Golden Age 3-D Features

[Energy Crisis]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

No, we are not able to raise funds via Kickstarter for a studio owned property.

Have you ever considered doing a generic 3DFA fundraiser of some kind without a specified target? I don't know if Kickstarter would be a good fit for the idea as I don't know what their project rules are, etc, but if not perhaps a GoFundMe or similar site would be more appropriate. Maybe something to consider? You guys have a very loyal clientele and I'm sure you would get plenty of donations to build a war chest towards future acquisitions/restorations. And if the money ended up going towards work on studio owned property, well, it's your money raised to spend as you see fit... Just a thought. I think it would be worthwhile if it could open some doors to challenging projects.

[Todd3D]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

I'll just add to my previous posts that nobody is getting rich doing this work. The trick has been not to go broke!

Which is why I'm appreciative of every title you release and pre-order every single one, even the ones where I know I don't like the film. What you, Greg, Jack, and Thad have done is wonderful and I applaud you.

[the13thman]

Maybe what we need to do is buy up every last copy of Wings of the Hawk and Taza, Son of Cochise to give sales a boost.

It's a shame Kino had to release them region locked because sales would no doubt have been better if they were region free but that clearly wasn't possible so there's no point dredging that discussion up again other than to again encourage anyone without region A playback capability to get a region free player and buy these films (and all the others locked to region A). A region B release is extremely unlikely - yes we did just get GOG but look how long that took and look how many other titles remain unreleased.

Taza, Son of Cochise in particular looks magnificent and the climactic action scene is just what I always dreamed a 3D Western could look like. Wings of the Hawk equally is perfect Sunday afternoon viewing and immersive in the way that only a 3D movie can be. If you have Region A playback capability and you love 3D then you shouldn't really be without these films, I cannot recommend them strongly enough. Just writing this has made me want to watch them again.

Originally Posted by Energy Crisis

Have you ever considered doing a generic 3DFA fundraiser of some kind without a specified target? I don't know if Kickstarter would be a good fit for the idea as I don't know what their project rules are, etc, but if not perhaps a GoFundMe or similar site would be more appropriate. Maybe something to consider? You guys have a very loyal clientele and I'm sure you would get plenty of donations to build a war chest towards future acquisitions/restorations. And if the money ended up going towards work on studio owned property, well, it's your money raised to spend as you see fit... Just a thought. I think it would be worthwhile if it could open some doors to challenging projects.

This is not a bad idea. There are many of us who would rather go hungry than let a 3D film languish unrestored. Or you could just knock out lots of limited edition Viewmaster reels, collectors love those and seem willing to pay a lot for them.

One Kickstarter project I would kick in a LOT for is a disc full of vintage 3D photos. Or a disc with all the already-released 3D shorts/extras that have been included as special features across the various 3-DFA releases. Yes I own them all already but I'd pay for them again just to have them all on one disc. I expect licensing will rule that one out though.

[revgen]

Originally Posted by Energy Crisis

Have you ever considered doing a generic 3DFA fundraiser of some kind without a specified target? I don't know if Kickstarter would be a good fit for the idea as I don't know what their project rules are, etc, but if not perhaps a GoFundMe or similar site would be more appropriate. Maybe something to consider? You guys have a very loyal clientele and I'm sure you would get plenty of donations to build a war chest towards future acquisitions/restorations. And if the money ended up going towards work on studio owned property, well, it's your money raised to spend as you see fit... Just a thought. I think it would be worthwhile if it could open some doors to challenging projects.

Great idea.

If Paramount can accept donations from The Film Foundation for The Maze, theoretically any studio should be able to accept donations from The 3-D Film Archive Foundation.

[MercurySeven]

Originally Posted by the13thman

One Kickstarter project I would kick in a LOT for is a disc full of vintage 3D photos.

Absolutely. Those vintage slideshows are always the highlights of the extra features. A disc full of them--as many as can be packed in--would be 3D nirvana.

[Robert Furmanek]

Originally Posted by Energy Crisis

Have you ever considered doing a generic 3DFA fundraiser of some kind without a specified target? I don't know if Kickstarter would be a good fit for the idea as I don't know what their project rules are, etc, but if not perhaps a GoFundMe or similar site would be more appropriate. Maybe something to consider? You guys have a very loyal clientele and I'm sure you would get plenty of donations to build a war chest towards future acquisitions/restorations. And if the money ended up going towards work on studio owned property, well, it's your money raised to spend as you see fit... Just a thought. I think it would be worthwhile if it could open some doors to challenging projects.

That's a VERY interesting idea and I have never considered a generic fundraising campaign. Do you really think people would respond if it weren't for a specific title?

[Oboler]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

That's a VERY interesting idea and I have never considered a generic fundraising campaign. Do you really think people would respond if it weren't for a specific title?

Not wanting to put words into the mouths of others… but, YES!

[T. Warren Scollan]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

That's a VERY interesting idea and I have never considered a generic fundraising campaign. Do you really think people would respond if it weren't for a specific title?

Yes, I know I would! I have bought several of your restorations of movies that I didn't like and knew I wouldn't like even before I bought them. For me, if it's native 3D (single or two strip), then that settles it! And I believe there are a lot of fans out there that feel the same as I.

So, I'm appealing to our 3D community out there to let Bob and co. know how you all feel about this idea of a "generic" fundraising campaign. It could go a long way to helping 3dFA's finances that hold back some releases we'd all love to have!

[BleedOrange11]

If we can get a restoration and release of Flight to Tangier or La marca del hombre lobo and Con la muerte a la espalda or some other elusive good 3D film by donating to a pot in advance, I'm in.

[BleedOrange11]

Logistically, how much money will it cost to scan Flight to Tangier's OCN in 4K six times? Or to make that Spanish archive play ball? Cost of an 8K scan?

