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Should HTF solicit donations for a VARIETY AD? Poster Enclosed (1 Viewer)

Rob Lutter

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I think Lucas would be willing to give permission... isn't he a big widescreen supporter?
I would be willing to give $10 to help the WIDESCREEN cause... Remember when Gilliam took out the full-page in Variety about getting Brazil released in the US due to the studio withholding it? Well... it started the ball rolling and he got his wish :)
OK... who wants to call Skywalker Ranch? :)
 

Justin Lane

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If the purpose of this ad is to make a point to the studios, I really don't see the point knowing most of them read this board already and know how we feel. If we are trying to persuade the masses, an ad in a different publication will probably have a greater influence.

I have to agree on Ron with this one, it would get some press and recognition but ultimately just be a waste of money.

J
 

Ricardo C

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Studios know what OAR is, and why it's important from an artistic point of view. They just don't care. If we do takwe out an ad in variety, it should feature the P&S $20 bill. Pure genius :)
However, the "You wouldn't crop the Mona Lisa, would you?" ad would work beautifully to try and educate the general public. Perhaps it wouldn't be cost-effective to take out an ad in, say, USA Today in addition to the studio-targeted one in Variety, but perhaps we could distribute it in flyer form, or even ask local retailers to put the poster up. If they sell 16x9 TV sets, they might be interested in drumming up support for OAR DVDs.
Slightly OT: Count me in for a finacial contribution, but not through PayPal. I'd rather send an international money order or something to that effect, if at all possible. I just don't trust PP.
 

Jodee

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I'm happy many of you like my idea. :)
Since I am Photoshop-illiterate, maybe one of you could do a mock-up of the $20 bill graphic? I have the idea in my head, but I'd love to see what it actually looks like.
 

Jay Mitchosky

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To make a couple of points of the ROUGH ROUGH ROUGH ad I put together. I really liked the idea of the cropped Mona Lisa and the captions that were noted in the Columbia Condom ;) thread. So that's why I put that together in the rawest form possible just to get the idea down. We would absolutely need better art, and I stuck with what I could quickly find on the net while dealing with an (out of town) 28.8 connection. And I have no idea regarding media design - hopefully somebody with advertising experience could step up and help.
I couldn't agree more that a universally recognized movie needs to be used. There's some great Star Wars stuff out there. One of my favorite examples from any film that demonstrates the loss from P&S is the scene in Ghostbusters where the group is walking towards the camera and you see only 2/4 of them (I think it was Harold Ramis who commented that he "always gets cut out in the home video version").
The other idea I had, but is not easily laid out (I need some stock art, might look tonight) would have three sections. The top shows a guy holding a pair of scissors, admiring his handywork as he looks at the Mona Lisa with the top and bottom cut off (the strips are lying on the floor) to fit an "oddly shaped" picture frame. The same caption would be used. Then an image of a couple watching a cropped movie on TV with the "why would you" caption. I'm having problems visualizing this as it would probably not be immediately clear what the issue was. But that's the broad idea. The final section would have a OAR picture of the same scene with a quick blurb about why OAR is important, that you get the whole picture blah blah blah. Appropriate links should also be provided.
I like the idea of the $20 bill, but ultimately we need to know a) how many sales are being lost to P&S vs b) how many are being gained. How many people don't care and buy regardless? It would be great if a studio could actually demonstrate all of their "lost sales" that were strictly a function of a P&S version not being available.
 

Joshua Clinard

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Yes, we should definitely put an ad in a magazine. Not Variety. Entertainment Weekly would be a much better choice. I also give my full permission and even my recommendation that a link to widescreen advocate be used. Just a link to the HTF will not be very effective, because it will take some searching for visitors to find out more information. WA has all the information in one place. There is also a list of films only available in MAR on WA. I would be willing to put a list of names of people who contributed to the ad as well as a few films that each one of them would would have purchased had it been in OAR. I will also be putting up some of the member created resources, such as the two that David posted. Don't worry about bandwidth, I have 600 Gigabytes to spare. Also, I have just gotten Photoshop, so I will come up with some ads of my own. For those of you that want to post flyers in stores, go to the download secetion of WA.
 

DeathStar1

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Great poster, but it needs a tag lien that's catchy.
As has been said here before,
"No Widescreen, No Sale", since I doubt the general public would understand OAR :). I would also, as a previous poster said...
"I would have bought a dozen DVD's today, but decided to contribute to this add instead, because they whern't widescreen". The #1 thing that talks in Hollywood is $.
One final note, it might also help if you can get the directors to stand behind us, especially those of familly films.
"No OAR on DVD Release, No more Films" :).
 

TonyD

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this is a good idea and after it gets figured out i'm in...but.

when an add is placed in a magazine or newspaper, i'm not as concerned with how many people will see it but for how long it will be able to be seen.

in other words if it is placed in variety or usatoday.

usatoday is a daily paper so it will only be in the public eye for one day so that isn't really very long for giving people a chance to see the add.
unless we put it in for a week. $$$

how often is variety published? once a week, once a month?

if it's weekly then the people who read it will read the mag then move on to the next weeks edition. is one week long enough for one add to be available to be seen?

maybe i'm not very clear on the point i'm trying to make but i hope i am.

i guess i'm trying to say an add like this that will likely be very expensive might not be worth it because it won't be around long enough to get noticed or seen by anyone.


