Those VHS tapes can give you a lot of great memories, from your favourite childhood films to the home movies that you watch with the entire family. However, the days of the VHS tapes have ceased to be. The latest blockbusters have not been released on VHS for over a decade, and the last VHS player was manufactured in 2016. With the introduction of DVDs, and later Blu-rays, it’s the era of the disc, not the tape.
Film Roles That Ruined Actors Careers
Being an actor seems like the dream job to many; they get to star as iconic and brilliant characters doing what they love, however, what we don’t think is how the wrong role can take them down the wrong path in their careers.
Actors will always be remembered for a certain role they took and, sometimes, this isn’t a good thing. Here are a few film roles that ruined actors’ careers.
5 Things We Don’t Miss About VHS
We’re pretty nostalgic about VHS tapes here at Video2DVD Transfers, but who isn’t?! VHS tapes are part of an era that saw a technology boom and, as we ditched the VHS tapes, we were also ditching cassette tapes and were just getting to grips with the internet. While we are nostalgic, there are certain things that we certainly don’t miss about VHS!
#1 – Having to Rewind a Whole Movie
Sure, watching the movie was great fun but, at the end, you would have to rewind through the whole movie so when you came to watch it again, you could watch it straight away. It really was a bore, and it was even worse if you were renting a tape, only to find that the person who watched previously hadn’t bothered to uphold VHS renting etiquette.
#2 – Accidentally Recording Over Something
We all loved being able to record our favourite TV shows or movies, but there was nothing worse than finding out that another family member had recorded over that series finale you hadn’t had a chance to watch yet with something like Match of the Day or Gardeners World.
#3 – The Sound of VHS Tapes Being Chewed Up
Having something recorded over is pretty horrifying but, surely, that crunching sound as the VHS player chewed up the tape was worse. Ejecting the tape to find a mess of tangled tape was always a sad moment, so we’re glad our DVDs don’t provide that problem!
#4 – Having to Devote Half Your House to VHS Storage
VHS tapes were incredibly chunky compared to the petite DVD and you couldn’t fit an awful lot on one tape – maybe a couple of episodes of your favourite show. If you were a film fanatic with a penchant for buying all your favourites on VHS, it could become pretty space consuming. These days, you can still enjoy the minimalist look whilst collecting all your favourite movies.
#5 – Deciding What to do With the Pile of Tapes When DVDs Came Along
DVDs brought with them a huge number of benefits, but one thing we were sad about was the fact that we had piles and piles of VHS tapes which were more or less redundant. Sure, we could have really done with regaining all that cupboard space, but binning your collection of Disney movies on VHS just didn’t seem right!
Thankfully, at Video2DVD Transfers, you don’t have to part with your old home videos on VHS, but you can still take back all that space! We can extract your home movies and transfer them to DVD so you don’t have to worry about losing all those happy memories.
If you would like to find out more about our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team. You can give us a call on 0800 592 433 or send an email to sales@video2dvdtransfers.co.uk and we will be more than happy to help.
Classic Movies That Would Have Started A Franchise If Made Today
With films today, many create sequels, if not franchises – think of the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Hunger Games. Even films that were not massively successful still have a sequel; as long as they make a profit, directors will make another one (or remake one) – there’s even a Now You See Me 3 on its way!
It makes you think; if classic movies of old which never got sequels were released in today’s Hollywood, would they have had their own franchises? Here is a list of films that may have had franchises if they were made today.
The Concerns of Archiving Videotape
The subject of the shelf-life of previously ubiquitous storage formats is worth considering if you have any sort of archive. If you have any familiarity at all with these various formats you’re likely to have read the storage instructions at some point in the small print on the cases and labels. Don’t store tapes next to magnetic sponges in a damp cellar, or loose out of their cases on the veranda where you usually sunbathe. The general advice is store in a dry, cool, dark place, in their case and vertically. And for the most part that’s likely to be where you have stored them. However, consider that even under the best of conditions things like VHS tapes are generally considered to start degrading in quality within 10-25 years. Other tape formats have a slightly better shelf-life but the same considerations apply.
Whilst we recommend, and are set up to provide the service of, transferring your old video cassettes over to digital format it may be the case that you’ve got such a large archive that it’s going to be expensive and time-consuming to transfer everything you need to preserve. Whilst that 10-25 year lifespan is the widely accepted duration there are variables related to how the tapes have been stored or handled that could reduce that significantly. Until you’ve managed to transfer all the data that you need it is best to have some sort of strategy for storing your archive.
