Reel Streets

600 films and 19 000 location shots

2012-05-22T07:57:00.004Z

Well, now more than six hundred films examined on site with almost nineteen thousand then and now comparative location photos. Thanks to all our contributors and especially to Phil wilkinson who has been pouring in films, and valuable location information, for the past month and whose contributions have rushed us forward to the six hundred mark. And those shots that you know about and were going to identify, what happened to those? When are you going to let us know about those dark cinematographic details which are lurking in the grey corners of your subconcious? Out with them, share with us your fascinating insites into the wonderful world of film scenes, sets, locations and all the other real streets that have been used all over the world and for the last hundred years of film making.

EARN MONEY FROM OUR SITE

2012-04-25T10:41:00.001Z

Now here is a thought for you location sleuths; How you can make money from our site. Offer a year's advertising on our geographically oriented website to businesses located in the area of our on-site locations. Our viewers use our site in order to visit the locations that we, with your help, have identified. They already have an interest in the film, the actors, the location and the building and are poised to enter into a more personal involvement with anyone who shares their enthusiasm for the movie. Our site has almost 600 film/movies listed and some 18000 photos of movie locations. If a business appears in one of our “then” or “now” location shots then visitors to the location will be interested in the building. If the pub, bar, cafe, shop, hotel etc., has some extra connection to the film, perhaps a poster, a front of house still, newspaper clippings of the film being made or even a couple of shots pulled from our site, then it is likely that the tourist will pop in for a glass of beer, a bag of sweets, tea and a bun, or a night’s lodging. Film induced tourism is the fastest growing tourist industry, worldwide. We receive more than 3 000 000 hits a year, yes three million, which proves this interest. Many small towns have seen a huge increase in their tourist numbers because of films or TV shows made in their real streets. We charge £ 75.00 a year for an advertising space, the size of one of our on-line photos, for businesses to display their goods, services, offers, logos etc. All for less than a pound fifty a week. Anyone active enough to secure an ad for us will receive a discount of £ 25.00 per advert, and, if you secure, perhaps in one trip for one film, three, four or ten orders then you will more than pay for your time, your trip and your petrol. There are some 6000 “now” shots on-line, with perhaps 1500 businesses shown, who are our potential advertisers, at a possible £ 25.00 a time to you. You do the maths, if could be, as George Cole used to say, “a nice little earner”.

Brighton Weekend

2012-03-24T10:01:00.004Z

Now the sun is beginning to shine, perhaps a weekend in Brighton? Peppermint rock, whelks, kiss-me-quick hats and damp pebbles. Can't beat it!
So, take your camera and get some fill-in snaps for: Running Man, 1963; Street of Shadows, 1953; Tommy, 1975; Villain; Brighton Rock, 1948; Brighton Strangler, 1945; Bank Holiday, 1938; Carry on Girls, 1973; Genevieve, 1954; Hundred Pound Window, 1943; Jigsaw, 1963; Night We Got the Bird, 1961; Oh, What a Lovely War, 1969; Playground Express; Quadrophenia, 1978, and the dozens of more recent films and movies which have used Brighton, Hove and the Sussex seafronts for their filming sets and locations.
Oh, and don't forget to send us a postcard!
Happy hols.

Hammersmith Murders

2012-03-13T08:32:00.001Z

A copy of Daybreak has just been sent in by R D Marchant, and our thanks to him. Most scenes are sets, and the waterfront shots vary from Hammersmith via Tilbury to Gravesend, most are stock shots without actors, but one or two will be useful for us.

Interestingly the film was made in 1948 in the same place as The Long Memory, 1953, but Daybreak was made by the Hammersmith Riverside Studios, where it is believed Dogsbody, of Cinema of Darkness infamy worked.

Is there a connection we wonder?

An undetected serial killer working in the shadowy world of film production with all the smoke and mirrors at his disposal, and, as for disposal, the bridge and the Thames were close by, and the unresolved mystery of the Gravesend arm, was only twenty miles downstream from the Riverside Studios and Hammersmith Bridge. Five floating hours at 4mph.

Are there any more links to Hammersmith, films made there, or the identity of Dogsbody? Help us to investigate these apparent murders. Examine the Cinema of Darkness and see if you can unravel more of this mystery.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

2012-02-08T16:00:00.003Z

Whilst we realise that it is quicker for you to just write an email, attach a couple of photos and press the button, but at our end the helpers need to know the geographical location in order to find the film quickly, and that is why we have a submission page, or else they need to open our site, ALL FILMS, select and load the full film. Time is running. OK only three or four minutes on our old slow middle Italian internet connection, but time all the same. And when ten of you write in on the same day things can get a bit hectic.

