Organizing ideas, for the good of the group. And papers.

[wonka]

For the good and organization of the APF and our beloved hobby, I propose the following:

Lobby Cards, along with stills (color, B&W, etc...), and other 'film advertising' get their own section after Movie Posters.
I think that sometimes lobbies and stills get lost in the shuffle in the general poster areas of the forum, and a singular place to discuss and exhibit these items would benefit folks interested as well as garner new interest in those niche areas of our hobby, as well.  There could be latest additions, etc...all the same for 'other' types of movie advertisements outside of traditional posters...lobbies being the staple here.

Restoration needs to be a topic under the 'Common Poster Subjects' heading/section. 
We keep discussing in general threads all things when to restore, when not to restore, who doesn't mind linen, who hates linen, and so on. There could be a pinned thread for recent restoration examples/additions.  Also, we could pin a thread discussing the all important topic of good and bad restorers as a reference point, which seems to be a common topic that is brought up frequently, as is the case presently.

Another small nitpick...the Movie Discussion should move towards the bottom of the pack on the main page, perhaps just above Off Topic. It just seems out of place sandwiched between poster discussion sections.

[Disheveledamethyst]

Agreed. Lobby cards are there own field and having a place to discuss them exclusively should be a given.

[CSM]

If you are going to separate out lobby cards well then what about window cards, inserts, three sheets, six sheets etc etc?

Should each specific size or form of movie advertising now have its own section?  To me they are ALL posters...

[wonka]

Chris, lobby cards and window cards are cards (albeit the line is blurred when categorizing WCs). I just categorized them with the stills here, as they generally used photographs to market films for theater or press use.

3,6, 24, and 2398473 sheets are posters.

[Zorba]

How about half sheets? Arent they just giant lobby cards?

[wonka]

How about half sheets? Arent they just giant lobby cards?

No. But you're a giant idiot.

[Bruce]

I look forward to the day when movie paper is judged on the content of its character, and not its length, width, year, or country of origin.

Bruce

[Disheveledamethyst]

I'm really surprised there is opposition to this notion.

There is a plain-as-day recognizable difference between promotional cards and promotional posters, in regards to both how they are printed and how they are displayed. What qualifies as a card is just as obvious as what qualifies as a poster.

There is some legitimate discussion value that can be had about cards that distinguishes them from posters. What they measure, how many are in a set, what set is from what year (Old Disney lobby cards were printed for almost every re-release and determining what cards are actually from what runs can be difficult. Supposedly there aren't even actual 1940 Pinocchio lobby cards, some claim 1945 was the first time they were printed. See what I mean? I'm already talking about it.)

Plus having a forum for cards will help people know where to go for expertise. People who don't collect lobby cards often know little about them, so why not have a separate forum for people who DO know about them to discuss their collections?

[wonka]

Yeah, we should just get rid of categories then. Mondo posters shouldn't be discriminated against in their Graphic section.

Let's just have one big thread.

[wonka]

I'm really surprised there is opposition to this notion.

There is a plain-as-day recognizable difference between promotional cards and promotional posters, in regards to both how they are printed and how they are displayed. What qualifies as a card is just as obvious as what qualifies as a poster.

There is some legitimate discussion value that can be had about cards that distinguishes them from posters. What they measure, how many are in a set, what set is from what year (Old Disney lobby cards were printed for almost every re-release and determining what cards are actually from what runs can be difficult. Supposedly there aren't even actual 1940 Pinocchio lobby cards, some claim 1945 was the first time they were printed. See what I mean? I'm already talking about it.)

Plus having a forum for cards will help people know where to go for expertise. People who don't collect lobby cards often know little about them, so why not have a separate forum for people who DO know about them to discuss their collections?

Yep. This is all true, not to mention lobbies come in sets, which is different than posters outside of 'character advances' lately, etc.

[Zorba]

No. But you're a giant idiot.

Guilty!

and thanks for the quick response....though Im only half convinced cause they aint exactly half poster size and they are card stock.  

[paul waines]

Early posters came in sets too. Style A,B,C Etc even from the 50's... Though I do class stills and lobbies as separate from posters. I did think thats why we had a Collectables in other areas section. I did start a non-poster paper thread, but as most want their stills and lobbies seen, they post them in the General film section, otherwise no one looks at them, and this is part of the problem...

[paul waines]

Guilty!

and thanks for the quick response....though Im not convinced cause they aint exactly half poster size and they are card stock. 

Though they are twice the width and twice the hight of Lobbies....

[CSM]

Early posters came in sets too. Style A,B,C Etc even from the 50's... Though I do class stills and lobbies as separate from posters.

Agree with the first part and also regarding stills but I still see lobbies as being essentially posters.  Afterall they were/are "posted" just like posters...

[CSM]

So along this same reasoning, should we now have separate areas for paper from each respective country?

You can use the same arguments about "increased awareness" or "different size" or "different paper stock" to justify 1,000 distinct groupings!

As an example, I collect mainly daybills - but alas they are Australian and measure (generally) 13x30 inches - do they still meet the requirements to fit in as a "poster"?

Should I not get my own Daybill Section to frolic freely in?

