Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Single Worst Use of CAP Code, Ever: A Rant

my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Operations » Film Handlers' Forum » The Single Worst Use of CAP Code, Ever: A Rant (Page 2)

This topic comprises 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Author

Topic: The Single Worst Use of CAP Code, Ever: A Rant

Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 08-04-2004 03:39 PM

Lately for me, I was distracted by Crap Code in Harry Potter 3 and Harold and Kumar.

| IP: Logged

Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 08-04-2004 05:33 PM

Two weeks ago I had 2 critics ask the Dreamworks PR rep what those orange dots were on the print of "Collateral". I told her what they were and what they are for. She had no idea and had never seen them before. She's been with the company for a while.

| IP: Logged

Dan Lyons
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 698
From: Seal Beach, CA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 08-04-2004 05:52 PM

quote: Jesse Skeen
Changeover cues are disrupting enough, but at least they serve a purpose for somebody somewhere (they do need to stop using those too though, and use them only on prints that they KNOW are going to a changeover house.)

Hell no. I like to count the reels when I go see a picture.
The lab cues are also very usefull in determining how many frames, or feet, have been lost when building up a repertory print. [Frown]

danny

| IP: Logged

Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God

Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 08-04-2004 06:02 PM

quote: Dan Lyons was the last to post
Changeover cues are disrupting enough, but at least they serve a purpose for somebody somewhere (they do need to stop using those too though, and use them only on prints that they KNOW are going to a changeover house.)

Bad idea! Since Technicolor, ETS, BVD, COD etc. can't even track the prints already, could you imagine how "well" they'd handle the dreaded "dual inventory"?!

..And how many times I've seen prints mutilated with homemade "cues" done by jackalopes who have no business being near a VCR much less a projector!

Secrest OUT.

| IP: Logged

Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 08-05-2004 02:19 AM

quote: Bill Gabel
Two weeks ago I had 2 critics ask the Dreamworks PR rep what those orange dots were on the print of "Collateral". I told her what they were and what they are for. She had no idea and had never seen them before. She's been with the company for a while.

Not surprising, seeing how most people don't seem to notice the annoying logos that they put on every frame of most TV shows now (why I no longer watch TV)- I think most people are willfully blind.

| IP: Logged

Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-05-2004 03:32 AM

quote: Dan Lyons
Hell no. I like to count the reels when I go see a picture.
The lab cues are also very usefull in determining how many frames, or feet, have been lost when building up a repertory print.

i count the reels too. but cues take all the challenge out of it. and sure, they'll allow you to determine how many frames are missing, but they won't help you recover those frames.

i'd prefer no cues whatsoever. c/o projectionists can add temporary cues or devise other methods of signalling c/o's. the one instance they're useful in platter building is when there are fadeouts. some prints have "lfao" after the last frame, which is great unless you're changeover. better would be 2' of black and then "<--lfoa 2'"

oh, and crap code needs to go away. really.

carl

| IP: Logged

Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-05-2004 11:37 AM

Ironically, I have never seen CAP code on a pirated movie.

So instead of going to the theater, I will simply download the film and watch it in my screening room without the annoying orange dots all over it which were intended to curtail this very practice.

Congratulations, MPAA. Your plan has backfired and you are costing the theaters money. They should all file a class-action lawsuit against you.

=TMP=

| IP: Logged

Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God

Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 08-05-2004 02:48 PM

quote: Carl Martin
i'd prefer no cues whatsoever. c/o projectionists can add temporary cues or devise other methods of signalling c/o's.

Carl: I would agree IF we could be sure that the other "Projectionists" KNEW how to place temporary cues properly. Sadly, that is not the case. The record for most cues on a reel that I've seen so far is EIGHT sets on each reel! Other than all the varoious scratched cues my favorite is the paper dots with the permanent adhesive! Worse than masking tape by far!

Thomas: [beer]

Absoutely! Theatres should file suit!

