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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » Bootleggers.....what can you do? (Page 2)

 
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Author Topic: Bootleggers.....what can you do?
Brad Miller
Administrator

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

- posted 09-12-2003 03:56 PM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
The idea was to make a public spectacle of the bootlegger so others in the auditorium would see the cause of the movie being stopped. Legally we have a responsibility to the studios to ensure that this does not happen. I definitely see a valid point here about not stopping the show, but think about all the people around the bootlegger who suddenly have their attention turned to you getting that camera while they miss part of the movie. At least if the movie was stopped, no one misses anything, people now have gossip to talk about (that could hit papers) and word will spread. Complainers can always be given free refills on popcorn and soda or a pass. NO ONE turns down a pass. If all of the good that comes from it is that people start gossiping, then that may very well have been a successful pause in the show.

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John Pytlak
Film God

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

- posted 09-12-2003 04:00 PM      Profile for John Pytlak   Author's Homepage   Email John Pytlak   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The other option is to make a public example of the criminal as they leave the auditorium, or perhaps during the credits as the house lights come up. (although many pirated videos I've seen chop off the closing credits).

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 09-12-2003 06:33 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Film pirates have to sneak out with the crowd since next to no one stays to watch all the credits. The only reason why a videotaper would still be in the seat by the time the "1-800-PHONE-THX" thing crawled up the screen would be from falling asleep. It would be funny for the staffers cleaning the auditorium to wake him up, tell him to turn off the camera and introduce him to the police.

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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002

- posted 09-13-2003 04:48 PM      Profile for Martin Brooks   Author's Homepage   Email Martin Brooks   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I still refuse to believe that a copy made via camera and microphone actually results in any lost revenue for the industry. It's like making an audio copy by sticking a microphone in front of a loudspeaker.

I think the industry should concentrate on pirated copies and copies made from stolen or borrowed prints. Let's get real.

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

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

- posted 09-13-2003 07:37 PM      Profile for Gordon McLeod   Email Gordon McLeod   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I thought they shot bootleggers,,,opps that was during prohibiton [Big Grin]

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 09-13-2003 07:57 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
One of the most common sources for pirated DVDs (the ones that are out while the movie is in cinemas) is from film reviewers and press people letting them slip into the wrong hands, such as Chinese mass-pirating operations.

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Peter Hall
Master Film Handler

Posts: 314
From: London, UK
Registered: Dec 2000

- posted 09-14-2003 08:40 AM      Profile for Peter Hall   Author's Homepage   Email Peter Hall   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Eastern Europe and increasingly Western Europe markets are flooded with "screenies", i.e just this, films shot with camcorders off the cinema screen and sold at car boot sales etc on VHS and DVD. You can sometimes see exit boxes, hear the popcorn muncher in front and see the camera moving. I can't help but think that this must hurt the industry - somebody buys these tapes and it's not likely that they'll later go to the cinema to see the film or buy the DVD.

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Steve Anderson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 168
From: Nashville, TN
Registered: Feb 2000

- posted 09-14-2003 09:07 AM      Profile for Steve Anderson   Author's Homepage   Email Steve Anderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
My neighbor while on vacation in NYC saw dozens of street vendors selling copies of movies currently playing. He picked up a copy of Bad Boys II and it was a copy straight off a screener copy. Where is the crack down on this?

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 09-15-2003 01:26 AM      Profile for William Hooper   Author's Homepage   Email William Hooper   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Let 'em roll, then bring the lights up at the credits & do it. The audience will love the added drama of the big finish.

I do think an audience finds it VERY gratifying & enjoyable when someone in the audience is ejected during the movie if they're being a nuisance (cell phone, loud talking, etc.)

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Daryl C. W. O'Shea
Film God

Posts: 3977
From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from)
Registered: Jun 2002

- posted 09-15-2003 02:41 PM      Profile for Daryl C. W. O'Shea   Author's Homepage   Email Daryl C. W. O'Shea   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
I still refuse to believe that a copy made via camera and microphone actually results in any lost revenue for the industry. It's like making an audio copy by sticking a microphone in front of a loudspeaker.
That's what the theatre's Assistive Bootlegging System, er.. Assistive Listening System is for. At the very least they'll probably get a decent centre channel, maybe a mono sum of the stage channels or if they're lucky a two channel stereo mix.

