Coming Soon on DVD - the entire Remember WENN series!
Michael Robertson
those that might be interested. Our plans are to produce individual volumes with
4-8 episodes per set for about 15.95 to 29.95 and see how they do commercially.
Let us knoww what you think.
Video Archives
Dana Sherman
I'd love it! I think that with RW not currently being shown on AMC
and retaining a strong, loyal fan following, there will definitely be
a market for DVDs of the episodes. Good luck with it!
Dana
Linda M. Young
Is this for real??? Good heavens, of course we're interested!
I would prefer them by season. Of course the cheaper, the better, but
$29.95 or maybe more would not be bad for a season's worth of 13
episodes.
Linda
"Always Remembering WENN"
http://www.flyingdreams.org/tv/wenn/wennmain.htm
Britt Graves
"Michael Robertson" <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:hjgg2vkkdt4limfcn...@4ax.com...
Well, if you're legit and really mean it, I'd be all over this DVD set like
a rat on a cheese puff. (My boss' favorite analogy.)
Britt
Lionel B. Dyck
--
---------------------------------------------------------
Lionel B. Dyck <><
Home page: http://www.lbdsoftware.com
(replies remove x- and -x from address)
"Michael Robertson" <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:hjgg2vkkdt4limfcn...@4ax.com...
Paul J. Horn
"Michael Robertson" <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:hjgg2vkkdt4limfcn...@4ax.com...
Rick Botti
of release?
Rick
Michael Robertson <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:hjgg2vkkdt4limfcn...@4ax.com...
Michael Robertson
We have begun the long ardous task of encoding the first set. Since there are 56
episodes we will be doing 7 volumes of 8 episodes each just for consistancy. If
we can we will work in some special features (like ...next time on Remember
WENN...) but for now we are planning just the episodes with end credits.
We hope to have a DVDcover for the first set ready and posted here in a week or
so if no one minds a binary uploaded here.
Thanks,
Michael
Video Archives
Linda M. Young
<video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote:
>We have all but 8 of the episodes and are expecting them within 2 weeks(we hope)
>We have begun the long ardous task of encoding the first set. Since there are 56
>episodes we will be doing 7 volumes of 8 episodes each just for consistancy. If
>we can we will work in some special features (like ...next time on Remember
>WENN...) but for now we are planning just the episodes with end credits.
>
>We hope to have a DVDcover for the first set ready and posted here in a week or
>so if no one minds a binary uploaded here.
I think for this binary no one would mind!
Michael, this is wonderful news. Are you doing the DVDs from masters,
I hope? Sorry to be so nosy but my DVDs of HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and
LASSIE'S GREAT ADVENTURE are so bad that videotapes are better!
Something being on DVD is no guarantee of quality unless what you're
encoding is decent in the first place! I especially want nice copies
of season 4. Our cable company's signal had degraded so much by 1998
that the episodes are actually snowy, as if they were on a UHF
station. It will be great to have good copies.
ellen_scott
> Video Archives
If this is legit - OF COURSE I'm interested!
Sheyna
Lionel B. Dyck
from?
--
---------------------------------------------------------
Lionel B. Dyck <><
Home page: http://www.lbdsoftware.com
(replies remove x- and -x from address)
"Michael Robertson" <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:9p983v0o1h7aie5ak...@4ax.com...
John Baxindine
> Michael, this is wonderful news. Are you doing the DVDs from masters,
> I hope? Sorry to be so nosy but my DVDs of HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and
> LASSIE'S GREAT ADVENTURE are so bad that videotapes are better!
Also, will the DVDs feature standard or HDTV resolution? (I'm
assuming the former; as I recall, the series was edited on videotape.)
> Something being on DVD is no guarantee of quality unless what you're
> encoding is decent in the first place!
Very true. Some episodes from the early seasons of THE AVENGERS
turned out very poorly, and not just because they were mastered from
kinescopes.
> I especially want nice copies
> of season 4. Our cable company's signal had degraded so much by 1998
> that the episodes are actually snowy, as if they were on a UHF
> station.
The same thing happened to my cable provider during season three.
Also, it will be nice to have copies that can't wear out. A couple of
my tapes have gotten a bit stretched over the years.
John
Biz
> > Let us knoww what you think.
> > Video Archives
I've very interested in it too.. but this smells fishy to me. What is
the name of your company? What other things have you released onto
DVD? for $29 bucks a pop, why not release them a season at a time? The
MASH full season DVDs, containing all 24 eps (1/2 hour eps) on 3 DVDs
retails for $29.99.
