8mm Forum: Motivating a S8 release

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Posted by William Mouroukas (Member # 2764) on October 26, 2011, 07:32 PM:

This is the first topic I have created since joining the forum some weeks ago. I've been scanning through the topic lists, reading through the odd ones that caught my eye and posting the occasional comment. The references to commercial film releases are one of those eye catching topics. For the past 25 years I assumed S8 releases of studio films had ended. As I read posts that mentioned those companies that continue to release S8 I've been visiting their websites to see what is available and cost.
Now that I have some idea of the current state of the market, I'd like to pose a scenario to the forum. Being so out of touch with S8 for so long and never having been involved with the sales of S8 films, I expect I'm ignorant of much so your responses will I'm sure, enlighten me further. So here it is:
Since the companies that can and do provide S8 prints of commercial films need to reach a point of unit sales that make the release viable, then I believe it would be helpful if those companies created on their own websites a page where consumers could commit to buy if released. To ensure financial security for both consumer and supplier I'm guessing that a third party money handler could be involved such as Pay Pal, not that I know if Pay Pal would provide such a service. Say supplier 'X' posts a commit to buy a potential release of 'Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - Extended Cut - Scope - ' 2 Track Stereo (Well I can dream can't I?). The buyer commits and pays the full amount into Pay Pal. Pay Pal holds the money and does not release it. The buyer has the right to cancel any time up to the point the supplier announces that production is confirmed at which point Pay Pal releases the money to the supplier.
Could this work or am I missing a fundamental reality?

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on October 26, 2011, 09:19 PM:

Hello William,

I see two problems with this:

One, copyright. One would have to go through the current rights issues as to, for instance, Derann's negatives (an excellent resource, as long as they are still legal negs for S-8mm printing by someone else.) Many law cases have come out of such things, and not just in film.

Two, and very important:
If the money paid in is in fact "removable" by the buyer all the way up to the point when the print goes into production, there is no guarantee for the producer of the print that there won't be an exodus of cash at the last minute.

The only way to get "true believers" is to insist that once you pay in, you ARE in...you have committed your money to the film.
The only refund should then come if the print can't be made.

People are both fickle and also sometimes run into bad times, so to give the producer of the print a decent night's sleep, it must be an ironclad "in or out."

My two cents... [Wink]

Claus.

Posted by William Mouroukas (Member # 2764) on October 26, 2011, 10:56 PM:

Thanks for the reply Claus.
I appreciate and accept your point with regard to copyright but I expect that's an issue for the supplier to work out before a title is listed.
On your other point, yes I agree if suppliers are to be encouraged to produce they need the security of confirmed sales. I was thinking the supplier would not be obliged to proceed with production until payment was received from the funds holder. Perhaps a deadline for cancellations and also to say when the offer lapses.
Personally I wouldn't have a problem making payment direct to a reputable supplier but I was thinking that in having the involvement of a 'Pay Pal' would increase confidence for all parties.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on October 26, 2011, 11:15 PM:

William,

Absolutely, having PayPal or such could be a good buffer; I have no issues with that, just the potential for people to "drop out" on the offer just when the money's needed the most if they can withdraw.

Claus.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on October 27, 2011, 09:00 AM:

William - you make some perfectly valid points, but when it comes down to it, the key factor is the outlook of those who could potentially use such a system because they regularly distribute 8mm product, and that's only 'The Reel Image' (Steve Osborne) in the USA and Classic Home Cinema (Phil Sheard) in the UK. (I'm not forgetting that there have also been releases from Larry Arpin and GIOSI in the last two years.) Steve doesn't have a website and although Phil does, I just can't imagine him utilising a page of that sort. If you put the idea to him, I'd be delighted to be proved wrong!

The financial aspects add complexity but I think a simple page where people essentially add their name to a drop down list in relation to a potential release would be a good guide to possible sales, even though it would not obligate anyone to buy.

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