8mm Forum: Blackpool Convention!

This is topic Blackpool Convention! in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001594

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on November 20, 2005, 03:10 PM:

Just returned from Derann's Northern Film Collector's Convention in breezy Blackpool.

What a great day! Thanks as usual have to go to Derann and all their helpers for making the day what it is.

I only wish I had more cash to spend; an "excellent condition" print of "The Revenge of Frankenstein" on the bring and buy stall was at a very tempting price, as was a 16mm IB Tech print of "Pinocchio" in the infamous auction.

The highlight of the day for me had to be the final scope show. This show was hugely enjoyable. The Derann print of "Master & Commander" looked and sounded faultless, as did the Matrix extract "Freeway Frenzy". Infact I'm not even a Matrix fan but this looked and sounded so good that I really wished I had saved some cash to buy a copy; really terrific.

Especially impressive I thought were the extracts and trailers from Phil Sheard at Classic Home Cinema. The trailers for "King Kong", "Batman Begins" and "The Fantastic Four" were stunning. For such dark and moody films the image was superb with perfect contrast and beautiful colour. I couldn't resist a copy of each.

The two James Bond pre-title extracts from "The Living Daylights" and "Goldeneye" from Classic were also exceptional. Clean, rock steady prints with nice clear sound. Having spent all my cash I'm saving up for a copy of each as soon as possible. These are both excellent stand alone programme fillers and a real showcase for super 8.

Can't remember the last time I came out of a show wanting to buy everything that was in it [Smile]

Numbers seemed up on previous years too with a very busy dealers hall. All in all a terrific day [Smile]

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 21, 2005, 02:28 AM:

Good news Rob. Now let us have the full programme for the day so everyone else can see what they missed.

Posted by Simon McConway (Member # 219) on November 21, 2005, 07:37 AM:

Another great day...well done to all at Derann, for friendly service and providing a well-organised day. Well attended and worthwhile.

But one thing...people who have dealers visit their stalls...always seem to give them such good deals. Like a film on sale for £10...often we hear the cry "ah yes, you can have it for £3"...just because they're a dealer. But, if one of us non-dealers should ask for such a discount...it's a different story. What's that all about then?

And why do people put non-film related items on the bring and buy stall, then wonder why they're not sold. Next thing, we'll see people selling old clothes on there! Lets keep it film-related...we're just not interested in an old pair of ski boots or an old Ford Cortina service manual...both things recently seen on the table.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 21, 2005, 05:33 PM:

I agree that it was a very good day as usual, and the auction offered some bargains and rarities, lasting for about one and three quarter hours. Saturday night was a lot of fun too. The meal was about the best I've had there, and 4 courses for under £20 (plus the after dinner entertainment) can't be bad. Two more tables, compared to last year, were needed for the dinner, with about 120 present. I don't know what the (considerably bigger) attendance was on the Sunday, but Anne Simmonds estimated that it was about 20-30 higher than last year. It's great to see that despite some of the doom and gloom you hear, 2005 is ending with both the October BFCC and Blackpool attracting their highest attendances for some years.

Let's see a few more of the guys from the south next year. I encouraged a friend from London to come for the first time, and he had such a good time that he will be trying to bring more people next time!

Posted by Barry Attwood (Member # 100) on November 22, 2005, 02:35 AM:

Yes I must concur with all the statements about this years Blackpool, it was one of the best for years, and this years meal was really lovely (and this year I had the vegetarian choice, as I do not eat Lamb) on Saturday night, and the evening was a roaring success. The Sunday just seemed to fly by (as did the whole weekend, as usual), and I saw most of the shows and joined in the auction too, although as I had a bad back all over the weekend I had to duck out near the end (I stayed for about 1 1/2 hours), but I must say Barry Littlechild together with Ged Jones does keep the auction going with wit and laughter (perhaps they could team up as a double act, but who would want to see "WIT & LAUGHTER", I don't know, it may catch on?). I think those that attended this years event had a good time, and come away a little lighter in the pocket, but that's the point of it, we spend money at Blackpool, and it encourages them to keep doing it for at least another year or two.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 22, 2005, 02:59 AM:

Doesn't anyone want to post the programme?

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on November 22, 2005, 08:16 AM:

Doors opened at 10.00am and then the first show at 10.45...

The Saving Song - Jack Hilton Band.
Christmas Under Fire - War time at Christmas.
Classic Nostalgia 6 from Classic Home Cinema.
London Terminus from Classic.
Buddy's Theatre from Classic.
T.B. appeal starring Alfred Hitchcock.

At 12 noon...

Early Bloomer (bought a copy and it is a gem).
Fantastic Four / Robots trailers from Derann.
Thriller trailers from Derann.
Willie Wonker / Herbie Fully Loaded trailers from Derann.
Pieces of Silver - Kodak's history of the cinema.

At 1.00pm the infamous auction (only caught the last 1/2 hour but there were some decent films up for sale at realistic prices).

Finally the scope show...

