Film on Paper - my collection

[Ed_209uk]

Hi all,

It's been a long time since I participated in the new additions thread and I'm excited to reveal why this has been the case. For the past two years I've been working on putting together my collection site and have ended up with something I'm very proud of and I hope you guys will like it too.

At launch, the site features over 12,000 photos representing just under 1500 individual posters. I've tried to add as much detail as possible to each page and the site is fully searchable. Each poster detail can be clicked on to trigger a further 'similar to' search.

I'm very excited to share it with the rest of my fellow collectors, particularly because I'm hoping some of you experts will be able to spot any errors I've made in terms of the poster details and also help me fill in missing blanks as regards the designers and artists of each poster. You'll spot that there are many posters where the designer/artists is marked as 'unknown' and I hope to be able to complete as many of them as possible over the next few months. I will always give thanks/acknowledgement for any help given.

I'm as confident as I can be that all of the posters are originals but if you're certain I have a reprint in my collection I'd really appreciate the heads up as to why you believe this.

I'll be adding at least one poster a week from now on and will continue to add more detail to the existing poster pages. Some of them are in need of further notes and such. I'm also starting to set up some interviews with poster-related folks that I hope will be added to the site over the coming weeks.

Anyway, enough talk. Here's the link: Film on Paper

 

[Harry Caul]

[slow ]  BRAVO. 

Fantastic collection and site.  I would love to hear about how you store the images. I'm thinking of inventorying my collection with dimensions, directions, photos, etc... and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to store everything. 

By the way, do you own even a single folded poster?  Seriously.  I browsed page after page and saw some crazy rare rolled posters (can you say Dirty Harry rolled 1-sheet!), but nothing folded.  Even your quads are all rolled!  Fantastic work!

[CJ138]

Great site Ed! You have a bunch on my want list, namely that They Live quad! Well done.

[Cj]

Well Done Ed...Looks great!!

Cj

[Ed_209uk]

Harry: Thanks for the comments. I can't recommend Adobe Lightroom enough - it's an absolutely great way of cataloguing, editing and preparing the images for web use. Worth a look, that's for sure.

I do own a handful of folded posters (start on the main page and click through a few pages to see some of them), but I've really tried to pick up rolled copies where I can. I've had some great luck with finding rolled examples over the years and the Dirty Harry would be a stand out (you can see it's not mint, but I can't complain!)

CJ138: Thanks!

CJ: Thanks!

[archie leach]

That is, from a design standpoint, the best movie poster collector page on the net.  You can see the effort.

[Ed_209uk]

Thanks Jason, much appreciated. The collection itself won't be to everyone's tastes, but I'm pleased with how it has turned out. I hope there are at least a few posters that all collectors will appreciate.

[idioteque]

That is, from a design standpoint, the best movie poster collector page on the net.  You can see the effort.

Agreed with the above. A labour of love, and all the better for it. Outstanding collection and peerless presentation. You should be proud.

[Zorba]

Victory is right.......AWESOME site!


I will be further enjoying the fruits of your labor.

[brude]

That is a downright entertaining web site, Ed.
Browsing it is an experience.
Great work on the pics and info.
I'm sure I'll spend many hours ogling your stuff. 

[marklawd]

This is all first rate and a motivation to me to catalogue my collection. Well done!

Your notes are very well written and informative. I can imagine the time you have spent to date on this but do you have any plans to add narrative to some of the poster descriptions?

Mark

[Ed_209uk]

Thanks for the kind comments fellas, much appreciated.

Mark - I definitely plan to add lots more detail to several of the poster pages. I've added some to pages like the Blade Runner one sheet already, but there are countless others that deserve more detail.

One area I think we're both interested in is recalled/withdrawn posters. The thing with this is that I've always found it hard to find any concrete evidence for a lot of the claims that, say for example, the Hannibal quad, was withdrawn from cinemas. I'm keen to add details like this, but want to be sure about it before I do so.

Can I also say that your collection is one that I've wanted to see for years. I'm certain it will knock mine into a cocked hat and I'm glad to hear that my site has given you some motivation to photograph/catalogue the posters.

[Harry Caul]

Harry: Thanks for the comments. I can't recommend Adobe Lightroom enough - it's an absolutely great way of cataloguing, editing and preparing the images for web use. Worth a look, that's for sure.

I do own a handful of folded posters (start on the main page and click through a few pages to see some of them), but I've really tried to pick up rolled copies where I can. I've had some great luck with finding rolled examples over the years and the Dirty Harry would be a stand out (you can see it's not mint, but I can't complain!)

I recently started using Lightroom and it is indeed a great program.  I was actually wondering if you have a database on the back end that everything (poster titles, directors, years, notes, photos, etc...) is organized in... or if each page is built one-off.  For instance, does your search feature search the whole site, or does it search certain fields in your database? 

