How Not To Produce DVD


	How not to produce DVD


	by Guido Henkel

Another month, another entry in my regular column that I write for the industry trade magazine “Media Line” - this time on a subject that is at the front of every DVD owner’s mind. Here, as usual is a reprint of that particular column for your reading pleasure.

After evaluating what makes a good DVD in one of my previous columns, I thought it may also be time to take a look at those releases that do ruffle a few feathers. As trivial as it may appear at first to make a good DVD, as hard it actually is. Since no one really releases a bad DVD on purpose, the question becomes, what went wrong?

In this article I want to discuss a few practices and tendencies that have a rather upsetting effect on members of the DVD community, an effect that most often results in a flood of email of DVD Review’s readers, clamoring to know, “Tell me it ain’t so!”

Without the shadow of a doubt the most disturbing trend in recent months has to be Buena Vista’s approach to DVD. Since its entry in the DVD market, Buena Vista and its affiliates have almost


	DVD has created a much more sophisticated breed of viewers and as DVD grows the sophistication grows


	constantly conjured up the wrath of DVD fans. While at first it was the studio’s unwillingness to enter the DVD market at all, it was soon replaced by the complete lack of 16x9 support, then by the entire lack of extras. Over time it changed into the lack of Disney’s animated titles on the DVD format, and eventually re-editing of films and mislabelling of the DVD packaging gave DVD consumers many reasons to complain for the past two years. The last straw however was Buena Vista’s decision to force people to watch their trailers. If you insert a title like “The Sixth Sense” in your DVD player you will notice that instead of taking you to the main menu or the feature presentation, you are forced to watch a series of trailers for other Buena Vista releases, as well as advertising for their website. On most players you won’t be able to skip this “presentation” and you will be arrested to watch the entire reel, which can run up to several minutes. This force-view feature seems to have become standard practice in the Mouse house, much to the chagrin of DVD owners nationwide and against all rationale. It is hard to see how Buena Vista’s marketing department could possibly feel the pay-off of such a “ram it down your throat” practice could outweigh the large scale turn-off it causes. So here’s my plea to everyone reading this... don’t do it! It is a bad idea.


	DVD users are now happily passing on releases that could easily have become major sellers


	But there are other cases in which consumers regularly vent off in emails to us, like MGM Home Entertainment’s unpopular decision to release practically all their catalog titles as bare-bones as possible and more importantly, reusing existing Laserdisc transfers. Reusing old transfers has been a thorn in DVD users’ eyes since day one. The format offers enhanced video capabilities over any other home video format and demands different source material, and yet oftentimes it is served with a good portion of

disrespect. To many it feels as if you were invited to go to a movie theater and end up watching the feature presentation on a 19” TV set. Movie theaters are popular because they create a certain “feel” and DVD is popular because it can also create a certain “feel” if properly put into action. Usually I do not worry too much about the anamorphic/non-anamorphic issue, but reusing grainy old Laserdisc transfers with exaggerated edge-enhancement, pulled from low quality masters just puts the last nail in the coffin for most DVD users, who are now happily passing on releases that could easily have become major sellers.

One of the biggest problems arises when people evaluate already existing releases of a certain movie with the incarnations coming to DVD. Direct comparisons are made and people tend to forget that they used to pay $150 for their Laserdisc box set while the price of their DVD is around $25, a sixth of that. It can cause serious problems as consumers have no patience for technical or budgetary limitations and only expect the very best. A new release always has to top a previous one, that is the common attitude in the market. As a result Universal Home Video - one of the most recognized, dedicated and quality oriented publishers in the DVD arena - has been taking some flak recently with the announcement of the 25^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of “Jaws.” I am sure, “what now?” is going through your head, I know. The argument is over the documentary on the upcoming DVD. In the past there has been a Laserdisc box set of the movie that features a 2-hour documentary - incidentally retailing for well over $150. Due to space limitations on the DVD, Universal decided to edit the same documentary down to a one-hour running length. Still long enough, right? Not so in the eyes of the DVD consumers, who are now flooding our mailboxes with indignant messages on the subject. It appears that the fact that “Jaws” has been such an eagerly awaited title only adds to the frustration, and many DVD owners would have expected Universal to create a 2-disc box set in order to accommodate the content of the Laserdisc release, as well as new supplements. Whether that is a realistic expectation or not, is certainly up for everyone self to decide.

Another problem that arises quite frequently, although on a much smaller scale, is the dreaded “domestication” of foreign films. Smaller not because it is a less important issue, but because these films traditionally cater to a select audience only - but that is exactly where the problems comes into play. We see this problem most notably with Hong Kong movies. All of a sudden we see US releases of successful Asian films that have been snatched up by a Hollywood studio in hopes to cash in on the current box office value of certain stars. But instead of releasing the actual movie, oftentimes a pale phantom appears on the


	Editing movies is always a bad idea and the practice will give the release a very bad spin.

screens. Heavily cut, re-edited to the point of incomprehensibility, dubbed with amateur voice talent, and re-scored with supposedly hip music, these films have nothing in common with the movies they originally were. The filmmakers’ intentions and visions have been bastardized and people are actually asked to pay for it. By the time the consumers find out about it, it is oftentimes too late.

The problem is so urgent because Hong Kong movies for example intrinsically cater to a very specific group of people. Localizing these films with the disrespect found in many instances practically kills the whole market for the movie and ultimately makes the procedure incomprehensible. The fans are disappointed because this is not the film they want to see - they rather pay $10 extra to get a direct import from Hong Kong - and for everyone else, the movie has been turned into an incomprehensible and unwatchable mess, forcing it even further into obscurity. Many publisher’s don’t even supply the original cuts and audio tracks on these DVD releases as an option, which strips viewers of even the chance to make their own decisions how they prefer to watch the film. It makes you wonder why studios license films they feel are not suitable for the American market to begin with. But then again, names like Jackie Chan and Jet Li are just too powerful these days and warrant some additional revenue. Most fans of these actors wish the films were left intact however, and all I can suggest in these instances is, don’t touch it! Editing movies is always a bad idea and given the sophistication of DVD owners, chances are the practice will give the release a very bad spin.

There is certainly more that causes DVD fans to swallow in frustration, but with these examples I hope I have been able to show that sometimes good intentions are not necessarily well perceived. DVD has created a much more sophisticated breed of viewers and as DVD grows the sophistication grows. As everyone in the industry can attest to, DVD has created more movie collectors than any other format before, but don’t be fooled into believing they buy into anything. They know quite well what they are collecting and their tolerance for meddling is very low.


	This article has originally been published in “Media Line” and is reprinted here by permission.


	June 26, 2000

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