8mm Forum: Missing Members- Where Are They?

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Topic: Missing Members- Where Are They?

Maurice Leakey
Film God

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

posted September 11, 2015 12:31 PM

Having been a member for eight years I do not now seem to read any replies from a large number of members who were all once regular contributors to this Forum.

Where have they all gone, and why have they deserted us?

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Maurice

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Osi Osgood
Film God

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

posted September 11, 2015 12:50 PM

It might well be that they have either passed on, (very sad) or worse yet, passed on they're collections to others (extremely sad) and having done so, think that they have nothing to add to the conversation, which is entirely not true, as there is a wealth of film knowledge that they may well have that no one else may have! [Frown]

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

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David Guest
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted September 11, 2015 12:57 PM

as osi says they could have passed away. hope the older members last a bit longer would be a shame to miss northwest film fair at blackpool

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted September 11, 2015 04:01 PM

Maurice

I don't think they have passed away...most likely.. bought a "video projector" [Big Grin]

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Douglas Warren
Master Film Handler

Posts: 282
From: West Chester, OH, USA
Registered: Feb 2008

posted September 11, 2015 05:20 PM

I've been a member for a number of years but wasn't active in the hobby for a very long time.Been back in it more seriously for about a year now. I think many sign up but remain lurkers.

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Turn out the lights,the movie is starting!

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted September 11, 2015 05:45 PM

Douglas makes some very valid points.
Lots of people join this forum but few actually contribute anything.
Also there are many members here who admit to not having a current interest in owning either films or projectors now.

i wonder just how few still regularly buy films now?
not many i am guessing out of 4600.

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

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

posted September 11, 2015 06:19 PM

I doubt there are a hundred really active members on all the forums. You keep running into the same people over and over again whether it's on the forums, at the conventions or in publications.

Even when I buy on E-bay I keep getting "Hi Steve!" when I complete an auction.

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

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Joe Vannicola
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 108
From: Lincoln, DE, USA
Registered: Feb 2014

posted September 11, 2015 08:05 PM

A friend of mine got out of collecting 16mm fifteen years ago to concentrate on collecting DVDs,and when I was telling him recently that I was still actively in the hobby of films he remarked,"Your a dinosaur, Joe." My reply was," Well,as long as I knock down a few building and eat some people, I'm happy." [Big Grin]

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Joe

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Alan Rik
Film God

Posts: 2211
From: New York City, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 12, 2015 03:27 AM

Well I guess this is "Jurassic World" then! [Smile]

As we all know.. there is just something about lacing up a projector, hearing the film advance, having to focus, adjust the sound. Its just an involving experience that is so different..so addicting.. and different than putting on a DVD or Movie file. We are a strange breed. All hatched from the same egg! [Smile]

Yes.. we know this is an expensive hobby, we know that in many many cases our films are scratched, faded, cut.. but those are like the fingerprints of the film. My brother doesn't understand it either. When I told him how hard it was to get the full length "Jaws" on Super 8 he said...."Just get the Blueray..."

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

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

posted September 12, 2015 06:46 AM

-yet nobody travels a couple of hundred miles and rents a hotel room to spend the weekend watching Blu-Rays with like-minded folk like we do.

The video formats were designed to be cheap and easy to use, and they are excellent for that.

As a hobby, once you are all set up they make you a lot more like the people out in the seats than the projectionist up in the booth. There is even nothing wrong with this: there are times we just want to be the audience too, it's just not something I can be passionate about.

One of the things I love about this hobby is when I was a teenager I messed around in electronics purely for the fun of it. Later on I did it for a living and the fun became kind of a side effect.

-now I can take the things I've learned in thirty years in between and have some fun again.

You don't build anything for the silver disk, you just buy. When it breaks you buy again instead of fixing. It's all black box stuff: not only don't you understand what's going on inside, but the patent and copyright folks really, really prefer it that way!

The Forums will continue. People will come and go for various reasons. It's a lot like life itself.

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

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted September 12, 2015 07:27 AM

I also think some of the past arguments and attitudes that have been taken (see thread about whether there should be a video section on the forum) may have put people off posting or even lurking. Some are more thin skinned to that than others and just not be bothered to continue.

Those who caused past disagreement may also have gone but the ones put off may not know things are better now.

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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003

posted September 12, 2015 09:08 AM

Hello -

Not that any of this refers to me, but I want to be clear about one thing-

I HAVE NOT bought, or have any plans to buy, a video projector! [Smile]

Not that anything is wrong with that at all. My nephew has one, and I've enjoyed watching the occasional movie on it. Its just that, for me, putting on an old cartoon, a Little Rascals short, or an odd reel of "Barracuda", relaxes me in a way that digital does not. Of course I have a DVD player, a VHS, and I even rent movies from Red Box [Wink]

. We enjoy all these things, but film has its own special place, and stands alone on its own.

And family and friends enjoy the uniqueness of watching film some times. Its just something different that can't be replaced by a digital format.

As far as this forum goes, I still enjoy it very much. I visit at least once a week. I haven't been able to contribute like I used to. I retired from one career last year and started a new one three months later. Honestly I haven't had the time to do reviews & start topics lately. The priorities in life have a tendency to take the place of "fun" things [Frown]

.

I'll bring this to a close (I don't want to ramble). But I want to thank Doug and the other moderators for their wonderful dedication to this forum. Its still probably the friendliest forum around. I have noticed a little more bickering lately amongst the members, and I hope this will decrease. At the end of the day, we're all human, and make mistakes, but lets try to be mindful of one another.

Hopefully I will be able to contribute more in the coming months!

James.

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted September 12, 2015 11:58 PM

I think one factor that doesn't help is that here are more film collecting forums nowadays. I discovered another quite new one recently that I hadn't heard of previously and thought "why on earth create yet another forum that basically just duplicates what's on the ones that already exist?

