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.com<mailto:milefi...@gmail.com>> wrote: On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Maureen Tripp <maureen_tr...@emerson.edu<mailto: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<mailto:milefi...@gmail.com> www.milestonefilms.com<http://www.milestonefilms.com> www.ontheboweryfilm.com<http://www.ontheboweryfilm.com> www.arayafilm.com<http://www.arayafilm.com> www.exilesfilm.com<http://www.exilesfilm.com> www.wordisoutmovie.com<http://www.wordisoutmovie.com> www.killerofsheep.com<http://www.killerofsheep.com> AMIA Philadelphia 2010: www.amianet.org<http://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.
