Fun City Editions

[lilboyblu]

Originally Posted by tehthomas

Question for jah13:

Why is it on so many older films that come to blu-ray the opening frames/credits are always so grainy and then the picture clears up as the film continues. Is this intentional on part of the restorer to show the contrast, before/after restoration, or is there something about the first frames/credits that cause this?

I noticed this watching 'Walking The Edge' the other day, which looks beautiful btw and thought about how I always notice this.

Credits were laid over the film itself, so you're looking through two strips (credits and film) instead of one (film only). Think of it like looking through a window with a screen, and then looking through a window without a screen.

[jah13]

The credits would've been created using an optical printer, as would other effects such as fades, dissolves and other transitions. This would inherently involve a loss of generation for those portions of the film, resulting in a downgrade in quality...and this is what you're noting.

Nowadays, these effects are not created photochemically, but digitally, which has eliminated that loss of clarity and increase in artifacts such as dirt and grain.

Originally Posted by tehthomas

Question for jah13:

Why is it on so many older films that come to blu-ray the opening frames/credits are always so grainy and then the picture clears up as the film continues. Is this intentional on part of the restorer to show the contrast, before/after restoration, or is there something about the first frames/credits that cause this?

I noticed this watching 'Walking The Edge' the other day, which looks beautiful btw and thought about how I always notice this.

[BarnDoor]

Jah13 - if Rancho Deluxe is to be a July release (as has been indicated), will you be announcing the next Fun City release soon? I believe you've said Radio On is coming later in the year, and there may be a couple of releases in between.

[jah13]

There will be a few releases in between RANCHO and RADIO ON, yes.

We will be skipping a month after RANCHO, so you won't see a title up for pre-order and detailed on 8/1. We may, however, tease another upcoming title before then.

Originally Posted by BarnDoor

Jah13 - if Rancho Deluxe is to be a July release (as has been indicated), will you be announcing the next Fun City release soon? I believe you've said Radio On is coming later in the year, and there may be a couple of releases in between.

[vortexx]

Originally Posted by tehthomas

Question for jah13:

Why is it on so many older films that come to blu-ray the opening frames/credits are always so grainy and then the picture clears up as the film continues. Is this intentional on part of the restorer to show the contrast, before/after restoration, or is there something about the first frames/credits that cause this?

I noticed this watching 'Walking The Edge' the other day, which looks beautiful btw and thought about how I always notice this.

The credits are done optically, just like a transition and similar effects. The film drops in quality for that stuff, sometimes you get added dirt and such as well. It's like 2 different strips of film are combined and printed onto a separate piece of film (in basic terms), so it is dropping at least one generation.

[Suchwas McTeague]

Originally Posted by jah13

Nowadays, these effects are not created photochemically, but digitally, which has eliminated that loss of clarity and increase in artifacts such as dirt and grain.

And we're all the poorer for it! I like to see the brushstrokes.

[tehthomas]

Originally Posted by jah13

The credits would've been created using an optical printer, as would other effects such as fades, dissolves and other transitions. This would inherently involve a loss of generation for those portions of the film, resulting in a downgrade in quality...and this is what you're noting.

Nowadays, these effects are not created photochemically, but digitally, which has eliminated that loss of clarity and increase in artifacts such as dirt and grain.

thanks jah13 and everyone for chiming in. interesting!

[vortexx]

Originally Posted by jah13

The credits would've been created using an optical printer, as would other effects such as fades, dissolves and other transitions. This would inherently involve a loss of generation for those portions of the film, resulting in a downgrade in quality...and this is what you're noting.

Nowadays, these effects are not created photochemically, but digitally, which has eliminated that loss of clarity and increase in artifacts such as dirt and grain.

I didn't see you had already answered, when I wrote my reply too. One thing I think we can also agree on is some of the really cheap labs were more likely to get dirt and debris printed on the final composited segments. These were supposed to be dust free rooms that were used to handle the film and compositing equipment. Sometimes they started that way, but just weren't maintained properly.

