8mm Forum: Blackpool reports

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Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 19, 2007, 06:57 PM:

Got back from Blackpool earlier today, so here are some impressions of what proved to be a great weekend as always.

Firstly, Blackpool continues to defy pessimists by increasing in popularity. I checked with Anne Simmonds at the end of Sunday, who confirmed that numbers were up again, so that's 3 consecutive years of higher attendances! She was referring to the Sunday, but I didn't need to ask about the Saturday night dinner as I could tell from the number of tables that more people were there than last year.

Apart from the usual fun-packed Saturday evening (meal, raffle, quiz etc), I thought a nice touch was to have all 3 celebrities (who were all on the Derann table along one side of the room) getting up in turn to say something about themselves. The concluding film show ended shortly before midnight.

The Sunday convention began with those not staying at the Savoy freezing on a windy day, due to the length of queue stretching outside the hotel entrance! Once inside, we found a higher number of dealers than last year, although some were memorabilia or film/TV collectibles-orientated rather than film dealers, but this all helps to widen the appeal of the event. Baragins that I picked up included some new trailers from a box on the Derann stall all priced at £6. My other purchases included the latest Derann advertisement reel, which looked good in one of the three film shows and includes some entertaining ads. Bargains I saw on the Bring and Buy stall included an excellent condition Kowa scope lens with freestanding mount - snapped up for only £25.

The film shows included most of the new and recent releases from Derann and Classic, plus some additional items. There was an impressive action-packed trailer for 'Die Hard 4.0', which may have been a check print as Derann did not yet have copies for sale. Speaking to Ged, I gathered that a major factor in their reluctance to release more modern trailers is that it is currently taking about 4 months (primarily due to the lab) to get new releases produced and ready for sale, which damages sales as they were able to sell more if people could buy trailers while the films were on release.

The auction lasted around an hour and featured projectionist Bob Nicholls doing a good job in his first appearance as auctioneer. It included some rare items - such as optical print of 'Live and Let Die' - and it was encouraging to see that there was more competitive bidding than at some of the more recent auctions, with many films going for respectable sums. The highest amount was £85 for one of the features on offer.

Later in the afternoon, there was an interesting Q&A session with all three guests contributing. 'Star Wars' fans not only had Dave Prowse in person; there were also four enthusiasts in related costumes, two of which were stormtroopers who also appeared on the Saturday. I suspect that the most popular was the young lady who appeared in an extremely revealing outfit on the Sunday, and I'm not convinced that all the cameras pointing in her direction were held by keen 'Star Wars' fans!

Overall, it was a superb weekend and I offer my thanks to everyone involved in bringing all the elements together. It's a shame to see it end but a group of well over 20 of us kept the spirit going on the Sunday night with an informal dinner and more socialising in the bar and lounge.

My final thought is: if you STILL haven't been to this event, how much longer can you hold out before you give in and allow yourself to experience fun on this sort of scale!

[ November 28, 2007, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: Adrian Winchester ]

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 20, 2007, 03:28 AM:

Brilliant! It sounds like they've really got Blackpool sorted out now. Last time I went I have to say it was rather boring but that was many years ago and things definitely seemed to have turned around now. I did want to go to this one but having to be on a stand at the NEC the weekend before made the thought of another long trip rather unthinkable.

Come on lads... more reports and pictures required!

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 20, 2007, 04:11 AM:

Glad you did the report Adrian as it saved me a job particularly as I have come back to the studio and a pile of editing.

I spent 4 days at the hotel and without doubt this was the finest Northern Film Collectors Convention I have been to in 30 years and I tried to do a rough count and ended up guestimating approaching 500 including around 30 Children which was really nice to see.

The Saturday meal was a complete sell out and some thought they could even secure a seat at the last minute forming a line outside the dinning room. No chance, it was jammers folks! The quiz was won by our table and we secured a round of free drinks thanks to Derann.

