Understanding Piece of Disney Movies (PoDM's)...
:wiggle:The Piece of Disney Movies Information Area:wiggle:
As an avid collector of these specific pins I am often asked questions regarding them… Many are based on quality and or value, but questions regarding care, display, storage, factory errors, scene availability, and other topics also often arise… I will post my personal opinions on many of the above concerns and questions…(Again these are just my personal opinions and may not be yours…)
Understanding PoDM Quality and Value…
Unlike any other pins ever created or collected, the quality and value of each and every PoDM is unique and based on numerous factors.
The obvious and most important of course is the actual scene…
But what is it that makes one scene more valuable than another???
To best understand this requires an excellent knowledge of the movie itself and the available scenes from that release. Keep in mind, although the most iconic scene of a movie may always maintain an excellent value, this may not always by the rarest and most valuable scene available. Every scene has slight variances to make the animation appear real, so minor differences such as open or closed eyes makes a difference in quality and value.
Why some scenes are more common than others…
When an animated clip is used to make these PoDM’s, any point in the movie where the characters stops or remains in one place requires many animated cells to perform this action. Thus the result is numerous cells of nearly the exact same scene. Some of the newer faster moving animated releases will naturally have a wider variety of scene variations to choose from.
Does character choice make a difference?
Well yeah a silly question, or is it??? Is the main character of a movie always going to be the most valuable cell to own??? Not necessarily, again this falls under the area of scene rarity over character desirability. There are many PoDM’s that do not feature the main character which will demand a much higher value than those of the main character.
Character position is crucial… Some designs of the pin itself tend to disrupt the view of the cell from certain angles, so a good complete viewing angle must be considered when purchasing.
Unfortunately…Workmanship and Manufacturing flaws are common…
Again unlike any other pin ever created, these require an application of the cells to the pins… What does this mean??? Flaws..!!
Now some flaws are minor and of course some can practically make a PoDM worthless…
A minor flaw can be something such as a small pocket of air gets between the cells and the protective front and is viewable from the front or perhaps a cell is not positioned straight but on an angle…
Major flaws known to exist include, cell installed upside down on numerous releases, hairs and/or dirt between cell and front protector which can be seen, or even excessive air bubbles causing cell view disruption.
What can raise or lower the value of a PoDM?
The absolute number one factor in maintaining or losing the value of a PoDM is care and storage. This is so important that a complete information section is devoted to just this topic.
Can I damage my cells if they are displayed?
Of course you can!!! But if done properly, they can be one of the most impressive displays of pins made and not cause damage to your cells in the long term. This topic will be covered in a future Display and Sharing section…
Care and Storage of PoDM’s
Besides being the most unique release of pins ever created, PoDM’s also have the distinction of being the easiest pin type to sustain damage and lose value. There has never been other pins created that can be so easily ruined through poor care and storage.
There are many ways that a PoDM can sustain minor to major permanent damage and thus lose some or even all of its value. So with this in mind, it is vital to take extra steps to protect your investment. The top three dangers to these pins are sunlight, heat and your personal handling of them.
Cell damage is the worst thing that can happen to a PoDM, and it can happen quickly without you even realizing it happens…
Sunlight is the biggest culprit on damaging any PoDM… This usually happens when PoDM’s are brought to trade in the parks or while at outdoor trading events. Exposing a cell to natural sunlight for any prolonged period causes the cell to quickly lose its coloring and take on a green tint to the entire cell… Ruined… This damage is about as bad as it gets, since the cell looses all its vital colors which is what makes these so special. NEVER expose your cells to sunlight for longer than a few seconds, the damage happens quickly and it is permanent…
Next biggest damaging factor is heat… Heat warps and bubbles the cells… This is very evident in cases where warping causes waves across the film cell which is visible when displayed or photographed. Excessive heat also causes problems with the coloring of a cell similar to that of sunlight. Heat damages this coloring at a slower rate than sunlight, but damage is damage and it adds up in the end. Heat in addition can also after time cause the cells and the thin protective barrier to become brittle and more apt to sustain damage. Keep your PoDM’s in a safe cool environment away from direct and indirect sunlight to prolong their life to the fullest.
Finally, but definite not the least important thing to discuss here is how we damage the PoDM’s ourselves… Yes this happens all the time and is very frustrating when it happens to you. To begin with, the basic handling of these pins… When holding a PoDM, NEVER place your fingers on the cell itself… This is just asking for trouble… Hold the pin on the corners or sides, this ensures that you do not get a pin in the finger and drop it by mistake. Never attempt to repair a cell… often times a small air pocket is in the viewing area and you attempt to squeeze it out… Do not do this as it makes it worse and enlarges the air pocket. Do not use any cleaning agents to clean your cells; this can easily damage the protective barrier. To clean the surface of your cell use a very soft cloth any lightly remove any dust or fingerprints, but do so with caution as dust rubbed onto surface can scratch the protective barrier and remain permanent. Storage of your cells should be in weather proofs containers in a cool dimly lit or dark area (plastic scrapbooking storage containers from your local craft store work excellent for this). If you store more than one layer of cells on sheets in a single container, be sure to add enough sheets between layers to prevent damage to lower layers from the pins above. If you display your PoDM’s on a wall, be sure the wall does not receive any direct or indirect sunlight at any time of the day. If you display the cells in a frame, your best bet is a glass front to prevent dust, smoke, kitchen grease or anything else from gathering on the surface of your PoDM’s. The absolute best way to share and enjoy your PoDM’s and their wonderful scenes is through photography… When you photograph your scene, you can then share it with the world and never again need to remove your PoDM from its safe protective place.
