Changing your club name

[edin]

Many clubs have over time changed their club name for many reasons. To eliminate the cine tag, to reflect the nature of the clubs activity more accurately or to promote a new image of the club. If you are one of these clubs that has changed your name has there been any positive results from the name change. How did the club members react to a name change?

Look forward to your replies!

[TimStannard]

We (Staines) recently changed to Video Makers - not an option in your list. (Though I see it's since been edited)

Personally, I prefer (and voted for) Movie Makers as I like the alliteration and it rolls off the tongue nicely.
The main objection seems to be that "Movie" is considered by some/many to be a US term - and, for some reason I cannot fathom, we have to dissassociate ourselves with the Americans.

I did point out that when we show our own films in a non-competitive evening, we refer to this as a "Members Movies" evening and our annual public show is publicised as our "Annual Movie Show", but whilst everyone is perfectly happy with that, it seems the word "movie" is not going to appear in our name.

[Mike Shaw]

I agree - if I had any sway in any renaming it would be to Movie Makers, as it covers all bases. The other names are all media specific, so 'movie' seems the most generic to cover all. Doesn't sound at all American to me either ... but even if it is ... what's the problem ???

[Dave Watterson]

What is "3. Cinel" ?
I realise it is intended to indicate a name with ciné or cine in it ...

Dave

[Mike Shaw]

I think they should - or meant to - get the 'L' out of it, and with the last one as well - Videomakersl

[Michael Slowe]

Sorry to be in the minority but I hate the term 'movie', not because of it's American connotation (although that doesn't help) but because it is associated in the public mind with 'Home Movies'. My choice would always be FILM. It is true that this is (was) a medium but it is also generic. We go to the cinema to see a film, even though it may well have been shot electronically and almost certainy projected digitally. We make films, this is unlikely to change even though we have shot on video for over twenty years. John Astin, the editor of the IAC North Thames Newsletter, writes a very good explanation of how and why Potters Bar changed their name. It may be on line, I haven't looked, but it says it all.

[TimStannard]

I hate the term 'movie' ... because it is associated in the public mind with 'Home Movies'.

Without wishing to make an argument out of this (I'm genuinely interested), do you have anything to back this up, or are you simply assuming that because you (and maybe many others you talk to) associate it with "home movies" everyone else does?

I certainly have never really made any connection between the terms "movie" and "home movie" and indeed when we had endless discussions at Staines, nobody there suggested they made the connection.

But, even if the everyone made the same association as Michael, is that such a bad thing? Surely most, if not all clubs are crying out for new members - as soon as we try to disassociate ourselves from people who make home movies, we are creating a barrier to entry for potential members. I joined Staines because I'd bought a camera and made home movies and wanted to improve them (and I think I have, given that one of my home movies gained 4 stars at BIAFF and is being shown on the Sunday), but little did I know at the time that I'd get bitten by the bug and want to progress into documentaries and drama. Had the only clubs available at the time given the impression they were all just groups of independent film makers, I'd have thought this far too high-brow and never joined.

I suspect the same is true of all the people who've joined my club, Staines, in recent years.

Most clubs have a few members who aspire to better things - who want to make five-star and diamond award winning films but if we give the impression that is all that is important then I think the IAC will find itself in trouble.

[Mike Shaw]

Must admit I've never associated 'movies' with 'home movies' - or heard others doing so. But then, during the war as a young teenager we 'went to the movies' or we went to the 'flicks'... aka the local cinema. So movies, to me, means the things they show at the cinema. But even if the word movie is associated with home-movie making, I agree with Tim - is that a bad thing?

We do get hung up on what we call our hobby don't we ... we don't like the word 'amateur' because it is/can be associated with - or we believe it is interpreted as - amateurish. (Doesn't worry me - I make videos/films/movies for fun - and compared with Mr Spielberg's offerings, they are very amateurish, try as I might to do otherwise!)

Maybe we should invent a new word ... ??

Or perhaps simply call ourselves 'Camcorder Users' - and hope that covers proper pro-like video cameras as well as Handycams ... (IAC becomes - The British Institute of Camcorder Users ... with the (international) festival called BICUIF ... hmmm just doesn't have a ring to it somehow. Ah well ...).

[Peter Copestake]

Pendle changed from Pendle Film Society to Pendle Movie Makers in 1985. (My email spell-checker doesn't like Movie). I remember a long argument about it but that is not reflected in the minute made at the time. We had had a brief spell as Film & Video Society but that was short-lived.
I am not aware that the name causes any problems though I know one member would like it changed.
When people phone to make enquiries, usually wanting a home for old film equipment, they say 'Movie Makers' without apparently thinking it strange.
What does cause problems is the fact that we have an ageing membership. After we had exposure to an estimated audience of half a million on North West Tonight we did get one enquirer who felt, quite rightly, that he could lower our average age, but though I thought I'd been welcoming in my email reply, though warning him that we were not great on discussing the latest gizmos, he never turned up, nor replied to my polite enquiry as to why not.
I've put a lot of effort into getting us known so I personally hope we don't change!

Peter.

[Michael Slowe]

Oh dear, I'm very much in the minority on this topic. I don't suppose the name matters anyway, after all do the initials IAC enlighten the wider public?

[TimStannard]

though I thought I'd been welcoming in my email reply, though warning him that we were not great on discussing the latest gizmos, he never turned up, nor replied to my polite enquiry as to why not.

That's very sad, but not unusual, Peter. I hope it doesn't put you off battling away too much.

I'm sure part of this is down to email. If you speak to someone, even on the telephoen or even if you communicate with a hand written letter, it's somehow more personal, and less easy to "duck out of" a commitment to attend. Letting down someone whom you only know via email is somehow more anonymous. I think we just have to accept that as the downside of email (which has many, many benefits in other ways)

[Peter Copestake]

Tim wrote:

I hope it doesn't put you off battling away too much.

No, Tim, certainly not giving up yet!
Thanks for comments and I'm sure there's a lot in what you say about email.

Peter.

[col lamb]

We became Preston Movie Makers quite a few years ago, I for one could not wait to get rid of the old horrible and completely outdate "Cine" label.

I have been a member of PMM for about 17 years and in all that time not one new cine based movie have I seen at the club meetings.

Those that I did see were, and lets not mince words here DIRE in image quality, with poor colour, scratches and the horrible fuzzy black border, abysmmal sound both from the movie being projected and the clattering from the projector itself and all this on what I was advised was a great projector.

Long live the Movie/Video tag and may Cine rest in a shallow plot of land with a suitable headstone.

[Chrisbitz]

This may be an age issue - as a mere 43 year old, I have NEVER been "to the movies". I have only ever been to the cinema, to watch a FILM..

For a night in, I would go to Blockbusters to get either a DVD or a Film too....