UK Independents: Too many delays!

[McCrutchy]

I have just received notice from Amazon that the BFI Werner Herzog Collection has been delayed from 21 July 2014 to 25 August 2014.

In the past several months, Arrow, BFI, Eureka! and others have seemingly had no end of delays of releases.

I can appreciate delaying some releases to make them better, and I can also appreciate that, from time to time, a release might encounter any number of unexpected delays due to to problems or errors at any stage. Most importantly, I understand that UK-based labels do not have major American studios backing them, and do not have the clout or manpower of a major studio.

I love to support these labels, and I realize they only have limited control over receiving their product in time for release.

But it seems delays in releases from independent labels the UK have increased substantially in the past several months, and it's becoming an annoyance.

I have to budget for these releases, and I'm sure others do as well. It's distressing then, that when a title is delayed, that funds must be shifted, sometimes by weeks or even months in order to cover a delay.

Respectfully, a solution must be found, before this situation gets too out of hand.

[Foggy]

Without independent distributors, these film would probably never see the light of day over here. I understand the annoyance, but obviously independent film companies are in a very difficult financial environment, and obviously their business manoeuvres are really essential to their survival. In a perfect world, these flicks would come out without hassle, but all I can say is that we've got to make due.

[Mansinthe]

why do you have to shift funds around? if you got the money in July you will still have it in august.

[Steric_Hinderance]

C'est la vie - good things come to those that wait.
The only thing I take from this particular delay is how in hell am I going to free up time in Aug/Sept to go through the Borowczyk boxset AND the Herzog one

[huntauk]

On the flipside decent output by the majors have massively declined in the UK in the last 12 months. So the importance of these independents are to the market are essential, we simply wouldn't have the range of titles released if they weren't in operation.

Let's not forget their great customer service and genuine interest in what the customers have to say, rather than WB who after 2 months 'correcting' Get Carter have simply sent out the replacements with a remastered score rather than fixing the dubbing, which I imagine was clearly explained in the 100s of complaints they received. Gives the impression that the office/sales team don't give a monkeys, didn't read properly, or genuinely don't understand or have an interest in their own product to instruct their technical team to do the right fix.

Usually the hold ups are to improve the content of the discs or hold ups in getting the permissions/licensing sorted out with the sub-licensee.

[McCrutchy]

Guys, again, I'm the last person to discount any UK independent Blu-ray release, but this seems to be becoming a problem in the UK and only in the UK. There are labels that are just as committed and dedicated in other countries in Europe and Asia who do not have delays with the regularity we have recently seen in the UK market.

This isn't so much about having to wait as a consumer, even though that's certainly a part of it. Delays are not good for any number of reasons, and some of these delays are coming on top of other delays, or coming within a week or so of the initial release date, and it makes the label look silly and unreliable. The market is strained in the UK to begin with, and even though this isn't a big problem, it's still a problem.

I'd hate to see things get worse with suppliers and shops because the labels cannot manage their releases properly.

[charnier]

McCrutchy, there may be a very good reason for the Herzog delay - it could be master issues or material needing to be added. Eyes without a Face, for example, has been pushed back because there is a new short to be added that was not available earlier. Boro - material needed to be added/edited.

As for the Burbs, well Arrow could have released on time and used the German BD master - imagine the results.

The UK releases may take their time, but the QC is generally high that the results should be very satisfying.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Guys, again, I'm the last person to discount any UK independent Blu-ray release, but this seems to be becoming a problem in the UK and only in the UK. There are labels that are just as committed and dedicated in other countries in Europe and Asia who do not have delays with the regularity we have recently seen in the UK market.

This isn't so much about having to wait as a consumer, even though that's certainly a part of it. Delays are not good for any number of reasons, and some of these delays are coming on top of other delays, or coming within a week or so of the initial release date, and it makes the label look silly and unreliable. The market is strained in the UK to begin with, and even though this isn't a big problem, it's still a problem.

I'd hate to see things get worse with suppliers and shops because the labels cannot manage their releases properly.

Could the difference be that we speak English? Therefore the demand will be greater (as consumers can order from more countries, like yourself from America, and lots of people speak English as a second language, increasing demand further).

Also, because they speak English, whatever they do they will be compared to Criterion whereas non-English labels don't have to deal with that comparison, because there aren't many other alternatives for their language. Therefore to try and score in comparisons with Criterion, these English-speaking labels are having to do as much as possible with as little money as possible (and in the UK to try and charge a reasonable price for the release), and sometimes something just has to give, and personally I'd rather they delayed the release than sacrifice quality, even if it does piss a few people off.

[The Limey]

Personally I would take delays anytime so as to get a top notch result at the end of it. I have no issue when labels such as Arrow and MOC delay titles so as to scan OCNs etc and get the best possible end result. That to me is a commitment to quality.

[Modman]

Personally, its does not bother me, most delays are a few weeks or months, however, i can appreciate for some it screws up their budgeting.

I get far more vexed by the major studios not releasing titles in the UK, which are available at roughly the same time in the US and the rest of Europe e.g. House of Wax 3D etc etc.

[Refused]

If the choice is to release a substandard product on the original release date, or delay the title so it's the best it can possibly be then I'm happy to wait.

It isn't as if the labels want to miss their release dates, in fact I'd wager it causes them many more headaches than it causes the consumer.

Also keep in mind that there are many steps during which issues can cause delays, even if the label has done everything in their power to deliver on their release date sometimes it's beyond their control.

