retired Edith Kramer at the Pacific
