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HTF SURVEY: What else would you like to see done with DVD? (2 Viewers)

StephenC

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 2, 2001
Messages
137
I really loved the publicity tour feature on the Vanilla Sky dvd.I'd love to see how the studios,actors,and directors try to sell the film to the masses.
 

Jeff Bamberger

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 15, 1999
Messages
495
I should adjust my stand on wanting outtakes/goofs. I love them. They can be hilarious (check out the gag reel on Armageddon: CC).

But I don't want them at the expense of A/V quality. If they can be put on the DVD without sacrificing quality, then great. If not, put them on a second disc with other extras. If the studio doesn't want multiple discs, then drop the extras and give me a "superbit".
 

Shawn C

Screenwriter
Joined
May 15, 2001
Messages
1,429
Here are some ideas:

#1: "Pop-Up Video" style pop-ups while watching the movie with or without the commentary on. I could do without the "bloop" everytime one pops up though.

It would be cool to see little things pointed out during the movie, for example: In Casino when DeNiro is walking out of "Tony Roma's", before his car gets blown up, he's really walking out of the side entrance of the "Main Street" casino in downtown Las Vegas. It would be cool to get information on the locations, people, and other things in that style.

Another advantage of this is being able to listen to the full soundtrack, and still get fun information on the movie.

#2: I always thought it would be neat to have a major reviewer add his commentary to the movie. I guess it would be pretty neat to hear someone like Ebert during the running commentary. I think there would be too much pressure on the reviewer, though.
 

Scott DeToffol

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 25, 2000
Messages
244
Real Name
Scott DeToffol
Cool new stuff:

-- Deeper behind the scenes stuff. The HBO first look segments are OK, but they are made to promote the movie more than to reveal the inner workings.

-- DVD Site Map: one screen showing all the disk's content so you can quickly navigate the entire disk. The animated, multi-screen menus are cool the first time, but if you want to "jump" to a certain feature they can be a pain.

-- Include the soundtrack with the DVD.

-- High quality cases and inserts.

-- Better chapter stops, with intelligent chapter groupings. Say you wanted to see all of Travolta's scenes in Pulp Fiction. Or Sam Jackson's scenes right in a row. Or the song scenes only. Maybe offer the ability to build your own "mix" of the movie.



Basics I'd like changed:

-- No easter eggs.

-- Easier to select DTS vs Dolby (instead of buried inside setup or audio menu)

-- Easy to select menu choices. Some menu's have terrible layouts and sometimes its hard to make out where the "cursor" is.

P.S. I didn't read the whole thread so I may be repeating some things.
 

Glennica

Agent
Joined
Mar 1, 2001
Messages
45
I too really enjoy the 'text trivia' subtitle tracks on discs like the Star Trek SEs, Bring It On, and Free Enterprise. I would love to see this feature used on more DVDs (LOTR Extended Version, SW Episode 2 would have been good candidates).

Roger Ebert does great commentaries. He should be utilized more often!
 

Adam_S

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2001
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6,316
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Adam_S
how about this:
Home Theater Demo sequence: this is like a trailer only about ten to fifteen minutes long, and it features all the best HT moments in the film. For example, Phantom Menace: opens with THX trailer; Qui Gon and Obi escape the gas/fight the droids; brief snippet of passage through the core and rescue of Padme; the first half of the Pod Race; Qui Gon fights Darth Maul; ambush at Naboo hanger; selections of the space battle; selections of the droid battle; all of the Lightsaber battle edited in sequence.
Basically the scenes you already screen when showing off your HT, but instead there's a preprogrammed option that just shows off everything that's makes the dvd really really wonderful. This would be a great feature for stores to use as well, to demo the stuff they're trying to sell. Of course this wouldn't happen with Phantom menace because few people would then bother to watch the actual film. :D
Adam
 
Joined
Sep 18, 1999
Messages
38
I have a few ideas that I hope are innovative. They are as follows:

1. When you press the pause button on your remote control, a motion type screen saver comes on the screen for the duration of the pause. Something really cool from the film. The screen saver on your TV is motion for those of us with CRTs to prevent burn in.

2. For those of us who like to provide demos for our friends and family, perhaps a list of action sequences can be available with separate chapter stops.

3. The ability to watch selective scenes uncut, raw, and before the score is in place.

4. A feature that allows the viewer to choose a different version of a scene when multiple scenes were shot, but only one was used. Alternate endings as well on the fly.

5. A feature that allows the viewer to see exactly how that particular DVD was made from start to finish.

That's all I can come up for now. I'll keep thinking about this one though.
 

Brenton

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
1,169
When the original Star Wars trilogy comes out, I hope to see original Kenner action figure commercials from the late 70s and early 80s.
 

Patrick Larkin

Screenwriter
Joined
May 8, 2001
Messages
1,759
I love classic film art. I'd like the ability to mount the DVD on my computer and be able to access a folder of high quality poster/lobby card images. Printable newspaper or magazine article/interviews...stuff like that. And just offer the data in a folder and not through some goofy interactual player. That software leaves out millions of people who use Macs.