Then when the helper needs to archive your email, where does he put it? He needs to spend time renaming your files with our film ident codes, again one of the reasons why we ask everone to submit only one film at a time. So we need to rename the file, another minute.

It is also a help to us if our picture number is put as the title of your photo file, with an "n" suffix, for "now". Because when we archive the picture we'll never find it again unless we rename it. Only a few minutes work, but with some 15 000 pictures it costs a lot of money. Change the file name, another minute

So, the house, street, village,............... please let us have a full address.

Picture size is another requirement, the physical size and the resolution size, all of which we ask the submitters to do, as it saves us even more time. See submission details. If we have to change both for you, another two minutes of our time..

So yes, we do want your contributions, but as we are unloved and unpaid we must ask your help in doing the preparatory work so that our time can be more profitably used to enlarge the site and give greater pleasure to greater numbers of enthusiasts, instead of spending even more time asking contributors yet again to follow our submission rules, and sending out endless emails to constantly ask them to submit their details and photos in an acceptable condition.

So, we've could have tweaked your pic, making it brighter and a tad more contrasty, two minutes. And now written this email, three/four minutes. Ten minutes just to add one picture!!! So in that time we can add 10 other pics that have been correctly submitted by other people.

And is it your photo or does the copyright belong to someone else? Let us know so that we, with your help, don't infringe someone else's copyright.

And as for the out of focus, dark, blurry pics, and those that don't correspond with anything..............words fail me

Thanks, hope you really can be of help to us, as we hope we are being of help to you.

Best wishes

John Tunstill

TV SERIES

2011-12-14T17:23:00.001Z

TV SERIES

And now locations for a dozen TV Series are starting on ReelStreets.
Which locations do you know that someone else hasn’t yet loaded on their site?

On ReelStreets YOU always get full credit for the information you send in. Your name in lights on our pages. Not very large lights we admit, but at least acknowledgement.

So, starting sending in your info, photos, locations and anecdotes for those series that we have already listed, and, for those we haven’t, then let us know, and we will.

Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Avengers, Dangerman, Prisoner, Professionals, Heartbeat, Open All Hours, Last of the Summer Wine..........

Jaipur Film Festival

2011-10-31T14:23:00.004Z

FILM SUBMISSION
World’s growing fastest film festival
4th Jaipur International Film Festival
January 27-31, 2012, Jaipur, India
Film entry submission for JIFF 2012- Last date for film submission:
For Short / Documentary / Animation Now late deadline: 15 November, 2011
For Feature Film / World Premiere
Regular deadline: 15 November, 2011 late deadline: 30 November, 2011
Website: www.jiffindia.org
FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION: https://www.withoutabox.com/login/9490
Jaipur International Film Festival
And, if you do contact them please remind them that they STILL haven’t made a link to us.
www.reelstreets.com
image from www.soldierssoldiers.com

Cinema of Darkness

2011-10-22T13:41:00.004Z

Another film shot at this infamous angle in Hammersmith, does this mean another murder? Has another young woman gone missing? Was this the work of our serial-killer called 'Dogsbody'.

In more than 500 films on site, only one street, or area, has had multiple uses in more than twenty feature films, co-incidently made at about the same time as other films, with some of the same crew, were being made somewhere in the British Isles where a young woman was recorded as having disappeared.

Twenty films made in the same area, twenty other films being made at the same time and twenty girls going missing.

Delayed Action will be on screen soon.

Sleuths, Detectives and Gumshoes

2011-10-14T11:00:00.000Z

Reelstreets milestone, more than 500 films loaded.

Yes we now have more than 500 film,s and 16,000 film and movie location pics, loaded on site.
We really are the largest movie location site in the world. Ah, but your favourite film still isn’t loaded? Well, get hold of a copy, grab the stills; with the free programme GOM; and send them in. Take the “now” photos, and off we go. Instant internet fame.

Much of our achievement is due to the back-room boys, one of whom is Greg Michevski who diligently works from the middle of Europe discovering “now” shots of incredibly obscure corners of the British Isles, which he sends them and we add them for everyone’s benefit.

Greg, our tireless sleuth, has found hundreds of locations for us but has never set foot in the UK, what incredible patience, perseverance and dedication. All our thanks go out to him for his outstanding work as well as his long-distance location skills. Just look at his sleuthing abilities regarding Sylvia, our latest film on line..

So, if you are going to follow in Greg’s footsteps and load a film, and some “now” shots, please read our “How to Submit” page so that all the technical requirements are sorted, because, otherwise, your contribution may just end up in the pending box, waiting for that rainy day when there are no good films on the telly.

