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Topic: Do you "edit" the green bands off?

Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-15-2011 04:44 AM

For a long time, many of the lower-quality theaters and operators would cut the green bands off of the film trailers citing that it made for a better presentation or some such nonsense. But now that film is illegal, how are these same theaters dealing with green bands on the front of trailers? How are these green-band-cutting operators surviving in today's high-tech world?

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Mike Olpin
Chop Chop!

Posts: 1852
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 10-15-2011 09:46 AM

In the earlier days of DCinema, the green and blue bands were separate files and could be included or excluded at will. I've noticed that over the last three years or so they've switched to including them in the same file as the trailer.

Showmanship wise, on digital, it's a toss up. An independent chain might want to exclude them if they don't want to adhear to the MPAA guidelines. Personally, if I were instructed to remove them, I would insert one of the 2 sec black files between them, just so that they feel less rapid fire television-esque.

On film, of course, cutting the green bands is absolutely bad showmanship. Since the soundtrack runs ahead of the picture, this practice usually results in the first bit of audio being cut from each trailer. When assembling film trailers, I always cut well ahead of the green band, just after the 2 ft mark on the leader.

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Victor Liorentas
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: london ontario canada
Registered: May 2009

posted 10-15-2011 10:22 AM

In Canada we are not supposed to show them and they are usually cut off at the lab or depot or printed without the green band altogether,
Now that film is illegal i find them still intact more and more so I have to cut them myself.
The one good thing about that is cutting on the frame line is easy but I hate cutting sound starts.

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Aaron Garman
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: Toledo, OH USA
Registered: Mar 2003

posted 10-15-2011 12:41 PM

I'm honestly not a big fan of them anymore.

If there are 7 trailers on the print (or digital print) seeing them can get tiring. At my former establishment, we were told to cut them, most times resulting in no loss of soundtrack. It made the trailer pack appear smoother, and I would argue was better showmanship. I always hated that jarring fade to black from a trailer and immediately cut to BRIGHT GREEN rating band.

Now that the place mentioned above is all digital, it's actually weird seeing green bands on everything.

AJG

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 10-15-2011 01:46 PM

quote: Aaron Garman
I always hated that jarring fade to black from a trailer and immediately cut to BRIGHT GREEN rating band.

The only time I find it a jarring switch is if the person cuts AT the green band.

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Victor Liorentas
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: london ontario canada
Registered: May 2009

posted 10-15-2011 02:03 PM

Lazy cutters!

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 10-15-2011 06:27 PM

quote: Aaron Garman
If there are 7 trailers on the print (or digital print) seeing them can get tiring.

If there are 7 trailers on a print, you are at a shitty theater. Do not go there any more. Good theaters do not put that many trailers on a print. There is no need for that. Anyone who does this deserves to be fired as they are making the world a more deplorable place.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 10-15-2011 09:21 PM

quote: Mike Olpin
An independent chain might want to exclude them if they don't want to adhear to the MPAA guidelines.

Independent chains like AMC and Cinemark? That was always their policy.

quote: Mike Olpin
Personally, if I were instructed to remove them, I would insert one of the 2 sec black files between them, just so that they feel less rapid fire television-esque.

And sadly you are one of the few people left in this industry that cares about presentation and showmanship. I too cannot stand that in-your-face bang-bang-bang approach to running trailers into each other without even a single second in between them. Fortunately with D-cinema (at least right now) assembling the trailers back to back does provide that brief pause. If it didn't, I would absolutely be putting in some short slugs like you speak of.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-15-2011 09:27 PM

The green bands are more useless now because most of the trailers are "un-rated" anyway. The rated trailer doesn't come out until a month before the movie opens.

A more useful system would show what kind of movies the trailer should be exhibited with.

Green band - play with any movie
Blue band - PG, PG-13 or R
Orange band - PG-13 or R
Red band - R only

Put a letter code indicating the band color into the DCP file name and you would have a winner!

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 10-15-2011 10:39 PM

quote: Brad Miller
And sadly you are one of the few people left in this industry that cares about presentation and showmanship. I too cannot stand that in-your-face bang-bang-bang approach to running trailers into each other without even a single second in between them

Since my months are numbered now with running film until we go full digital (6 houses digital in a 14 screen plex), when I do trailer paks, the tail lead on the trailer gets snipped off one frame before any image scenes on the tail lead itself, and the head leader is snipped off about eight frames ahead from the green band. This buys me a good 3 seconds of dead black between credit fadeout and the appearance of the green tag. I then snip off the head lead of Reel 1 one frame after the number, and attach the trailer pak at that point.

Having the 3Q setup with my Christies, I have enough black leader where the start cue opens up the douser in the black of the lead, and with my first trailer, I leave the lead on full and just snip one frame after the black begins.

A very smooth 'storybook' opening procedure. I tell fellow operators, that when you see DVD movies on your TV with trailers prior, they are presented in a smooth fashion. Thus, why not simulate this form of presentation?

-Monte

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Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 10-15-2011 11:41 PM

I never took it as far as Monte, but I always left some black before the green band and at least 12" after the last frame. I prefer the smooth transition as well.

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