What would inspire someone to say this?

[septim]

So doing some late night research on cinematic film (specifically Kodak Vision) I came across what has got to possibly be the single most bizarre/absurd thing I have ever read - it was part of a reply to an old post on APUG I found while doing some quick Google searches. Now I am seriously wondering what inspired the poster to say the following:

...and Kodak gives cassettes of the stuff away if you ask for it, so it could be easy to try a roll or two.

Surely Kodak wouldn't give away film and even if they did how could the OP of this comment have found this out, in all seriousness who would go and say to Kodak (or any other film manufacturer for that matter) 'Hey can I have some of your film for free to experiment with' and expect any reply other than something that can be paraphrased as 'Who are you and what have you been smoking?'

Sorry if this post makes no sense at all, it may just be the lack of sleep talking here...

 

[removed account4]

it was their policy to do this its not so strange for a company to give free samples to interested users.

(i often give away things i sell, and i know companies have given me free things from film to lacquor plates. )

to be honest 100s of feet of film cost next to nothing to the manufacturer...
on the other hand, laquor plates, well they run about 20-30$ each (list price) you can see how they are made
at transco on "how its made " if you have netflix

... kodak mailed thousands of rolls of portra a few years ago ... it was kind of funny ...
a little roll of 35mm in a big tube with a wraparound ad on it, talk about advertising, and overkill ..

in the end a company just wants constant-consumers, and if giving them a "taste" gets them to buy a few more at the normal price it did the trick ... and its good PR to give stuff away. even 5-6 years later people are still talking about it!

 

[Worker 11811]

Lots of businesses offer samples to potential customers. It is fairly common.

In the movie theater biz, exhibitors who are interested in buying some equipment from a vendor will often approach them for demonstrations. The vendor will send out the equipment and will often send a tech to install it, too. The exhibitor uses the equipment for a month or two then makes a decision. A deal is made and equipment is sold.

I used to get equipment for my college theater by calling up equipment vendors and asking for "B-Stock." If I played my cards right, I could even get equipment for free. Over the years, I got several thousand dollars worth.

If I was the chief engineer at a big company like AMC Theaters or Cinemark USA and I called up a movie projector company like Simplex or Christie asking for a demo, they would send it to me because they know I would probably order a truckload of movie projectors, later on.

It's a good business move. The caveat is that you have to be a serious customer, not some schmuck asking for a handout.

 

[zsas]

I can download 15 day free trials of software to get a flavor of what it offers in the hopes of me buying the program.....not sure what's wrong with Kodak offering samples....gotta prime the pump somehow....

 

[septim]

It's a good business move. The caveat is that you have to be a serious customer, not some schmuck asking for a handout.

And that is where i should have probably included some more context, this was in reply to someone asking about removing rem-jet backing from cinematic film that they were shooting and then cross processing as C41 - not anything at all to do with being a potential cinematic client, and that is what made me post this. I mean it would be nice to have some Kodak Vision to experiment with but unless I was planning on making a motion picture there would be no way I would even contemplate asking Kodak for some samples to test.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

You are not reading lots of stuff if this is the most bizzarre thing you have ever read. Few free samples given away , is giving away something free is the most absurd thing ? There are always tight limits and rules for fascists.

 

[zsas]

Here is some...have a ball...

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/800135-Cinestill-800-ISO-Tungsten-Xpro-C-41-Film

Still don't understand why you are debating an idea someone had, that you find preposterous when all you really wanna do is mess w some cine film....

 

[jovo]

At Photo Plus Expo a few years ago, Kodak was indeed giving away free rolls of color film that, if I recall correctly, was targeted at portrait and wedding photographers. Not so strange... You just had to ask.

 

[septim]

Okay, so perhaps my wording is not perfect and that may have something to do with a lack of sleep. Perhaps I should have waited until I was in a better state of mind to start doing any research. Though what Worker 11811 said still stands in that it is potential clients and not just any schmuck in off the street that ask for/receive samples. And zsas I'm not sure that software trials are quite the same because I'm sure that at some point in time almost everybody has downloaded a 15/30 day trial just for using the product once off with no plans of purchasing it, and that's where I see asking for product samples to be different.

 

[zsas]

I am talking commercial software like say a full demo of Tableau (see below)....this is the same as Kodak giving out 100' or 400' of Vision to a cinematographer....

http://www.tableausoftware.com/products/trial

 

[septim]

Why do I feel that i should never have opened this can of worms?

 

[zsas]

Second comment, have you worked in motion picture? This stuff flows like water on a real set, 100,000+ feet is nothin....

Film tests are done a lot....these cinematographers know their stuff and how t'a get stuff...