It was good to meet some new people who had just discovered super 8mm film collecting having had enough of the DVD experience and looking to set up a hands on real hone cinema. The Super 8 projectors that were available quickly disappeared including my Stereo machine and several films I had available. I took along the three DVD’s about cine we market (This is Cinema, Cinema Great & Small, Movie Club Magazine) and these were all sold by the end of the day proving a healthy interest in home Cinema.

During the non event time I wound up near the bar, watching films in collector’s rooms and hitting the sack around 3AM most of the time. On the Sunday I was up at 6AM so only had 3 hours sleep as I was helping dealer Richard Read who arranged for the special guests to come along over several months. This was a difficult a nerve wracking job as the stars do have busy schedules but they were very nice to meet and I wound up having a delightful meal sat with Dave Prowse, Shane Rimmer and Norman which I am meeting up with again this week.

It’s the first time I have stayed at this event for the full 4 days and I noted some were even staying longer which demonstrates enthusiasm for film. Great stuff.

Film wise many interesting titles were on offer and I did purchase 10 features and some new super 8 material from Derann.

Can I finally thank all the staff at Derann and Richard Read who liaised with the stars for a very memorable event. The entrance ticket price was worth £15 of anyone’s money, and the superb gala star studded dinner was excellent.

Within the UK this is the only film collector’s event held within a residential hotel complete with Gala dinner, stars, and guest speakers. I take my hat off to any business prepared to organise such a lavish event and it was certainly one to remember.

Thank you very much for a splendid weekend.

Posted by Yanis Tzortzis (Member # 434) on November 20, 2007, 05:01 AM:

I heard Bob saying Derann reckon it's been the highest attendance in six years-that's something isn't it! Got some bits and bobs from Derann and CHC(couple of rare L&H's),enjoyed the auction-and got the train(unfortunately same night....)back to Bham only to find out we had the first heavy snowfall of the year [Smile]

Posted by Keith Ashfield (Member # 741) on November 20, 2007, 07:32 AM:

I can only echo what has already been said here. I only went on Sunday but it was well worth the trip. the attendence was definately up and I was surprised, on arrival, seeing the queue to gain entry forming outside the hotel. As Adrian said there were memorabilia stalls there which made interesting viewing. Like most attendees I picked up bargains from Derann, the auction and the Bring and Buy Stall and also couple of other stalls.
Despite the cold weather, it was nice to see one young lady who obviously didn't need her woolly vest [Wink]

I have never seen so many digital cameras on the go at a film convention before [Embarrassed]

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on November 20, 2007, 07:55 AM:

Was there much in the way of 16mm stuff at Blackpool?

-Mike

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 20, 2007, 08:40 AM:

Hi Mike
Yes, I purchased 2 16mm features myself and one dealers table had sold every single film they had later that afternoon which was reassuring to those doubtful folk thinking film has had its day. Demand was high for films and it was fun to see people walking around with cans of film under there arm most of the day.

I sort of made myself available to help dealers who needed a spare set of hands lifting stuff about and also some of the not so fit collectors who I helped cart films to parked cars. This also led to us all getting to know each other much more hence the sessions around the bar later that evening as people started to pull out photographs of projectors they had and Cinemas they had made at home.

The sort of things on offer was, It Came from outer space, Creature and Mad Magician all in 3D and features. I did get a demo screening with one and it was very good indeed and a bargain at £80.00. Quite a few docs were also on offer along with a number of 16mm projectors, and one engineer was offering fully serviced TQ III with new worm gears & belts for £100 which were a very good buy.

I located another Steve the Horse 30’s cartoon on 16mm and a perfect colour Disney, so I would say 16mm was well represented along with 8mm and 9.5mm sound & silent films, even 28mm film was represented and these came home with little me.

One dealer had a magic lantern which was complete with slides etc, and with all its brass work looking very nice so something for everyone.

A professionally staged event and everything went very well throughout the weekend and a joy to attend. Upon arriving home my wife was thrilled with my stories of the event and vowed she would like to come next year…. Ill probably have to behave myself a little more in 2008 but what an event this was.