EALING STUDIOS

2011-09-20T07:49:00.004Z

I've lived in Ealing all my life and could spend all my time identifying
locations in loads of films and TV series.

Carry on Constable - In fact it was shot around 100yds further down
St Mary's Rd from co001, on the other side of the road and facing south.
South Ealing station is on the other side of the road. At the time of the
film it was on the far side of the bridge over the railway and has since
been rebuilt on the near side.

co003 are incorrect in some respect. The original caption was correct
in placing the shot opposite West Ealing Station.
However West Ealing Station is on Drayton Green Road not
Drayton Bridge Rd as claimed. The corrected caption is also wrong.
Argyle Rd only begins after the junction with Manor Road at the far
end of the bridge.

In Hue and Cry when the boys are mobilised, the boys on the
ice cream bikes all pour out (Pics anyone?) of The Grove, Ealing onto
St Mary's Road, the corner they go around is about 100
yards across Ealing Green from the entrance to Ealing Studios.
This corner featured in the recent looting in Ealing
when the roof of the building on the corner went up in flames.

I suspect the house where the gang hide out in Hue and Cry is
in the same area behind Ealing Broadway as was used for
Inspector Morse's house and may be also be used in Lewis.

(Any clues anyone?)

Michael Adams

And there is a pub in Ealing High Street, called the Basil Dearden. A pint anyone?

Tourist Offices

2011-09-15T12:18:00.001Z

To all film location enthusiasts

Please note that despite offering various local tourist authorities
FREE publicity on our site,
which attracts some 3.5 million hits a year, and asking for nothing in return,
our offer has been ignored. They are obviously too busy to promote
their areas to our surfers.

The incumbents in the office are obviously unaware of the power of
film-induced-tourism and the millions of pounds spent each year by these
visitors to film location sites throughout the world.

So, if you were thinking of offering free publicity to Bolton, Manchester,
Liverpool, Camden and Hammersmith, probably best you don’t waste your time.
Our offer was a free "plug" on each and every film that was
shot in and around their area that is contained on our site; but no,
they don’t want our help.

They have, obviously, too many tourists.

John Tunstill

Islington Film & Movie Locations

2011-09-14T13:09:00.004Z

Year Film Location
2006
April & May Claremont Square Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
May Finsbury Square Flawless
June Wharfdale Road & Sir Robert McAlpine Breaking & Entering
Construction Site- York Road
August Northampton Row & Bowling Green Lane Son of Rambow
September Crouch Hill 28 Weeks Later
October London Guildhall Mr Beans Holiday
Finsbury Street & Ropemaker Street 28 Weeks Later
November Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street Eastern Promises
December Whittington Hospital Eastern Promises
2007
January Ironmonger Row Turkish Baths Eastern Promises
March Northampton Square Incendiary
May Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street Batman: The Dark Knight
July Charterhouse Street How To Lose Friends & Alienate People
August Holloway Road Telstar
September Kings Cross Station Hippy Hippy Shake
October Danbury Street, Tabernacle Street & Franklyn
Leonard Street
November Connection House Last Chance Harvey
2008
January Clerkenwell Close & Green & Northampton Road The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
February Penton Street The Other Man
March The Pleasance Theatre- North Road A Bunch of Amateurs
April Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street Me & Orson Welles
September Smithfields Dorian Gray
December Sherlock Holmes Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street &
The Houses of Detention
The Elbow Rooms- Chapel Market Perriers Bounty
2009
March Baring Street Harry Brown
April Islington & St Pancras Cemetery Nowhere Boy
June Exterior Pentonville Prison London Boulevard
July Farmiloes Building-St. John's Street Olivers Arrow
The Houses of Detention- Clerkenwell Green St. Trinians 2: The Legend of Frittons Gold
Garnault Place Streetdance
August Houses of Detention- Clerkenwell Green & Sherlock Holmes
Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street
September Charterhouse Street Blitz
November Gee Street Tamara Drewe
December Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street Brighton Rock
2010
February Richmond Crescent The Special Relationship
Exmouth Market Clean Skin
March Farmiloes Building- St. John's Street Bel Ami
Bemerton Estate, Carnoustie Drive & Blundell Street Attack The Block
May The Great Ghost Rescue The Houses of Detention- Clerkenwell Green
August Arlington Square, Linton Street, Arligton Avenue & The Veteran
Bevan Street
The Egg- York Way One Day
September Crinan Street One Day
December Granvill Square, Granville Street & Granville Sq Gardens