I think the effort would be better targeted at the general public rather than the audience that reads Variety. I doubt the studios truly care one way or the other about the widescreen issue -- they just want to put out what sells
i agree with that statement this is why i think if we convince the studios to sell all oar then thats what will sell.
all the people who only buy oar will now buy what they normally wouldn't and people who don't like widescreen will still buy it, complaining all the way.

but eventually full screen people will begin to accept the oar dvd's as the norm.
 

Damin J Toell

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Just one question, though...Would we need to get permission to use an image from a film or would it be alright since we are not using it in any way to profit ourselves?
Maybe, maybe not. To be safe and avoid any fear of litigation, getting permission would be preferrable. However, I could quite easily imagine a court ruling that using a single frame of a film in a advocacy advertisement by an organization not seeking to profit from it is fair use. Of course, litigation costs would already have been incurred at that point.

DJ
 

Stu Rosen

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What's the point of the proposed ad? To educate the studios? Do you actually think they don't understand why OAR is preferable?

To show how the studios are antagonizing a part of the marketplace? Again -- do you think they don't realize that?

Really -- what is to be gained? Publicity? I read Variety weekly and every time I see an interest group's ad, or a full-page ad taken out by some down-on-his-luck producer looking to make a splash, I just turn the page.
 

Dan Lindley

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I'd donate for sure. But here are several points.

First, try to get the most effective ad possible. The first suggestion didn't make clear enough what the issues were. I think David Lambert's examples have been clearer. Plus, I think we need a bit of text at the bottom to explain things. Ie:

'if this keeps up the buying public will not have a choice between example A and B' Give stats, if possible.

Give live examples of movies that are not available in OAR and see if you can get Lambert/Epstein type photos for them.

Second, don't be so defeatist. Geez, the format has expanded so fast, there is tons of money to be made in all formats. The only rational/studio explanation for P/S only is resale later when w/s catches on. Otherwise, there is tons of money to be made in all formats (did I say that before?)

Why did I say it again? Unless there is evidence that the studios are pursuing a very cynical (and perhaps a misguided strategy too, since the more folks are hooked on DVD, the more will be spent on DVDs, both hardware and software - they go hand in hand), then there is logical reason to believe a pro OAR (plus P/S -- who cares if some folks want it, so long as the studios want to serve *both* communities) stance can prevail.

Third, another possible ad would consist of well known actors and critics (Ebert?) denouncing P/S releases (or at least non OAR releases). Make it a creative thing. Heck, start the ball rolling here, and my $10 dollar donation might be eclipsed by some sympathetic rich star really helping out. But I'll give my $10 and vote as part of the groundswell.

Don't give up. I have heard no solid reason for pessimism.

What are the concrete stats on P/S vs OAR sales and on production costs/differences for the two? What are the variables that affect the results? Type of movie? Which studio? Original format/condition of the movie? Etc.

Dan
 

Steven Good

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the Mona Lisa picture started me thinking of the famous painting The Last Supper. crop a few of Jesus' supper guests out of the frame and presto! exhibit A.

although, i personally like the cropped $20 bill.

getting Ebert's support would help. allowing us to quote his great line:

"This is one more pathetic example of the dumbing of America--to show the films in the wrong aspect ratio to placate the stupid, instead of in the right aspect ratio to reward the knowledgeable."

would sum up a lot of our feelings about P&S discs.

i'm ready to donate...
 

Jean-Michel

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I should point out that a $20 bill cropped to 4:3 is still worth $20. Anything 51% or over is legal tender. :D
 

Ronald Epstein

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Gentlemen,
Actually, Entertainment Weekly is not
a bad choice to place an ad in. At least its
target audience is the people that enjoy watching
movies.
I should also note that the new issue of
DVD ETC. magazine is carrying the story
that Jack Briggs and I wrote two months ago
about the studios dumbing down the format. Although
that story should gain some recognition for the
cause, it is my fear that most people who read
DVD ETC. magazine are more educated videophiles
who already prefer widescreen.
 

CaptDS9E

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Yeah if anything is done is has to be done in a magazine read by the general public. Like Entertainment weekly. If you do it count me in for some $$


Capt
 

David Lambert

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Is that issue of DVD Etc. out yet? I can't recall if I ever stopped procrastinating and signed up for the HTF members' offer or not! :eek: I may have missed it, out of sheer stupidity... :frowning: I'll go look in a second.
The $20 Bill idea has merits. Especially the taglines Jacinto came up with; I like those! Jean-Michel, your point is debatable, but it doesn't make a difference in this discussion anyway; it's about a SYMBOLIC loss of money.
The point Stu made about the ad being ignored is not valid to this situation, in my opinion. First, unless he's a DVD decision-maker at a studio or someone in the chain of command above those people, he's not the target of the ad, so of course he'll ignore it. And we don't care if he does. Second, it's not a matter of whether they already know what we're telling them; of course they do. This DOES bring attention to the matter. It makes them realize we haven't forgotten, and that we're not ignoring the matter, so they should not either. Third, it MIGHT actually educate someone. Fourth, it might turn into a news story that gets picked up on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, or what have you. And maybe THAT will help educate the public. Or else make us look like a bunch of overzealous loons. :wink: But I can handle the latter, if it will give us a chance at the former. And that brings me to: Fifth, I agree that it's better to do SOMEthing...ANYthing. Better than bitching amongst ourselves!
 

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