Lets see all those pictures!

Posted by Adrian Simmonds (Member # 581) on November 20, 2007, 09:49 AM:

Thank you for all your kind comments.

Yes, I can confirm that the numbers thru the door were up on last years total, and we did have more dealers on the day.
(So much so that Ged had to refuse one dealer who had left it to the very last minute to book a table, we just couldn't fit him in).

All of the dealers said that they were pleased with their days takings and were impressed by the number of people attending.

I personally had a large number of people saying to me that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves and thought this was the best one for years.

I would like to thank all of the people involved who have helped us organise this event, with a special mention to Ged, Mom, Richard and Kym Read, Bob Nicholls and Martin Knowles.
It does take a lot of time and effort, but when reading your comments about what a great day you all had, it makes it all worthwhile.

I will upload some pictures for you all to look at
(As I asked the staff to take these,
I just hope that they aren't all of 'Princess Leia').

Kind regards

Adrian

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on November 20, 2007, 11:16 AM:

Lee,

I know youre very busy but did you manage to make some mobile phone clips for everyone to view.

Posted by Simon McConway (Member # 219) on November 20, 2007, 01:04 PM:

Yes, it was fantastic. Though I didn't buy as much film as I have done in the past as I smply didn't see titles I wanted, I did get a nice Elmo ST1200 HD...in own case and in excellent working order. I found numbers seen there to be the best in many a year...and I have been going for ten years now. And as for Derann's GS1200, used in the cinema...it is the quietest projector I've ever heard. Anyway, well done to Derann....easily their best do yet!

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 20, 2007, 03:22 PM:

I'm delighted if all the dealers did well, as it must be difficult to predict what sales of memorabilia-type material will be at an event like this. I obtained a nice box of 35mm slides from one stall with great images of various film stars, etc, from about 1960 for only £10, so I was happy to see such dealers adding to the diversity of goods available. I wondered how well the stall selling Dr Who/Star Wars/etc collectibles did, as the was something completely different to anything seen before.

Lee - were the three 3D 16mm films you mentioned all complete features? If so and they were good prints, £80 each would have been peanuts for such rarities!! Wish I'd seen them while they were still on offer. Do you know what stall they were on? Derann had some notable 16mm titles that I don't think were sold, including 'The Silence of the Lambs' and 'The Empire Strikes Back' in scope.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on November 21, 2007, 02:04 AM:

Great reports, lads.
When I started my table at the big French convention 12 years ago, I had just a bunch of 50ft and 200ft reels, lost in the middle of tons of film and tv merchandise (some Star Wars stuff paid for a full ten days vacation in Florida). But then, the internet wasn't what it is today and finding collectible items was quite an ordeal. Nowadays, my table features 50% of film related material (prints, projectors, spares).

Posted by Barry Attwood (Member # 100) on November 21, 2007, 02:51 AM:

There's one thing wrong with Blackpool, it goes by so damn quick, I arrived at 2pm on the Friday, and the rest of the weekend went so fast I sometimes have to sit down and think to myself "Was I really there, and was it that good", and of course the answer to my own 2 questions is YES & YES. Derann arranged another fine event, the organisation was great, even bringing some of our guest stars up from London and taking them home. But what makes a good event is the people around you, as we all talk the same language (Film of course), and even though we may only see each other once or twice a year, that instant bond is there, and this is what seperates our lovely hobby from the rest, it's unique, and long may it stay that way. The Savoy Hotel has had a little spruce up, the food was very good, especially considering we had an all in deal that included an evening meal (except Saturday, that is!) this time, and very nice that was too. I just can't wait until May next year when Derann send out the booking forms, my only personal downside is the travelling by train, it seemed a real chore to me this year, trains were packed, stuffy, and inevitably running late, but it could just be put down to me being a year older, and getting a bit grumpier, as I've never been a great traveller at the best of times, but I wouldn't miss this event for the world.

