Pirated finals videos

[John Murray]

Devil's advocate: DVD prices are too high.

[NR_Ohiobando]

It has its pros & cons depending on how it's used. For the sake of a situation, lets say the person uploads it to Youtube.

On the cons: it's an illegal bootleg that will take away some money from DCI. (honestly I think the number doesn't change much, and that it might even increase the actual number)

On the pros: it's an illegal bootleg that will advertise DCI to hundreds who would otherwise not be interested in attending a show or buying a DVD. It's not as high quality as the recordings DCI has, but it does a decent job of giving the viewer an idea of what the show might be like. It doesn't necessarily mean the people who view these bootlegs wouldn't actually buy Finals DVDs.

Obviously having thousands of people in the stands with video cameras is a totally different situation and would have to be dealt with by DCI officials, but right now it seems like a handful of people in the stands are brave enough to attempt a bootleg recording. Seems like a happy medium to my eyes, but then again I've never been to a Finals. (And no, it's not because of bootleg recordings. It's because I can see a far better show earlier in the season for MUCH cheaper)

And yes, DVD prices are TOO HIGH for me to even think about buying without waiting a few years.

Edited February 9, 2010 by NR_Ohiobando

[Peel Paint]

Four or five years ago, I had occasion to be on the backside of the field for a regional prelim, and wanted to watch the audience reaction to a show, rather than the show itself, which I did... with binoculars. I was astonished at how many people were blatantly recording the show. That was not what I was looking for, but I was dumbstruck by the red lights of numerous vidoecameras and the microphones handheld or inside hats that people were futzing with for some form of audio recording. I had no idea there were that many people stealing from corps. And the weirdest part of it to me is that you can't get a decent recording of a show from the middle of the stands like that. No way. The audience sound will be out-of-balance with the corps, the panning and zooming video will look ridiculous, you're either in too far or out too far. I don't know whether it still goes on at that level, but I imagine it does. Some people just record one show, to see their kid. But we all know it's illegal. If DCI wants to stop it, it really isn't hard to figure out how to do it. They just need to position some people and start ejecting violators, confiscating tickets and media, and it will stop as word gets around. But they haven't seemed to care, other than making announcements about it.

[Slow Adam]

And the weirdest part of it to me is that you can't get a decent recording of a show from the middle of the stands like that. No way. The audience sound will be out-of-balance with the corps, the panning and zooming video will look ridiculous, you're either in too far or out too far. I don't know whether it still goes on at that level, but I imagine it does.

You'd be surprised where the best quality DCA recordings have come from recently.

[glory]

...I've never been to a Finals. ... It's because I can see a far better show earlier in the season for MUCH cheaper...

I'll grant you the cheaper part. But better? We're going to have to get you better quality bootlegs!

HH

Edited February 9, 2010 by glory

[BRASSO]

I appreciate your candor. Now here's my question:

If you're okay with what you've been doing, is it fair therefore to stop anyone from making a video recording of anything he wants to record on the field?

HH

Lets reverse this for a second..... should DCI, Corps, marchers have the right to film audiences ?

Based upon the fact that most here believe that audience members should not have the right to filming of Corps, I would assume that likewise they would be just as vehemently opposed to DCI or their afiliates taking unauthorized film of audiences without the audience's permission.

But sometimes I 'm surprised by both the sentiments and the reasoning on here. It's not always what I think it would ( should ) be.

So, here's the question.... should audiences privacy be protected ? Should the filming of audiences without the expressed consent of audiences at DCI shows and events be considered an invasion of privacy and deemed ilegal at DCI shows and DCI events ? DCI does use this audience footage in promotional and in a commercial manner. They do make money off the paying customer to the DCI event in this repect. It's done without the paying customer's permission. And the customer not only has an invasion of their privacy without their consent taking place, they also receive no royalties from the unsolicited filming of themselves by DCI.

In keeping with the need to protect the commercial interests of DCI and member Corps and making film of Corps illegal, I would likewise be in favor of the rights of audience members be protected from unsolicited, unauthorized, filming of them, and for this to be deemed illegal as well at all DCI shows and events. Agree ? Disagree ? And why ?

Edited February 9, 2010 by BRASSO

[glory]

...On the cons: it's an illegal bootleg that will take away some money from DCI. (honestly I think the number doesn't change much, and that it might even increase the actual number)

On the pros: it's an illegal bootleg that will advertise DCI to hundreds who would otherwise not be interested in attending a show or buying a DVD...

Thing is these are not for the bootlegger to decide. Good intentions, even positive results aren't the point. The point is society has to balance free will with structure and even limits. I don't get to judge where that happy medium is because the product is the property of someone else.

HH

[The Other Mike]

Lets reverse this for a second..... should DCI, Corps, marchers have the right to film audiences ?

Based upon the fact that most here believe that audience members should not have the right to film or take pictures of Corps, I would assume that likewise they would be just as vehemently opposed to Corps. marchers, staff, etc taking pictures, film of audiences without the audience's permission.

But sometimes I 'm surprised by both the sentiments and the reasoning on here. It's not always what I think it would ( should ) be.

So, here's the question.... should audiences privacy be protected ? Should film, pictures without the expressed consent of audiences at DCI shows and events be considered an invasion of privacy and deemed ilegal at DCI shows ? DCI does use this audience footage in promotional and in a commercial manner. They do make money off the pying customer to the DCI event. It's done without the paying customer's permission.

In keeping with the need to protect the commercial interests of DCI and member Corps and making film and pictures of Corps illegal, I would likewise be in favor of the rights of audience members to be protected from unsolicited film and pictues to be taken of them, and for this to be deemed illegal as well at all DCI events. Agree ? Disagree ? And why ?

Something about a goose and a gander ?

Besides, how many times have I bought a video only to find out that the part I WANTED, was not shown. Should I get my money back ?

[jjeffeory]

I'll be honest here. I have a high quality handheld digital recorder, and I record shows as often as I can. I'm still marching and I always try to give it to a staff member to record the nights show, and we always listened to it on the bus. It was nice to have an audio journal of the summer too. Was this technically illegal? I guess so, but I still bought the finals DVD's and CD's, so I don't think any harm was done. I suppose you could argue it was for educational purposes.

I do record other corps as often as I can too, its just nice to have more memories than just the finals DVDs. I like to listen to a show and remember "oh yeah, this was that one day where it was 117 degress in texas and we had no air conditioning or cold water." Sue me for being sentimental I guess

also, its nice not to have to wait till the DVDs and CDs to come out to listen to our finals performances

I don't really condone the recording, but it would be nice to have an historical record for the corps years down the road. It would be "cool" to have a progression of shows for each corps each year.

I'm sure this is the reason corps such as BD have their season DVDs. Once DCI has made their money off of the DVDs it would be cool to have video from every show.

[general_tsos_chicken2]

i would get over it, and enjoy the show