This is topic New Technicolor "Anti-Piracy" policy in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Jeff Lacey (Member # 3217) on 04-21-2006, 07:10 PM:
 
Anyone else get the Technicolor Anti-Piracy memo, where they are now going to alternate reels in cans? All odd numbered reels are going to be in one can and all even numbered reels are going to be in another....

Anyone see how this is going to solve the piracy problem? It seems like a bit more work at the theater level. I hate to see how the prints will end up once the brain-dead $6/hr "booth ushers" get done with it.
 

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Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 04-21-2006, 07:33 PM:
 
Exactly what I would say. With no offense meant to anyone who is retarded, this ranks as one of Technicolor's most retarded "decisions" ever. Films are going to be more likely to be put together with reels out of order by people who aren't aware of the new policy and aren't paying attention.

Also, this policy will only add confusion with regards to circuited prints. Is Technicolor going to rearrange the reels if the print stops at the depot? I know my staff will most likely put the reels back in the cans in numerical order when breaking down a film.

And if the studios really want to combat piracy they should focus more on the ad agencies and production houses where the potential for high-quality piracy is far greater.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-21-2006, 08:02 PM:
 
What's really pathetic about this is that there is actually someone (or worse yet, a group of people) who are coming up with these idiotic ideas...and getting PAID for it!
 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 04-21-2006, 08:18 PM:
 
Is the assumption that the films are being intercepted in shipment and copied before receipt at the theatre? Are there reasons to believe that the films are being copied after showing and before transport back to the depot?

If you need both cans of film to complete the feature, how does the odd even packaging make any difference? You still would need both cans for a complete show.

If one can is delayed in transit, you could make up either the first or last half of the feature while waiting for the other can to arrive. With the odd even packaging you are just ____!

Is this post a little late or was it meant for 4/1/06?

KEN
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 04-21-2006, 08:25 PM:
 
Everyone should email Tim Burke stating that doing this will not slow down piracy, rather it will take and foul up first and possibly second run presentations. Working in a second run house, I've yet to receive a print from technicolor that goes 123S S456. I've had first three in one and last three in another, rarely have I found them in sequenchal order.

This plan of "Anti-Piracy" looks like another way to push for Digital Cinema.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 04-21-2006, 08:26 PM:
 
This is rather odd... I send an email to technicolor asking them to explain exactally how this is going to prevent piracy and the reconsider this decision. If enough of us do this, they may reconsider.
 

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Posted by Jeff Lacey (Member # 3217) on 04-21-2006, 09:17 PM:
 
Ken...

I received the fax today, so I am assuming that this new policy starts today.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-21-2006, 09:24 PM:
 
Arranging deck chairs on the Titanic! Louis
 

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Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 04-21-2006, 09:29 PM:
 
So does anyone have Tim Burke's e-mail address?
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 04-21-2006, 09:45 PM:
 
Ahhahahahahahaha!

Wait, wait....I've got an even better idea...how bout loading the reels wind alternating directions, i.e., R1 with the wind coming off the right side of the reel, R3 the wind comes off the left side, then R5 off the right side again! And then get this....sheer brilliance.....in the second can, REVERSE them!

Damn....I'm a freakin genius!!


THE INMATES A RUNNING THE ASYLUM!!
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-21-2006, 09:48 PM:
 
Boy Ky, you have that all wrong...

You see, it is standard policy in theatres when sending a print out to:

A) Not reattach the leaders and tails

B) If they are attached to not necessarily attach them to the correct reels so as to foil a would-be thief into an out of order duplication

C) To attach the leaders/tails with duct tape to ensure the would-be theif's telecine (since that MUST be how prints are allegidly stolen) will be ruined when the tape hits the machine.

Technicolor is just trying to get a jump on the whole thing!
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 04-21-2006, 09:53 PM:
 
Tim Burke's Email address is in the Reel News Newsletter that was faxed out today.

tim.burke@thomson.net

He also give an extention at the 800-99-Films number.

--Tom
 

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Posted by Ron Curran (Member # 3631) on 04-21-2006, 10:10 PM:
 
We have been receiving prints on flats in odds and evens boxes for some time now, also with some spools tail-out and some head-out. It is confusing enough for us, let alone the pirates with the eye patches.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-21-2006, 11:32 PM:
 
I have a feeling this is just something Tim has been told to do by the studios, so assuming he likes the idea of keeping his job, he must do it.

However that doesn't make this practice even the slightest bit intelligent! The more I think about it, the more I think this may be the stupidest idea EVER in the name of trying to prevent piracy.