Damage to a Volatile Storage Medium
The most common types of damage to videos are water damage, heat damage, magnetic damage and physical damage. Usually, careful storage will avoid these problems. If you really want to make sure you have the best chances of keeping the tapes intact then you really want to be keeping each individual cassette in its case in some sort of bag with a fresh silica gel packet and then all of the cassettes in a steel container, to minimise damage from moisture and electromagnetic fields. This sort of care is probably only necessary for properly archiving valuable recordings, but you get the idea.
Furthermore, you should ideally spool through the entire tape either forwards or backwards so that the winding is evenly packed and the tape doesn’t stick together, and ideally, you would do this once a year. If you have taken something out of the archive to watch then, when finished, wind it all the way forward and then all the way back so that the winding is even. Also be careful to let the medium acclimatise to room conditions if you are retrieving it from an archive to watch. Sudden changes in temperature and humidity can degrade the quality of the tape.
When it comes to transferring the data to digital format if you have stored your original tapes properly you will get much better results and it will also save on cost if you can avoid any restoration needed where damage has occurred. The digital format allows you to make copies without degrading the information and also the future process of converting the format should be relatively painless.
Here at Video2DVD Transfers, we transfer your old videos onto DVD format. Get in touch with a member of our team today for more information!
6 Most Successful Summer Blockbusters of All Time
With the arrival of summer, it had us thinking here at Video2DVD Transfer about the most successful summer films of all time. Films are released throughout the year, but which were released during the summertime? There were so many amazing films to choose from that could have made it on this list, but here, some of the highest grossing have made it into our top 6, can you guess which films will be on the list?
What Are The Best And Worst Movie Remakes?
Movie remakes always seem like a risk, they either go amazingly well, or become a huge fail. Some audiences can be very fond of an original movie, but respect the efforts of the remake, yet some are an insult to the film industry.
Numerous films released are remakes of classics which succeeded when they were released. Here, we will look at the best and worst movie remakes. Have you one in mind? Let’s see if it makes the list.
Access Denied: Films Only on VHS!
With the likes of Netflix and Amazon now our main forms of entertainment viewing, you may think all films are accessible in some way. However, the truth behind the timeline of film is that many movies aren’t available at the touch of a button or a flick of a switch. There are some titles that have been left behind, and believe it or not, have never seen a DVD in their life. At the end of the Blockbuster era, times were tough for film lovers, and VHS slowly died a death.
There are still places around the world dedicated to VHS tapes, such as ‘Seattle’s Scarecrow Video’- Home to the world’s largest collection of VHS tapes. Here are just a few of the lonely films that have been left behind in the progression of technology.
Killer Shark
This extremely hard to find Adventure/Thriller film explores a college student and his voyage to sea with his father, who is the caption of a shark hunting boat. Sound interesting? When the young boy’s inexperience in shark hunting/ boating creates problems and accidents, his father and crew are injured. The student tries to make up for his actions, but things don’t turn out as wanted.
I mean, you’d think this story would sell itself, but as of its release in the 1950s, the shoe-string budget movie was and still is difficult to source, as it was only ever released as a VHS. You can, with great difficulty, find the film on DVD, although probably not in the correct format.
Rating: 4.4/10
Penelope Spheeris Documentaries
Penelope Spheeris has made some legendary films (nothing as good as Wayne’s World though) even though some have stayed slightly under the radar. These documentaries include “The Decline of Western Civilisation” and the second part “The Metal Years” starring idols such as Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper and Poison. This duo of films covers the LA punk scene and focuses on heavy metal, and the music business. Again, these are both only available on VHS, and can’t be purchased on DVD.
Rating: Part 1: 7.7/10, Part 2: 7.2/10
Let It Be
The 1970 documentary by Michael Lindsay-Hogg shows footage of the famous Liverpudlian group… The Beatles. It shows the four musicians final public performance as well as secret info into why the group broke up. The reason this film is so difficult to track down is due to the members themselves blocking the release on DVD. Due to the dark information on the band’s history, they do not approve of some aspects; meaning copies only survive on VHS.
Rating: 7.8
Sound of the South
Apart from the occasional singing of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” Disney has basically wiped all traces off this film. The musical has had huge splashbacks of racial connotations, and much controversy came from the live action/animation combo. The film did originally get two releases; on laserdisc and VHS; however, it is now pretty much just not available. If you are lucky you could grab one of the few VHS tapes left.