[jah13]

Didn't think about labs cutting corners on cleanliness, but of course that would have been a thing.

Originally Posted by vortexx

I didn't see you had already answered, when I wrote my reply too. One thing I think we can also agree on is some of the really cheap labs were more likely to get dirt and debris printed on the final composited segments. These were supposed to be dust free rooms that were used to handle the film and compositing equipment. Sometimes they started that way, but just weren't maintained properly.

[jah13]

Thank you for sharing, eleane. We've been thrilled to see responses like yours...it's, frankly, beyond what we were hoping for and expecting.

Originally Posted by eleane

I watched Jeremy (1973) for the first time a few days ago. This film is real art. One for the ages.
A tale told many times before it, but rarely with such power. Sobriety is the key here. Excellent style. Melancholic score. Genuine performance from the lead actors.
The film brought tears to my eyes from beginning to end. It is touching, moving, delicate, graceful, tender, profound and overwhelming.
My heartfelt thanks to Fun City Editions and Vinegar Syndrome for giving this real gem a superb BD edition. I hope this will allow the film to reach the audience it deserves.

[brainofj72]

Just want to say I couldn’t be more excited for Rancho Deluxe. Love all the stills that are being posted on FCE’s FB page. Looks very up my alley.

[jah13]

Thanks, brainofj72! Biased I am, but I'll say that this is another film that is really ripe for re-evaluation and rediscovery. I wasn't around in '75, but I think the comedy and some of its more serious messages were rather prescient and perhaps play better now than ever before.

Also, it truly qualifies as a pre-LEBOWSKI, pre-"Dude" Bridges vehicle. It has some of the same left-field ethos that you see in the Coen Bros. universe.

Originally Posted by brainofj72

Just want to say I couldn’t be more excited for Rancho Deluxe. Love all the stills that are being posted on FCE’s FB page. Looks very up my alley.

[jah13]

NeoText has teased some details about our RANCHO disc, which goes up for pre-order on July 1 at Vinegar Syndrome.

Originally Posted by jah13

Thanks, brainofj72! Biased I am, but I'll say that this is another film that is really ripe for re-evaluation and rediscovery. I wasn't around in '75, but I think the comedy and some of its more serious messages were rather prescient and perhaps play better now than ever before.

Also, it truly qualifies as a pre-LEBOWSKI, pre-"Dude" Bridges vehicle. It has some of the same left-field ethos that you see in the Coen Bros. universe.

[tehthomas]

Originally Posted by jah13

NeoText has teased some details about our RANCHO disc, which goes up for pre-order on July 1 at Vinegar Syndrome.

Very cool artwork. Much better than some of the other art I've seen on streaming services/floating around.

[jah13]

Glad you dig it. It's by WeBuyYourKids, who also did our ALPHABET CITY slipcover.

Originally Posted by tehthomas

Very cool artwork. Much better than some of the other art I've seen on streaming services/floating around.

[gimmeshelter]

Originally Posted by jah13

Glad you dig it. It's by WeBuyYourKids, who also did our ALPHABET CITY slipcover.

That artwork is hot.

And the ALPHABET CITY artwork was an immediate draw for me when I decided to purchase it.

[Suchwas McTeague]

Any possibility of a Ruby In Paradise release? Wonderful film, the kind of modest but startlingly respectful and emotive film that used to be what indie film was about, like Junebug or Raising Viktor Vargas.

[checkerboard]

+1 for Ruby in Paradise, or any of Victor Nunez's films, really.

[jah13]

You can consider the Nunez films to be considered and on the master database list.

[gimmeshelter]

Wondering if you would consider releasing movies that Vinegar Syndrome were going to release but maybe chose not to? This would mean they have access to elements but maybe were unsure due to potential sales reasons; with FCE being a different brand the same criteria they use may not apply. One I'm thinking of here would be TERMINAL ISLAND; also possibly COONSKIN but not sure if the lack of a release from them is due to elements issues instead. There have been a number of films due from VS that never actually made it out for whatever reason.