How are you? What are you working on, artistically or otherwise? Who or what has shaped who you are? What inspires you? What do you love? Send a letter to luke@retroduck.com and let me know. These letters inspire me. I hope they inspire you, too.
I have often said, “Sundays are for worship and Netflix.” An old friend, Josh Ramirez, writes in about a different and unique way to relax and enjoy the movies on your weekend day.
Dear Luke,
Thank you for your interest in my unusual hobby. I did my first swap in October of 2019, although, I’d been thinking about it for a few months previous. I like to post pictures of my swaps on Instagram, where I get inspiration and encouragement. I decided to make a goal for myself to post a new swap every Sunday for the 2020 year (maybe beyond?). I try to coincide the swaps with events, holidays and the like (although sometimes I get ideas a bit too late). So far, I’ve been keeping up with that goal and I feel like I’m getting better at it.
As far back as I can remember, I have always loved movies. The first movie I saw at the theatre was Ghostbusters. I was a toddler at the time and was terrified yet intrigued. It is, to this day, my favorite movie. As an adult who grew up in the ’80s, I am fascinated with the technological changes in the industry. I can’t help but obsess over analog technology, though. I’ve collected music on cassette and vinyl for many years. I’ve amassed an enormous collection of VHS cassettes as well. If I had to guess, I currently own around 700 cassettes. Obviously, VHS tapes are no longer mass produced so thrift stores are my main source. Vintage horror is particularly hard to find, so I scoop that stuff up every chance I get. Ebay is a decent source if you are willing to pay. Spoiler alert: I am.
Spoolswapping is basically the swapping out of the actual VHS film spools and putting them into a new colored cassette case that better personifies the film itself. I also like to swap to cassettes that match the cover art of the sleeve. Swapping spools is a pretty simple process. Really, you only need a small screwdriver, a heat source (heat gun or hairdryer) and a glue stick. There are five tiny screws that need to be removes from the back of the cassette. You have to be careful removing the the spools and keeping the tiny components together. You don’t want to wrinkle the film or the movie might get choppy when you play it. Do the same with the other tape and swap those bad boys out!
Once you screw the cassette back together, you gotta get the label on. I use a hairdryer to heat up the label as this will make it easy to peel it off. This should be done extremely carefully as to preserve the integrity of the label. All that’s left is using a glue stick to apply the label on the new tape and you’re good to go.
In this age of streaming services, I believe that it’s important to preserve analog technology for nostalgic purposes. Also, there have been countless times where I want to watch a film, and I can’t find it on any streaming platform. When you own hard copies, you can watch whenever you please. Furthermore, it’s pretty sweet to have an aesthetically pleasing copy of said movie. That’s about it. I’m about six months in and I won’t be slowing down any time soon! I look forward to making custom VHS cassettes of newer films that were never able to see the glory of VHS. I’m excited to see what I can do going forward.
Yours truly,
Josh