Over the years SHOOT has chronicled the pending transition to DTV on assorted fronts, exploring the applications and implications for the advertising community. With Feb. 2009 fast approaching, mainstream consumer press has started paying more attention to the transition, focusing on this and related developments, particularly regarding HD.
Both trade and consumer press, for example, have reported on Toshiba’s decision to pull the plug on HD DVD, making Sony’s Blu-ray the format winner. Yet there’s an advertising/marketing aspect that’s largely been ignored.
Toshiba’s decision came about two months too late for those who bought HD DVD players as Christmas gifts for themselves or loved ones. An acquaintance of mine now views his player as a rather expensive paper weight.
To folks wearing rose-colored glasses, it is mere coincidence that the thumbs down on HD DVD came not too long after significant revenue from player sales was generated during the holidays. To those who are a bit more jaded, the decision’s timing was calculated to ensure that the Xmas season would bring good tidings to Toshiba.
Whatever your view, clearly those who recently invested in HD DVD deserve better. Days after Toshiba’s announcement, a visit to its website thelookandsoundofperfect.com didn’t even offer a hint of restitution to consumers who mistakenly cast their lot with HD DVD. However, a press release was on the site with news of “record-breaking unit sales in the fourth quarter of 2007.”
Since then, the site has been updated and a new release was posted informing us that despite the discontinuation of HD DVD, “Toshiba will continue to provide full product support and after-sales services.” A toll-free number was posted that customers could call to get “answers to general questions and operational assistance for their HD DVD players.”
With today’s raft of self-anointed crusading reporters who are supposedly looking out for us, I’m hard pressed to find any substantive coverage of this story from the standpoint of consumers who have been left holding the bag. And from an ad community perspective, the art of the pitch has become a bit more difficult in that many consumers–particularly HD DVD consumers–are understandably less trusting of marketers who are courting them.
And what about Toshiba? How should we view claims about future products from that manufacturer in light of the fate of those customers who recently committed to the HD DVD experience?
Old school thinking is that short-term gain ultimately results in long-term pain, meaning it’s short sighted for any company not to do right by its customers, at least for those whose players are barely out of the boxes they came in.
But new school is currently in session. And new school’s sad lesson is that the general public seems to forget all too soon and many might be just as willing to buy the next time around when the latest, greatest product claims are made.
So the question becomes for agencies and their clients, are they old school or new school? If the answer is the latter, then perhaps school’s out.
“Se7en” Turns 30, Gets A Special Restoration From David Fincher For Its Re-Release
For David Fincher, seeing “Se7en” in 4K was an experience he can only describe as harrowing. That or a high school reunion.
“There are definitely moments that you go, ‘What was I thinking?’ Or ‘Why did I let this person have that hairdo’?” Fincher said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
He’s OK with the film being a product of its time in most respects. But some things just could not stand in high-definition resolution.
“It was a little decrepit, to be honest,” said Fincher. “We needed to resuscitate it. There are things you can see in 4K HDR that you cannot see on a film print.”
Ever the perfectionist, he and a team got to work on a new restoration of the film for its 30th anniversary re-release. This weekend the restored “Se7en” will play on IMAX screens for the first time in the U.S. and Canada, and on Jan. 7, the 4K UHD home video version will be available as well.
The dark crime thriller written by Andrew Kevin Walker and starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as a pair of detectives looking for a serial killer was somewhat of a career-reviver for Fincher, whose directorial debut “Alien 3” had not gone well. “Se7en” was not a sure thing: It was made for only $34 million (and only got that when Fincher managed to persuade studio execs to give up $3 million more). But it went on to earn more than $327 million, not accounting for inflation, and continues to influence the genre.
Fincher has over the years overseen several restorations of the film (including one for laser disc) but decided this needed to be the last. It’s why he insisted on an 8K scan that they could derive the 4K from. He wanted to ensure that it wouldn’t have to be repeated when screens get more... Read More