Sent in by Celia Wright The Deep Blue Sea

Films shot in Budapest, Hungary

2011-09-14T07:18:00.004Z

Some films shot in;
Budapest - Hungary

From Wikepedia

Amusement
El ángel de Budapest, Bel Ami, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,
The Church, Copying Beethoven, The Debt,
Dracula 3D, The Eagle, Eragon,
Escape to Victory, Evita, The Fall,
100 Feet, The Golden Compass, Good,
Hudson Hawk, I Spy, In the Beginning,
Jakob the Liar, Kontroll, Monte Carlo,
Munich, Perlasca, un Eroe Italiano,
The Phantom of the Opera, Red Heat, The Secret of Moonacre,
Sniper 2, Spy Game, Sunshine,
Taxidermia, Terry Pratchett's Going Postal,
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Transporter 3, Underworld,
Underworld: Evolution, Any others?

Early Actresses

2011-09-02T16:59:00.003Z

Danckleman and Schrader cigarette cards, actresses

The cinema was invented in the late 1800’s, and the tremendous interest that it created gave rise to many very early “stars”. Some of these beautiful ladies, then, as now, were seduced by the glamour of the occasion, the attention they attracted from the rich and famous, and, in the terms of the Victorian novelists, often “suffered a fate worse than death”. Because of the reputation of the music halls, any public dancer, including the most famous ballerinas, were often considered to be of a lower moral fibre than the virtuous women, and their equally virtuous husbands, in the audience. Many actresses on the legitimate stage, unless famous, and then approved by society, were also thought of with less than kindness.

The advent of photography, and its ease of reproduction of still images gave rise to the postcards of the end of the nineteenth century, and their proliferation in the fist years of the twentieth. Postcards were printed by the million and distributed to all corners of the world to be sold, and, where postal services existed, sent to friends. About the same time the cigarette card companies began to insert small photographs into their packs, the first cigarette cards, and they chose a wide variety of subjects, many of which had also been previously used by the postcard producers. The printing company had the original art work, sketch, drawing or negative and it was thus a simple matter to reproduce similar cards, but in smaller sizes.

Many of these cards, of which thousands of sets exist and are well documented, fetch, for a complete set, hundreds of pounds, even more Euro and twice as many dollars. There are numerous catalogues and lists which index and describe these cards and also give valuations. But, in all these sites and learned works there is rarely, if ever, a note about Danckleman & Schrader, their company, or their cards, thus establishing their rarity, and with notable famous beauties of their day, desirability..

Danckleman & Schrader was the name given to a cigarette company in Montevideo, Uruguay, who, in the first few years of the 1900’s, as an inducement to purchase their Cigarrillos Londres brand of cigarettes, began to insert small cards into their packaging. Cigarette cards.

Some of their early sets were devoted to Bullfighters, a pastime then popular, and legal in both Uruguay and Argentina, as well as Children and pretty Views. Later sets exploited the lure of sexual attraction. Most smokers were men, and some forty two series included famous beauties of the day.

Most of these girls have been lost to view. Who now remembers pretty Mae Lowery? But some, like Meaty Fleuron; and if ever there was an unfortunate name this must be one of the best; lives on in immortality in Ogden’s Guinea Gold cigarette cards, and also in the D & S card No 7 in the seventh series, VII.

Also in this series were;
Maude Adams, an idol of the American theatre and a book has been written about her.
Amy Busby was a friend of Gertrude Lawrence and appeared also in the Sweet Caporal Cigarette card collection.
Helen Robertson might have written, or appeared in a novel published by the Olympia Press.
Anna Hayes faded from view.
Grace Freeman, a US musical comedy actress, was another of Ogden’s Guinea Gold girls.
Mignon Villars, Ogdens again, and also appeared in the Sweet Caporal Cigarettes series.
Of Annabelle, Mac Bradley and Nellie Nice, from this series, we know no more.

Although of South American origin Danckleman, or Schrader bought in beauties from North America and Europe, no local girls appear to have been used. Someone in the printing business perhaps sold these early images as a job lot, or maybe even did the printing.

The Girls of Series Seven, is an incomplete set of these unique Danckleman & Schrader cigarette cards, eleven cards out of a set of 25, all are in excellent condition and cost £ 20.00 each, postage included, insurance is an extra £4.50.

And how many of these girls appeared in early films and movies, whose locations we haven't yet examined.

Monty Python

2011-07-28T08:48:00.002Z

……..and the Holy Grail.

Investigation, photography and loading by that dynamic duo, Robin and Simon James.