[huntauk]

Interesting that the delays would mess up a budget, as if £15 had been put aside for the film and it gets delayed a month, the £15 technically should still be there. I understand for some people a hole burns in their wallets and the money is then used on other titles leaving the following month's outlay to increase.

[adamhopelies]

I'm happy for an item to be delayed if it means the end result is all the better for it (and I type this as someone who's had Au hasard Balthazar on pre-order for nigh on two years). I'm sure that it can't be helped, the last thing a small business would want to do would be to delay a release.

The opposite is often the case too. For example, Eureka's Violent Saturday disc was moved forward by a month back in April, to make up for the delay to If....

[aewb]

Is it possible for you to go a day without being outraged by something?

[McCrutchy]

Hmm, I guess this was not a good idea, as I have not expressed myself clearly, it seems.

I guess my feeling is that this is more of a busywork problem that needs to become less present. It frustrates me in the sense that it should not be happening.

Originally Posted by Buzz201

Could the difference be that we speak English? Therefore the demand will be greater (as consumers can order from more countries, like yourself from America, and lots of people speak English as a second language, increasing demand further).

Also, because they speak English, whatever they do they will be compared to Criterion whereas non-English labels don't have to deal with that comparison, because there aren't many other alternatives for their language. Therefore to try and score in comparisons with Criterion, these English-speaking labels are having to do as much as possible with as little money as possible (and in the UK to try and charge a reasonable price for the release), and sometimes something just has to give, and personally I'd rather they delayed the release than sacrifice quality, even if it does piss a few people off.

Hasn't that always been an underlying issue, though? It doesn't necessarily explain why there are so many delays recently. I'm certainly not advocating that anything change, other than perhaps something with scheduling, to try and maintain more fixed release dates.

Originally Posted by aewb

Is it possible for you to go a day without being outraged by something?

Are you speaking to me? If so, I'm not sure why?

[madridista8700]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Respectfully, a solution must be found, before this situation gets too out of hand.

[rewak]

I'm with you Crutchy, it's not so much an annoyance as just a worrying occurrence with no real explanation. I mean we've all heard whispers and rumors about things becoming harder for independents thanks to ridiculous rules being brought in by our ever loving government and the BBFC, are we starting to see the results of that? Or does it have to do with UK based companies simply not being able to sustain themselves and having to cut costs, i'm talking about the authoring/encoding/manufacturing companies here, leading to unsatisfactory results which inevitably lead to delays? We've certainly heard a lot of grumbling about these things from the labels themselves but we haven't heard a whole lot in ways of fixing it permanently which is a concern. If the standard for a small label is delays due to these varying problems then what hope is there for a new start label desperate to get their first release out so they can hopefully gain a standing to work on securing more content? Heck the current labels are finding it hard to put up with these constant delays, some seeking funding elsewhere, some lowering their output, it's scary to think we're heading to a point where these labels will just stop. We sort of saw something like that in the DVD era with Tartan, they started strong then it went downhill with delays and sub-par releases plagued with issues and they just bailed out. So yeah, i get the concern you raise Crutchy, but as consumers i don't really think there's anything we can do about it besides support the labels.

[Mansinthe]

Tartan Movies are being rereleased in the U.S. now.
Would be interessting to see other labels do the same if things in the UK get worse...

but arrow , moc releases are sometimes so loaded with bonus features... cant be that bad with the BBFC.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

but arrow , moc releases are sometimes so loaded with bonus features... cant be that bad with the BBFC.

Currently, documentaries, sporting, educational and musical material is exempt from the BBFC. So most bonus features don't have to be submitted to the BBFC. However the government in it's infinite wisdom, over concern from Mumsnet (a charming webforum full of arsey mothers, who think the world should parent their children for them, and who appear to be the only group the government listens to these days) about music videos - most of which won't be submitted anyway, has proposed ending the exemption for all content like to achieve a 12 or over.

The concern from many indie labels was that this would make releases too expensive or would mean missing out on bonus features, causing a cycle that eventually leads to the death of the label.

The government consulted with the BVA, a group that represents all the major studios and one or two indies, and is convinced that it consulted the entire industry, much to the annoyance of the indie community. I know Third Window Films were very vocal on the matter.

At the time it was first announced I kinda saw the government's point, but now with hindsight and having seen their attitude to censorship, they can bugger right off. I highly doubt seeing Rihanna wearing no clothes is going to do a child any harm...

[rewak]

I believe the new legislation for the BBFC came into effect just recently, or it was due to anyway. The added cost could mean the labels attempting to find cheaper companies to do the authoring/encoding/manufacturing jobs so they can balance the new cost out, but as we've seen that's lead to a lot of headaches and the delays probably just added to the cost for the labels. As someone above mentioned we sort of demand extras be included, but if they can't find reliable companies at a cheaper cost to do the work then the only option may be to drop the extras, which means a lot of people might not bother getting the release preferring instead to import. The preferable option is the delay, it's not ideal but it's the only way to offer a competing product. In the US you can release a movie unrated, so companies there can literally pump every penny they have into content. The changes brought in mean UK labels just can't do that anymore, they need to pay to BBFC charges which are costly. And if you release a DVD version you have to get that version rated separately. Same for any alternate audio track such as dubs or commentary, along with their subtitles. Even the packaging has to be examined at cost. It's crazy just how much money you need to pay Miss Nanny State to get a movie out in the UK, that's before you even consider tax costs on manufacturing, distribution, sales etc.