And by the way, I've always wondered about those handful of rolled pre-mid-70s posters... did they get the NSS stamp on the back?  Or does the stamp happen after the machine folding?  For example, is your Dirty Harry stamped '1-SHEET DIRTY HARRY' on the back?   

[paul waines]

To echo whats already been said, what a jollyfine job. I would love to do something with mine, but 2 years  . Do you have a job as well...  A great achievement, Well done. 

[Ed_209uk]

Harry, my site is built on a customised version of the Wordpress platform. This allows me to create the individual poster detail fields. When I'm entering the details (that I initially stored in an excel spreasheet) I have each of the separate fields to copy them into. I wasn't able to automate this so it took a while!

What this means is that I can use a search plug-in to index all the details and make the search as accurate as possible. I can exclude fields (so I've omitted things like poster size, style and a couple of others).

I'm pretty sure my DH doesn't have a stamp, but I'll double check. I'm sure I'd have noticed it when photographing it, although for SS posters I didn't always pay great attention to the back. I'm 99% sure it's legit though as I bought it from a trusted source along with others I'm 100% sure about. It's on the right paper (thin), has all the markings, is pin sharp and, um, smells right! Does not having the stamp mean you'd question its authenticity? My 'Who Slew Auntie Roo?' one sheet has the stamp (I've taken a pic of it). The When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth one sheet is from the same time and that doesn't have a stamp.

[Bruce]

Harry

Tri-folds almost always got stamps on the back, but unfolds didn't (to the best of my memory this was always true). The reason is obvious when you realize why it was done. They stamped the backs of folded posters so that they could see what title each was without unfolding it (when pulling them at the exchange). It took them around 80 years before some bright boy finally suggested folding them the reverse way so that the title showed even when folded, and then all those "stampers" (who no doubt were relatives of the exchange owners) were put out of work.

And of course, you can see the title of an unfolded poster, so there would be absolutely no reason to stamp the back of it.

Bruce

[Ed_209uk]

Paul: I do have a full time job, so it was lots of evenings and weekends! That's why it took two years, if I was doing it every day I'd have taken a lot less time. It'd be brilliant if you ever do make a site for some of your incredible quads. You must have one of the best collections in the UK, easily.

Bruce: Thanks for the info! Needless to say there are countless posters in my collection that have come from emovie.

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

Ed, you inspired me to finally buy Apple's Aperture program (only $80 for Mac users through the Mac App store) to improve my personal website.  I was able to put this sample page together relatively quickly with its "smart web page" feature. It's not really a web site program but it allows you to easily add comments to your photos in the Caption field, which iWeb and iPhoto don't.  Eventually I'm going to redo my entire site along these lines.  Perhaps this is a less intimidating solution for those of us of who want better websites but don't know WordPress.

[Ed_209uk]

Looks great Mel! Keep it up

Aperture is an excellent program and well worth the $80.

[paul waines]

Good of you to say Ed, but the thought of doing all of those posters is very daunting. On the plus side, it would be great to be able to view them all on a computer. You must be over the Moon when looking through what you have done. Me I wouldn't know where to start...  I had a list years ago on my computer, but a virus wiped the lot out, so now I find myself bidding on posters I already have.

[eatbrie]

Late catching up...

Hey Ed...  This is remarkable, man.  The collection, of course, but that you already know, but also the work and diligence you put on the website, which can now be called the most informative and best designed poster site around.

In one word, bravo.  I am truly impressed.

T

[oldposterho]

Very nice indeed.  Can't wait to dive in fully.  I share your sentiment that this is a great way for collectors to view their own collection without mussing it up, that's why I did it as well.  It used to be a drag when you wanted to look at something, only to realize it's at the bottom of the pile.

--Peter

[Ed_209uk]

T: Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate it

Peter: It's funny, but we have one of those hobbies where you can't actually handle the items too much - it's only a matter of time before you damage them somehow!

[Tob]

WOW! Amazing website (and lovely collection too!). I just spent an hr browsing, but I am gonna spend a lot more time looking! I'm loving the detail shots and the aesthetic and design of the website is beautiful and clean. A fantastic job!

I'm in the middle of doing a website for my meager collection, I'm trying to weigh up whether to use Wordpress or Weeble - was it easy to find Wordpress templates that let you have 4 images on a row? Also, were all your posters flattened already, or did you use something to weigh them down? Magnets on a magnetized board?

Anyway, congrats on a fantastic website, I've added it to my favourites.

[Ed_209uk]

Thanks Tob.

It's actually a custom WP theme that friend of mine put together for me. I'm sure there are fairly similar things out there and decent gallery plugins.