Rating: 7.4
The Big Crime Wave/ Crime Wave
The plot of this unique movie marvel, consists of a young director on making ‘the greatest colour crime movie ever’, but he just can’t seem to finish his script. The daughter of the writer’s landlord is excited to have a real-life movie person in the living quarters, so tries to help him by getting him in touch with a collaborative script writer, who is the strange ‘Dr Jolly. ‘All is not as it seems…
The black comedy is a beloved treasure to those who have seen it, but sadly our modern film lovers can only get this on VHS. The director, writer and producer also is the main star of the film.
Rating: 7.2
Getting your VHS to DVD can sometimes be a difficulty, especially when your favourite films are only available on VHS. Some movie masterpieces have been forgotten about in the new world of progressing technology- but this doesn’t mean they are not works of art; as proved by the IMDB rating.
At Video2DVD, we pride ourselves in keeping film alive; whether from the 50’s or this day and age. If you would like to know any more about our services, you can get in touch with our team on 0800 592 433, and we would be happy to help you bring your VHS to life again.
Spotlight On: Short Film
Currently, we are being bombarded by an endless supply of blockbuster movies. From 3D smash hits to endless binge watching of Netflix originals; have you ever stopped to think about short films? Are they still as important as they once were, and why are they not as talked about as much as the latest feature film? Through cinematic life, the short film has continually adapted itself to the newest function and technology. Audiences now revel in new and delightful spectacles and it’s fair to say that the movie industry is on top form.
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Where Did the Short Film Go?
At the beginning of the century, some may say that short film experienced a recession. There was a lack of legislation for the lost art, and the 1927 Cinematograph Films Act simply didn’t offer enough protection for them. However, John Grierson, Scottish documentary maker joined the Empire Marketing Board in 1927 to develop a programme of publicity films for the EMB. When his first film Drifters (1929) became a success, it became evident that seeking sponsorship was key.
In the beginning, due to technical restrictions, all films were short, or shorter than currently. The earliest cinema audiences weren’t necessarily aware of this but, while they marvelled at the seconds of reel, they weren’t to know that as the 20th century would dawn, they would get much longer.
Short films were still being made in the swinging sixties, but their obvious unpopularity was becoming noticeable. Chris Hilton, former general manager at an Odeon in London said:
“In the Sixties, you would still occasionally get short films in the programme, things like the Rank Organisation’s Look at Life series [which depicted scenes of ‘Swinging Britain’]. But most of these were pretty boring and the audience used to use them as an excuse to pop to the loo or get some more popcorn.”
With financial changes to the cinema and the addition of trailers and adverts, the short film was ousted from the big screen. By the end of the sixties they were almost gone; except for a short cartoon maybe shown before a children’s film.
What’s Next for Short Film?
It may not be so obvious to a viewer or lover of film, but Short films have been progressing and are making a comeback in ways. Some short films, we may just not see as short cinema, but they are there. With the technology and anyone pretty much able to be a filmmaker, YouTube and such other outlets have allowed us to adapt short films into the modern technological age.
The ability to screen films on the cheap has given birth to hundreds of dedicated film festivals and events all over the world, and they have been flourishing for some time now. The industry has bounced back and found more than one way to make and present short films; and they are even more excited and eager than ever, with an increasingly growing audience.
The biggest demand for short films comes from the internet now. Fabien Riggall, founder of short film company ‘Future Shorts’ says, “we have a million views a month on YouTube, and that’s just through word of mouth and social media” Is it that audiences are more interested in bite-size pieces of information and entertainment?
You only need to look at the IMDB list for short films to see their popularity and ratings. When you take a trip to the cinema now, it’s not rare to witness a short film before the feature film. Disney does this regularly and has made a buzz around it. As cheaper, newer and constantly easier ways of making films are happening, we live in an exciting time to welcome short film back.
There’s no doubt that short film has made a come-back. But with the constant churning of feature length films, will this make the short film industry stand out, or will they sink against the mass of blockbusters? Will short film make a commercial cinema comeback?
At Video2DVD we believe in keeping cinema alive; not just feature film, but the short film also. All film should be valued as much as any other. If you have any film of any format that needs some life bringing to it, we would love for you to get in touch with our team on 0800 592 433.
The Best and Worst Movie Trailers
A movie trailer has the important job of wowing the audience in two minutes. The intended aim is to draw the audience into wanting to watch the film without giving everything away. The average movie trailer will include an outline of the films genre, cast and plot without giving away the whole story, helping you to decide that this film is a must watch for you.