Is Rupert involved?
Biz (Sorry.. but I'm feeling leery about this)
Dana Sherman
weeks(we hope) We have begun the long ardous task of encoding the
first set. Since there are 56 episodes we will be doing 7 volumes of 8
episodes each just for consistancy. If we can we will work in some
special features (like ...next time on Remember WENN...) but for now
we are planning just the episodes with end credits.
>
>We hope to have a DVDcover for the first set ready and posted here in
a week or
>so if no one minds a binary uploaded here.
Fabulous news! Thanks for thinking of RW as a show worth putting on
video. So often it gets overlooked when people are discussing great
television shows. For a DVD set of RW episodes, I'd invest in a DVD
player!
I wonder, does your company have a website? I'd love to take a look at
it and see what other shows and movies you have put on DVD.
Dana
Michael Robertson
VCD and SVCD recordings of TV shows that are not on DVD release or won't
ever be in release for the last 2 years. These are not authorized releases and
we don't care that they are not, because the companies don't care about us, they
only care about the money (we care about money too, but we don't need to sell a
monimum of 20,000 sets either). The odds are that Remember WENN will not be
released in the next 5 years at least, and we like the show, so we are going to
do it first (the show that almost beat this project out was Nowhere Man).
I wish Rupert could be involved, because he is the number one supporter, but
given the circumstances, probably not. Mabye if someone at AMC sees this they
will beat us to the punch (yeah right they need 3 corporate lawyers and and a
million up front to tie their shoelaces)
The Remember WENN is our first DVD set - it's nothing fancy - just the episodes
and mabye some extras if we can find them. All we have right now is an almost
complete set of the show taped in SP on digital tape that we plan to transfer to
DVD.
We hope to have a website someday, but we have had plenty of sucess selling
via eBay and the newsgroups as to stay under the radar. We are happy to provide
references (i.e. contact information of persons we have sold VCD and SVCD sets
to with their permission) upon request.
As far as we know this set will be the only alternative to waiting for an DVD
official release version.
As far as all the release of a season at a time, we would have to sacrafice some
video quality plust the episodes are longer, and they haven't been syndicated to
death like MASH, (which is why Six Feet Under The First Season is going to be
$99.99 list ($79.99 pre order at Amazon.com) for thirteen 40 minute episodes.
We think the pricing is fair for the labor we are putting in and the return we
will get from the few sets we will sell.
We will also post a list of the other series we are currently covering in SVCD
and will eventually do in DVD.
More in a few days,
Michael
Video Archives
PS Biz and Joe check your other thread for my reply to your other concerns
Bizarra
> These are not authorized releases and
In other words you are selling Bootlegs. I was right, you are fishy. I could
smell it a mile off. Sorry, but you lost me.. (and I'll wager quite a LOT of
people here) with those words. We all have video copies of the eps.. we can
wait until a real DVD release happens.
Biz
John Baxindine
> VCD and SVCD recordings of TV shows that are not on DVD release or won't
> ever be in release for the last 2 years. These are not authorized releases and
> we don't care that they are not, because the companies don't care about us, they
> only care about the money (we care about money too, but we don't need to sell a
> monimum of 20,000 sets either).
If AMC were the only group with a financial interest in the series, I
might agree with your position.
However, many of the people involved in making REMEMBER WENN are
working actors, musicians, and technicians who fight the NYC job
market every day. By creating an unauthorized DVD release of the
series, you would be depriving them of substantial residual payments.
As a professional performing artist and member of two of the unions
involved, I cannot support that.
Furthermore, since RH has been known to read this newsgroup, you may
well find yourself on the receiving end of a cease-and-desist order -
to say nothing of a lawsuit.
John
CRLemieux1
(all snipped)
Dear Michael Robertson,
I appreciate the excitement you've generated on this newsgroup. I honestly do.
But the fan-first attitude in this case is a me-first attitude. You're asking
fans to undermine the royalties system, and it's been far too sensitizing
to have watched the WENN actors do so many small jobs in movies and
television so they can continue to work in the theatre.
Look at what happens on this newsgroup. The theatre is where the spotlight
is now in most instances. It's where the WENN actors and Rupert Holmes
are reviewed, interviewed, photographed. It's where WENN, with the musical,
is headed. WENN is quite literally a continuing story thanks to the
opportunities
of the stage. And people pay for their time onstage in part with royalties.