I dropped Tim an email letting him know about this thread, so even if TES doesn't let him reply publicly, at least he is reading your comments.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-21-2006, 11:42 PM:
 
FWIW, the newsletter I got from TES today didn't have a word about this new "policy."

Also there is a survey in that newsletter, be sure to fill it out! (Join me in putting in a gripe about "not enough trailers" for me, willya?)
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 04-21-2006, 11:49 PM:
 
To go along with anything that Tim Burke my read now, as Brad had dropped him a message and invited him to the forums, Digital Cinema is the worst Idea that the industry is trying to press upon us. Read on Please. 70mm VS. Digital Cinema
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 04-22-2006, 01:52 AM:
 
Hold up here guys...maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all. If nothing else, it's a good measure of the intelligence of the guys who actually thought up this policy. So that being our cue, why don't we encourage them to continue this odd/even reel thing....tell them it is SUCH a brilliant anti-piracy device that, along with their other too-ingenius-for-words anti-piracy device -- that of putting phony titles on the shipping cans -- the combination of the two amounts to such a insurmountable foil for would-be pirates that there is no longer any need for CRAP CODES! The codes can simply be eliminated!

I can see them now, all sitting around their conference table over there at Technisylum, scratching the needle holes in their foreheads where all that botox has leaked into their brain pans and saying, "Golly gee, those guys on Film-Tech are right....we don't need Crap Codes any more. Get Tim Burk on the horn...send out the Decree. NO MORE CRAP CODES ON OUR PRINTS."

This could work to our advantage.
 

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Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 04-22-2006, 03:15 AM:
 

quote: Steve Guttag

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C) To attach the leaders/tails with duct tape to ensure the would-be theif's telecine (since that MUST be how prints are allegidly stolen) will be ruined when the tape hits the machine.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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FWIW, the newsletter I got from TES today didn't have a word about this new "policy."

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quote: Robert Burtcher

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As has already been said, it'd likely cause more headaches in the booth than anything else.

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If a booth is run by people who will get stumped by reels not being in order in a can, then they deserve to have plenty headaches.

Maybe if a few shows have to be stopped because someone built a show with reels loaded out of sequence, theatre management might get the message that the need to hire more qualified personnel for the booth.

Hey, this REALLY might work to our advantage!
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-22-2006, 06:10 PM:
 
It's a bone-headed idea that will only INCREASE theft!

Now the crooks have to steal THREE cans of film to get (a reasonable chance to have) one complete movie. But, to make damn sure they get a whole print they will probably just steal four or five.

If you want to really frig things up, why don't you ship the reels randomly split between three cans?
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-22-2006, 06:26 PM:
 
Why not ship reel 1 on Monday, reel 2 on Tuesday and so on, with the ending coming on Friday. Not only woud the shipping containers be easier to handle, but with this handy system the projectionist could conveniently build up a reel a day and have short work on Friday to simply add the last reel or two.

(I hesitated to post this because they might read it and think it's a good idea)
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 04-22-2006, 06:26 PM:
 
I have still NEVER seen a pirated film other than ones done in a theatre, or with an image surround by time-codes. I think the MPAA is just looking to flex their muscles and remind us all that THEY are still out there.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 04-22-2006, 09:25 PM:
 
Sooner or later, some of us are going to end up with two cans of even reels, or two cans of odd ones. I can forsee shipping mistakes being made here, adding to the confusion.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 04-23-2006, 12:10 AM:
 

quote: Bruce McGee

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I have still NEVER seen a pirated film other than ones done in a theatre, or with an image surround by time-codes. I think the MPAA is just looking to flex their muscles and remind us all that THEY are still out there.

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And Bruce, let's not forget all the copies out there on the street with that crawl on the bottom of the screen: "Academy member copy for evaluation purposes only. Do not copy." It's the Academy's dirty little secret that the MPAA never talks about -- they sure don't want to bite the hand that feeds them.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 04-23-2006, 12:52 AM:
 
I would like to take this opportunity to thank BAFTA for the excellent screener DVD of "Transamerica" that I downloaded a few weeks back (before it was available on DVD). It really helped keep my Netflix queue to less than 350 titles.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 04-23-2006, 01:12 AM:
 
Just out of curiosity... who can specify exactly what movies have been pirated in such a way that this new practice will thwart those evil-doers?

Classic, really... dumb down the requirements to run a booth, then make the process so complicated, only a career union projectionist can keep track of it.

I really do love this business!
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-24-2006, 01:12 PM:
 

quote: Robert Burtcher

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I have heard of a "tabletop" telecine that is portable enough to be easily brought into a projection booth.

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quote:

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High Quality Video Transfer
While the workprint provides critical evaluation of dailies, the LOCPRO 35 video transfer offers video copies at, literally, no additional cost.

