Any time you acquire a really fancy "
Collectors Edition"
box set of a notable movie, there's a good chance, when you open the box, you'll find any of a great assortment of collectors items within the box. Bonus
DVD materials are commonplace, as well are supplimentary soundtracks, and the obligatory
photographic memoir of production. One of the more intresting artifacts to be found in these boxes is a Senitype.
A senitype, as best as I can tell, is two pieces of cardstock, approximately 5" wide by 7" tall, glued together, with a small window cut through both cards, about 1.5" wide by 1" tall. Into that window, a 35mm film frame reproduction is inserted.
Not an actual bit of the original film, merely a reproduction.
On the front of the card, the image contained within the film frame is printed in a larger, easier to view format. On the back is a brief explanation of what you have received. The senitype I'm currently describing came from my Schindler's List box set. The text on the back reads as follows:
THE SENITYPE®
skipping the obligatory movie specific drivel...
CDA ENTERTAINMENT AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME VIDEO ARE PROUD TO RELEASE THIS LIMITED EDITION ARTWORK (THE SENITYPE®). THE SCHINDLER'S LIST SENITYPE® IS A LIMITED EDITION ART GRAPHIC PRODUCED FROM A SINGLE FRAME OF MOTION PICTURE FILM AND INCLUDES ONE FRAME OF THE CORRESPONDING FILM FOOTAGE. THIS ARTWORK BEGINS WITH THE CAREFUL SELECTION OF A SINGLE FRAME OF FILM THAT IS DIGITALLY SCANNED AND EXPERTLY REPRODUCED ONTO ART PAPER USING INTRICATE STATE-OF-THE-ART IMAGING AND PRINTING TECHNIQUES. THE FILM FOOTAGE IS AN ACTUAL 35-MILLIMETER FILM FRAME REPRODUCED FROM THE ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE BY MASTER OPTICAL FILM TECHNICIANS. EVERY SENITYPE® HAS BEEN INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED FOR THIS EDITION.
(The tremendous amount of repetitive HTML required for that brief text makes me long for some better way...)
In any case, there is a tremendous lack of information on the internet about what, exactly, a senitype is, but it does state that the registered trademark does belong to Hollywood Archives Collectibles. Unfortunately, this organization has about as much an internet paper trail as does senitype itself.
I leave this open as an invitation for people who know more, or are more capable of research to add to this, because I am very much aware my knowledge of the subject is scant.