Interestingly, Sue Beeton, probably the world’s leading authority on film induced tourism is also a Monty fan and we hope that she too will relive happy memories of the film and its locations from some thirty-six years ago.

Terry Gilliam, the film’s director purchased one of my houses here in Umbria several years ago, and is one of the luminaries at the local film festival held in Montone each year.

Further reading and research, Film Induced Tourism, Sue Beeton, Channel View Publications, Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto.

Open All Hours, Doc Martin, Last of the Summer Wine and Kingdom, all long-running TV series, have also had a direct financial effect on the towns in which they were made, as well as receiving complaint from locals, and space on our site is always available to anyone who wishes to adopt or discuss these productions.

From an article by Richard Savill, Daily Telegraph, 13 Aug 2008
Some residents in Port Isaac (Doc Martin's town)are calling for filming to be banned from the village because an influx of tourist visitors is causing traffic chaos in the narrow streets.
………..there have always been problems with traffic sine the days of horses and carts
"We have had the golden egg from the filming and we have had enough visitors now," said one resident.
……….so, thanks for the reward, but we don’t want the publicity or the trippers.
They said tourists have been dumping their vehicles by a children's play area, and are concerned a child could be killed.
……….”Doc Martin – Child Killer”. The next tabloid headline?
A local mother, said: "We need to take this seriously before we lose one of our children. It is extremely dangerous, especially when they want to go to the park."
……..”Doc Martin Responsible for Lost Children”. Maybe on the TV news.
"Friends who have enjoyed coming to the village for years have not been able to stay in holiday cottages because they have been rented to the crew."
………ah, yes, that golden egg, profit without responsibility.
Nearly 40 per cent of properties in the village are now second homes and the cost of the average home has been pushed to £280,000.
………so, one can deduce that the locals who sold to “outsiders”, at a hefty profit, didn’t take the opportunity to sell to locals, for less. Golden Egg Syndrome.
Doc Martin has attracted up to 10 million viewers in Britain and is a hit in more than a dozen countries including Australia, Belgium and Romania.
A local estate agent said the show had raised the profile of the village and was seen as an added attraction. we always mention Doc Martin in the particulars. It is a very sought after area."
………………….as ever, two sides to each story.

Victorian Spys

2011-07-26T15:15:00.003Z

Prints by Vanity Fair artist Leslie Ward, Spy.

Not a lot to do with film locations you might think, but the interior set dressing that is used to provide a “classy” background to stately homes, accountants, solicitors and legal offices in films often incorporated Victorian prints produced by the Vanity Fair company in England prior to the First World War.

These prints were produced for about forty years, about one each week, and therefore making a collection of a couple of thousand different subjects.

“Kaleidoscope”, on-line, has a blog which refers to the Vanity Fair cartoons, or caricatures. These were drawn by two main artists, Leslie Ward, “Spy”, and Carlo Pellegrini, “Ape”, and more discussion about Vanity Fair is on soldierssoldiers.com, under prints and postcards.

Find a use of these illustrations in any film or TV production, and we’ll try to match them with one of the prints from our collection. Something else for you to keep your eyes open for. And what about the uses of Tretchikoff’s Green ladies, which, or who, appeared in any number of films of the 60’s and 70’s. Can you find those as well?

And a cartoon, in those days was a sketch, a caricature, an instant piece of art work, and nothing to do with walt Disney.

Victorian prints, are different from Victorian Prince, but are often pronounced or heard the same. See the dislexicon.

The Games

2011-07-17T08:33:00.001Z

When we started ReelStreets we concentrated on films with identifiable locations made in the British Isles. But because of world wide interest we have opened the site up to feature films and movies made anywhere, as well as the popular TV series. Checking back we find that The Games, a film made by Michael Winner in 1970, had a number of foreign location scenes, Tokio, Sydney, Rome and probably Belgium, all of which we have now added. So, next time you visit take a snap.

JUMP THE QUEUE

2011-07-11T07:08:00.004Z

HOW TO GET YOUR FAVOURITE FILM LOADED BEFORE ALL THE OTHERS IN THE QUEUE

Perhaps we better explain what this site is all about, just in case you hadn’t realised.
Film locations, film locations and film locations. Run by unpaid enthusiasts for your benefit.

You will see from the home page that we have some 500 films on line, and that has taken us about seven years hard labour. No pay, no rewards, no free dinners, no awards and no accolades.
You will also see that we have more than 370 films waiting to be loaded, so at the slow rate that we work, this will take about another 5 years!
So, for you to jump the queue and have your favourite film loaded YOU need to do most of the work, leave it all to us and you go at the back of the line, and wait perhaps five years…....
So, how do you start to load your films………..how about reading “How To Submit” on our home page, and, what is more, as far as humanly possible, following the instructions.