To save on expensive Telecine transfers, the LOCPRO 35 features a 1/3" CCD Color High Resolution Imager for film-to-video transfers. With just the flip of two knobs, the wall/screen projection can be switched to video. The video image is high quality and according to editing people, very well suited to their editing process.

The LOCPRO Y/C and composite signal output is used to record video images on VHS, ¾", Hi8, DV or Beta-SP formats. The video signal also facilitates the direct digitizing into an AVID film composer. The signal is synchronized at an accurate 29.97 or 23.976 frame rate.

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 04-24-2006, 06:26 PM:
 
I seem to remember 2 guys that lent their Academy screeners out to friends, getting busted. That was reported publicly.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 04-24-2006, 07:09 PM:
 
"Why not ship reel 1 on Monday, reel 2 on Tuesday and so on, with the ending coming on Friday. Not only would the shipping containers be easier to handle, but with this handy system the projectionist could conveniently build up a reel a day and have short work on Friday to simply add the last reel or two."

I actually like this idea. HA! HA! They could save money and use the most reliable shipping availible : the United States Post Office -(not).

What the hell is happening to our industry?
 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 04-24-2006, 07:34 PM:
 
Whats happening to our industry? Too many suits in huge conglomerate corporations that never leave their office and have not a single clue how this business really works. Making brillant decisions about piracy, and the next piece of craps story line.

Same goes for technicolor. I just love it when I receive two prints of the same title from Technicolor, but I was only suppose to receive one, and then I get to fight with DHL over the billing of the duplicate print for months on end.

By the way, we have never received any official notification of the brillant plan to stop piracy via mixing up the reels. Give me a break
 

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 04-24-2006, 09:14 PM:
 
Why don't they take this excellent idea a step further. When a theatre is to receive more than one film on a given day, why not mix up all the reels for all the films and put them in the cans at random?
 

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Posted by Jeff Lacey (Member # 3217) on 04-24-2006, 10:40 PM:
 
And then not label the heads or tails with the movie name...

You know with all these ideas, by summer we will see a new policy "borrowed" from here...
 

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Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 04-25-2006, 01:03 AM:
 
I still fail to see how this deters piracy.

Do these idiots at TES really assume that all pirates are both illiterate and unable to count?!?!?

This is one of the dumbest things I have seen yet from a distributor/exchange.

-Aaron
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-25-2006, 03:13 AM:
 
Anyone who thinks this is a stupid policy, be sure and fax a letter (or "comments" written directly on the fax you received) and fax it over to Technicolor.

At least that way they get first hand comments from the field they can share with whomever came up with this "brilliant" idea.

(Maybe a few months down the road Tim Burke would let us offer the faxes as a downloadable pdf file! )
 

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Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 04-25-2006, 05:09 PM:
 
Hmmm... Am I the only one who never really noticed (or cared) that the reels in the cans were in some kind of order?
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 04-25-2006, 05:46 PM:
 
I never cared either. Maybe it is because I look at the reels before I build up the print.

Anyway, the solution to piracy is simple. Stop making movies that people want to see.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-25-2006, 05:46 PM:
 
This policy has been in use for over a year with select screening prints and direct lab shipments from Technicolor and Deluxe. Technicolor is only starting to use it in the field now for all of you.
 

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Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 04-25-2006, 06:17 PM:
 
Good God, Bill...

How have you survived all this time dealing with such insanity?

Oh, and Chris... They did that a long time ago.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-25-2006, 06:42 PM:
 

quote: Mark J. Marshall

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They did that a long time ago.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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I think the 1.5 billion people who went to the movies last year might disagree?

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Are you asking if that's true? Or are you asking if that's what you think?



It is stupid and pointless. This won't be nearly as effective in fighting piracy as their last idea to start using reels that fall apart.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-26-2006, 09:51 AM:
 

quote: Mark J. Marshall

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How have you survived all this time dealing with such insanity?

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It's like running a film festival 5 days a week, 49 weeks a year. At first I thought the depots hired some idiots. I've been through many policies before, they all get old and you wait for the next one. You do a professional job as best as you can.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-26-2006, 12:20 PM:
 

quote: Mark J. Marshall

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Are you asking if that's true? Or are you asking if that's what you think?

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No, I'm asking if you realize that was a typo. (Should've been a "." instead of "?")

