How important are DVD special features? My rant... (DVD Forum)

Member Name: SqueakyG

Product:	DVD Forum
Date:	27/05/01 (484 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extra features enhance and compliment a film, the ability to own a film at its most perfect picture and sound quality

Disadvantages: This opinion is about how demanding some DVD enthusiasts are, and how most special features are useless and gimmicky

I love DVD. The Digital Versatile Disc format is becoming increasingly popular and it's easy to see why. DVD offers the ability to have a film in its correct widescreen aspect ratio, a much better sound and picture quality than videotape, chapter-stops that eliminate the need to rewind or fast-forward, and the added benefit that the picture and sound won't degrade with repeated viewings. DVD is pretty much perfect. But this opinion isn't really about the benefits of DVD. I'm going to go into the subject of SPECIAL FEATURES, and whether we should demand lots of extras on our DVDs.

The major selling point of DVD is the special features that come with most films. This is what puts DVD on a higher level than videotape and becomes a reason to purchase the DVD version. After all, if a film is available on DVD for £19.99 and available on bargain-bin VHS for £5.99, the DVD version needs to offer more than just the film itself. DVD is capable of providing commentary tracks that play with the film, deleted scenes, trailers, documentaries, and much more.

But I feel a rant coming on. Yeah, there's something I'm not happy with. My rant isn't about the DVD format. It's about DVD enthusiasts. I won't hide my feelings: many DVD enthusiasts bug me. There is a feeling of elitism and perfectionism within the DVD community. DVD enthusiasts demand the BEST of everything and feel cheated when things are less than perfect. One of their biggest demands is for SPECIAL FEATURES.

On forums and newsgroups I often see DVD enthusiasts taking about their 'dream DVDs'. Their perfect DVD includes "At least two commentary tracks, a documentary totalling at least 60 minutes, featurettes totalling at least 12 minutes each, a stills gallery of at least 75 production photos..." and so on. This sounds ridiculous to me. They are clearly demanding a quota of extra features just for the sake of them being there, with no regard
to how appropriate they would be or whether they are really needed. I think it is pointless to demand a certain amount of extra features just because it is POSSIBLE for them to be there. It is silly to demand that special features should run for a set amount of time; that's like demanding a music CD should be 78 minutes long without caring what the music is like. It's dumb. Unfortunately, enthusiasts have built up the importance of special features to the point where they think a disc WITHOUT them is disappointing. Films with no features are called "bare bones" discs, and are pretty much held in contempt by the DVD community. They feel cheated if a disc contains ONLY the film.

So my opinion should be common sense without the perfectionism:

All I require from a £15 DVD is a perfect everlasting copy of the film. A version of the film with the intended aspect ratio, and the best possible picture and sound quality. That's ALL I ask for. Everything else really is "extra".

The special features may give you the "value for money" feeling, but they are usually only worth watching once. Each subsequent time you pull a DVD off the shelf it will be to watch the FILM ITSELF. People don't sit there and think, "I'm bored. Oh I know, I'll listen to the commentary track on Godzilla again..." It just doesn't happen. The special features are usually forgotten and never watched again, in all but a few exceptional cases.


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Of course I like extra features as much as anybody else, and I'm happy when a disc is loaded with them. However, I think many features are gimmicky and pointless, and are only there to provide the illusion of "value for money" rather than being a genuinely useful accompaniment to the film. I'm going to list the most common types of special feature, what the average snobby DVD per
fectionist might say about it, and then what I believe.


COMMENTARY TRACKS

DVD Perfectionist: "I demand a full director's commentary for any film, and preferably a second commentary from the special effects artists, and a third from the score composer. No DVD can be complete without these things".

My view: Not every film needs a commentary track, you know. Only films where detailed analysis would work better in commentary than in documentary. Blockbuster special-effects films hardly ever need a commentary track. All the director says for special-effects films is, "That's real, that's real, that's CG, that's CG, that's real, that's real but with some CG..." There is no point listening to such a dull commentary! So I ask for one solid director-actor commentary on films that genuinely NEED it.


DOCUMENTARIES

DVD Perfectionist: "I demand a documentary lasting at least 60 minutes".

