Correction of Magnitude
A correction:
In a previous posting I marveled at the enormous print run for the current Harry Potter flick. Variety magazine stated the size of the print run in today’s issue: it was 12,000, not the 22,000 I originally sourced from the IMDb. I honestly don’t why I trust the IMDb for anything; they editorialize their coverage and favor snarky reviews over positive ones. Bad choice for a solitary source.
it’s still a stupendous print order, but only incrementally larger than than most international releases, and the numbers now make better sense. Each print set cost Warner Bros. about US$750, which is still relatively cheap but not unbelievably so. And the entire print run only stretches around the earth once, with 4000 miles or so left over.
–Skot C.
July 17th, 2007 at 9:06 am
Deep down inside, I KNEW there was something hinkey about that number. By the way, what if you trim the heads and tails off the reels, which you would do if you were splicing the whole thing together for presentation? Would the resulting footage still circle the globe? I cannot remember how long a typical header is, though I can easily calculate how much alcohol a typical projectionist drinks.
I would say “union projectionist” but those guys are a dying breed, and therefore their consumption is off the charts.
July 17th, 2007 at 10:29 am
The length was based on running time (138 min.) times footage. Headers and footers weren’t counted.
For what was left out: Figure 90 seconds of trim per reel, six reels per set, 12,000 prints. That’s 1,841 extra MILES of film, 75 non-stop days of SMPTE countdowns. Whee.