As for us following up all the leads, references and sites that you kindly offer, until we’ve done the next 300 films there really is no time available. You have the interest in these specific films, and maybe a bit of time to do the research, so pull the pics and information, collate it all and add it to ReelStreets.

Yes, we know you aren’t technical, and it seems a chore to follow our directions, but we can’t do the work for you until…….maybe 2016! So, now you know, if you can help to load your favourites, then welcome aboard, if not, lie back and wait…….. for up to five years. Your choice.

Who is the techie who helps you when you screw up your computer? He, or she, will know what to do, enlist their help if you are really keen to see “your” film on site. Or even speak to the kids in the library or local computer shop, they’ll know what to do.

But seriously, we do hope you’ll give us a hand to further increase the scope of the site, with a film or two of your choice, …………..and jump the queue.

Next film in line is The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Italy, Anticoli Corrado, near Roma……..soon to be brought to your computers, in living colour………stay tuned!

Secret of Santa Vittoria

2011-07-10T11:02:00.001Z

Secret of Santa Vittoria, with Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani and Hardy Kreuger, filmed on location in Anticoli Corrado, Lazio, Italy, a bit to the north east of Rome. Wonderful period film full of shouting over-acting Italians, with the whole village acting as extras. The Germans; Hardy Kreuger was the commander, or even the Kommandante; a small group of retreating Axis forces after the invasion of Italy by the Allies, and the fall and execution of Mussolini.

Filmed, it would appear, entirely in the main square of Anicoli Corrado, this location provides the ideal reason for an outing from Rome, use the film as an excuse for a bit of film induced tourism and escape the crowds in the Vatican, Michaelangelo, Don Camillo and the Da Vinci Code, the mobs around Piazza Navona, Dolce Vita, the multitudes on the Spanish Steps, Roman Holiday, Talented Mr Ripley, Blue Murder at St Trinians and many others.

Head east for a taste of destination marketing, which was a term invented long after the film was made, for the art or science of creating reasons why tourists and travellers would visit a specific location, or destination. Make the film and the local community benefits from the influx of the film’s technicians, actors, and producers, and once the film is made, if the world is informed about its locations, then the ongoing trickle of tourists for the next hundred years will bring in a steady stream of cash to local businesses.

SCREEN GRABS for Location Oriented Films and Movies

2011-06-30T12:11:00.001Z

Providing Tourist Related Destinations influenced by feature films

We’re still waiting for your contribution to Reelstreets, You remember, you did offer.

So, an easy way to grab the stills. Look up your favourite film by name, in Google, eg. Kes, with youtube added. “Kes utube”.
You will often find a series of excerpts / trailers etc. from the film which will enable you to pull the “then” shots.
Run the film and press the “full screen” tab; often under the screen movie picture, on the right, four tiny arrows pointing outwards to the corners.
When you have a screen full of the scene you want to capture or grab, you will need to press the key which possibly says Print / Screen or something similar, perhaps Prt/Scrn. This button is usually on the top row in the keyboard, the “F” row, it is usually on the right hand side and often third key in from the right. Press this in conjunction with the Alt key, often on the bottom line of the keyboard, third button in from the left..

So for a screen grab, enlarge the movie to full screen size, when the required scene is playing, click Print/Screen and Alt to capture a picture.

Pause the screen whilst you deal with the picture you have grabbed.

To exit “full screen” mode pres Esc, top right on the keyboard.

Open Photoshop and click File/New, top right of screen, you will then be offered an option to open a new page, click yes, then Modify/Paste, and presto your pic appears on screen!

Sharpen/adjust brightness/contrast/colour as required and give it a file reference corresponding to the film’s title. Save the pic with the new reference initials and number the frames in sequence, as a .jpg file, at medium resolution, and do this for each scene containing different architectural detail.

Later, again in Photoshop, resize the pic to a width of 420 pixels, height about 315.
The image size MUST be less than 50KB, or else our robot will reject it, will visit you in the night, and subject you to unspeakable cinematographic torments. You have been warned!

For those of you who delight in unspeakable torments, there are many other sites available!

With my computer I can only grab one scene at a time, which I then need to download before grabbing the next one. I prefer to run the film on “pause” and shift the time button, usually a red indicator on the time line at the bottom of the screen, scene by scene, in a “frame freeze mode”. This, for me makes it simpler to grab the frames. When in pause/freeze frame mode the time line will usually fade from the screen after a second or two, as one doesn’t wish to copy that.

