"The Mishaps of Musty Suffer"…on DVD?

[Joe Migliore]

Hey, I have an idea: Instead of creating more work for Ben, why not use the on-line notes to create your own lush booklets?

[WaverBoy]

Maybe instead of a the online notes being straightforward web pages, they could be done as a PDF in a booklet format, so anyone who wants to can create their own booklet if they want to print it themselves.

An excellent idea. They attempted this with the fantastic liner notes & photos for Becoming Charley Chase, but the problem was that there were two sequential side-by-side booklet pages on each PDF page, which made it impossible to print an actual booklet out of it because the booklet pages weren't in the correct order. There are several bits of software available to easily print booklets out of PDFs, so if the notes are properly formatted, it'd be a cinch. Were Steve's online liner notes going to include some choice Musty pics? I'm not good with graphic design, but perhaps there are some on here who might be skilled in that area, and could squeeze the notes and some pics into something swell. I'd be willing to donate some more $$ to such a person for the effort, for the benefit of all who purchase this awesome item from Ben.

[Christopher Jacobs]

Hey, I have an idea: Instead of creating more work for Ben, why not use the on-line notes to create your own lush booklets?

That's exactly what I did for the Allday "Becoming Charley Chase" set and the Warner Archives Vitaphone Shorts collections and the Vitaphone/Metrotone shorts included with various other Warner releases, as well as for the Dick Van Dyke TV series Blu-ray box set. I did not add any photos, however, and sometimes I just keep them on 8 1/2 by 11 pages next to the discs rather than resizing them in to small booklets that will fit as box inserts, although I've been meaning to get around to that one of these days.

It's not that hard in the latest MS-Word to format things to a specific page size and save it as a PDF file suitable for print or on-line use. The PDF settings can be made to put pages in consecutive order or booklet-printing order.

[BenModel]

Perhaps. Something to consider. Thanks for the idea.

Ben

[Salty Dog]

I might be able to help when the time comes up, I have
done similar booklets in the past.

[BenModel]

"The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" DVD project is now 102% funded. What to do?

While there are 24 extant Musty Suffer shorts, Steve Massa and I have watched them all and feel that 11 or 12 of these are real "winners". Producing a second volume, or expanding to a 2-disc set, would not be feasible; additionally, the logistics and costs of an additional DVD are prohibitive.

Funding that exceeds the initial $4,000 goal will allow me to tansfer an score some or all of the remaining 3 or 4 really good Musty shorts, beyond the 8 that will be on the DVD. These additional shorts will be released on YouTube. A YouTube presence for Musty will allow fans to discover him (and then buy the DVD).

Anything above a pledge total of $4,500 means that the additional 3-4 shorts will get done.

Pledges are being accepted to the Kickstarter until the evening of August 10. Click here to go to the page.

Thanks!

Ben

[WaverBoy]

Ben,

Couldn't you do another volume of Musty later at some point, like you're doing with Accidentally Preserved?

[BenModel]

I could do another disc, but it'd be weaker material and not worth the effort. I realize that the completist/collector would want to see everything, but you're going to have to trust me and Steve on this: there isn't enough material for a second disc.

Thanks for asking.

Ben

[Wm. Charles Morrow]

"The Mishaps of Musty Suffer" DVD project is now 102% funded.

Okay, I'll say it since no one else has: Congratulations!!

[BenModel]

Thanks, Charlie!


from "BLOW YOUR HORN" (1916)

[WaverBoy]

Yes, how remiss of me...here I was, too greedy for more Musty shorts (pun not intended) to be released instead of congratulating Ben. Sir, congratulations on another successful silent film Kickstarter project! Absolutely can't wait to see this, already have THE CRACKERJACK, and I will be ordering your Accidentally Preserved Vol. 1 from Amazon soon. Keep up the good work!

[silentmovies742]

Ben, out of interest, is "Keep Moving" amongst one of the Musty films likely to be included (it may not even survive)?

[moviepas]

Got my Accidently Preserved yesterday(July 25). Yet to view it. Will do soon.

[BenModel]

Ben, out of interest, is "Keep Moving" amongst one of the Musty films likely to be included (it may not even survive)?

The original 5-reel feature of "Keep Moving" does not exist, but the 2nd "Musty" released bears this title. We're pretty sure some of the Musty's in the first series of 10 released include footage from the feature. Not sure if the 1-reel "Keep Moving" will be on the DVD but it may be a contender for the few shorts that will be released online. Need to re-watch, now that there's a viable way to make more of the shorts available than will fit on the DVD.

Ben

[Jim Roots]

That's exactly what I did for the Allday "Becoming Charley Chase" set and the Warner Archives Vitaphone Shorts collections and the Vitaphone/Metrotone shorts included with various other Warner releases, as well as for the Dick Van Dyke TV series Blu-ray box set. I did not add any photos, however, and sometimes I just keep them on 8 1/2 by 11 pages next to the discs rather than resizing them in to small booklets that will fit as box inserts, although I've been meaning to get around to that one of these days.

That's odd. When I downloaded the Chase booklet, it came out exactly as a small booklet, not on full-size pages. I did nothing to change settings or page size.

As for Dick Van Dyke ... grrrrr .... what the f*** does he have against captioning???? He has refused to permit captioning on any and every release of his seminal sitcom. What's his damn problem? Doesn't he realize there are literally millions of deaf and hard of hearing people who need captioning to enjoy his work?

