8mm Forum


  
my profile | my password | search | faq | register | forum home
  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» 8mm Forum   » General Yak   » Condition rating of S/H films

 - UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!    
Author Topic: Condition rating of S/H films
Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 12, 2013 04:26 PM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
As someone who was an avid book collector for 40 plus years I am familiar with the grading of antiquarian books, and know what defects if any to expect. Books are described as Fine, Very Good, Good, Poor or Reading Copy.
Is there a similar description for the grading of used films? Obviously I know the meaning of Near Mint, and Excellent, is probably as good as you are going to get for a 30 plus year old film. There doesn't seem to be a grade Good, so what should I expect for Very Good?. I can expect that the original leader is missing, but anything else?. One US seller on Ebay grades VG as projectable, but that tells you nothing really.

 |  IP: Logged

Winbert Hutahaean
Film God

Posts: 5468
From: Nouméa, New Caledonia
Registered: Jun 2003


 - posted September 12, 2013 08:19 PM      Profile for Winbert Hutahaean     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I think if you use that kind of grading, you will end up on grading the film physically, not the contain.

That was always Derann used when grading the film.

I don't agree with that way. Grading the film must be clear on:

- how light or heavy is the scratch
- how far has the color fading taken away
- Is there any vinegar smell
- Warp or not

This is due to the fact that we "watch" the contain, and our enjoyment will depend on the above facts.

You can have a very good (physically) film but scratchy and badly faded pictures, we will end up throwing it to the bin. Right?

--------------------
Winbert

 |  IP: Logged

Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted September 13, 2013 03:16 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I don't feel that any seller is going to the trouble of using Winbert's excellent ideas. Just look at eBay, a mine-field when it comes to film selling.

I have always found the grading used by Independent 8 to be useful as a guide, but then, of course, if you wanted more information, a quick call to Barry would give you the answer.

--------------------
Maurice

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012


 - posted September 13, 2013 03:35 AM      Profile for Jonathan Trevithick   Email Jonathan Trevithick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
This is a very good grading system:
http://www.earlybirdfilms.com/quality_standards.php

 |  IP: Logged

Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 13, 2013 03:53 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks Jonathan for that link; not everyone will grade a book, record, or film identically.
I have only bought one feature graded as VG in the past, and apart from the replaced leader, everything else was perfect. I had never bought from Derann or Steve Wellings, but did think I could buy with confidence, but on inspection of my film I found numerous splices, tape repairs for diagonal tears, holes in the picture area, and some very minor perf damage. I haven't attempted to project the film yet, but it's not what I expected for Very Good. I have emailed Steve to ask if he projected all his films prior to listing; and no doubt he will not be pleased that I have gone public, but I don't think I will be purchasing any more.

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012


 - posted September 13, 2013 04:13 AM      Profile for Jonathan Trevithick   Email Jonathan Trevithick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Robert, I have had some frustrations with sellers who say the print is in better condition than it is. I once bought a print which was advertised as "mint" and it actually had holes in it(maybe it was a polo mint. Ha! Ha!). Personally, when I sell a film, I often tend to play down the quality a notch and am as descriptive of the condition as possible. Then, there are fewer disappointments.

 |  IP: Logged

Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 13, 2013 04:55 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I wonder how they get these holes?, it's not from the lamp, because you would get a scorch mark. What I noticed was one hole in a frame, running for 4 frames.

I always found Paul Foster to be good with his grading. The films I have bought from him, described as Excellent condition, have been as good as a new print with no previous owners.

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012


 - posted September 13, 2013 06:13 AM      Profile for Jonathan Trevithick   Email Jonathan Trevithick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Well, I chatted on another forum and I was told it was most likely the 16mm print had been selected for destruction and a knife had been slit across it lightly. Fortunately, this has only happened once to me and it was only one reel. There are prints out there called bandsaw prints which have literally been sawn in two by the film company and later reconstructed by incredibly patient collectors. I have never seen one but apparently they aren't easy viewing!

 |  IP: Logged

Lars-Goran Ahlm
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 205
From: Åmål, Sweden
Registered: Jan 2010


 - posted September 20, 2013 07:04 PM      Profile for Lars-Goran Ahlm   Email Lars-Goran Ahlm   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I just got my first bad buy on ebay due to a faulty description. I bought from a seller with 100% positive feedback (you should be able to trust them, don't you?). The listing ended with "COMPLETE FULL-LENGTH FEATURE".

Unfortunately I received it the first week of July. From midsummer to end of August I work six days a week as we live on the tourist trade. Thus the box was unopened untill a couple of weeks ago.

The first thing I noticed was that "COMPLETE" apparently means completely missing all main titles except "directed by". Secondly I got a sneaking suspicion that this was not all, so I timed the film. It ended up being 98 minutes long, according to IMDB it should be 111 minutes.

So this trader, with a 100% score, apparently thinks a film missing main titles and thirteen minutes is a "COMPLETE FULL-LENGTH FEATURE". And when I tried to give feedback it was not possible. Apparently you only have 60 days to do so and not 90 as I thought.

Well I will never buy from him again, and that's a pity as he has many interesting films listed.