[jayn_j]

Agree with the first part and also regarding stills but I still see lobbies as being essentially posters.  Afterall they were/are "posted" just like posters...

Not really.  I remember as a kid that the theaters would post one or more posters for the current feature, but the display cases were large enough that they would also post a couple of lobby cards and/or black&white stills from the movie.  I would be fascinated by the LCs and stills because it felt like I was previewing the movie.  I guess that explains some of my fascination with them now.

As Paul mentioned, they come in sets, and I generally judge a set on how well they give a feel for the film.  I also try to collect sets wherever possible.

[wonka]

Should I not get my own Daybill Section to frolic freely in?

No, because its a poster.

Sorry to make you crabby, Chris. I am just trying to perhaps consider another niche of this hobby in terms of organization. I would venture to say that most lobby enthuiasts wouldn't classify their collecting realm as posters.  You might want to consider this...eBay and Bruce seem to have when categorizing their wares.

Wow.

In other news, still haven't heard anything about a Restoration subtopic.  Or are people too pissed to even remark on that scandalous notion?

[jayn_j]

In other news, still haven't heard anything about a Restoration subtopic.  Or are people too pissed to even remark on that scandalous notion?

Think restoration should be separate, mostly because it is presented as a resource for people coming in and looking for that sort of work.  Not sure if the "should I restore this one" actually belong there, and this may be a very small and semi-static area.

I for one have never had a poster restored, but there are a couple I am on the fence on, and being able to find that material helps me decide if, what, where and when.

[CSM]

No, because its a poster.

Sorry to make you crabby, Chris. I am just trying to perhaps consider another niche of this hobby in terms of organization. I would venture to say that most lobby enthuiasts wouldn't classify their collecting realm as posters.  You might want to consider this...eBay and Bruce seem to have when categorizing their wares.

Wow.

In other news, still haven't heard anything about a Restoration subtopic.  Or are people too pissed to even remark on that scandalous notion?

I understand the spirit of your initiative Ben but all I am trying to point out is that it can easily become a slippery slope if one wants to use the same arguments and apply them to other forms of movie paper.

Also,  I don't believe we should ever use eBay as a model for proper movie ephemera classification!

[wonka]

Jay, I am proposing the following order in that section:

Research & Collecting Tools
Packaging
Dealer Experiences
Valuation
Authentication
Restoration
Dealer's Forum

Chris, I am with you in regards to over classifying and thus balancing on that slippery slope.
However, things like lobbies, stills, slides (glass, etc) simply aren't posters and unfortunately get lost in the shuffle in our threads.
As stated, I simply feel that another section towards these items might spur more interest in collectors as well as give succinct and organized information about them. 

As for eBay, my point is more in organizing, not classification (or authentication) to be sure. There is a difference there. But as I said, Bruce does the same thing as well with his auction sometimes being devoted only to stills or lobbies. 
He doesn't call them 'Really Small Posters with Pictures on Them'.

[paul waines]

I do think it is a coverage thing. If you post in film posters you get a lot more people looking than if you post in the Lobby section. I think this is why you are after a separate section, to stop stills and lobby cards being posted in with Posters.... Maybe it just needs to be Moderated better!!  Bad choice of words.....Stricter maybe a better one. 
 

[jayn_j]

I do think it is a coverage thing. If you post in film posters you get a lot more people looking than if you post in the Lobby section. I think this is why you are after a separate section, to stop stills and lobby cards being posted in with Posters.... Maybe it just needs to be Moderated better!!  Bad choice of words.....Stricter maybe a better one. 
 

Well, the single lobby card thread got unpinned and has drifted down to page 2.  On one hand, that says nobody is interested.  (well, I am, but I may be alone, as my post got pretty much ignored.)  It may be more of a genre thing.  Horror lobbies get discussion.  Others, not so much, but that's true here of posters in any size.

[CSM]

He doesn't call them 'Really Small Posters with Pictures on Them'.

Sure...but (and I am not trying to belabour the point) you can call an "insert" an "insert" outside of labelling it a poster.  Does calling it an insert now preclude it from being considered a poster?  It is all about terminology and context.  To me, as I have said, lobbies are just small posters (yes, maybe even 'Really Small Posters with Pictures on Them' ).  Call them whatever you want but they are still a form of poster.

I agree that stills are not posters (they are photographs) and the same with certain (obvious) other items like glass slides and standees.

Really, I do agree that having separate sections for certain items would help clear up the clutter BUT, as I said, I only worry about it getting out of control.

Besides, I think most people (well to be fair maybe only those that obsessively frequent the site daily) just use the "Show unread posts since last visit" link and do not really browse each individual post or section...

[ddilts399]

Lobbies suck, only people on the verge of drawing/are drawing/or widow is drawing social security collect them anyway, lets keep it all in one thread 

[Ari]

I only skim read this, although i though I replied yesterday,
1) lobby cards are posters.
2) IMHO too many sections is just darn confusing. Although I only read the Unread topics, or search if I remember something I want to reply to.
3) if Lcs aren't posters, what are they? are half sheets? or are they giant lobby cards?
4) who really, cares?
5) not me.
6) but Lobby cards are posters, so there.
7) and they can be great.