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Author Topic: Features vs Extracts
Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted November 06, 2007 04:58 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Which do you guys mostly collect on 8mm?
Why settle for an extract/ cutdown, if you can have the full feature??
When I was in my early teens I was happy to have those Castle cutdowns but, now in 16mm I prefer features (when I can afford to buy them!!!).
Are there not a lot of full features available on 8mm? I certainly don't see many for auction on Ebay.
Educate me!!!

-Mike.

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Keith Ashfield
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 997
From: U.K.
Registered: Dec 2006


 - posted November 06, 2007 05:28 PM      Profile for Keith Ashfield     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Michael. There are quite a few features released on super 8 but collectors tend to "hang on" to them. That probably explains why so few appear on E-bay. Most features that I've seen (apart from a select few for sale on this forum) are on distributors lists. Perhaps that is because there is a bigger "part exchange" allowance on the feature films, due to their rarity. After all there are extracts and digests galore on E-Bay but most are from the 1970/80's when feature releases weren't so popular or available.
You just have to keep your eyes "peeled", as they say "everything comes to he who waits" (Then why have I not won the lottery yet?) [Confused]

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"We'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as a turnin' of the earth".

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Gary Crawford
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 979
From: Manassas, VA. USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted November 06, 2007 09:16 PM      Profile for Gary Crawford     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If you keep your eyes peeled..and scan the Perry's , Fosters, and derann used lists..and watch ebay , there's hardly a feature that doesn't show up eventually. Patience and perserverance...that's the key. Also you have to have the money ready and waiting. He who hesitates is truly lost when it comes to used films.

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Mike Peckham
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1461
From: West Sussex, UK.
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted November 07, 2007 01:54 AM      Profile for Mike Peckham   Email Mike Peckham   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Michael, I think you hit the nail on the head, it's the rarity that makes the hunt for the illusive title and the joy of ownership so thrilling. I think that's the same for most forms of collecting, whether it be cigarette cards or Porsches or tie pins. [Wink]

Having said that, there were literally thousands of titles released on Super 8 as full features over the years so they are out there, but as Keith said, people tend to hang on to them.

Perhaps in Super 8 Navana every film ever produced would be available on 8 as a full feature, just like DVDs, but if there were no illusive titles to chase there would be less thrill in ownership...

Mike [Cool]

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Auntie Em must have stopped wondering where I am by now...

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Graham Sinden
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1131
From: Kent, UK
Registered: Aug 2005


 - posted November 07, 2007 05:46 AM      Profile for Graham Sinden   Email Graham Sinden   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Michael, If you ever atteded the BFCC in Ealing over the years you will see features galore from dealers like Buckingham, Perrys movies, Derann, and other smaller dealers. Take a look at Perrys lists every month there are at least 40 odd features, and Derann still sell them brand new.

But I agree with you that not many features appear on EBay.

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Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted November 07, 2007 02:20 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Graham,

I've been to BFCC a couple of times and, yes, I've noticed some 8mm features for sale. Because my first love is 16mm, I didn't take a lot of interest.

What is the general quality of these prints compared to 16mm?

I'm getting a little bit fed up with buying 16mm prints that turn out to be not worth the money I paid for them.

This is not a rant - just an observation!!

-Mike.

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005


 - posted November 07, 2007 02:28 PM      Profile for Osi Osgood   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
For me, it all depends on the film in particular. Fo some films, an extract really doesn't do. While the car chase
ibn the French Connection is awesome, that is a film that I would much rather watch all the way through, (and I just got it in the mail!!)

Other films, well an extract really does it. A Good example is the Pod race sequence from "Star wars Episode 1" While the final lightsabre battle would make a good extract as well, the big scne was the Pod race, and that was a very smart release by Derann films.

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted November 07, 2007 03:58 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Personally, for me, I don't see the point in collecting extracts.

I like movies and would prefer to have the whole film.

-Mike.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted November 07, 2007 04:01 PM      Profile for Steve Klare   Email Steve Klare   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
There's some cases where an extract really works, usually when the feature is made of various sub stories which break apart nicely without leaving a lot of loose ends dangling. The Fantasia extracts that Derann sells are an excellent example of this.

Often I don't like extracts just because of the loose-end factor. Especially when you have a crowd gathered to watch films somebody's bound to pipe up with "Why watch just a part of the movie when you can get the whole thing cheaper on DVD?" It takes a lot of showmanship to silence that question.

Of course there are cases where the feature has been so slowly paced that a trimming down does a world of good, but I guess that's the art of a good cut-down.

I have the 2x400' version of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It may be the most sustained violence per minute of anything ever shown on the large screen. Basically whatever plot there was is gone and it's more than a half hour of car crashes and fist fights! Most war movies are more serene.

They even disposed of Ethel Merman's flop on the banana peel at the end: a great treat for Sons in Law the world over!

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted November 07, 2007 04:34 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If the film was made - I want to see the full length version.

-Mike.

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Robert Wales
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 100
From: Toronto
Registered: Nov 2005


 - posted November 07, 2007 05:02 PM      Profile for Robert Wales   Email Robert Wales   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
So many extracts exist on Super 8 because before video it was almost impossible to convince the major studios to release complete material for sale to the public on ANY format. They were ( and still are ) extremely protective of their content.

I still remember those golden years in the 1970's when all of the major studios began issuing color and sound digests of their most current features. It was such a thrill to those of us in the hobby to own even selected scenes of major Hollywood blockbusters. Today you can find the newest full-length titles on DVD at your local drugstore!

I also remember buying film and people frequently asking me why I would want to OWN a film because once I had seen it, why would I want to watch it again ? I guess we were all years ahead of our time !

Extracts allowed many collectors on a budget to enter the world of film collecting, otherwise they would never have been able to participate in the hobby.

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted November 07, 2007 05:45 PM      Profile for Steve Klare   Email Steve Klare   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I think features are one of the hidden treasures of Super-8. Six or seven years ago I believed that the only Super-8 features in the known universe were obscure prints made for airlines 30 years before. I was completely blown away by the fact that not only had they ever commonly existed, they still are available.

I think if I were forced to choose though, I'd probably stick to short subjects, ideally 400 or maybe 600 feet long. This way for what a feature costs I can have four or five different films. Still the same, I’m glad I don’t have to choose. Showing an entire feature length film on Super-8 is kind of neat!

I think It's harder for most people to have a show with a feature. Unless you have a really great theater environment or are a great showman, it's hard to get people into a mindset where they'll go over an hour in front of the screen. I have several features that I really love, but I never show them to a crowd. My typical remote shows are usually 45 minutes end to end, and this means all short films.

From the projectionist's standpoint, features are a challenge. There's that feeling of anticipation at the end of the reel and the quick moves it takes to stop one machine and start the other as seamlessly as possible, and thread up the reel after next in the dark without covering the table in film. Tim Christian became very practiced at this, but he told me whenever he saw one of his features on the 'tube he started to feel jumpy at the end of each reel!

One of my favorite ways of enjoying a feature is like reading a book: one section a night. This way a six reeler takes me all the way from Monday to Saturday.

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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