I don't care how stupid Technicolor is as along as I get my damn movies in good shape and on time. I think stupidity in big companies is rampant and goes with the territory... My wife works for a bank, you wouldn't believe the stupidity that goes on there.
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 04-26-2006, 01:06 PM:
 
Just have the labs only print tails out. That way it'll all be backwards for them pirates
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 04-27-2006, 06:03 PM:
 
Attention: Theater Managers and Projectionists

All currently orange Technicolor cans will now be camouflage painted so that will no longer be recognizable as film transport cans. This change has been instituted to help combat piracy. Thank you
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 04-27-2006, 06:27 PM:
 
Paint 'em yellow and they'll be Class of Nuke 'Em High radioactive material containers.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-27-2006, 06:34 PM:
 
Here's an idea: Let's all invest in multiple cans of different colored spray paint, and repaint the orange cans as we receiver them. (Being careful to replace any labels etc.) When TES calls you to gripe, say you did it to prevent piracy because the bad guys are known to be looking for the orange cans. Result: Within a month all the cans will get fresh random paint jobs courtesy of TES.
 

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Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 04-27-2006, 09:36 PM:
 
Check your fax machines...Technicolor just caved. "Effective May 1st, we will revert back to repacking prints in numerical order," says Tim Burke, "due to the negative feedback we received from the theatre community." Score one for the good guys.
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 04-27-2006, 09:37 PM:
 
Well it looks like Mr. Burke did read the forums I was just faxed a retraction.

quote:

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Effective Monday, May 1st, we will revert back to repacking prints in numercial order."

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quote:

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We are making the change due to negative feedback we received by the theater community

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So hey looks like we really can make a difference. Now if they can only do something about these insanely dented cans I received today.

Darn KY, ya beat me to it...
Darn
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-27-2006, 09:39 PM:
 
Kudos to Tim Burke and Technicolor.
 

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Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 04-27-2006, 09:51 PM:
 
Hey, I like that re-painting the cans idea! Can we paint the top half one color and the bottom half another? Should the colors clash or compliment each other? The radical in me says the clashier the better. But that gay man's aesthetic gene says they should be tasteful.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-27-2006, 10:09 PM:
 
Wow, I am speechless. I honestly never thought I would see the day that one of the "anti-piracy" camp (whatever studio or mpaa party came up with the idea) would cave and in essence admit that the tactic was absolutely worthless in preventing piracy.

More kudos to Tim Burke and the Technicolor camp!
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 04-27-2006, 10:52 PM:
 
Congradulations to Everyone, Especiall Tim Burke!!! There's one for the middle man.
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 04-28-2006, 04:42 AM:
 
Wait, wait....victory is not ours just yet....I want them to ADMIT that they had to rescind it because it was about as stupid an idea as every came out of a elephant's ass.

See, they are not saying the reason they are reverting to the old method is because it had no chance of stopping a single bootleg attempt, unless of course the pirate is as stupid as Technicolor suits seem to be --

At the TES "Think" Tank meeting, a VP of Nothing in Particular speaks: "It's a fact....bootleg pirates simply can't make illegal copies of a film if the reels are out of order...the DVD would be all mixed up! Right?" {long pause} His underlings all nod in ass-kissing agreement: "Oh you're absolutely right, your head honcho-ness." All applaud and congratulate each other.

It seems this retraction is implying that the reason TES is going back to the reels in numerical order was because of the theatre community's outcry. What they are really saying is, "Yea, we had a damn good idea, but the stupid theatre operators just couldn't handle it....they got all upset about it."

They are not admitting to anything and spinning it to save face (how bout it's their ass that needs saving). They're basically saying it's OUR fault they had to go back to the "old" way, not that their anti-piracy "policy" sucked weasel tit.

No...we should keep up the FAX-back idea and make sure they understand that WE know how to run a print even if it comes with the wrong title on the film can and even if it's wound on TES falling-apart, broken reels, or even if, god forbid, the reels are not in numerical order in the cans (just curious....would anyone even NOTICE if reels were not in numerical order....does ANYONE here rely on the order of the reels in the cans when building a print or running change-over? The only way anyone would have even noticed is because they make a policy announcement about it.

The International Film Journal should do a story on this feasco so these people can be the laughing stock of the industry that they justly deserve. And a good reporter should ask..."By the way, did you notice any significant drop in piracy during the period when you were shipping out reels out of order? Huh....HUH?

Geez, and we thought Jack Vallenti was an ass.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 04-28-2006, 11:36 AM:
 
I saw the fax. Wow. It really makes you think about the stuff you put on here. More people read it than I thought......


 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 05-04-2006, 02:09 PM:
 
I'm confused, we NEVER have received a print delivery from TES that the reels were in numerical order! So the tactic was nothing new. And I'll bet nothing changes, they still won't be in order. The dweebs packing the cans I'm sure could care less.

And thanks technicolor for the faxs we never receive.
 

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