And if you are gonna call out somone for having made, what you believe to be a preposterous assumption, have the decency to give the person the full context....
Here is the OP, post #5:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Helen was correct fwiw (especially in the context of state of MP in 2005! Heck that comment was almost a decade ago), I've worked on Hollywood films....
This stuff flows like water.....$1000's of dollars of short ends are often given to the crew for indi projects and whatnot....

 

[septim]

Just checking something zsas, have you read that it was being requested in the context of using it as a still film? Now I think I might go to bed before I go do something seriously stupid.

 

[removed account4]

Second comment, have you worked in motion picture? This stuff flows like water on a real set, 100,000+ feet is nothin....

Film tests are done a lot....these cinematographers know their stuff and how t'a get stuff...

And if you are gonna call out somone for having made, what you believe to be a preposterous assumption, have the decency to give the person the full context....
Here is the OP, post #5:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Helen was correct fwiw (especially in the context of state of MP in 2005! Heck that comment was almost a decade ago), I've worked on Hollywood films....
This stuff flows like water.....$1000's of dollars of short ends are often given to the crew for indi projects and whatnot....

this is why i gave up 8mm ... fun-YES, but unless the film is 1min long its gonna take thousands of feet
and $$$ to make something longer. ... film +processing for cine is $$$ freebees are good but no one is giving short endsnof 16 or 8mm

 

[AgX]

crazy?

Agfa once gave for free 30,000 cameras (though via a lottery) and even advertized about that:
"What are we doing a crazy thing like that for?"
Well, they had to gain market share with a new format by all means. In the end they lost with that camera.

 

[zsas]

And that was Hellen's point. Cinematographers can get samples pretty easy, she meant one could contact Kodak MP Services and see if ya can get a test roll'a Vision and then experiment...

Why even bother with that approach when one can get remjet removed cine film for $10 a roll....
I provided a link to where you could get it at Freestyle....

Last if you find that not what yer lookin for, you could buy some short ends and have a great time messin around with removing ramjet....

If your motive was to get cine film to shoot still, why back into this by callin out a nearly 10 year old post as preposterous....it was correct, at the time and maybe still so today...though you'd prob need to be a little more of a known dp, 1st AC, producer, prod crew....

Your approach was not very kind to Helen....

 

[Valerie]

Several years ago Kodak was promoting one of their color films and was sending rolls out to interested customers. I don't normally shoot color, but I did not pass up the opportunity to get a few free rolls!

 

[wiltw]

Have you ever had your physician give you packets of (free) prescription drugs? They get them free from the pharmaceutical sales reps who come to visit them in their office, pushing the brand name medications for various ailments.

 

[bdial]

DK exactly how Kodak does it, but generally stuff like samples are part of the marketing budget. They decide how much they need for the year and order up that amount. It's going to get given away, to someone, no matter what, because that's what it's for. They may or may not feel the need to qualify someone as a potential customer. In any case the value for them is getting it into some segment of JQ Public's hands, not what the retail price might be.

 

[MattKing]

The incremental cost to Kodak of giving away 100' of movie film to an individual is almost entirely related to the cost of fulfilling the request. The film itself costs them almost nothing. In return they achieve a one-to-one contact with someone who at the very least will end up being favourably impressed with Kodak.

They would have to pay a lot more for other types of marketing capable of achieving the same result.

The fact that the OP intends to re-purpose the movie film doesn't really detract from that marketing benefit. The extra difficulty involved in the re-purposing effort also means that the availability of a free sample like this doesn't markedly reduce the market for the full price product intended for still photography.

 

[AgX]

Several years ago Kodak was promoting one of their color films and was sending rolls out to interested customers. I don't normally shoot color, but I did not pass up the opportunity to get a few free rolls!

Over here when Kodak introduced new films they gave out request forms at least to commercial photographers for sample films.

At the introduction of Ektar 100 at Photokina they gave 1 sample away to those who showed interest.

 

[benjiboy]

Kodak and other film manufacturers used to give films away at trade shows I used to go to like Chinamen with no hands.

 

[Brac]

Before the rise of digital it was common for photographic magazines in the UK such as Amateur Photographer to give away free rolls of film, usually Kodak colour neg or slide or Ilford B&W, attached to the covers of their magazines. It usually happened every few months. There was nothing to stop someone buying several copies as often the magazine price was less than the normal retail cost of the film!

 

[GarageBoy]

Sample E100g converted my dad temporarily back to Kodak slides

I once emailed them asking if they'd send me a JUCO Portra postcard and after they asked me what I was doing with them, I got a dozen

 

[Matthew Cherry]

25 years ago, it certainly was not uncommon for Kodak to give away some film to student filmmakers (especially for festival shorts, and sometimes even features). Often times you didn't get a full ten minute real as you were getting "left overs" from a run, but trust me, you made do with whatever you could get your hands on.