It's
true for the talent associated with WENN, and it's true for thousands of
others.
I know it's very easy and heartfelt to set up a polar opposition between AMC
and WENN fans. But I promise you, bootlegging DVD's is not the work of
Robin Hood. You're not getting back at AMC in this way. There are people --
our stars -- who need those royalties so they can perform the works of
Shakespeare, Sondheim, Comden and Green, Rupert Holmes. If you believe
that you were seeing real talent when you watched WENN -- talent before
and behind the camera -- then you must do what's right and see that it gets
paid properly. And I know that I've phrased that starkly, but it is just my
opinion.
Chris
Dana Sherman
> and WENN fans. But I promise you, bootlegging DVD's is not the work of
> Robin Hood. You're not getting back at AMC in this way. There are people --
> our stars -- who need those royalties so they can perform the works of
> Shakespeare, Sondheim, Comden and Green, Rupert Holmes. If you believe
> that you were seeing real talent when you watched WENN -- talent before
> and behind the camera -- then you must do what's right and see that it gets
> paid properly. And I know that I've phrased that starkly, but it is just my
> opinion.
>
>
> Chris>>
I know what you mean Chris, and I agree. I have no great moral
objection to the idea of copying TV shows. I've had friends make
videos for me and I don't think that is so terrible. But it doesn't
work in this case to consider it some kind of blow at AMC to do so.
The royalties that would be lost would be lost not only by AMC, but
also by the talent in front of and behind the camera that went into
the making of these wonderful shows.
With some TV shows, that wouldn't matter so much. Take Star Trek for
example. They have a huge conglomerate behind them. The actors have
constant reruns, conventions, memorabelia, action figures, autographs,
etc. to sustain them. The Remember WENN actors have no such backlog
of financial sources. They need the royalties that legitimate
syndication, DVDs and videos would give them.
I don't believe Mr. Robertson is doing anything "evil". A lot of
shows would be just fine to copy, but RW isn't one of them. We are a
small, loyal fandom who love a small, precious show. We wouldn't do
anything to jeopardize our loyalties. As much as we want DVDs of
Remember WENN, we also want to make sure that Rupert Holmes, the
people behind and in front of the screen also benefit from the
releases.
Frankly, Mr. Robertson simply picked the wrong fandom. We are fans of
a show that reflects "old fashioned" 1940s values like honor and
loyalty. Those qualities tend to come out in our own behavior.
Dana
LB Hayden
If you reproduce and distribute for sale any material and/or
performance to which I was a contributor, doing so without my
permission or that of my representative, you will be contacted by my
lawyer because I have and -will- fight to protect my literary property
rights.
You aren't screwing over a faceless corporation and releasing captured
material to the enjoyment of millions. You're screwing individuals
like me by KNOWINGLY stealing money which rightfully belongs to
individual artists.
AMC never kept all the profit.
However, YOU intend to.
That makes YOU the bad guy, not them!
Laura Hayden
Michael Robertson
We have completed the first 2 DVD sets of 8 episodes from our new digital
masters completed, which also includes some bloopers, but we can't release
it because we have no way to reimburse the individuals involved in the
production, and we can't just give them away, because while we are fans,
we also can't do it for free just like the people involved couldn't do it for
free. So we are at a loss as to what to do - any sugguestions from the group?.
Thanks,
Michael
Steven D Richardson
advice was asked for, here's my $0.02 worth (it's rather long, I'm afraid).
It seems to me that this whole thing has two parts. First there's a legal
issue, and that's pretty clear. Pirating is a violation of Federal
copyright laws. But then there's a moral/ethical side too, and a number of
people have expressed pretty strong opinions about the proposed product
depriving the original actors (and writers, and anyone who may qualify) of
any residuals from their work. This, in my mind, is where things get
tricky. In an ordinary copyright infringement situation, like the Napster
mess for instance, the consumer has a choice between a legitimate product
(issued by the copyright holder or a licensee) and a pirated version whose
attraction generally stems from a lower price. In that case there's no
question that the pirate is depriving people of their legitimate royalties
and residuals; he's reducing sales of the legitimate product by luring
people to his own unlicensed version. With WENN, though, the copyright
holder has no product on the market and, judging by what people have been
able to pry out of them, there's nothing to indicate that they ever will.