When you’ve done all the outside location shots from the film, tell us, and we’ll give you the passwords necessary to load “your” film on site, www.reelstreets.com.

LETTER to BREZHNEV

2011-06-28T07:36:00.000Z

A film location guide to Liverpool.

Two Russian sailors, Peter and Sergei, arrive in Liverpool for one night ashore. Peter can speak a bit of English but it's enough to pull two local lassies, Elaine and Theresa. Elaine and Peter immediately fall in love, but in the morning the two boys must leave with their ship. Elaine can't forget him and writes the letter to Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader, asking him to make it possible for them to meet again.
It was suggested to Liverpool Tourist Office that we would give them some free space on site; film induced tourism and all that; yes, GIVE / FREE space to promote their city. But after three or four emails, and three or four responses from robots assuring us that they would contact us within a few days, nothing. So much for the Liverpool Tourist Office in their attempts to lure tourists in these hard times. They are constantly bleating that tourism numbers are down, hotels, pubs and restaurants are suffering, etc., etc. But to take up our FREE offer was too much for them to bother with.
An advert on each of the Liverpool located films that appear on our site, to promote their city to film fans, might just bring in a few people. But, sadly they have too much else to do, making tea, organising the staff outings, holidays, sick leave and the rest, to waste time on promoting their city on the half dozen film location sites that we have about Liverpool.
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At the same time Bolton Tourist Office was approached with our FREE offer to place space on our site, Spring and Port Wine, but again nothing, except of course the ubiquitous robots. Perhaps Bolton, unique in the British Isles, has an overwhelming number of visitors banging at their doors, I somehow doubt it. However despite the incumbents in the Tourist Board, Spring and Port Wine is a really interesting exploration of Bolton as it was.

WHY DO YOU DO IT?

2011-06-20T10:49:00.000Z

This was a question asked yesterday at breakfast at La Preghiera, Umbria, Italy, where we live, the lady who posed the question was actually staying in Villa Moscatelli, our adjacent but smaller house, and she was one of the last guests left over from the wedding we had just organised in our grounds and chapel.

We were discussing the local historical attractions of Assisi and Saint Francis, Perugia and Perugino (and not just the Baci chocolates), Montone and the strong-arm Fortebraccio, Caprese and Michaelangelo, Cortona and Under the Tuscan Sun, Lake Trasimeno and Hannibal and a few other local worthies. During the conversation vintage postcards, lead soldiers, local house sales and renovations, and film locations, were gently promoted.

Why do you do it, was the question directed at me by a lady of mature years with whom I had briefly discussed the merits of Reel Streets. We both agreed on the nostalgic aspect for the old stars and their films, but the lady had never considered the then and now association of the locations used in the films, the changes in the buildings, the shops, the vehicles, the clothes, the behaviour, the culture, the very way we now live and react to the world and the people around us, that has changed, and is continuing to change, during our lifetimes

Imagine, the Western cultures coming to the aid of the Arab nations. Sixty years ago they were peoples in the way of the pursuit of the Italian and German forces, and if a few hundred, or a few thousand got killed and all their houses destroyed, tough. And what if Mussolini’s troops invaded, massacred and gassed a few thousand Ethiopians, Somalis and Eritreans, not really any of our business, or that of the League of Nations.
Sixty years before that, we, the northern Europeans, were actively attempting to destroy or enslave the African peoples. Us, the Brits in Egypt and the Sudan, the French and Spanish in Morocco, and a bit further south the Belgians in the Congo, the Germans in West Africa, and us, actually fighting our own kind, northern Europeans, the God-fearing and Christian Dutch in South Africa.

Today, happily, many of us lean over backwards to assist those in need, we are more ready to accept into our homes and families those persons of a different cultural background, of a different religion and of a different skin colour.

But the question was, “Why do you do it”? These old films, what is the attraction of these old sites, these locations? I turned the question around and asked the lady why she was going to visit Assisi in the morning and, with her husband, the site of the Roman battle at Trasimeno, tomorrow. “Ah, because I have a deep interest in Saint Francis, and my husband just loves military history”.

“So, walking in the footsteps of the famous. This is historically induced tourism”, I suggested. “Just so”, she readily agreed. Had the lady ever been to Haworth , Bronte’ countryside? “Oh yes, and we loved it”. But the Bronte’ area is based on the sisters’ success as novelists, which was fiction, not fact, I pointed out. “Oh yes, but it was lovely to walk among the lanes and imagine it all” said the lady. Tourism induced by fiction I suggested. “Yes”, the lady sighed, “but so romantic”.