[swervin]

It's starting to sound like the generic fundraising is a bust before it starts. I can already tell everyone is going to say if I know this film might be part of the restoration efforts I would be glad to donate. To me it should be up to the 3DFA to decide what to use the money for and then we decide if we buy it or not. But.....that is just the way I look at it. There is no way they can please everyone and everything.

[trialobite]

I would personally be happy to contribute with 0 strings attached and absolutely no guarantee or any future returns. Personally, however, I can’t afford a large single donation right now.

I’m part of a local theater that launched a Patreon page to help stay afloat during the pandemic closure. This would allow us to make a smaller contribution set up on a regular, ongoing monthly basis. The only catch is most Patreon tiers offer specific rewards, so some people might expect specific rewards in order to subscribe. I’d hate to add any more work to your plate in having to come up with monthly content offerings, but Patreon.com I believe allows you to set up some relatively simple automatic merch shipments as tier rewards, st a at least. For example, if you subscribe for 3 months in a row you get a tote, at 6 months you get a mag, at 9 months a t-shirt, etc. Since the logistics on those rewards are handled by Patreon, it shouldn’t be too much extra work. My gut feeling is that this could allow the smaller niche of dedicated fans to keep up regular support of your work. Of course, it would mean the funds may come in more slowly and therefore not be as useful if a large opportunity were to came up soon. But honestly, you’ve brought more value to a lot of us than the small prices we’ve paid on individual discs, at least a small group I think won’t mind supporting you and the cause.

[ndonlt]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

That's a VERY interesting idea and I have never considered a generic fundraising campaign. Do you really think people would respond if it weren't for a specific title?

I'm in for a generic fundraiser.

[MercurySeven]

I think it's a fantastic idea, and it's what the proprietary studios are missing completely. Fans love to feel involved in things they're passionate about. Not just as consumers, but as supporters. Rather than just waiting to see what unfolds, if we can actively help secure these remaining titles for the restoration pipeline (via a generic fundraiser), well, I'm guessing that's what many of us have wanted to do for years. I'd gladly contribute because I know the 3DFA is the best, if not the only chance many of these vintage titles have of ever being restored to us.

As for any preference for specific titles, I for one trust Bob's prioritizing. And the news about Southwest Passage the other day served as a timely reminder that we should never say never about *any* of these vintage 3D titles.

[robtadrian]

People were ready willing and able to fund conversion of the footage that was once lost for Southwest Passage as I recall years ago

[petergee]

It’s a great idea and one which I would be keen to join. I can see a problem however with getting folk to contribute who aren’t connected to this site and prefer (and even expect) to get something tangible for their money. Would you be able to list some possible titles that are available for restoration or release that the funds could go towards?

[Energy Crisis]

Originally Posted by Robert Furmanek

That's a VERY interesting idea and I have never considered a generic fundraising campaign. Do you really think people would respond if it weren't for a specific title?

Absolutely, I do. With some tweaking I can believe you can find a workable path here.

Originally Posted by MercurySeven

Fans love to feel involved in things they're passionate about. Not just as consumers, but as supporters

And this is the key point I think. This is the current climate and you can see it across the indie entertainment industry now, from musicians to local theaters like trialobite noted and everywhere in between.

[BleedOrange11]

Originally Posted by swervin

It's starting to sound like the generic fundraising is a bust before it starts. I can already tell everyone is going to say if I know this film might be part of the restoration efforts I would be glad to donate. To me it should be up to the 3DFA to decide what to use the money for and then we decide if we buy it or not. But.....that is just the way I look at it. There is no way they can please everyone and everything.

I was just bringing up specific films that are available to license but have trouble with funding because they're in 3-Strip Technicolor or 65mm Hi-Fi Stereo. I also trust that Bob would use the funds for the best cause, to make possible something previously unobtainble (and not dump it all into 4K restorations of Deep Vision 3-D's catalog). Not every new project is going to require this sort of anonymity though--a regular Kickstarter would do fine. Primarily, Flight to Tangier, and secondarily, La marca del hombre lobo and Con la muerte a la espalda, are what require extra special funding. Maybe we'll need extra to get Kino to license Southwest Passage (although I think they will fund an independent restoration eventually). Maybe extra to get access to Wade's OCN of Hannah Lee, if that even exists. Otherwise, since Sony and Warner won't let anyone touch their elements, I can't think of any other films that would need a special "donation fund" to serve extra money up front. There's not that many available films left to restore that aren't "3D pron".

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

There's not that many available films left to restore that aren't "3D pron".

I'd pay to help restore ANY 3D movie, even the sleazy ones. I look at it in the same way as giving money to charity. This is a good cause, no two ways about it.

[BleedOrange11]

I'm not even sure this is accurate, but let's say a film scanner charges $0.40 USD per foot to scan 35mm film to 4K digital output. Flight to Tangier is 90min long, and therefore it will have around 9 reels (10-11min/reel) of film x 2 (for 3D) = 18 reels (at 1,000ft per reel) of film to scan. But Flight to Tangier is shot on 3-Strip Technicolor, meaning you'll have to scan each color element (cyan, magenta, yellow) separately, so 18 x 3 = 54. 54 x 1,000 = 54,000. 54,000 x $0.40 = $21,600.

So assuming Kino will pick up the cost of the license and 3DFA will work for pennies, we will need to raise somewhere above $21,600 to make Flight to Tangier possible, and do it without telling people that they are donating toward Flight to Tangier and maybe not even promising them a Blu-ray 3D disc as a reward. That's 432 people donating $50 USD to the 3DFA just because they like their work and want more of it.

Sounds tough, but Robot Monster's Kickstarter received 1,153 pledges at $63,837. This is only 1/3 of that, so maybe it's doable. Worth a try.