I was recently asked by my friend @whitebobafett, "In your opinion, what is the purest form of a movie trading card as far as what's portrayed: a movie still, set photo, studio photo or some sort of illustration."
What a question! Please weigh in below in the comments, but here is my response.
When I started collecting cards in the late 1970's, there were certain cards to which I was especially drawn. In baseball cards, I wanted the cards that showed the action of the game. I didn't really care for the cards where the player posed for the camera. That didn't seem authentic to me as a kid. I don't mind those as much these days, but my eyes are still drawn to the action shot. Take for example the two cards here from the Topps 1994 series 1 set. The posed Eric Karros card #115 versus the Ivan Rodriguez card #165 which shows Rodriquez in a throw to second base with his mask still in the air after being flung off during the throw. The posed card just can't hold up to that action! When I get sports cards, my expectation is I want to see my sports "heroes" in action shots. Nothing against Eric Karros or the photographer, it just doesn't hold up.
My opinion is the same for movie cards. The cards which garner the most attention of my eyes are the shots from the movies. For my example of this, I am using cards from the Empire Strikes Back (red border) from 1980. Fortunately for me and a reason this set is one of my favorites, almost all cards are action/film cards. The set opens with 11 "Star File" cards that have several posed shots. While I find the back of these cards to be interesting with information, the front, except for Boba Fett, didn't really do much for me as a kid. If I wasn't a completist, I would have traded these cards away for others like the Star Destroyer chasing the Falcon (see below). Now that is action!
So to answer the question, the action/movie still cards are, to me, the purest form of a trading card. Those are the cards that take my mind back to the film. They place me back into the theater or my living room where I first experienced the characters, ships, settings, and conflict. It returns me to the dialog or the explosions or the ships flying through space. I don't have a problem with the poses or the amazing art cards, but they don't create a return to the story for me like a movie still card does.
1 comment:
Part of the reason I asked was because I felt myself going back and forth on this on the Star Wars Card Trader app. There is definitely an ever-present appeal in seeing frames from the films/TV shows, but my opinion of them is constantly compromised by what I've determined to be the following oversimplified reasons:
Landscape mode - In order to view (most) movie cards, I have to turn my phone sideways. Something about having to do this within a vertically formatted app takes away a bit of their appeal. Also, in my mind, the default prototypical trading card (whether pop culture or sports) is in portrait format as well.
Premium cards - Most signature and relic cards (or at least the ones in my admittedly small collection) feature studio or set portraits. The extra perceived value of these types of cards subconsciously contributes to (against?) my impression of movie cards.
Inserts - This reason is rooted in my even smaller experience with real life card-collecting. My general impression is that insert cards tend to be visually distinct from base sets, and as such are more likely to either feature art or elaborate borders/backgrounds. I'm somewhat aware that this rule of thumb isn't so clear cut across all Star Wars products (I think the Galaxy sets are exclusively art, for example), but is prevalent enough to create this particular bias.
Perceived effort - Speaking strictly in the context that the film or TV show in question has already been completed, movie cards require perhaps the least amount of effort in the sense that it's much easier to "take a screenshot" as opposed to drawing/painting something by hand or setting up studio lighting for portrait sessions. This sometimes unfairly gives movie cards a "cheaper" quality to them.
Perceived abundance - This is again from my very limited impression from my short amount of time collecting digital cards but from what I've seen, movie cards tend to be part of rather large sets with multiple waves. This also zaps them of perceived value.
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