Media Lounge / Curating a Collection for You
Last Updated: 23/05/2024
Curating a Collection for You
If you own a great 4K HD, Blu-ray, DVD etc etc of a film or films you love…you are the custodian of those films for generations to come.
— Guillermo Del Toro (@RealGDT on X, Novermber 20th, 2023)
So, you’ve been convinced to stick it to the man in the fibre optic cables, and now it’s time to start the hunt! Or maybe you’ve been convinced and you’re looking for tips from a like-minded individual. Or maybe you're just clicking around and want to probe my brain, if so thanks for being here anyway. Here are some tips that I keep in mind while I’m building my collection.
Right Near the Start...
Taking inventory is either going to be the most exciting part of the process, or the most tedious depending on what kind of person you are. I would highly recommend this step before you start, whether you have 10 DVDs or 100. This process has two purposes: one, it gives you a list of what you already have so you don’t accidentally re-purchase anything while you’re out and about and two, it shows you what you already have so you can see if there are any gaps you have right off the bat that you want to fill. My partner has been bringing me copies of the movie X2 for years nearly every time we have gone to a thrift store, and I’ve been absolutely convinced we had it at home. We have not. (Sorry honey). On the flip-side, I bought the exact same version of the movie Gladiator we already had at home, because I didn’t remember we had it. I have a spreadsheet, some people use Letterboxd, but use whatever makes the most sense for you.
Creating a wishlist will help you not only stay on track and avoid blind-buying, but also it will help you leverage red car theory while you’re shopping. I have a physical written list, but also I keep a relatively similar one active on eBay. By doing this, you have the titles memorized and/or you know what the spines or box art looks like and you’ll be more tuned into being able to find them while browsing through stacks or collections. This is similar to the idea in psychology of if you are more aware of, let’s say, the idea of a red car, all of a sudden you will start to notice that there are more red cars out on the road. This doesn’t mean there are necessarily more red cars all of a sudden, but that you are personally seeing more red cars than before you were made aware of it. If you know what you’re looking for, you will be more likely to see it sticking out.
Decluttering may seem counterintuitive for building a collection, but the point I’m trying to convey is not to amass for amassing’s sake, but to curate something that is convenient, valuable, and reflective of your personality and tastes. If you have to move stuff out of the way to get to what you actually want to watch, or if you’re extremely embarrassed by some of the more kiddish movies you’ve kept since you were little, it may be time to let some of them go. You may also realize that this needs to be an ongoing process for yourself, depending on how much you go through every year.
If you're unsure about whether or not you actually want to get rid of something, if you have the space for it you can always just tuck the unwanted titles away. I don't store a lot of my more "kiddy" DVDs with the rest of my collection, but my philosophy is that "if they're not bothering anybody," they can stay.
Don't forget to consider storage, and that might look different depending on your needs and preferences. Some people like a really tidy and condensed collection with those thin half-width DVD cases or the plastic sleeves to make the most of their space, while others like a nice big room that looks like an old-fashioned video rental store.
As You Get Into It
Collect what you love, and not what you feel pressured to. This might be my most controversial tip here, but I'm just going to say it: your collection doesn't need to include every single Oscar winner, or every single Toronto International Film Festival movie or the "greats" of classic cinema if that's not something you enjoy collecting. You don't need to spend 50$ on a boutique release of a movie you already own, or 90$ for a collection by a director you've never heard of. Your colelction is a reflection of you, and if you're literally just watching movies for one or two hot actors, hey, I've been there. You do you.
Avoid blind-buying as much as you can. This is probably the biggest tip I can give. While I don’t stick to this 100% of the time, I try to be very intentional with what I bring into my house, and what I realistically will watch and enjoy. To try something new, streaming (legit or… not) or borrowing from a friend or your local library is a good and a cheaper way to do so.
Don’t be afraid to buy second-hand. DVD as a format has been around since the mid 90s, and with both formal home video releases and the direct-to-video trend there are probably millions if not billions of DVDs floating around in the world. Just make sure what you’re buying has the correct disc and that the disc isn’t damaged in any way you’re not comfortable cleaning or repairing. You can always take a good-quality disc and put it into a new case.
Consider what an “upgrade” means to you, as sometimes the most recent printing may not actually be more worthwhile. In 2012, Disney released the Diamond Edition of Lady and the Tramp as a special DVD, Blu-ray and digital release. The special features included with the Diamond Edition were for the most part reissues of the same ones I already enjoy well enough on my Platinum Edition copy I’ve had since 2006, so this was not an upgrade I thought was worth my money. You also don’t need to switch to Blu-ray or 4K if you personally enjoy what you are comfortable with.
This also applies to the upgrading of your setup. While new is exciting, if you're happy with your old DVD player you've had since 2004 and it still works, there is no reason to ditch it for the sake of ditching it. I personally have no interest in 4K, so my current computer's optical drive and my little Blu-ray player keep me perfectly happy.
Update your lists. Remember how I suggested the list of what you have and what you want? Keep those updated as you go through your collecting journey, but at the same time don't feel pressured by it. Our tastes change as we grow, and every once in a while it's important to reflect on whether or not a title or series is something you're still interested enough to invest in, make room for, and watch. Sometimes we go through phases, or seasons, or moods, and it's important to work with that. This is supposed to be fun!
And a bonus tip:
Keep a CD cake box handy and use it to store irrelevant, damaged, or otherwise unusable discs. Due to the nature of the linear progression of time, there will be discs that are simply no use to anyone and will need to be disposed of or recycled (depending on what your jurisdiction accepts). Keeping them in one of these bad boys means that you are not only freeing up space in cases, but also avoids the issue of introducing the damaged disc back into circulation.
For real. Yes it should be up to staff to ensure the quality and functionality of the product at second-hand stores, but let's be real most of them aren't getting paid enough to do that. Holding onto a disc until you can responsibly dispose of it keeps others from not only wasting money, but from being disappointed.
Most importantly though, engage with your collection! Watch your movies and talk about your favorite ones! Or just stare at them on the shelf! Being "that guy still talking about DVDs/Blu-rays in [current year]" may get you some weird looks, and yes it's frustrating to have the same conversations over and over again about how it's not a dead medium or hobby, but there is something really special about having a collection that reflects what you love and that you can share with the right people.
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