pirating DVDs is BAD!

C

c.g._eads

Veteran
I have just had my first experience with pirated DVDs, each one through a different friend. One bought from China, the other from some street vendor in Chicago. I decided to watch them purely out of curiosity (I "saw" -- har har -- both of these in theatres so keep all immoral comments to a minumum). The moves were "Saw" and "The Notebook".

Now from what I understand there are two kinds of pirated movies. Those that are true digital conversions, and those that are filmed right off the screen. Both of these were filmed right off the screen and looked terrible. But here's where my post comes to some sort of point.

I asked both of these friends (neither are anywhere near the entertainment industry) about the quality of the movie. Were they real DVD copies? Or were they taped off the screen? Their answer? They said they had watched them and that they were the real thing, just like any dvd they rent from Blockbuster.

And that's when it hit me. The public really has no freaking clue about image quality. We spend so much time bickering about bit rate and pixels and resolution and pal and ntsc and film and video and it's like, outside of our little business, nobody freaking even cares. Thought I'd share this little revelation with everyone.

On a unrelated note, I cried 17 times during The Notebook.

c.g.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I have a "friend" as well that likes to download movies off the internet. He is always trying to show me these movies and is always saying, "man you have to see this one, it's like DVD quality". I watch 5 seconds of it, and have to laugh, you really have no concept of visual quality. But you know what, I know the difference, and that 's what is important to me. I don't care if a client can't tell the difference, if I think it looks like crap, I don't want to have my name associated with it. Sure the general public probably would never had noticed the difference between VHS and DVD if all the companies hadn't told them that it looked better! But as an artist, quality is of the utmost importance, wheather it is noticed or not, and I,m sure that all of you who are shooting with a Dvx would agree with me, that's why you own the camera, not because "Mr. Rogers" down the street thinks that it looks any better.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I'm the type of person that loves to own the originals. I don't do that burning crap! Theres nothing better than owning an original. Plus I love seeing a movie in a real theatre with people and seeing dem fine girls who sits across from me.

As far as people not knowing the difference in quality. They do notice the difference, well the ones I know and they have no background in film, etc.

I'm bored.....
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

[quote author=BLUESPIDER link=board=Offtopic;num=1101976473;start=0#2 date=12/02/04 at 00:51:49]I'm bored.....[/quote]
I can tell.

I too need to own the original. No burned CD's or DVD's in my collections.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I kinda figure...How much is my time worth. from the moment one gives birth to the idea of downloading a flic to the moment you get it to DVD is time you didn't spend promoting yourself or learning your craft. For me owning other peoples cinematic work is a big deal. Shure I can download it at inferior quality but I only cheat mysef don't I. If the people involved in producing this movie don't get paid what is the probability of them being able to show me another piece? I like the box and the artwork and the crazy way ya have to break the impossible seal three times, one for each un-hinged side of the case. I mean you can stuff a soya steak in my face and call it a t-bone but I haven't seen any piracy that does justice to the original.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

What I like are the ones which are taped inside the theater. It's like you're there, in the theater, with everyone. You can see the flickering screen, hear people coughing, and sometimes a person will stand-up, blocking the shot, and go to the restroom. :D

Don't hate me, but I'm currently donwloading The Incredibles (using dial-up). Why? Because I already paid to see it in Thai and I missed 99% of the jokes and story. Maybe I should just wait until it comes out on DVD, ....next week ;)
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

Downloading a movie with dial up... you are joking right? That would take a month.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I can't watch "camcordered" movies on pirate. Like watching a bad accident. Truly terrible.

I agree that there's a lot of muppets out there who have somehow convinced themselves that the quality is identical to DVD. Go figure.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

Philistines! It's bad enough watching movies on TV's, although home theaters have really changed that equation. But watching a crappy version taped off a movie screen with a cheap camcorder. Why not just eat plastic food? Or hang Xerox copies of the Mona Lisa on your walls.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

so out of curiosity, what if a person see's a movie in the theatre, thne liked it so much they downloaded it so they could see parts they really enjoyed (Before it became available on dvd), do you guys tolerate that? or is it, ANY downloading a no no?

i used to do this, until i realized that once I get into the industry i'll be fightining against that same things i was doing.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

IMO - You have no right to download anything unless you pay for it. It is seriously no different then going online and pirating a plumber to redo your bathroom and not paying for it. Digital does not translate to free.

