8mm Forum: Walton Plastic Boxes

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Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on March 25, 2017, 06:09 AM:

Just have been projecting Walton 400' A903, Robert Powell in "The Thirty Nine Steps" which prompts me to ask members if they know when Walton changed from cardboard boxes with stick-on labels to clear plastic boxes with the labels now as inserts?

Posted by Martin Davey (Member # 2841) on March 25, 2017, 06:33 AM:

I can't answer you Maurice, but I wondered, in connection with the plastic boxes, is that when Walton started to bring out photographic, designed professional labels rather than the crude, but charming 'caricature' drawn ones?

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on March 25, 2017, 06:57 AM:

Martin
The cover is taken from the cinema poster.

Posted by Martin Davey (Member # 2841) on March 25, 2017, 07:41 AM:

I appreciate that the artwork is from the poster/ publicity, but coming from a graphics/ advertising background the art artwork it not magically converted to a format for the Walton boxes with out a designer. Basically a graphic designer would have been tasked with the job to create the packaging artwork from the supplied materials and had any type set, by a typograper, as well for the packaging. Also I think that the Walton logo was redesigned at the same time. I don't actually have any of these modern Walton packaging in my collection. But overall it is presumed that the company had to have professional packaging created because of evolving consumer tastes and the threat of video I imagine, and as such the crude packaging had to go. I'm guessing this is why the plastic cases were introduced?
I presume that these newer examples of packaging only applied to 400' editions?
….to add, I guessing that the materials obtained from the films owners would be provided on a large transparency, and would have the poster, minus any type and title, these elements supplied on other transparencies. There may even be different versions or parts of the main poster artwork provided for the designer to fit in to the size of the Walton box, and shuffle accordingly to reach a satisfactory layout. But all of this requires skill and is a world away from what had been done before, so I'm thinking that Walton saw the writing on the wall and this was a last ditch effort.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on March 25, 2017, 08:35 AM:

I suspect the change was when Walton started video releases as well (I did read somewhere that that was what brought them down - they couldn't compete when the big studios did their own releases). It would make sense to use the same people to design both and up-rate the boxes at the same time.

I only have one with the original insert "Porridge" and it does look very good.

Posted by Clive Carmock (Member # 347) on April 23, 2017, 09:06 AM:

I have a few original artwork elements that were rescued when Walton closed. They were made from a traditional 'cut & paste' method in monochrome. with pieces of paper literally stuck to a card base.

There were then a number of photographic transparencies made one for each printing colour. All stored in an envelope for each film with a colour copy of the label stuck to the front.

I can take some pictures of these if anyone is interested.

Posted by David Ollerearnshaw (Member # 3296) on April 23, 2017, 09:45 AM:

Would like to see those.

Posted by Martin Davey (Member # 2841) on April 23, 2017, 12:05 PM:

Yes, that would be most interesting!

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