Displaying and Sharing your PoDM’s
One of the most exciting parts of collecting PoDM’s is enjoying the different scenes you acquire and being able to look at them. But as mentioned in the Care and Storage Section, these are fragile pins and the last thing you want to do is cause damage when just trying to enjoy them… Keep the following two things in mind and your PoDM’s will love you for it…
1. Digital Cameras are a PoDM’s Best Friend…
2. LED or Nothing…
Let me explain why these are so important to the Displaying and Sharing of your cells…
As with most pins people collect, it is always fun to mount or display your pins for friends to see or to photograph your displays and share them with other collectors… The same is true with these except for one newly accepted twist… Scene picture’s… That’s right… unlike any other pins before, the picture of the pin isn’t nearly as exciting as the scene picture itself…
But what twist does this add to these pins you ask???
Well it brought technology and pin trading together in a whole new accepted format in which to share and trade your pins…
Unlike any other pin trading before where just a pin number to reference from each trading party was needed… Now when trading for these, you always need to send a picture of the scene as that is what PoDM’s are all about…
This I am sure can be looked at in many different ways, but for the younger generation of traders, the use of more technology is always fun and much more convenient if done properly…
Let’s start with the Sharing… The best way to share your collection with other traders is through pictures of course…
This can be done in numerous ways…
Create a photo album here on DPF in your profile… Then just upload the images for others to enjoy and see…
Use one of many online data and image storage and sharing sites (Facebook or Photobucket for example) to upload your images into an album then share the link with those you wish to share your collection with…
Now with this option you are able to access your collection from your mobile device wherever you may be (Perfect for PTN’s)… This eliminates the possibility of them getting lost, damaged or stolen… Many collectors of PoDM’s such as myself, would rather see a picture of the scene on a mobile device and have you keep the pin home safe and trade in the future if it something we like… With PM’s and E-Mails, pre-trades can be made in advance and only the needed cells be taken to an event while the rest stay home safe until they are needed…
Now if you want to truly experience the happiness of displaying your collection on a wall or shadow box, then you must remember Rule #2… LED or Nothing…
To truly experience these cells in all their beauty, you need light to pass from behind the cell… Light = Damage!!!
Well not all light, but as mentioned above… Natural sunlight as well as constant uninterrupted light can both cause damage…
If you are making a display case of any sort with built in lights… Only use LED Type lighting, as this is the only lighting that does not give off heat…
Also, never hang or display your collection in any area that receives natural sunlight (Reflected light included)
Whenever possible, display cases should have a glass front to prevent natural dust and grim from collecting on the surface of your cell… Things like smoke and kitchen grease can collect and gather additional debris that in time can permanently adhere to your cell…
Photographing Your PoDM’s…
There are many methods used to photograph the scenes of PoDM’s… As well as many things to do once you have taken the picture… I will go fairly in depth on a few issues using common Windows based PC programs… If after reading this section you have any questions or need further guidance on how to improve your pictures, feel free to send me a PM and I can help you with using just about any graphics programs as well as how to manage and work with your pictures files…
If you have Apple based software, the concept is the same, but the programs to crop and edit will differ… Again send a PM if you have questions…
I will be using a PC with just the basic Microsoft Office system and the on-board utilities for the following examples… If you have Photoshop (My Preferred tool) or another software package then this may all be done in the one software package…
Let’s start from the beginning on what I do when taking a picture of a new scene…
First you must prepare the background lighting which best suits the cell you are photographing… For a quick and simple picture, you can just open any blank document on your screen and lean the cell in front of the white portion as pictured in (figure A)… This works just fine for 99% of the situations, but what if you want to see more detail and richer colors… Then it takes a bit more work… If you open the accessories tab you can find a program called Paint… To achieve top quality images, you need to experiment with each cell and find what color background works best for that particular cell… I make big rectangle boxes of colors I work with as shown in (figure B) then I take pictures in front of each… I use a bright white, opaque, and a cream color for most of my images… If you look at (figure E) you will see an example of how background color changes the scene into a whole new spectrum (The yellow on the right is a bit over-exaggerated to show the difference easier)…
Next you want to choose the right camera settings…
If you want to show the front of the pin in your picture as in (figure A) then you will need to use a flash… Otherwise select the No Flash option… The flash reflects the front surface and shows flaws such as scratches and bubbles when used…
Next select the image quality(image file size)… If you look closely you can see the difference with one picture shot using a 2.5M(1920x1280) setting on (figure C) and the one using 12M(4272x2848) in (figure D)… Using a higher resolution setting will bring out more detail in your picture…
After taking your pictures, upload them to your computer and open the file using any graphics program suh as Photoshop or Microsoft Office Picture Manager…
Once opened, use the crop tool to crop off the area outside the cell scene itself…
You can then re-size the image to any size you would like to use… I save all of mine with a width of 9â€â€¦ They seem to view well at that size…
When finished save the new image as a .jpg file… and your done…
More information to be added soon…
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