A (VHS) screener was a promotional VHS shipped to rental shops that used to plug an upcoming or new movie, television show, or similar to the public or press before its premiere or release.
Screeners would mostly be found in a fullscreen (1.33:1) format, although some are also in (letterboxed) widescreen. A screener mostly will have a "ticker" (message, copyright, and anti-copy telephone number) scrolling past the bottom of the screen sideways, while some feature markings that lead to the source of the video. Many of these types of videos will block these markings, while on others, the markings remain on the screen throughout the entire video. A screener can be filmed in two ways: subpar if done on a VHS recorder through poor capture equipment on a copied tape, or a superior print done from a master quality video.
From 1998 to 2001, Lyrick Studios sold screener tapes, most of which utilize the original masters of the episodes from their previous Everland Entertainment/Word Entertainment releases.
List[]
- Where's God When I'm S-Scared? (January 29th, 1998)
- Are You My Neighbor? (January 29th, 1998)
- Bob and Larry's Favorite Stories! (February 19th, 1998)
- Rack, Shack and Benny (March 21st, 1998)
- Dave and the Giant Pickle (March 21st, 1998)
- The Toy That Saved Christmas (June 25th, 1998)
- God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! (August 25th, 1998)
- Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space! (August 25th, 1998)
- Very Silly Songs! (February 5th, 1999)
- Josh and the Big Wall! (February 5th, 1999)
- Madame Blueberry (May 9th, 1999)
- Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed (November 4th, 1999)
- The End of Silliness? (March 18th, 2000)
- King George and the Ducky (April 28th, 2000)
- Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen (November 7th, 2000)
- Lyle the Kindly Viking (January 23rd, 2001)
- The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown (June 26th, 2001)
- Jonah Sing-Along Songs and More! (June 18th, 2002)
- The Star of Christmas (August 14th, 2002)
- Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (December 17th, 2002)
- The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment! (March 4th, 2003)
- The Ballad of Little Joe (June 10th, 2003)
- An Easter Carol (January 19th, 2004)
- A Snoodle's Tale (March 9th, 2004)
- Sumo of the Opera (June 8th, 2004)
- Duke and the Great Pie War (December 28th, 2004)
- Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush (May 3rd, 2005)
- Lord of the Beans (September 6th, 2005)
- Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler (December 20th, 2005)
- LarryBoy and the Bad Apple (June 25th, 2006)
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008)
Fun Facts[]
Trivia[]
- While the screener versions for Rack, Shack and Benny (has the old 1995 version of The Bunny Song), Dave and the Giant Pickle, and Very Silly Songs! have the 1998-2000 theme song and 1998 Big Idea closing logo spliced within their original masters from their previous Everland Entertainment/Word Entertainment releases (although The Toy That Saved Christmas has just its original 1996 version as is), the screeners for Where's God When I'm S-Scared? (using the 1994 master) and Are You My Neighbor? retain the 1994-1997 theme song while using their original masters.
- As for the original post-credits closing bumpers on said latter two tapes (before transitioning to the Lyrick Studios closing logo), Where's God When I'm S-Scared? has the screen fade out immediately after the last shot of its closing credits comes up for a second, and Are You My Neighbor? rather speeds up its credits and has the original 1995 Big Idea closing logo last longer on the screen until the instrumental of I Can Be Your Friend finishes.
- In addition, the screener tapes for God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?!, Rack, Shack and Benny, Dave and the Giant Pickle, and The Toy That Saved Christmas — while having the original masters but not the same 1994-1997 intro as mentioned — were oddly shipped in their covers reused from their previous Everland Entertainment/Word Entertainment releases.
- Some copies of the 1997 VHS of Are You My Neighbor? oddly use the screener tape's master which contains the Lyrick Studios logo at the beginning and end, despite most copies of it normally having just the Purplestone FBI/Interpol Warning screens, the program itself and the Big Idea closing logo.
- Bob and Larry's Favorite Stories! uses a prototype version for its screener tape and has several differences from the final print (see page for details). A different title card was used, and while the 1998 theme song played twice, the included episodes use their original masters from their previous Everland Entertainment/Word Entertainment releases.
- The screener tapes of God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! and Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space! were released on the same day as the 1998 reprints of Rack, Shack and Benny and Dave and the Giant Pickle.
- The screener tape of The Star of Christmas was released on the same day as the premiere of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.
- The screener tape of The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment! was released on the same day as the home video release of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.
- The screener tape of The Ballad of Little Joe was released on the same day as both The Good, the Bad, and the Eggly and Have We Got A Show For You!: Ten Years of VeggieTales Greatest Hits.
- The screener tape of A Snoodle's Tale was released on the same day as VeggieRocks!.
- The screener tape of Sumo of the Opera was released both exactly 5 years after the 1999 reprints of Very Silly Songs! and Josh and the Big Wall! and on the same day as The Bumblyburg Superhero Value Pack!.
- The screener tape of LarryBoy and the Bad Apple was released exactly a year after Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush.