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Topic: Green Bands on Trailers

Dave Cutler
Master Film Handler

Posts: 277
From: Centennial, CO
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 07-05-2000 12:35 PM

Do you leave them on or do you cut them off?

I work for AMC so unfortunately I have to cut them off. I have also worked for UA and Dickinson who leave them on.

Personally I would rather leave them on. Some people say they are "unprofessional," but I disagree for one main point. What about trailers with audio during the green band? Paramount seems to like to do this, and specifically the "Bringing Out the Dead" trailer had atleast a line and a half of dialogue. I had to cut it off so my guests had to suffer through it. What are everyone elses feelings?

I have thought about just leaving them on anyway, despite AMC policies. I have also considered leaving them on for just those trailers that have audio during the green band (it's not hard to look at tell). Oh, and I have to leave red bands on, go figure.

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Dave Cutler

"Do or do not, there is no try."

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 07-05-2000 12:43 PM

IMHO, the rating tags should be left on, especially if removing them would cut off some of the soundtrack. Maybe a compromise would be to shorten the screen time to only a few seconds.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 07-05-2000 01:31 PM

Leave 'em on. That way when someone comes to a manager "that trailer is just not appropriate for this film", you can stick the MPAA's "approved for all audiences" back at them.

I leave them on personally to show off how clean the prints are. That was Cinemark's reason for cutting them off years ago. Someone told me AMC had the same reasoning, but I'm not completely sure.

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Christopher K. Williams
Film Handler

Posts: 26
From: Redmond, WA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 07-05-2000 01:43 PM

We have to cut green bands off at our theater, and for the most part, I agree with that policy. They are repetitive and waste screen time. Whenever I watch a film at a theater that leaves them on, the audience starts groaning and getting impatient by the fifth green band. Also, the majority of the trailers we get have no audio on them before the actual trailer begins.

I do agree, though, that it would be better presentation to have the option to run green bands that do have audio, maybe cutting the silent part off.

As for red bands, we're not even allowed to put those trailers on screen, even on R-rated films.

Chris Williams
Regal Bella Bottega 11 Cinemas

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 07-05-2000 02:10 PM

Leave them on. It's good to have a pause for a few seconds between trailers, rather than having them shown in a rapid-fire sequence. More importantly, as others have mentioned, it's very tacky to cut off the opening part of the trailer's soundtrack and it would be inconsistant to mix and match trailers which have and don't have the band (and/or trailers with red bands and trailers with no bands). Of course, trailers that aren't rated won't have the bands, but those are rare in a mainstream multiplex environment.

What irks me more than missing rating bands, though, is theatres that cut off the tail of a trailer before the final fadeout. This almost always cuts off part of the soundtrack and looks generally tacky. Are people too lazy to measure out a foot of black film and cut on the frameline?

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 07-05-2000 02:24 PM

I think your audience is groaning not because of the greenbands, but because you put so many damn trailers on your prints. I bet you have a lot of ads before the trailers as well, right?

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Dave Cutler
Master Film Handler

Posts: 277
From: Centennial, CO
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 07-05-2000 02:30 PM

If AMC's reason is to 'hide' dirt, I think I may just start showing them anyway. What a stupid reason. If they are dirty, THROW THEM AWAY!! If they can't be cleaned that is. I have more trailers than I could possible show. I typically (for a big release) have 10 or 12 copies of a trailer, in each format!! I think I can replace it easily enough.

I think it looks unprofessional not to show the ratings bands, and agree there should be a break between trailers. Who wants to jump from a high action trailer into a romantic comedy or a kids flick, there should be a break.

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Dave Cutler
Master Film Handler

Posts: 277
From: Centennial, CO
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 07-05-2000 02:33 PM

In defense of people cutting before final fadeout...

Regular practice (you are correct) should be to leave a bit or black film at the end of each trailers. Except when...

There are those nasty white bars on the side of the image. Hate 'em, gotta cut 'em off. Even after cutting them off you usually have plenty of black still, ocassionally not, but it looks better than white bars along the side of the screen.

Or if there is a sound pop at the end of the trailer. I usually find this with attatched trailers. During the 'credits' of the trailer there is a small (2 perf?) section that is missing the analog soundtrack. This just irks me, so I have to remove it. Even though I run 99% of all trailers in digital sound there is always a chance of having to run analog, in which case I want the best sound I can get.

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Mitchell Cope
Master Film Handler

Posts: 256
From: Overland Park, KS, United States
Registered: Jun 99

posted 07-05-2000 04:27 PM

Where exactly is the last frame on a trailer that should be projected? Is there an applicable SMPTE standard that should be applied here? And what are those nasty white bars on the side of the image before the finish frame is reached?

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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

posted 07-05-2000 05:18 PM

Dave,

In my experience those "nasty white bars" are always after the sound, picture, and everything has faded away on the trailers.

I used to cut the bands off but now I leave them on, due to the audio being in the band.

How many trailers do you all run? I try to put on no more than four, or five for a big hit movie.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 07-05-2000 05:27 PM

We run about the same amount of trailers at my theatre, but without any ads right now (kick ass!) Unfortunately that will change.

I hate the white bars. What are their purpose?

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Scott D. Neff
Theatre Dork

Posts: 919
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 07-05-2000 07:36 PM

The Green or Red bands should be left on if you ask me. It gives you enough time to cleanse your pallette between trailers... otherwise, one action trailer would run into another and you'd never be able to tell them apart.

And there should NEVER be more than 10 minutes of trailers before ANY movie... jeesh. We put 4 trailers on a New Release and 2 or 3 on a move-over, and sometimes 4 is too many.

I remember when UA started putting 4 on in "Major Markets only" --- to believe that people are putting on FIVE?!?!

YIKES.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 07-06-2000 12:10 AM

Scott, I am REQUIRED to put on 5. I don't mind putting 5 on Disney flciks (no ads) but on non-Disney's...

I don't understand cutting trailers tails short. They always gvie you a cutting line anyway.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

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

posted 07-06-2000 02:22 AM

Why is it that 90% of trailers today have to have some stupid one liner at the end that is supposed to be "funny"? Usually this is after the title of the movie is revealed, but before the creditd appear.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 07-06-2000 03:41 AM

What I want to know is why the MPAA cannot seem to get their act together and come up with ONE green band that looks FANTASTIC and make all the studios use THAT negative. I cannot stand the green bands that look like the xenon is not focused properly, have faded color, or that are printed out of frame!!!

Those side white "frame line marks" should be banned. They are incredibly annoying. What I do is find the first frame of black and cut 4 perforations over from that frameline. That ensures I get all the black leader possible (typically about 1-3 seconds which is just right) between trailers. The extra leader also protects the first frame of the green band. Theaters that cut right on a frame of the green band typically suffer from seeing the tape lines on the picture and a vertical jump, which looks very unprofessional in my book. I agree wholeheartedly with Scott that cutting the fade out of the last credit screen is just pathetic.

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