Posted by Gary Constantine (Member # 711) on November 21, 2007, 04:48 AM:

It was a great day, I bought a lot of film, both 16 & 9.5! It was clear that some collectors see themselves as a cut above the rest; maybe even like a sort of personality! Can't wait till next year.

Posted by Adrian Simmonds (Member # 581) on November 21, 2007, 01:32 PM:

Hi all,

Did any of you who attended see the LCD demo that I did in one of the rooms?

If so - what did you think,
- you can be brutally honest here, I won't take it personally.

And what would you like to see next year?

Kind regards

Adrian

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 21, 2007, 06:10 PM:

Adrian -
I didn't see the LCD demo. As for next year, it's difficult to make suggestions as I think the 'formula' has pretty much been honed to perfection. I could propose starting the weekend on Saturday morning, but I'm sure that would be pushing my luck! However, someone that I'd recommend as a guest is Valerie Leon. I've met her a few times at other events and she is is always friendly and charming. I'd guess that she would be willing to appear if she was available, and I expect she would have broad appeal, considering that she appeared in Carry On, Bond and Hammer films.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 22, 2007, 08:04 AM:

Adrian,
I would not change a thing as the mix for me anyway was just right. Of particular interest was Dave Prowse attendance and this made for a very special event for me as well as securing Derann’s new Darth Vader spoof advert “Star Wars Original Cinema Advert” which was on special offer at Blackpool, so many thanks for that. This is a superb print by the way.

The presentation of 8mm in the cinema was first class and I could not fault the projection by Uncle Bob who is a more than willing volunteer and what a nice guy he is, so full of enthusiasm. On a technical note. You have chosen a sensible size screen to project onto. Some of the cine events of years past seem to think the bigger the screen the better, but as we all know you can only go so far in retaining screen illumination and image quality and you have both just right.

The auction was very entertaining and once again Bob did a good job keeping things moving and also offering some tips about films content which was helpful.

If I criticised anything it would have been nice to extend the offer for guests at the Gala dinner to have the option to “Dine with the stars” I think Richard already mentioned this one but as the special guests were a new idea for Blackpool perhaps you can have a think on it for next time but I think it would work very well indeed.

All in all a perfect event and I don’t think any of us who attended will forget it in a hurry.

Role on Derann’s Christmas Open Day 2nd December.

Posted by Graham Sinden (Member # 431) on November 22, 2007, 04:29 PM:

I would like to see an auction at the BFCC Ealing instead of an afternoon film show as these are always good for a laugh and have a nice atmosphere about them.

Graham S

P.S. Any chance of some more photos

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 23, 2007, 03:56 AM:

Auctions at the BFCC don't work. Tried it years ago but the scale of the BFCC's is not condusive to the sort of atmosphere you require for an auction. The bring and buy is an ongoing success and if we tried an auction again it would only adversely affect that.

A time it could have worked was when we used the Queen's Hall which was much smaller but we'd already decided against auctions by then. Keep it special for Blackpool I say. I bet it will become a complete riot over the years with 'Uncle Bob' hosting. What a great bloke and a credit to the hobby. We're lucky to have him.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 23, 2007, 09:07 AM:

Heard at Blackers Ealing may be moving to a smaller venue. Is this correct John?

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on November 23, 2007, 02:17 PM:

Does anybody have any pictures of Blackpool to post on here? I've never been, but from what I hear it was a helluva weekend for collectors.

-Mike.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 24, 2007, 04:52 AM:

Errrm, no Lee. But there is the possibility we will be moving to a bigger venue. We've been toying with that idea for a couple of years now.

Strange how these rumours get started. Rest assured we're hanging onto the Ealing Town Hall whilst it's still viable but we have been there over 10 years now and it is extremely unusual for something not to have changed in that time. The costs may have increased but not to the point where a small increase in admission can't keep up with it. We've survived potential disasters like threatening to remove curtains because they're too costly to replace and removing the false ceiling in the Victoria Hall. Not only has the convention survived but I believe it has improved during our time there. However, we're not the sort of people who are ever satisfied so we're always looking for the next thing to entertain film collector types. Just yesterday Keith was outlining his plans for the next event and currently he's thinking Super 8, 16mm, 35mm and a bespoke production to be video projected. We all know that's too much to struggle with on the day so we may have to drop the 16mm show but even so it looks set to be another Wilton humdinger!

