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By ProtonDefender
#4979892
As I’ve been doing yet another deep dive into the packs (as I do every 5 years or so haha), I’m left wondering about the pack designations.

Going through The Ghostbusters Reference library made a lot of sense with “Spengler Pack”/“Stantz Pack”/etc. but coupling that with watching videos of “The Proton Pack is Not a Toy”, I’m scratching my head—exactly how/when was it decide that *this* pack is the Spengler pack…*this* is the Venkman, and so on, as it’s shown that different packs were used/exchanged between all 4 busters in the original (ie, “In this scene, Peter is wearing the Stantz pack; Stantz is wearing the Spengler…”).

I understand the designation for the Omni and Superhero pack, as they have distinct features unique to themselves, but why designate something specific to the character when they each wore different ones in different scenes? Is it they wore a certain pack the most in the original movie? Is it working things backwards from GBII when they had labels like “Ray” or “2” in the heroes/semi-heroes…?

Any insight is appreciated!

Forgive me if this has been explained.
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By Kingpin
#4979922
I believe as you deduced, it's down to one actor wearing a Pack for the longest amount of time compared to any other who may've also worn that prop.

In a few instances there are also labels applied to some of the Packs which may've also led to their naming... Some of the GB1 Packs have masking tape with the actor's name written on them, while some of the GB2 Packs had those embossed labels with the character's name stuck to them.
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By ProtonDefender
#4979975
Thank you--I always wondered when the labels were actually applied. When it comes to GBII, there seems to be a bit more consistency in terms of actors wearing their designated hero/semi-hero packs (Aykroyd is seen with the #2/"Ray" labels, etc), something they would have figured out going into production. It is GB that puzzles me, and I feel like the labels were eventually added mid or even post production, as the various packs rotate amongst the actors with seemingly no rhyme or reason (other than "we need the superhero for a closeup, the foams for stunts, etc).
User avatar
By Kingpin
#4979997
I dare say you're on the money.

The question remains unanswered if it was purely for continuity reasons, or other practical requirements that led to each actor having an assigned Pack... Maybe one was lightened to accommodate Bill's complaints about the weight of the props? (Which is what led to the beefier should straps on the GBII Pack props).

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