Jim

[BenModel]

I am researching another option re a booklet. We'll let everyone know what we plan to do about all this in the fall. Thanks.

Ben

[WaverBoy]

That's exactly what I did for the Allday "Becoming Charley Chase" set and the Warner Archives Vitaphone Shorts collections and the Vitaphone/Metrotone shorts included with various other Warner releases, as well as for the Dick Van Dyke TV series Blu-ray box set. I did not add any photos, however, and sometimes I just keep them on 8 1/2 by 11 pages next to the discs rather than resizing them in to small booklets that will fit as box inserts, although I've been meaning to get around to that one of these days.

That's odd. When I downloaded the Chase booklet, it came out exactly as a small booklet, not on full-size pages. I did nothing to change settings or page size.

The problem is that you can't print it as a booklet, only as full-size pages that each contain two sequential booklet pages.

As for Dick Van Dyke ... grrrrr .... what the f*** does he have against captioning???? He has refused to permit captioning on any and every release of his seminal sitcom. What's his damn problem? Doesn't he realize there are literally millions of deaf and hard of hearing people who need captioning to enjoy his work?

That's the first I've heard of that; what's the source of that information?

[WaverBoy]

I am researching another option re a booklet. We'll let everyone know what we plan to do about all this in the fall. Thanks.

Ben

Can't wait!

[entredeuxguerres]

As for Dick Van Dyke ... grrrrr .... what the f*** does he have against captioning???? He has refused to permit captioning on any and every release of his seminal sitcom. What's his damn problem?
Jim

Maybe it's because captioning can't reproduce the raucous canned laughter of this & every other sitcom, without which the limp inanity of the "comedy" is all too clearly exposed.

[WaverBoy]

As for Dick Van Dyke ... grrrrr .... what the f*** does he have against captioning???? He has refused to permit captioning on any and every release of his seminal sitcom. What's his damn problem?
Jim

Maybe it's because captioning can't reproduce the raucous canned laughter of this & every other sitcom, without which the limp inanity of the "comedy" is all too clearly exposed.

You're incorrect. Except for one, ALL episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show (like many other classic shows) were filmed live in front of a studio audience, which was actually laughing because (get this) they felt the show was, in fact, funny. They only used canned laughter once, on the episode that was filmed the week of the assassination of JFK, and they felt that nobody would be in a laughing mood no matter how funny the show was.

And, with the exception of two unfortunate episodes that even the cast hates (The Bad Old Days and The Twizzle), I fail to see anything inane about the show whatsoever; it's a frequently brilliant, perfect blend of sophistication and slapstick. (Yes, I know, IMNSHO, but I ain't alone in recognizing the quality of this classic show.)

Sorry for helping drag this off-topic, but I had to clear up that misconception. And now back to Musty...

[boblipton]

I see that the money pledged for Musty Suffer is $4460, just shy of getting the additional episodes posted to Youtube. Any thoughts, Ben, on what you'll offer for the next landmark amount?

Bob

[BenModel]

Bob, the $4,500 amount was the threshold for whether the add'l shorts' release on YouTube was going to happen or not. There's now enough raised to do 1 or probably two add'l shorts for YT release. There are still a couple more Musties that are worth doing, so pledges that come through in the next 2 weeks will fund those.

Ben

[Doug Sulpy]

I just signed up, so the next person will put the project over the $4,500 mark (and be the 100th backer).

Thanks, Ben! I look forward to the seeing these next year. Great idea to put the remaining shorts up on YouTube.

[CoffeeDan]

OK, I'm in!

Good luck with this project, Ben! I can hardly wait to see the results!

[BenModel]

Thanks, Doug and Dan! Pledged funding now in place for 1 or 2 Musty's to be transferred and scored, then released on YouTube.

Titles for the DVD and online releases will be announced in the fall, once I know for certain the films Steve and I have picked have been able to be transferred with no problems.

Thanks!

Ben

[WaverBoy]

It's too bad CreateSpace won't do dual-layer DVD-Rs; then you could squeeze four more Mustys on with no problem. C'mon CreateSpace, dual-layer DVD recording has been standard for years now.

[Jim Roots]

As for Dick Van Dyke ... grrrrr .... what the f*** does he have against captioning???? He has refused to permit captioning on any and every release of his seminal sitcom. What's his damn problem? Doesn't he realize there are literally millions of deaf and hard of hearing people who need captioning to enjoy his work?

That's the first I've heard of that; what's the source of that information?

Not that I want to divert attention from Musty Suffer ... I was told directly by the company that put out the complete set of DVD (Dick Van Dyke) DVD's. Personal edict from Himself. Same as Johnny Carson personally refused to permit captioning on The Tonight Show, either while he was still running it or when they wanted to put out some highlights on VHS after he retired. (You'll notice even the most recent DVD compilations of Carson's years still don't have captioning.) The first thing Jay Leno did when he took over the show was add captioning, which is one reason I'm loyal to Jay.

Now back to the sufferings of ol' Musty...

Jim

[boblipton]

Although The Musty Suffer project has gone over the top, there are only a few days to show your support and get a pre-ordered copy of the dvd.

Click here for details.

Bob

[BenModel]

Yes, that's right, Bob…enough pledges have come in to cover transferring/scoring two more Musty's for release online, but there are still one or two more that could be added to this. Read all about it here.

Ben

[boblipton]

Just two days left to raise $109. That will get one last Musty Suffer up on the Internet

Click here for details.

Bob