Customer profile
What was the name of your video store?
Video Magic
Where was the store located?
Nottingham, Other (United Kingdom)
When did you start shopping at this store?
1987
Describe your video store - what did it look like? What were its distinguishing
features?
The shop has previously been a petrol station, and after the forecourt had been cleared of pumps and air-hoses, only the shell of the shop itself was left...it stood there totally on it's own with flat concrete to the front and sides and waste ground behind it. Not an immediately inviting sight, but as it was the only video store for miles around it did very well. Memory is hazy, but I recall the inside of the shop being very dark...the walls were covered in a kind of dark-oak wood-effect plastic panelling, lit only by a couple of flickering strip lights. The videos themselves were displayed in wire racks on the walls and that was it...you browsed the spectacularly poor collection of movies like you were walking round an art gallery..side stepping along the walls trying to decide what to go for that day. There were a few token posters on the wall, but I guess the owner knew he didn't need to try too hard to get the customers in.
What were the employees and/or owners like, and what kinds of interactions
did you have with them? What particularly memorable exchanges or events
do you remember?
Can't really recall either the owners or any exchanges with them, sorry!
What other services/products did the store offer besides the rental or sale
of videos? Did this change over time?
At the time, nothing, but over the next few years Video Magic moved to a shop on the high street and began to invest in more and better movies...then they opened a second shop in a neighbouring village and then a few years later moved the one in my town to an even bigger shop on the high street. As well the usual chocolate and popcorn, they used to sell music albums on vinyl...then it was CD's and renting Sega Megadrive games. I occasionally drive through my old town (I moved to the 'big city' years ago) and Video Magic is still there...well, in spirit at least...they are predominently an electrical retailer these days, imaginatively named 'Electrical Magic'!
What video formats did the store offer (i.e. VHS, Beta, Laserdisc)? Where were
different formats kept in the store?
VHS only I think
In addition to mainstream Hollywood movies, what other kinds of videotapes
(for example children's, exercise, or X-rated) did the store rent/sell? Where were these
videos found in the store, and how often did you rent or purchase them?
Well thats just it...'mainstream Hollywood' didn't really figure highly in in this shop...most of the films were poorly produced B-movie style horror flicks or violent post-apocaliptic action movies (hink Mad Max or Escape from New York). This weren't no Blockbuster...we're talking about the dreaded 'straight-to-video' market here!
Did you tend to rent or buy videos? Why?
Rent...no one bought videos in those days.
During the period that you shopped at this store, what changes did you see?
See previous answer...
Is this store still open? If not, when did it close?
See previous answer...
In your own words, tell the story of your first VCR/video player. Where
and when did you buy it, and why did you decide to make the purchase?
As I was only 16 at the time, the decision to buy a VCR was not mine, I just remember coming home from school and there was this huge, top-loading monster on the coffee table...blinking it's hazy green LCD time panel at me. This lead to possibly one the most embarassing evenings of my life as my mother's partner, who was (and still is!) only 12 years older than me and clearly had the tastes of a 28 year old, came home from Video Magic with 'Porkys' to 'test' the new VCR. If you've seen this movie, you will know it's not exactly a family film!
Did you ever rent a VCR or other hardware (a camera, for instance)? If so,
how often and why?
video cameras? unheard of in those days...but now you come to mention it, maybe our first VCR was rented...I'm not sure to be honest, but maybe that explains why it just appeared one day at a time when money was tight for us and highly unlikely we could have afforded our own.