My view: A good solid documentary is nearly always useful. I ask for the kind of documentary made for DETAIL and not promotion, with extensive behind-the-scenes stuff. I don't demand it should be "at least 60 minutes" in length, because then I'd be demanding a specific amount of time rather than details, and that is silly. So as long as there is some truly interesting detail in the documentary, it can be as long or short as it needs to be.


PROMOTION MATERIALS

DVD Perfectionist: "I demand trailers and TV spots, no DVD is complete without them. I also demand at least 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes".

My view: Trailers and TV spots should only be included if they are unique and interesting, and/or they highlight the differences between American and British marketing. Otherwise they're pointless. Promotional featurettes should ALWAYS come under the heading of "promotional" rather than calling th
emselves documentaries, because they are nothing more than adverts for the film where the stars say the same banal things ("I loved the script, I loved working with the director, blah blah blah"). Trailers and featurettes are nearly always pointless, and DVD perfectionists only demand them because they are used to them. Once used to something, no matter how pointless, they complain if those things are missing.


INTERACTIVE MENUS

DVD Perfectionist: "Static menus are boring. They look cheap. They're *so* 1997. I'm not satisfied with a menu unless it has an amazing opening animation, then thrilling transition animations."

My View: Some opening and transition animations are good, but NEVER at the expense of functionality. A lot of animated menus today are too flashy for their own good, taking up to 30 seconds before options are selectable. If it takes more than 10 seconds to get to the menu, it sucks, and I'd prefer static instant menus. At least the old static menus were fast and efficient, and didn't cost lost of money to make.


STILLS GALLERIES

DVD Perfectionist: "I demand at least 100 stills of production artwork and on-set photography, because other DVDs have this, so not having it would be rubbish."

My view: Another case of demanding a pointless feature just because you're used to it. Really, do you care? You'll only look at them once. And how many of you know the feeling of only flicking through the gallery because it's THERE; even though you're bored and you don't want to bother, you look at the gallery because it's an extra, dammit, and you paid for it.


MULTI-ANGLE GIMMICKS

DVD Perfectionist: "I need a feature to show off what DVD can do. DVD can do multi-angle scenes where you can choose to flick between different versions of a scene, like the 'on-set' shot, the 'before computer effects were
added' shot, and the 'complete film' shot. I've seen it done on other discs, so I demand it here."

My view: Oh sure, flick between three versions of the same shot. It's fun. It demonstrates the power of DVD. You get to use your angle button, when the only other type of DVD that uses the feature is hardcore porn! But it's just a gimmick. Nearly all multi-angle scenes I've watched would have been more effective if they were simply played three times in a normal documentary. Multi-angle gimmicks reduce functionality.


DELETED SCENES

DVD Perfectionist: "I demand a complete collection of all filmed scenes that didn't make it into the final cut of the film. Not only is it my right to see every deleted shot, I also want the deleted scenes to be seamlessly replaced in the film while I watch."

My view: Deleted scenes are a very interesting feature. They are a great addition in the rare cases when the cut scenes are genuinely good and show an entire sub-plot that was cut from the film. But most of the time it is garbage swept from the cutting-room floor, or even worse, the rip-off of "alternate cuts". I only want cut-scenes if they are worthwhile and add something. I see no point in demanding every SHOT that didn't make it into the final cut. You know that HOURS of material is discarded, don't you? You wouldn't want to see it all.


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Conclusion

All a DVD needs to have is the FILM, presented as perfectly as possible. Most special-effects blockbusters are so dumb that you don't need insightful special features about the process of making it. You already know how computer effects are made, and you already know the actors will just say the same old nonsense about how much they loved the script and respect each other. Why demand hours of extra material about it? However, for f
ilms with genuine artistic merit there is great opportunity for special features to compliment the film. If these special features are present, all I "demand" is the following:

A COMMENTARY TRACK, if that is the best way to give insight into the film; a DOCUMENTARY that gives lots of great information; and DELETED SCENES if they are substantial cuts worth viewing.

That's ALL I ask for. That is value for money. I don't need gimmicks to feel good about spending money, because I can see through gimmicks. Many discs fill your "expected quota" with boring commentaries and promotional junk. There's no point obsessively demanding things that would BORE you to death if you actually got them.

My last word: Special features are called "extras", not "expected".

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