It also taught me to open the box and run the film as soon as possible, even if I have been working the last six days and are too tired to really watch it. It's to late to complain to ebay too [Frown] .

--------------------
"The trouble with these international affairs is that they attract foreigners"

 |  IP: Logged

Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted September 21, 2013 02:00 AM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
There are a some films which on viewing seem complete, however if they are timed against reference books they run shorter. This is because a lot of 16mm prints have been edited for showing on television.

I have a copy of "Straw Dogs" which is twenty minutes short of its correct running time, but it runs very coherently and only a person who has seen the original full-length version would know something was missing.

Also, in the very early days of 16mm prints "out for sale" the credits were purposely removed by sellers so as not to give any reference back to where they might have come from.

--------------------
Maurice

 |  IP: Logged

Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 21, 2013 03:50 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The seller should have recorded that the titles were missing; in the UK you would probably be able to use the Office of Fair Trading, or maybe Trading Standards.

I bought a film from a dealer, while I was waiting for it I checked the length, should be 113 mins, but only 2 x 1600 foot reels arrived. Looking at an online trailer I found not only missing action but some actors who were not in my reels. The seller originally said it was a Theatrical Print, and after said it was probably a TV print, until I told him about the trailer and all the missing action.

In all fairness, he refunded money immediately.

 |  IP: Logged

Dominique De Bast
Film God

Posts: 4486
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 21, 2013 04:19 AM      Profile for Dominique De Bast   Email Dominique De Bast   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Robert, I bought once a 16 mm copy of a French tv show. I found that it was full of spices. I had my splicer ready and my hand on the knob of the projector when I projected it. And, surprise, not only not a single splice broke but you could even not see the plices on the screen. It's a mystery as it is a of course a sound film, but the result is what matters.

--------------------
Dominique

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012


 - posted September 21, 2013 05:43 AM      Profile for Jonathan Trevithick   Email Jonathan Trevithick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Robert, trailers are sometimes not the best indicators of a film's content, particularly films from the pre 80s. They are often constructed way before the editing is finished. I can think of some Pink Panther trailers off hand with scenes which didn't make it into the final cut.

 |  IP: Logged

Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 21, 2013 11:58 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Actually, the film that was offered to me was The Lady With The Lamp, about Florence Nightingale, but not only did we not see her in the tents holding the lamp, but the action in the Crimea was missing, and although Gordon Jackson appeared in the trailer and cast list, he wasn't in my reels. At the end of reel 1 the scene ended abruptly instead of fading out, and the next reel commenced with a different scene. What I had was reels 1 & 3, and number 2 missing. The dealer said he bought the collection from an old man who was going into a retirement home. He never followed my request to check if the missing reel was someone about.

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012


 - posted September 21, 2013 08:11 PM      Profile for Jonathan Trevithick   Email Jonathan Trevithick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Well, that's pretty bad. I am very wary of purchasing films which have not been viewed by the seller....unless it's cheap as chips! Stating that Robert, are you saying the seller had actually watched the film? He should have noticed if a reel's worth of footage was missing! Very poor.

 |  IP: Logged

Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013


 - posted September 22, 2013 09:12 AM      Profile for Robert Crewdson     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I think he just read the date code and said it was a Theatrical Print from 1955. I had just bought a film starring Michael Wilding, and he immediately wrote back and said he had just bought a collection and thought this might interest me as Michael Wilding was in this also. This person is knowledgable about film and does restoration and runs a film school. He should have checked it out first.

 |  IP: Logged

David Guest
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1704
From: Lancashire, UK
Registered: Oct 2011


 - posted September 22, 2013 09:22 AM      Profile for David Guest     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
my opinion when buying a film his ask all the questions you want to know and if happy with the outcome buy it

 |  IP: Logged

Michael O'Regan
Film God

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


 - posted September 22, 2013 12:36 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Strange you should say that, David, because I was once interested in a print of yours on ebay so I asked a few questions and, in the end, for personal reasons decided not to buy it. Yet, you called me a time-waster and barred me from bidding on your future auctions.
[Big Grin]

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012


 - posted September 22, 2013 05:16 PM      Profile for Jonathan Trevithick   Email Jonathan Trevithick   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Robert, it is amazing how many sellers do not check their films first. I bought a Laurel and Hardy feature last year only to discover the 2nd reel was a completely different film! Fortunately, he took it back (he was in the States and Paypal chipped in a bit too). At a later date, he advertised it again (having found reel 2) and I bought it again. That film has certainly done a fair bit of flying!

 |  IP: Logged

Maurice Leakey
Film God

Posts: 5895
From: Bristol. United Kingdom
Registered: Oct 2007


 - posted September 22, 2013 10:24 PM      Profile for Maurice Leakey   Email Maurice Leakey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
How many sellers are genuine film enthusiasts? Do they really know what they are selling? No purchase is a bargain if you don't get the complete film.

--------------------
Maurice

 |  IP: Logged



All times are Central  
   Close Topic    Move Topic    Delete Topic    next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:

Visit www.film-tech.com for free equipment manual downloads. Copyright 2003-2019 Film-Tech Cinema Systems LLC

Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.3.1.2