I fully respect the right of anyone to set up a forum, but I think the reality is that some reflect people having disagreements and not wanting to associate with others on a particular forum. But if you monitor more than one, you'll often see collectors posting exactly the same thread on more than one forum, so wouldn't most people prefer it if there was just one major 8mm-focussed forum, in the same way that there's one major 16mm one?

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Adrian Winchester

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Maurice Leakey
Film God

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

posted September 13, 2015 02:11 AM

Adrian
I too have discovered that new Forum and see where some of our old members are now to be found.

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Maurice

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted September 13, 2015 03:11 AM

Yes, it's a breakaway forum of which I am a member.
As I have always maintained, this is THE best film forum imo.

For some, they grew tired of the relentless discussion surrounding digital technology, which quite frankly, there are far more appropriate forums with greater numbers and by and large, greater in depth knowledge, if that's your bag.

The other forum differs from this one in that the moderators will not tolerate any digital talk whatsoever.

For some, they may feel this is a little extreme, but for others it does guarantee that whatever you are reading in whichever film gauge section interests you, chances are, the topics will be of interest as it is solely concentrating its efforts in giving the film collector all the necessary tools to equip themselves with.

It includes film covers from the original distributor, equipment manuals, tutorial posts, old film catalogues, film logos for artwork etc etc etc.

By keeping it purely "film", it avoids the inevitable digression that often takes place surrounding a film being discussed between the film itself and its digital counterpart.
This suits many people I suspect who want to join a film forum.

For those who enjoy and participate in both technologies like myself, that's fine. But just speak only of your interest in film and associated equipment and related topics when visiting "the other" forum.

Try joining it, alongside this one, you may just find it very interesting!

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Antoine Orsero
Master Film Handler

Posts: 374
From: marseille france
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 13, 2015 09:29 AM

I own a large collection of movies super8, 8mm, 9.5 mm and 16mm as well as multiple projectors!

I also own DVDs I watch with pleasure especially for American comic cinema of the silent era.

But there are not any DVD then in on film there has been lots of old films that were edited..

But I prefer the theater on film because you can see the images through the film while in a DVD we see nothing!

More I love the sound of the projectors!

Excuse my bad English

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Tony

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted September 13, 2015 12:34 PM

Andrew - That's fair enough and I should stress that I wouldn't dream of discouraging anyone from visiting any forum they wish - and it's good if some have unique features that can't be found elsewhere. I know that one or two have previously folded, so if the one you mention is doing OK, it's clearly doing something right. I take it you don't mean the BFCC Facebook page (which I do contribute to)? I was thinking of a new non-Facebook one that I came across by chance recently, that I'll look for again with a view to dropping in, although limited spare time means I have to mostly limit my engagement to what I've long considered the key 8 and 16mm forums, although I appreciate that others will have their own favourites.

But to help my understanding of the incentive to launch new ones, I'd just like to ask:
a) When the "breakaway" forum was proposed, was it felt that neither Dan's or Kevin's forums fitted the bill as alternatives?
b) In terms of the digital issue - and I rarely contribute to any such threads myself - was this so contentious that it wasn't felt sufficient to simply avoid the part of this forum and any threads exploring this? (If you feel this is too sensitive to answer here, please feel to email me direct if you're willing, because I may have missed something that gave an insight into this.)

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Adrian Winchester

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Joe Taffis
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1592
From: United States
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 13, 2015 01:11 PM

Personally, I only post when I have something to say, or reply to...
Just because a member doesn't actively post, or as is referred to "contribute", doesn't mean we aren't fully engaged in the hobby. I could honestly say I read this forum every single day, and have been since the beginning. I'll reply or add to something if I could, but most of the time I'd just be repeating what has already been said about a subject or problem. As far as the other forums go, joining them doesn't necessarily make you a dissenter of this one...my two cents [Wink]

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Joe Taffis

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted September 13, 2015 01:33 PM

i completely agree Joe. Adrian you would have to ask the individuals concerned

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Bill Phelps
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1482
From: USA
Registered: Jan 2009

posted September 13, 2015 01:52 PM

I will stay here....I am curious George and my main projector is "jap crap" (not my description)

Bill [Smile]

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted September 13, 2015 02:21 PM

Andrew - I can't do that as I don't know who the individuals were. I guess in these situations certain discrete invitations go out and you're either 'in the know' or you're not!

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Adrian Winchester

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted September 13, 2015 02:23 PM

And certainly not my words either Bill.

Furthermore nobody is suggesting for anyone to switch forums or leave this one.
Just perhaps use them all if they all offer something different.

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Mike Newell
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 826
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 13, 2015 02:42 PM

Bill!! Jap Crap you surely don't mean Elmo. That used to be a hanging offence round here

So let's see we have the e l m o Forum which you can't see unless you are member. You have Dan's Forum which looks like this except it must be different. You have the Jubillee forum which is open to everything but again you have to be a member to join. You have the 16mm forum which as the name implies no puny 8mm here big muscles or hernias are required. Now you have reel cine (famous five )which is no digital or yak just cine but soundtrack lps photos seem to be a big winner. Open at present but was thinking of going underground last week.

Confusing isn't it!!

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Andrew Woodcock
Film God

Posts: 7477
From: Manchester Uk
Registered: Aug 2012

posted September 13, 2015 03:26 PM

Just lke the 70's American sitcom "Soap!".....
"Confused..you soon will be!" [Wink]

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"C'mon Baggy..Get with the beat"

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Mike Newell
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 826
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 13, 2015 03:36 PM

SOAP you do miss a simple comedy like that. Andrew I saw the episodes upto the alien baby arriving can you fill in the missing storylines after that. Take as many words as you may need [Confused]

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