From: Adam Hyman (email suppressed)
Date: Fri Apr 16 2010 - 10:34:47 PDT
Yale Labs in LA is like that run by diligent Mormons, wonıt print things
that are naughty. As they are one of the two places to get super 8 done
here, itıs problematic, but they are up front about it and will refer you to
the other place.
On 4/16/10 9:28 AM, "Joan Hawkins" <email suppressed> wrote:
> HI all, I've run into a problem this term and I guess I'm wondering how common
> it is, and how you handle it.
>
> I teach film history and criticism courses, but in my avant-garde classes I
> always allow
> students to do a film as part of their final project. In the past, I've never
> had any problem, even when
> content as well as style was provocative and edgy. This semester one of my
> students, who is also enrolled in advanced production, sent footage--enough
> for two class films' worth of shots-- to a lab for processing and printing.
> The lab processed the film but refused to print it because they found the
> material objectionable.
>
> From what I've been able to piece together from the production prof's report
> and the student's account, there are suggestive scenes
> but no actual sex, someone in a corset and about 5 secs of full frontal male
> nudity. We're sending the processed film to a different lab in LA or NY for
> actual printing, the student is calling to talk to them first and then the
> production prof and I will provide documentation, if necessary, that this is
> for a
> class project (actually 2 class projects). Ironically, this entire brouhaha
> broke the day I was planning to discuss the NEA Four and the culture wars of
> the 80s/90s in class, so we had quite a "teachable moment," as my husband
> wryly called it.
>
> I haven't been able to persuade the production prof to tell me the name of the
> lab that refused to print the film; she only says the lab
> is in the South. She did send me their printed disclaimer, which I'm pasting
> in below. What I'm wondering is how common this is and how
> you all handle similar situations. Should I make a practice of warning
> students that they need to alert the lab first if there's suggestive material?
> And what in the world counts as suggestive material?-- this disclaimer covers
> much of what goes on in mainstream Hollywood movies and television.
>
> As a caveat, I haven't SEEN the film yet, so I don't know what the footage
> actually looks like, but the description I got from both
> the student and my colleague make it sound like stuff you could see any night
> on cable. Thanks for any suggestions you can send. Joan
>
> The published lab caveat is as follows:
>
> "SUBJECT MATERIAL POLICY
> We realize that the artist has full and total choice of expression. However,
> we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. As a policy, we do not and
> will not process, print, repair, or transfer any film containing: nudity,
> pornography, sexual acts (either real or simulated), lewdness, satanic,
> occultic, religiously blasphemous, exploitative of children, debasement of
> women, containing S & M, anything illegal, or in any way extremely offensive
> to us. Nor will we participate in the desensitization of or the glorification
> of killing, rape, violence, gore, suicide, torture, profanity, etc. whether in
> visual or audio form. "
>
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