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Author Topic: Trailer Programming Tom Ferreira Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Conway, NH, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-29-1999 03:58 PM                     Is anyone actually programming all of the trailers that are coming with prints now? When I was trained to make up films fifteen years ago, I was told to program all the loose trailers in the can with the film, but it's gotten out of hand now. Some films are coming with up to six trailers loose in the can, not to mention what's attached to the print. Trailers for Universal and New Line films are coming with Warner Bros. prints, and vice versa, Dreamworks comes with almost everything. It seems the only studios that trailer only their own films are BV, Paramount, and Fox. So let me throw this out, since I have no knowledge of film contracts and such-are we obligated to play everything that comes with a print, or can I use my discretion? When making up South Park last night, I didn't feel that Runaway Bride really fit, so I left it off, and for Wild Wild West, I didn't think Eyes Wide Shut was appropriate. Should I get a closed check, would there be a problem?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-29-1999 06:39 PM                        I answered this on another thread, but it became a rant, so here's my real answer... If the included trailer is appropriate to play with the feature, I program it. I try not to program trailers for R-rated films with movies aimed at kids. (Which includes a lot of PG-13s, of course.) I wonder if this phenom of including a bunch of trailers with movies is the reason why NSS and Technicolor are always running out of trailers? Seems like they are the best form of advertising for us, but we can only get'em about 60% of the time. ------------------ Mike Blakesley www.goforsyth.com/roxy  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-29-1999 11:42 PM                     I try to program everything that comes with the film. Sometimes, however, I don't. (Like "Big Daddy, for example. Come on Sony, "Stuart Little" and the "Muppets From Space" aren't exactly what a 15 year old male who worships Adam Sandler is going to spend $7.00 to see next time he's in town!) I'm fortunate that my bosses have always respected my choices for trailers from our own stock too. When I train young projectionists I tell them to use their common sense and usually they wont look like fools for programing G-rated trailers on R-rated films. Also, I follow release dates on up coming movies. For example: if I know a movie is scheduled to come out in five weeks and another is scheduled to come out in three weeks, and both have trailers that are to be programed today, I make sure the trailer of the three week movie is right behind the leader and the trailer for the five week movie is right behind that. In this way, three weeks later, I can remove the first trailer behind the leader with no trouble and not have to worry about going looking for it and fingering up the print. Two weeks later, the next trailer is ready to come off. Its now right behind the leader and just as easy to get to. Sure, I get screwed sometimes by dates being moved up or pushed back, but most of the time everything falls into place. I'm sure many of you guys out there use this same method too. But maybe if your reading this and your new to projection, you might find this is a good way to keep trailers current, bosses happy, and most importantly, film looking as great as it could possibly be out on the screen.  |  IP: Logged Erika Hellgren Expert Film Handler Posts: 168 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-01-1999 05:27 PM                     I'm actually amazed at how much freedom you guys seem to have with regards to trailer programming. My theatre chain's Home Office forces so many restrictions on trailer placement, that in the end, I barely have any choice as to what to put on. For example, I MUST have at least two of the distributing studio's trailers on at all times, i.e., for WWW, I must always have two WB trailers on, so I had no choice but to put Eyes Wide Shut on there along with the attached trailer. A long time ago, theatre chains didn't care what trailers were on, as long as you kept the attached trailer, and never programmed a red band on anything. Back then I put trailers on based on what the audience would like. But unfortunately, with all the guidelines these days, I HAD to put Stuart Little on Big Daddy ------------------  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-02-1999 11:30 AM                     We have more freedom than most, I believe, because we're independent. My friend Greg is a general manager for a Cinemark nine screen in Ohio, and he sometimes comments about his hands being tied regarding trailers. When he first left us, I think it was tough for him to get into the groove of having someone else tell him what to program. I still follow those old guidelines that Erika spoke of such as playing the attached trailer, however, I'm not above programing red bands if they're appropriate for the print. We get about one or two of those a year in our booth. I always figure that if I don't put them on, one of the assistant projectionists will. It is better that I make the choice than possibly let another make a mistake.  |  IP: Logged Chris Wootten Film Handler Posts: 50 From: Moonlit Cinema, RAAF Tindal, N.T. Australia Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-01-2003 07:17 AM                     I don't seem to have the same problem as you, but as I am in Australia, obviously the marketing and rules are different. Normally if a trailer comes with the film, we will screen it, subject to our strict censorship code of course, and then we add what we will be screening in the coming weeks. This is only limited to a maximum of three trailers per feature. I have never seen a feature arrive here with more than two trailers attached.  |  IP: Logged Rick Stowell Film Handler Posts: 13 From: MN Registered: Feb 2003 posted 03-01-2003 05:55 PM                     Our policy is: Movie 1:50 or less, 4 previews (including attached) Movie 1:50 to 2:10 3 previews ( " ) Movie 2:10 or longer 2 previews ( " ) We pick the trailers based on the genre, target market, release date, and the likelihood that we will play it. Whether it came in the cans with the movie or not is irrelevant. It's nice being independent.  |  IP: Logged Don Bruechert Mmmmmmmmm, bird! Posts: 340 From: Manitowoc, WI, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-01-2003 09:27 PM                        I'm similar to Rick. We rarely put more than 3 trailers on a film with the sometimes exception that there was one attached to the film we didn't know about, and lately we have just been assuming all of the films have trailers on them and only putting on two. I did feel bad that Jungle 2 was so short, so I put a bunch on there to make it seem longer. The nice thing is us managers never see any contracts. The film shows up in the lobby and we build it up - there is rarely even any paperwork in the cans like you guys talk of, although we just got a used Kangaroo Jack on thurs and there was a note in there about an attached trailer. What I like to do is pick trailers with safe ratings for what we are playing, and then I will program the trailers based on the content of the film and a wild-ass guess of how long I think it will be around. If I think a film will be around 4 - 6 weeks I will put on a trailer maybe 3 weeks out, and then maybe 5 and 8 or so. That way if it is around for a while the trailers aren't all outdated. Once a film is built right we don't mess with it until we need to tear it down, so there is no swapping out trailers in a few weeks. I did however program some Academy Awards trailers on from Pepsi, and I put hem first in line so I can yank them after the awards if I need to. The other thing I like to do is if it is a kiddy film throw on a kiddy trailer or two, and then an appropriate one to tempt the parents. If it is an action/horror/guy flick I will program on a chick flick for the girlfriends, one of similar content, and then something off in left field to try to get people to think outside their genre. Same thing goes for chick flicks - you gotta have one for the boyfriends, but I might throw on a kiddie trailer to try to get the moms to bring in their kids to that movie when it comes out.... It all comes down to programming for the audience - I could care less about who's trailers they are. Since I'm a newbie, if I ever get busted I will just say nobody ever told me - I will get away with that the first time, and then I suppose I should know better! Most of the time there is stuff in the film can that is never going to make it in our city anyway so why waste the customer's time....  |  IP: Logged Daniel Burns Film Handler Posts: 52 From: dallas, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 03-02-2003 01:44 AM                     You know i'm srry if someones already said this because I havn't read the whole thread yet, but it seems to me that distributers get free shipping if they send extra trailers in the cans. And you'd think that would add up after a while. Or maybe I'm wrong.  |  IP: Logged Nicholas Roznovsky Expert Film Handler Posts: 156 From: College Station, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-02-2003 09:27 AM                        Unless it's attached to the print or I've received a direct order from corporate (very, very rare), I always go with my own mix of trailers designed around the target audience of the particular film. In the end, these people will be coming back to my theater, so why shouldn't I advertise something they'll want to come back for? If you really sat down and slapped all of the "programming suggestions" together (including the ones in the can and the ones we get via fax and mail), you'd end up with about 25-30 of trailers before the feature. And although that's acceptible some places, we never have more than seven or eight minutes of trailers. In general, I've found that wisdom rarely comes in the form of a letter thrown in a film can.  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-02-2003 09:30 AM                     Is there any truth to the assertion that first-run booking contracts require programming of trailers? Every once in a while someone mentions this, but I can't tell if it is speculation or not. Obviously second-run contracts don't require it, since you're lucky if you can get the trailers at all... --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-02-2003 10:19 AM                     John -- I believe so. I've seen some notes in some cans indicate that EVERY trailer from that studio that has been included or attatched MUST be played. I think this is how Regal got the shaft with Rush Hour 2. Back when I first started at Regal, we played 3 trailers with each print, including the attatched. Very soon after (2 weeks or so) we had to play four, then five, then came the rolling stock. They used to be more lenient too. I remember getting a list each week of 8 or 9 trailers, and we got to choose 5 from that. When I left, the policy was 5 minutes of rolling stock, 5 trailers, and that stupid Pepsi Girl snipe. Around that time, the policy was that we were given a list we had to go by, in order, for the trailers. I liked when we got to choose. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-02-2003 10:23 AM                     "Notes in a can" are not "contracts." But all the notes I've seen seem to be of the form, "Please program this trailer..." not "You are contractually obligated to program this trailer..." Clearly the situation is different with chains, and I can imagine the large chains may have seperate agreements with studios about trailer placement; I meant for the general case, though. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Nicholas Roznovsky Expert Film Handler Posts: 156 From: College Station, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-02-2003 11:16 AM                        The notices in the can are most certainly not binding restrictions. If that were true, they could pull all of my prints since I don't have the fader at the director's favored magical setting of 7. Trailer requirements on prints have been (in our case at least) extremely rare. The last one I can remember that was written in to one of our booking contracts was the combo trailers Fox made to stick in front of The Phantom Menace. Occasionally, I've had checkers (or auditors, if you prefer to take the job of counting people in a theater and make it sound grandiose) who were told to be checking for specific trailers on prints, but nothing has ever come of this in the end. We're a pretty small chain though, so I imagine things might be different for the big dogs.  |  IP: Logged Rick Stowell Film Handler Posts: 13 From: MN Registered: Feb 2003 posted 03-02-2003 11:20 AM                     We are a first-run independent, and we are not required to play any trailers other than those attached. On a few occasions, we've even removed that if it was inappropriate. I laugh sometimes when the notes in the can say something like "your regional office has already approved..." or "your owner has agreed to play...". It ain't so. We've had many checkers and they make note of the trailers and we've never had a problem with any film company.  |  IP: Logged

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