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on November 25, 2007, 02:11 PM:

Hi John,

Why drop the 16mm show???

Just interested!

-Mike.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on November 26, 2007, 04:57 AM:

Of course one of the truly great things about Blackpool was to witness the enthusiastic que not just inside the hotel, but into the bar area and outside the hotel. My, it seemed endless and visitors were full of enthusiasm for film as it was clear by the banter as they awaited entering the dealers hall which I renamed “the arena”.

The great day seemed to wiz by as did the gala dinner with the stars the night before. My greatest regret is that I did not take a photo of what was beautifully presented dining room complete with silver candelabra on each table. The meal was outstanding as was the company of collectors.

This photo was taken at the entrance.

A little update:
Adrian. It would be great to have a Bond theme to next year and thankfully Valerie Leon was in the Spy Who Loved Me and even Queen Kong !
What a gala dinner that would be to have a theme of Bond and a fancy dress. I am full of bright ideas. Ha.

Posted by Adrian Simmonds (Member # 581) on November 26, 2007, 08:51 AM:

Lee,

As regards the 'Dinner with the Stars' approach.

Yes this was considered briefly, but is virtually impossible to implement.
We generally have 10 tables (not including the 'top table') who have their dinner on the Saturday night

How could we split up the guest stars equally amongst the tables?

For this reason we thought it appropriate to have them all on the one table, and asked them to do a little speech midway thru the night.

Kind regards

Adrian

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on November 26, 2007, 12:47 PM:

Hi Adrian what did the LCD show involve was it one of the new sonys etc and what media was going through, sounds interesting.
I love film but love LCD as well though mine are modest by todays standards.
The philips B,sure is office with a home cinema side thats great, 4/3 + 16/9 etc but much of the stuff I enjoy is that.
It can apparently do modest Hi Res but ony got DVD at the moment.
What was the interest like at the do, they are an absolutely superb add on to film collecting.
Best Mark.

Posted by Adrian Simmonds (Member # 581) on November 27, 2007, 04:06 AM:

Mark,

This year I used the following equipment:

Sony VPL AW15 LCD video projector £849.99
Sony BDP S300 blue ray player £319.99
Yamaha NSP 440 speaker system £299.99
Sony STR DG700 dolby amp £199.99

All shown on a 100" tripod screen.

The results were excellent. I did 2 shows consisting of a normal 20 odd minute dvd show - trailers, intro's, musical numbers, & black & white. Then about 5 minutes of High Definition from a demo disc.

Kind regards

Adrian

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 27, 2007, 04:23 AM:

Answer for Michael...

The 16mm show is currently set to be the shortest show of all the gauges so it's just my idea at the moment to drop it. Mr. Wilts may decide to proceed as planned and have all gauges plus the bespoke production on video which isn't possible to replicate on film.

We don't ever want to give the impression video projection is featured to promote this medium ahead of film though. Far from it! We look at home video projection as a means to supplement the film collecting hobby. However good the technology gets there is no way to replace the magic of those reels going around.

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on November 27, 2007, 05:36 PM:

Hi Adrain, sounds great, what you get for £850 from sony now LCD wise is just amazing.
I`m trailer mad but its getting hard to find discs with them on nowadays on dvd as the mags etc who used to do them rarely do now, I often watch them instead of film.
I hear the budget sony BR player is really good for the cash, I wonder just where the old two thing nonsense will end up, maybe with both carrying on but small compared to usual DVD.
Its amazing now what kit you can get together for a few notes compared with not many years ago.
If anyone is fancying LCD you simply can`t beat a sony new for that.
Do they do 1080P or just i Adrian or just the usual resolution.
The office sony CS2 I had for 5 years was superb for video projection in the home.
Best Mark.

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