The need to get movies is the main reason that schlock needs to be organized early. The traditional way of getting schlock has been to order reel-to-reel films from Kit Parker or Swank. SWIL has an account with Kit Parker, meaning that you can order by phone. The account is called ``Swarthmore College: SWIL'', i believe, and is no doubt in the name of someone who graduated long ago, but they're usually willing to change that when you phone.
It would be good to have up-to-date catalogs from some of these companies. Currently, we don't, so the presidents should do something about phoning the companies and ordering new catalogs. Prices and availability of films change over 15-year periods, believe it or not. This can be done any time, and should preferably be done early enough in the year that it'll do some good.
Schlock movies usually need to be ordered by credit card. Budget Committee will only write checks, so schlock should be ordered by getting a Swillie with a credit card to pay, then getting BC to write a check to the student.
Major movie companies like Kit Parker sell reel-to-reel movies. These are more fun, since projector difficulties enhance the movie experience. However, it is also possible (and cheaper) to buy many schlock movies on videotape, either from Movies Unlimited locally, or online, from Amazon or other such retailers. Budget for schlock is usually about $400, which is enough for one or two reel-to-reel films, depending on price. Cost of videotapes is trivial, frequently about $10 each.
Be sure to order movies early to allow time for shipping. Reel-to-reel movies will need to be returned to the company as soon as possible. The film company should provide return UPS labels, so movies can simply be taken to the mail room in Parrish when we're done with them.
By: Chaos Golubitsky '00 -- Last revised: 18 January 2000