The unsung heroes of DVD


	The Unsung Heroes of DVD


	by Guido Henkel


	We’ve all been able to witness the increasing proliferation of Special Editions on the DVD format over recent years. With these elaborate releases one often wonders, “who are the people creating these versions?” While some DVD producers have achieved some notoriety in the DVD community, the majority of them are unsung heroes. Since the early days of DVD the question came up over and over again, should studios credit DVD producers for their work? As we all know, the majority of them don’t although there are a few exceptions such as a few releases by Universal on which the producer is actually credited on the packaging. But really, how important is it to promote DVD producers, or is it important at all?

As most things Hollywood, this is a two-bladed sword. Some of the more prominent DVD producers, like Van Ling, David Prior or Mark Rance would sometimes prefer to actually keep a lower profile, away from the public eye. The reason for that became very obvious for me when one day I saw the first “I won’t buy this DVD because [insert any producer’s name here] produced it!” flame post on the Internet. While this post may not reflect the take of many people on the subject matter, it certainly shows that DVD producers are under quite some pressure from the public, just as the studios and the filmmakers themselves, a pressure they may not be willing to take. If a producer is known for his elaborate DVD Special Editions and is then approached to handle a title where the director simply does not wish to elaborate on too much, or a film where a lot of material is simply no longer in existence, what is the producer supposed to do? His “fans” expect him to top his previous release, yet the reality of things won’t allow it. At the same time it also leads to “typecasting” and there have been cases when studios passed on certain producers because they are afraid he may actually apply his personal touch to a release.


	Since the early days of DVD the question came up over and over again, should studios credit DVD producers for their work?

Still, one could argue that studios should give credit to those hardworking, underpaid individuals who spent long days and endless nights working on their Special Editions that ultimately make the studios a lot of money. But should they really? Think about it. DVD packaging typically includes only the movie’s theatrical billing block, which has been bickered about in length and detail by Hollywood’s entertainment lawyers representing their talent. It is a reflection of the key people responsible to create the film. Are DVD producers really responsible for any creative aspects of the movie to the point that it would justify a published credit? Is a DVD producer really more important to the project than, let’s say the second unit director who went uncredited in the billing block? As you can see, this is not a trivial matter and it is one of the reasons why studios have so far avoided the issue altogether.

With the importance of DVD in today’s home video market, one could argue that DVD is an entity all of its own, of which the feature film is only one part. It is made up of many components, such as the menus, the feature film, the transitions, the bonus materials, and so forth. Isn’t the DVD producer giving the film a new life, in a way? As such, wouldn’t it legitimize crediting on those merits alone? Hardly so, I would think, because everyone in the entire process of producing a movie and releasing it on home video is playing an important role. From the cast and the director all the way to the marketing person supervising the creation of the theatrical trailer, all the way to the DVD producer and the home video division’s marketing department creating the packaging and sales materials.


	Despite all this, still I feel that sometimes it would be nice to know, who has been working on a DVD title. There are DVDs that are clearly better produced than others and at times I would even consider picking up a movie on the DVD producer’s merits only, to see how he applied his touch to it. It is a tricky situation and for every argument that would justify and encourage the crediting of DVD producers, you can easily find one against it. For now, DVD producers are the unsung heroes of the format, and it won’t change anytime soon. It is good to see that some of them are able to break out of the anonymity and make a name for themselves.


	This article has originally been published in my monthly column “DVD Unclassified” in “Media Line” and is reprinted here by permission.



		May 5, 2002

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