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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002

- posted 09-15-2003 10:09 PM      Profile for Martin Brooks   Author's Homepage   Email Martin Brooks   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
There's an article in the NY Times today that maintains 80% of pirated films are due to industry insiders. But films pirated by insiders show up on the streets later than those produced by cameras in a theater.

Here's an excerpt:
quote:
ccording to a new study published by AT&T Labs, the prime source of unauthorized copies of new movies on file-sharing networks appears to be movie industry insiders, not consumers. The study is "the first publicly available assessment of the source of leaks of popular movies," according to its authors.

Nearly 80 percent of some 300 copies of popular movies found by the researchers on online file sharing networks "appeared to have been leaked by industry insiders," and nearly all showed up online before their official consumer DVD release date, suggesting that consumer DVD copying represents a relatively minor factor compared with insider leaks.

"Our conclusion is that the distributors really need to take a hard look at their own internal processes and look at how they can stop the insider leaks of their movies" before taking measures that might hamstring consumers' technologies and rights, said Lorrie Cranor, a researcher at AT&T Labs and lead author of the study.
Here's the URL (free registration required): NY Times: Movie Piracy

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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

- posted 09-17-2003 01:36 PM      Profile for Thomas Procyk   Email Thomas Procyk   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If the theater is not a member of the MPAA (is there stll an option for this?) then do they still have a legal responsibility to catch bootleggers?

Sounds to me like the MPAA should be paying me an extra $20 an hour to "police" the theater and protect their investment/property. Or they can hire a rent-a-cop for $45 an hour. But I sure as hell am not going to play Projectionist AND Cop for my measly slave-wage. In fact, maybe that's where some of the cleaner and better-sounding cammed bootlegs come from -- underpaid projectionists "stealing back" their pay from the film companies. [eyes]

=TMP=

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Chris Trainor
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 161
From: Greenville, RI, USA
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 09-17-2003 05:26 PM      Profile for Chris Trainor   Author's Homepage   Email Chris Trainor   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The theater doesn't have to be a member of the MPAA, typicially stuff like preventing piracy is written into the contracts with the distributers. Nothing major in them tho, just along the lines of "don't let people videotape or photograph the film being shown" etc.

--Chris

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 09-17-2003 05:37 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Nearly 80 percent of some 300 copies of popular movies found by the researchers on online file sharing networks "appeared to have been leaked by industry insiders," and nearly all showed up online before their official consumer DVD release date, suggesting that consumer DVD copying represents a relatively minor factor compared with insider leaks.
That backs up my rant about all the anti piracy politicking going on about DVDs. Why would someone buy a counterfeit DVD when the legit one is available? Pirated movies are only good when the movie is in theatrical release.

I have a couple friends from China and Korea. They often come back with pirated DVDs in hand. All of them have "for review purposes only, property of etc." showing up on screen.

DVDs are priced at an aggressive sell through rate. When Pixar releases a 2-disc set like "Monsters Inc." and most retailers offer it for under $15 I cannot pass it up. At that rate, the title is a bargain. If I wanted to use some app like DVD X-Copy to try to dub off the discs, I would put in more time and work than it was worth just to go out and buy the legit version at the store.

OT: The RIAA needs to come up with a similar formula for music only CDs. How much time does it take the average user to download an album's worth of music? And at what quality? If they adjust the prices accordingly, and add other value-added stuff to the package more people will buy the legit CDs.

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Jim Leko
Film Handler

Posts: 90
From: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Registered: May 2002

- posted 09-17-2003 07:23 PM      Profile for Jim Leko   Email Jim Leko   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The only thing DVD X-Copy would be good for, is copying a series on DVD. The Complete First Season of Star Trek The Next Generation for example, costs about $150. If you can rent it, and put it on disc for $50 (estimate, based on rental cost, and number of discs x2, because DVD X-Copy needs twice as many discs as the original), you save a LOT of money.

Most DVD's however, it is worth it to just buy it in the stores. If you get them the first week they are out, they are usually on sale. You can pre-order the extended edition of The Two Towers for $25.99 on Amazon.com. That is an amazing price for a 4-disc set. It would cost MORE than that, to rent it and DVD X-Copy it.

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