CAP coding doesn't work, people complain and the industry doesn't give a [bs]

! kinda like the worthless carpool lanes and metered onramps here in Cali.

| IP: Logged

Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003

posted 08-05-2004 06:14 PM

quote: Thomas Procyk
Congratulations, MPAA. Your plan has backfired and you are costing the theaters money. They should all file a class-action lawsuit against you.

YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The worst CrAP I ever saw was on Paycheck. Saw Touch Of Pink this week, and come on, did that really need CrAP code on it?

| IP: Logged

Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 08-06-2004 11:36 AM

I'm quite serious about the issue, and I think there's a legitimate case. These questions have been asked hundreds of times, but no straight answer has been found:

What is the exact purpose of/in what manner is copyright protected by this CAP code?

--If it is to decode the dots on a pirated copy that was made in the auditorium, how is it traced back to the perpetrator? Are the theater or its employees liable if this occcurs? If so, are they being compensated for these security measures?

--If it is to decode the dots on a pirated copy that was made when a print was stolen and run through a telecine, how is it traced back to the perpetrator? Is it possible to track down the bootlegging facility by means of the CAP code, or does it simply prove the fact that the copy was made from the stolen print?

It has been several years since its introduction. How well has the CAP code served its purpose?

--Have there ever been any arrests leading to convictions for film piracy resulting from the use of CAP code? Have any unauthorized copies containing the CAP code been successfully traced back to its origin/perpetrator?

So if it has no clear method of apprehension, thus no clear purpose, and has been unsuccessful at what it was intended to accomplish, then it's useless. As many have stated here, it interferes with the presentation, detracts from the story, and has generated complaints from customers. There is no doubt that this practice is compromising quality standards and hurting business, and thus theater owners and patrons of CAP coded films are entitled to monetary compensation in the amount of hundreds of billions of dollars in punitive damages.

[Smile]

=TMP=

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 08-06-2004 01:02 PM

Articles with details of successful use of CAP Code were reported in trade publications in the early years after the original Kodak-developed version of CAP Code was introduced in 1982:

Time Magazine, 6/6/1983 ("Says Joseph Moscaret, Security Vice President of Paramount Pictures: Using this technique, we caught a guy in 24 hours")

Hollywood Reporter, 5/16/1984 ("Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom")

Hollywood Reporter, 6/25/1984 ("Star Trek III", "Top Secret")

Variety, 12/12/1984 ("...know precisely which print was transferred for each such cassette, to which theatre that print was delivered, and by whom."

Los Angeles Herald Examiner, 2/28/1985 ("Beverly Hills Cop", "Dune")

Variety, 5/28/1986 (Warner Bros. release of "Cobra")

Newsweek 7/27/1987 ("It was found that pirated tapes (of "Dune") found in 16 countries had been copied from just two prints", the article reported multiple arrests and seizures)

| IP: Logged

Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-06-2004 01:42 PM

Actually the worst cap code eer is in the film-tech chat room and no matter how much I clean the monitor with FG those orange spots don't go away
No doubt next we will get chat room rain leading up to a changeover cue everytime a new post is made to it [Wink]

| IP: Logged

Dean Kollet
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 591
From: Florida State University
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 08-06-2004 01:49 PM

Kill Bill, Vol. 1....worst cap code for me. Beautiful scene at the end "winter wonderland"....picture looked stunning, all of a sudden....BLOOOP.....still pisses me off

| IP: Logged

Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 08-06-2004 01:54 PM

But Dean, it's worth it to have every single print look like crap, detracting from the enjoyment value of the theatrical experience in order to catch a would be pirate! Where are your priorities? [Smile]

| IP: Logged

Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 08-06-2004 05:14 PM

From John's post it would seem the original Kodak cap code (which wasn't obnoxious) worked, then a few years later it became useless and incredibly annoying. [Razz]

| IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Printer-friendly view of this topic

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.