So, I said, the reason why we do it is a combination of romance, fiction, nostalgia, history and interest, can I offer you the DVD of “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” for you to view before you go to Assisi, and even “Romeo and Juliet”, Zefferelli’s masterpiece, before you go off to Bologna? Oh, We’ve seen that, that’s why we want to go there.

Exactly, I said, film induced tourism. Fiction by Shakespeare, interpreted by Zefferelli, made into “fact” by the studio publicity men, and underpinned by the tourist office of Bologna. “Oh yes, said she, so romantic, so sad”.

And that, said I, is why, in part, we do it.
www.reelstreets.com
www.lapreghiera.com
www.villamoscatelli.com
www.weddingsumbria.com

The Nation's Locations

2011-06-20T10:30:00.000Z

OK, so you want to see your favourite film on ReelStreets.

If you’ve got the film on tape or disc, run it through your computer using a free “frame-grabbing” programme such as GOM.

Follow the resizing and “tweaking” process outlined in our How to Submit section on our Home Page. Title the pics in lower case, size them and send them in as an email attachment.

If you haven’t a copy of the film do a Google search for the title and you will often find sites which will let you look at highlights of the film, trailers and sometimes the complete movie. Either copy these to your hard disk, and using the GOM programme above select the required snips or grabs, size, tweak and title and send in, or grab the still directly from your screen by pressing the button, normally on the very top line of the keyboard, on the right hand block of three, the left hand key which should have Print / Screen or something similar printed on it.

Open Photoshop or some thing similar, press File / New and you will probably be asked to confirm a picture size usually pre-determined by the computer to correspond to the picture you have just “grabbed”. Click Yes / Ok, then Modify / Paste and, CARAMBA!, the picture appears before your very eyes. Tweak / title and send in.

Easy Peasy.

YOUR LOCAL FILMS

2011-05-20T17:23:00.000Z

Where do you live?

Was a film or TV series ever made in your area? A bit of research on line under town name, locations, films and movies often brings interesting, unusual and intriguing results. Your could even type in your home town, county or country in our search facility and see which films or TV series are already on line. Be aware of the fact that many supposed “City” locations mentioned in the titles have nothing to do with the real towns. CSI Miami is filmed in Hollywood, with a second unit, stripping in location shots. Maybe it’s the same with NYPD and others.
Grab your camera and take the current views, the now shots. Send them in and we’ll add them.
The holidays are coming up and film induced tourism is one of the more popular reasons for visiting places you’ve never been to. Film and TV destinations holidays give a theme and a reason for travelling. Would Angels and Demons inspire you to visit Rome. Cheap flights from Stanstead, Luton, Bristol and Manchester puts you in the eternal city after just a two hour flight.
Maybe you already have a favourite film that we haven’t yet loaded, tell us, and with your help, to pull the original grabs or stills we can add it.
Or, if you can’t make the journey, or take the photos, then tell us, and we’ll try and find someone who can. Look at the tremendous work Neil Rigby has done with the French Connection, throughout Europe and also in the US.
Everyone has a film site within a couple of hours, the sun is about to shine again, so, don’t just think about it, do it, and get your name in “lights” on our site.
Destination holidays and film induced tourism is the modern form of pilgrimage, walking in the footsteps of the famous, and, if it appeals to you, you can stand in the place of the actors, get yourself photographed and become immortalised on our site.

The Value of Old Films

2011-04-28T14:14:00.002Z

What is a film worth?

On VHS or DVD one can pick them up for a few pence or cents in second-hand or charity shops and off market stalls. These prices are perhaps unreal because the film is not usually valued for its artistic merit or its rarity, but purely as an item to be sold as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, specialist dealers, such as Amazon, will often charge up to € 30,00 for a film on DVD, and this sum represents even more in dollars or stirling. So, how, what, or who, determines the value? Supply, demand, fame, box office receipts, numbers of authorised copies made, remaiining stock, a clerk in a back room. Obviously the value is directly linked to what the customer will pay, and, as long as there is a steady market for an item at a high price, then the price stays high. As demand slackens, so can the price drop.

Want to beat the system? Then adopt one of our films that are in stock and waiting to be loaded and we'll send you a FREE copy. In return you have to pull the stills that are suitable and load them on site. It costs nothing, is great fun, and if you can get out and about you might even be able to identify and photograph the same corresponding locations.

Film inspired or induced tourism is a splendid reason to drag the family out on film destination tours. Films, movies, TV shows, series, serials, of any country, in any period, are waiting for you to capture and load on our site. Get into the movie business and adopt a film today.