I've lost track of how many times people have proposed alternative venues
for the show, and none ever materialize. So it looks to me like there won't
be any further payments from the copyright holder to the original people
responsible for the show, regardless of what may be done or not done by
"Michael Robertson". The law is certainly against him. If there were any
likelihood of the shows ever being available any other way, I'd be against
him too. But it's been years, and my tapes are slowly wearing out with
negligible chance that I'll ever be able to re-record them off a cable or
broadcast signal. It's not just this new entrepreneur who's depriving
people of their just rewards. It's also the copyright holder, and not in
some hypothetical future business venture but right now, and every day.
Whether or not "Michael Robertson" ever goes forward, the original WENNers
get nothing. And on a practical note, how long can our own tapes last?
Accidents do happen, and anything magnetic is eventually going to degrade
and finally become unwatchable. My "significant other" and I have always
been big believers in the concept of proprietary information rights (I hold
two patents and she's a published author). But if I were to see these DVDs
at a flea market, I'm not sure I'd be able to resist the urge to grab them.
That's a long-winded way of suggesting: Try to get a legitimate license for
the project from the copyright holder. If that fails, then be honest about
what's for sale and let individuals solve the legal/moral/ethical issues for
themselves.
- Steve Richardson
St Louis MO
"Michael Robertson" <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:tsn24vc037anakc8k...@4ax.com...
Britt Graves
project goes through are the people directly involved with the creation and
production of WENN. They're the ones that will be affected by
residuals/production values/etc.
I do agree with Mr. Richardson's post that "Video Archives" should at least
put forth the effort to get the rights to the show first. If that doesn't
pan out, try contacting at least the producers, Rupert, and perhaps even an
entertainment attorney. A hassle? Yes, but that's about the only way you
can avoid a slough of lawsuits headed your direction, if not by the higher
ups at AMC, then someone else from another show later on down the line.
And while I would love to get WENN on DVD, bloopers, out-takes and all, I'd
rather it be done legally and seeing those getting credit that deserve it.
Britt
"Michael Robertson" <video_archives(remove this)@fastmail.fm > wrote in
message news:tsn24vc037anakc8k...@4ax.com...
Dana Sherman
> In my opinion, the only people that should have a say in whether or not this
> project goes through are the people directly involved with the creation and
> production of WENN. They're the ones that will be affected by
> residuals/production values/etc.
>
> I do agree with Mr. Richardson's post that "Video Archives" should at least
> put forth the effort to get the rights to the show first. If that doesn't
> pan out, try contacting at least the producers, Rupert, and perhaps even an
> entertainment attorney. A hassle? Yes, but that's about the only way you
> can avoid a slough of lawsuits headed your direction, if not by the higher
> ups at AMC, then someone else from another show later on down the line.
>
> And while I would love to get WENN on DVD, bloopers, out-takes and all, I'd
> rather it be done legally and seeing those getting credit that deserve it.
>
> Britt>>
I totally agree Britt. I'd be thrilled to get WENN on DVD. All I have
are my homemade videotapes, which aren't going to last forever
(especially the episodes I play over and over again). But I would
hope that it is done legally and on the up and up. In the long run,
it will be better for everyone; the show, the fans and the DVD
company.
Dana
>
CRLemieux1
Well, I agree with you on this: it's a bit odd to be arguing for and against
AMC's legal rights when, frankly, not a single show of interest in the subject
has been made by executives or those purporting to be executives. I caught
on to the whole bootleg thing when I went searching for AMC's press release
about the proud DVD prints of their acclaimed 'Remember WENN' series.
(Any business knows it's best to grab credit for "giving people what they
want.")
But there was no such release, obviously, and the search only revealed how
long it's been since AMC mentioned 'Remember WENN.' So I think I know what
you're talking about. Being a WENN fan is starting to feel like being in the
desert and arguing the water rights of farmers in Ohio. And it's true, video
tapes
do degrade and so the canteen won't be full forever.
Still, I think everyone on this newsgroup has been pretty thoughtful in framing
their opinions. It's an issue for the individual, absolutely, and typical of
the
newsgroup, no one's been attacked with verbal machetes. (Laura Hayden
asserted her legal rights strongly, and I happen to support that, too.)