Other than that, I don't want any new features. There's are already too much on each disc and too many films unreleased.

In a general genre request, where are the NFL Films DVDs? Also, music video compilations. Plenty of concert videos...light on video DVDs. How about DVD singles?
 

David Lambert

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
11,377
1. When you press the pause button on your remote control, a motion type screen saver comes on the screen for the duration of the pause. Something really cool from the film. The screen saver on your TV is motion for those of us with CRTs to prevent burn in.
Uhhh...what if the purpose of the pause is to point something out to someone?

This is a fine idea, but only if there is a timer at least 1 minute in duration before it kicks in. Preferably more like 3 minutes.
 

Reginald Trent

Screenwriter
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Messages
1,313
I would like to have the ability to program specific selections on concert DVDs to play. Why should we be locked into only one way to sequentially play a DVD?
 

Michael Henry

Second Unit
Joined
Jun 28, 2000
Messages
462
Location
Dallas, TX
Real Name
J. Michael Henry
I think giving all DVD players the ability to hook up to the web to receive DVD content just like their computers.
Think about it, hook up your DVD player to a phone line or cable modem, put in your Episode I disc and you have the same content as moving over to your computer - only on a 61 inch wide screen projection TV...
Hey, you asked :)
-Mike
 

DarrinH

Second Unit
Joined
Aug 28, 2000
Messages
301
Ideas...hmmmmm....
Well how able a short tease of other DVD's that the studio has on the market at the time.
This would take up some of the available space though.
I do not mean a promotional tease but a small section from the other DVD's menu maybe with a piece of a special feature.
It very well might help sell other DVD's that studio has on the market. Would also work with rentals too.
You would not want too many of these on a disk though.
For some of the bare bones releases this would be a good idea for occupying left over space.
Definitely not at the expense of audio or video though!
 

James Reader

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 10, 2002
Messages
1,465
More ideas (I'm really enjoying this):

Most recent Blockbusters lots a comic adaptation these days (and indeed many Blockbusters from the past do as well). How about putting these on the DVD? Just imagine the Marvel Star Wars adaptation being available on the 'Star Wars:A New Hope' (whenever it's released).

I suppose 'Harry Potter' did this, but how about more 360 degree views of the sets? The technology was called 'I-PIX' I think. How about being able to do this with different lighting setups for a more adult/classic film?

Many films have mock newspapers and magazines. How about letting us read these mock props in full in an image gallery or similar?

One for more serious, adult films. How about showing a film from the main character's point-of-view only? This would probably require filming several new inserts, but just play the film with scenes featuring that character only. It could be good to grasp the motivation and how experiences affect the character's actions and behavior. It might be fun for example to experience Gosford Park from the perspective of one of the characters.

Something that is unlikely to happen, but what do other famous directors think of the film? What would they have done differently? What did the actual film do better than they would imagine? For instance what would Trey Parker and Matt Stone say about Goldmember? What would Steven Spielberg or George Lucas or Peter Jackson think of Spider-man?

Any film with a TV spin-off - try and get 1 episode on the DVD - Fast Times on Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Men In Black the Animated Series on Men In Black, M*A*S*H on M*A*S*H etc.

That's it for now, more later (probably)
 

Tom Boucher

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 1, 1999
Messages
281
Location
Wake Forest
Real Name
Tom
How about the DVD-ROM Content work on a Macintosh platform instead of just Windows?

I'd like to see Dolby Digital trailers right before the Movie A La THX and dts.

I'd like to see innovative menus continue to grow. Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' had one of the 'coolest' menus in my taste. There are others that can be almost abnoxious, but as long as they push the envelope and make the experience entertaining, I'd appreciate it.

I'd still like to see players with a hard disk in them that could utilize a broadband link to do real time movie trailers. I think that would really enhance the experience of HT if you could provide Star Trek X, Harry Potter 2, etc. To one up it even more it'd pick trailers with similar genre's to the movie you're watching. Go one step further and give me a bugs bunny short inbetween the trailers & the movie.

Things like that, things than enhance the overall 'experience' would be fun.
 

StephenP

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 23, 2001
Messages
209
I also think the text(subtitle) commentary is a good idea, I like to be able to hear the sound of the film and read the commentary at the same time. Also I think the first chapter break should always be at the point where the opening credits end. The multiple camera angle feature should be used more often, such as to give the story from different characters viewpoints.
 

GrantM

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Messages
109
I've only seen this used once - on Say Anything. During a commentary, give the participants the ability to "pause" the movie so that they can continue to talk about one scene before the movie moves on to a different scene.
This was done very well on Say Anything. They started the commentary but didn't start the actual movie until they had gone through the preliminay introductions and the background of the movie.
On Say Anything, they showed still photos while the movie was "paused". that's great if the movie hasn't started yet. If it gets "paused" in the middle of the movie, perhaps keep repeating the scene they're talking about until they're done.
 

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