|
Author
|
Topic: Did Derann ever disapoint you?
|
Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
|
posted February 01, 2016 07:46 PM
The praises of Derann's print quality are all over this forum, and for the most part Derann became the bench mark of Super 8mm print quality. But not always. There were occasions when I was severely disappointed in the product I received from them. Three in particular come to mind:
The feature length American In Paris was probably the worst. I was expecting a glorious pin sharp print similar to Singin In The Rain, instead of which I got a soft focus print which w as even more blurred and washed out over the whole length of the right side of the film, and the sound was atrocious and impossible to re-record. Plus the editing was a hack job which ruined the whole pacing of the film.
The honors for runner up goes to the feature length black and white print of Dead Of Night, the superb Ealing Studios horror film anthology. Or should I say the grey and white print, because that's the way it looked throughout, with soft focus and washed out highlights. This film also had dreadful sound quality.
Third place goes to the 400ft Three Cheers For The Girls, a great compilation reel of some of Busby Berkeley's lesser known musical routines. This film is another 'grey and white' dupey print with poor sound.
None of these films should have been up for sale by Derann, but they were.
Any others?
--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
| IP: Logged
|
|
Andrew Woodcock
Film God
Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012
|
posted February 01, 2016 07:59 PM
Once pre striped stock dried up and Derek then within a few short years met his maker, things became very very different Paul, no doubt about that.
However, then again in Derek's lifetime, he solo crafted through sheer determination, that striped stock of some kind kept coming through to the punters via £10K of scrap Polyester film and was able somehow to find another UK Lab after losing the superb Rank Labs in Bucks!
It was a minor miracle of Derek's sheer determination that we got anything at all once the "big" 2 pulled away from producing Agfa and Kodak Pre Striped Stock!!
Time caught up with them all in the newly aroused Digital era sadly!
If Derek had lived until now, even without the energy or inclination, I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have had the pursuasive powers to have made Kodak realize what a void of a lifetimes work they have, until now, left behind themselves and completely turned their back on!
Derann and Derek in particular, from all of my understandings, kept our 8mm alive way beyond what anyone else was prepared to do so far as investment was concerned.
We should have no complaints given the outcome of circumstance as we know now!
--------------------
"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Steve Klare
Film Guy
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
|
posted February 01, 2016 08:50 PM
My son had DVD of classic Mickey Mouse cartoons, and one: "On Ice" caught my eye.
Derann had it available new so I paid the full Code "E" (£25.99) and got back a film with colors like it was 40 years old on E-bay from someone's attic!
Gary Brocklehurst told me the negative was the problem and it was the best they could do, but by the same token they refunded me and reimbursed me for the return shipping too.
The big disappointment wasn't a technical one, kind of a communications...thing.
I come to this a lot later than many here: I got into sound in 2002. I'll only have one brand new projector my entire life and only one brand new feature too.
I had been lusting after a print of "Toy Story" ever since I found out it was possible to get one. One Christmas my wife decided to surprise me. She ordered it in September just to be sure.
-Christmas morning there was a shiny box under the tree...with an IOU for my print!
Come about June, a hefty package was on my porch!
It had finally ARRIVED...except it really hadn't!
I threaded "Toy Story" up and found myself watching "Hunchback of Notre Dame"!
("WHAT THE....????!!!!")
I was afraid: "What if I LIKE this movie?! Will we wind up buying TWO features??!!!" (-Clever sales strategy!)
(Fortunately I didn't, especially not that much!)
Once again: Derann didn't leave me hanging, they made it right in the end.
My very last brand new print arrived from them 260 feet on a 200 foot reel! The head of the film was a good half inch higher than the flanges and that first time through the machine had the feel of walking a tightrope! (How they jammed it into a 200' box I have no idea!)
-So they weren't perfect, just like the rest of us. Even with that I wish I could do it again!
--------------------
All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Phil Murat
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 671
From: Villeneuve St Georges, France
Registered: Dec 2015
|
posted February 02, 2016 04:58 AM
Derann did a Great Job: From my side ,this is the best rate Quality/Price ever seen. Perry was very good too. Contact with Gary was excellent. They were very professionnal, it was easy to exchange a print or a reel if a problem occurs. The only think I never solve completly is the quality problem of Reel Nr3 from "Little Mermaid" (Some funny light shadows appears from time to time, otherwise this is a very good copy, look like to be stable , 25 years later!!).
80% of my collection come from Derann from 1985 to 1995 (from memory) and is polyester base.....
Congratulation to the Team and Perry's Too !!!
D. KEMPSKI copies were "probably" the best due to a great negative source, but price was very High.
Very stable colours many years after, very sharp pictures, serous Lab job.
In comparison, products from "Film Office" offer a quality much more fluctuating, due to laboratories Job and Negative sources.
Many "Film Office" movies fade out and turn to pinky.
"Les Grands Films Classique" were much better than Film Office, but more specialised in Classicals (Great Copies from Charlie Chaplin features - Don't miss them- , also "Drole de Drame", "l'Auberge Rouge", etc...are great)
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
|
posted February 02, 2016 01:16 PM
Only towards the end, but it was something that, quite frankly, Derann could really do nothing to avoid, and that was that dreaded, very bluish LPP film stock near the end, (Fantasia 2000 was a victim of it) ...
but in every other aspect, Derann were truly top notch! I always LOVED they're used film lists as, when they said color was so/so, it was actually pretty darned good, but by Derann's standards, only so/so. That's how good Derann was and ever-will be! ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
--------------------
"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
. Sent it back and again a few weeks later, it came back with an excellent sound track ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