In my case, I just have a sort of revulsion at the idea of seeing myself help
scuttle possible payment chances for the actors and other talent. I might
even be vaguely paranoid and think that if we accepted bootlegs, AMC would
write us off entirely. When I think of it, I didn't quote the entirety of what
Dana wrote about WENN's fans because I wasn't sure what to do with it all,
but just that phrasing of the "small, loyal fandom" reminded me instantly of
"Christmas in the Airwaves," and that episode is such a nice end to so many
arguments, so there seemed no need to quote more. It makes me think
it would feel good, sentimentally, to do what's right here. Here you have
this show about the 30's and 40's when movies and radio program episodes
disappeared from circulation all the time, as per norm, "reruns" and revivals
notwithstanding. And that was pretty much life as it was and accepted by
audiences. People pushed on -- they didn't stop to collect everything.
If I can be reminded in three words of the WENN Christmas episode, do I
really need to have it around all the time, on DVD or faltering videotape?
Come to think of it, if somebody knows all the words to "I Gotta Sing,"
don't they, um ... know all the words to "I Gotta Sing"? It becomes a question
of what you want to preserve: your collection of the show's episodes or
your opinion of yourself and why you watch the show, or what you've gotten
from it. I don't want to go from rooting for the underdog to bragging about
color saturation on my TV. It just feels kinda un-WENN-like. Again, though,
the individual's choice.
Chris
Lionel B. Dyck
copyright holder or other association that would disburse the funds without
a lot of headaches. There must be some standard for this type of residual?
--
---------------------------------------------------------
Lionel B. Dyck <><
Home page: http://www.lbdsoftware.com
(replies remove x- and -x from address)
"Dana Sherman" <Alm...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:a33baadd.03020...@posting.google.com...
LB Hayden
> Is there some way to take a portion of the proceeds and forward them to the
> copyright holder or other association that would disburse the funds without
> a lot of headaches. There must be some standard for this type of residual?
Short answer? No. It's still an outright violation of the copyright.
Just look at the word, itself; you must purchase the RIGHT to COPY.
This "company" has not purchased the right to reproduce or distribute
any of these episodes. If AMC knowingly allowed the "company" to do
so without contract, permission or license, then AMC would risk losing
their copyright and therefore their ownership to and control of the
material. If you don't actively pursue the violation of your
copyright, you are in danger of losing it.
LB Hayden
LB Hayden
No connundrum. You've invested unwisely in an illegal activity which
has financially punitive consequences. Better you find out now than
after you've spent more money reproducing and selling illegal copies
and being guilty of a worse crime with even stiffer penalties.
LB Hayden
Steven D Richardson
fresh (and permanently stable) copies of the shows, but there has never been
a legal channel to provide such a thing so far, and it looks like there may
never be. The copyright holder seems happy to simply let their property
gather dust. I've asked them politely what their terms would be for making
licensed copies and been curtly rebuffed, so I can imagine what "Video
Archives" must have experienced. There must have been quite a blow-up to
cause a network to yank a successful Emmy-winning series in midstream,
accept the anger and alienation of a dedicated audience segment, and shut
the door on merchandising of any kind. How bitter a fight must there have
been, and over what issues, to create such a mess? Oh, well, I'll continue
to watch my tapes until they're gone (and wish I had some way to see the two
episodes that somehow I never caught). And if I should someday find a DVD
on a table at a garage sale, I won't worry myself too much about whether AMC
got its share of my money. They've done precious little to deserve my
concern. I'll be Victor Comstock to any honorable opponent, but when it
comes to AMC I'm strictly Scott Sherwood.
"LB Hayden" <lha...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:9fb5a82c.03020...@posting.google.com...
pdus...@gmail.com
> We really enjoy the show and we are in the process of creating a DVD set for all
> those that might be interested. Our plans are to produce individual volumes with
> 4-8 episodes per set for about 15.95 to 29.95 and see how they do commercially.
>
> Video Archives
bobb...@gmail.com
pcsam...@gmail.com
> We really enjoy the show and we are in the process of creating a DVD set for all
> those that might be interested. Our plans are to produce individual volumes with
> 4-8 episodes per set for about 15.95 to 29.95 and see how they do commercially.
>
> Let us knoww what you think.
> Video Archives
oldc...@aol.com
marus...@gmail.com
> We really enjoy the show and we are in the process of creating a DVD set for all
> those that might be interested. Our plans are to produce individual volumes with
> 4-8 episodes per set for about 15.95 to 29.95 and see how they do commercially.
>
> Let us knoww what you think.
> Video Archives