Phantom of the Opera trailer - Derann.
Boundin' - CGI cartoon from Derann (bought this too and another gem!)
Freeway Frenzy - Clip from the Matrix extract (looked and sounded fabulous; wanted to buy this but was broke by now).
The pre-title sequence from The Living Daylights (saving up for this now; everyone should order a copy!)
Batman Begins / Fanatasic Four trailers from Classic (begged and borrowed cash to buy a copy of this; absolutely fabulous quality in every respect).
King Kong (2005) trailer from Classic Home Cinema (watched this at home last night. Wow, wow and wow! Stunning quality. Perfect contrast, beautiful colour and rock steady, clean image with stunning levels of detail. You absolutley MUST order your copy NOW [Smile]

)
No Hunting - Donald Duck (very funny and slightly "off the wall" humour which is a suprise from Disney; even a Bambi joke in there...great stuff).
The Pre-title sequence from Goldeneye (another stunner).
Master and Commander - a full on action clip which looked and sounded faultless.

Derann had a full stall with lots of full length feature prints ready to buy and Classic's stall looked fabulous with Phil's quality boxes and colour labels on the new releases.

Lots of other bargains around. Bought 10 brand new 16mm boxes at a good price and some great condition 1600ft spools. Didn't see the ski-boots but there were a few strange items up for sale [Roll Eyes]

See you all there next year [Wink]

[ November 22, 2005, 02:57 PM: Message edited by: Rob Young. ]

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on November 22, 2005, 10:05 AM:

Thanks, Bob, I was just about to put up the programme so I'm delighted that you have saved me the trouble!

One minor correction: the Thriller trailer reel in programme 2 is actually a Derann release. 'Horror trailers' would have been a better phrase as it has 'Blade Trinity' and 2 other horror trailers. I have a copy and it's a good buy for £20.

I'm sure I saw a flat (masked) trailer to the recent 'Phantom of the Opera' musical in the second show, that was not the Derann scope release indicated in the scopoe show. A CHC release?

I must agree with Bob about how nice the 'King Kong' trailer is. The contrast is so good that you could imagine that a negative was used as the master. Although for some reason the lab that CHC uses in Germany seems unable to produce really bright reds, in other respects they are providing some very impressive results. I wouldn't be surprised if Derann become tempted to consider using them.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on November 22, 2005, 10:19 AM:

Thanks for posting it Rob. Some good little first impression reviews in there. I agree with everything you've said. The other two trailers on the Thriller Trailer reel are The Forgotten and White Noise.

Now then, who is going to the Christmas open day at Derann? I believe it's on the 4th December.

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on November 22, 2005, 01:36 PM:

John

Unfortunately I have a prior engagement for the 4th but I will be going to one in the near future and hope to get to Blackpool next yr. It always falls on a difficult weekend for me - it is not the distance. As you know I have to put off the kids half term holiday for the BFCC- not sure I will get away with it next year.

Do the Southern dealers such as Grandpa Ian make it to Blackpool or is a Derann Mafia event?

Posted by Colin Robert Hunt (Member # 433) on November 22, 2005, 01:37 PM:

The wife and I went to the dinner on the satuday for thecfirst time. We found it to be a great evening very friendly and the food was very good. Have not been to Blackpool for a few years for the Sunday convention. I may be wrong but the prices I saw on the Bring and Buy and the dealer stalls seemed higher than last time. The auction was very enjoyable and managed to get some bargains. Only one problem with one dealer who could who advertized a film at one price with the price on the can and tried to charge me double saying that this was the price not the one marked on the other label. He then said another person was interested in this film and said I could have it for a price between the lower and the higher price labels. I told him where to put it. Apart from that a worthwhile trip and enjoyable weekend. All Derann team and Duncan deserve all praise for there efforts on the dinner and the Sunday convention. The sun was shinning all weekend as well.

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on November 22, 2005, 02:59 PM:

Adrian - right about the thriller reel [Roll Eyes]

, typed it in a rush. Have edited, thanks [Wink]

.

King Kong really is "showcase" super 8!

I suggest we all order a copy and use it to show all our friends and family why we love super 8 so much [Smile]

Posted by Ian O'Reilly (Member # 76) on November 24, 2005, 03:24 AM:

Tony
I used to do the Blackpool convention religiously, but when I woke up with a
horses head in my bed one morning [Eek!]

(knowing Jackie's breath doesn't smell that bad) I
realised it was time to leave, and head back South, a subtle warning from the Midland
Mafia.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on December 05, 2005, 09:57 AM:

I went to the Derann open day yesterday. Thoroughly enjoyed it. And picked up a couple of bargains to boot.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on December 11, 2005, 09:16 AM:

I talked to Bob Nicholls yesterday, who said there was a good crowd at the Open Day. That's good to hear, following on from the success of the latest events at Ealing and Blackpool. Looks like we can look forward to next year with cautious optimism.

I think much of the doom and gloom earlier in the year followed a poor attendance at the Birmingham event in March, but it was unfortunate to clash with Mother's Day, and Anne Simmonds mentioned at Blackpool that they have made sure that the next one (2 April 2006) will not have this problem.

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2