What format?

[radrat]

I'm new to this or any forum for that matter, and I collect Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies as I have been a fan since I can remember. My question is, what format do other collectors have their cartoons on, VHS? DVD? 35 MM? How do people trade there toons? Sorry if this sounds so niave but I just don't know. Whenever I get a new one I always back mine up on DVD its just the best for storage and longevity. So far I've collected about 725 or so shorts in about a year and a half.

[Ray Pointer]

Working backward from this point in time, most "collectors" today have cartoons on VHS since so much of it became available on tape in the last 20 years. Cartoons on DVD are still relatively new in the last few years for a number of reasons. For one, the independent distributors who were producting the VHS Public Domain tapes have gone out of business. Some of this material seems to have been acquired by other outfits who are now releasing new compilations on DVD. But the focus seems only on the Kids' markets over collectors. So the quality from cartoon to cartoon will vary from surprisingly good to bad.

Before the availability of tape, collecting was in the form of 16mm film. This was an exciting arena of discovery with usually very satisfactory results, as many times original non-theatrical or television prints could be obtained. At the same time, there were some good duplicators making good copies and selling them in catalogs and in various collector's newspapers and magazines.

35mm collecting was more rare for many reasons. First the size and cost of the projection machine (as opposed to the term projector) was more expensive, and the operation more complicated. Second, the size of the film becomes a problem in that a single reel of 700-800 feet of a cartoon is the equivillent size and space for 400-500 feet of 16mm, representing two cartoons. It becomes obvious that space becomes an issue over a period of time.

But back to the original reference to DVDs, there are some companies packaging cartoons specifically for collector and research interests in mind.
And if you will pardon the reference, my company, Inkwell Images, happens to be one of those doing this very thing with a great deal of favorable publicity to be found on the Internet. :bosko:

[radrat]

Very interesting Thank You!

[Tom Stathes]

The majority have collected on VHS and now DVD, but otherwise there are still several long time 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm collectors. Unfortunately though, we don't hear much from the more common 16mm collectors as some stay out of the public eye. I know a few others on the board here have some 8mm, 16mm's, and possibly 35mm's. On a personal note, I've collected VHS for around 10 years, DVD maybe 1 or 2, 16mm for around 8 years and 8mm for maybe 5 years.
It is a very exciting venture for me to collect film prints, as I discover things in some cases not available for decades.
16mm collecting does look to be picking up though, with a few folks my age taking a shot at buying prints.
-Tom:bosko:

[Jeff]

I started with VHS trades and have since started moving my whole collection to DVDs (I am currently taking a break after transferring 1930-1936).

[Cartman]

More than half of my collection consists of VHS tapes.

[JDWeil]

Most of my library is VHS and Beta tapes. The rest is DVD.

[cbrubaker]

Most of my cartoons in my collection are VHS, although I have started trading with DVDs lately.

I DO have three cartoons in 35mm films. These cartoons were so hard to find I took drastic measure. Yet, few months later, I found VHS copies. But having a 35mm print of a cartoon is pretty cool.

[Thad]

99% of my collection originated on VHS, and I've converted most of them to DVD. I have begun collecting 16mms of cartoons recently, though I doubt it'll be a massive one like a few film collectors I know of.

-Thad