People work to get paid, even if they love their work.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

You can go online and pirate a plumber? :) Can I pirate a guy to clean the leaves out of my gutters?
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I agree with most of the posts, but I also have a dilemma. One of my most favorite movies is 'Jester and the Queen' ('Sasek a kralovna' in original Czech version). There is no NTSC tape or a DVD of it. I'd love to buy it, but it just doesn't exist. So I taped an X-th copy off a converted (PAL -> NTSC) version, and it looks and sounds horrible. But I still watch it because the story makes me forget how crappy it looks.

So - my question is, if a movie is not available by any other means, is it still piracy? It probably is from legal standpoint, but what about ethical? What about 'underground' movies that may be forbidden in oppressive regimes, but somehow make it outside and are watched by sympathetic people and copied many times over? Is that piracy?
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I agree Dakotapod.  But I think it's not a black & white problem. There are some grey areas.  

Some shows/movies are broadcasted free over the airwaves for anyone to watch. (The producers/creators have been paid by advertisers and are happy.)  I remember taping episodes of Seinfeld and The Simpsons and then my buddies and I would sit and watch a marathon of episodes (Yes, we were chick magnets!)  Was that wrong?  I also remember, 25 years ago, taping songs off the radio (sometimes by holding a microphone to the speaker and telling my brothers to "Be quiet, I'm recording Zepplin."  Was that wrong?  Come on, Zepplin Rules!!  ;)

Recording shows, for your personal use, from the free airwaves is not wrong ( Tivo said so! ) because the artists have been paid.  As long as the material is "freely" available and you are not directly or indirectly taking money from the artists/creators.* If you record/download and have no intention of buying the CD or DVD, then you're stealing. (Even if it's that 1 Hit Wonder song that can't be found in any CD shop.) Profiting from other peoples hard work and talent (Piracy) is pure evil. There's no grey areas!  I see it everyday and it takes duct tape to keep my mouth from yelling at them.

P.K. Gillock

* To argue my own point; If you have recorded your favorite song or show then you are less likely to listen to the radio or watch the reruns. Thus effecting the advertising dollars that would go to the artists. Aghhhhh Internal conflict causing headache!
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

I'm in a similar situation. I found a pretty good rip of David Lynch's lost highway and it's not even availible on DVD except in Germany I think.

Oh well, I pirate more stuff than I should so I have no qualms about watching it. Except the image quality could be better. I still think movie pirating won't catch on in the way pirating music did. Most people only watch a movie once or twice, and divx download times are crazy, the quality is much worse compared with DVD than mp3 compared with a CD, and movie rentals are a great deal, unlike music CDs.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

[quote author=P.K. Gillock link=board=Offtopic;num=1101976473;start=0#14 date=12/02/04 at 09:49:48]* To argue my own point; If you have recorded your favorite song or show then you are less likely to listen to the radio or watch the reruns. Thus effecting the advertising dollars that would go to the artists. Aghhhhh Internal conflict causing headache![/quote]
:D
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

There are of coarse tons of gray areas and nothing is cut and dry. But with technology progressing the way it is, we are not far from being able to download a DVD quality movie in a very short time.

This is scary **** for an independent filmmaker! If "Garden State" for example could be downloaded super high quality in an hour and burned to a 25 cent DVD, how much revenue would be lost on the DVD sales? Tons!

* And for the record, yes I have downloaded MP3's and not bought the CD - Why? It's easy and doesn't feel like a crime. But plain and simple, this makes me a thief! :-[
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

Dakotapod, You're just a product of your enviroment. Blame it on your parents. All that matters is that you have admitted you're a thief and that you have good friends like us. Now please don't leave your home for the next 30 minutes. I called the police on your MP3 stealing a**!!!! :o

Seriously, you're right. Theft use to be difficult, now it's just a simple click. If it's easy it can't be wrong, right? :-[

Yes, DVD quality downloads will be possible in 1 or 2 years. The film industry will lose billions and ticket/DVD prices will go up even more. Sometimes I hate the world. It's always the bad apples who ruin it for the rest of us.
 
Re: pirating DVDs is BAD!

Lost Highway on DVD

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-2064997-6128007

Okay, I'm climbing up on my soapbox, so feel free to skip this.

For me there are no gray areas.  If you take something that does not belong to you without paying, or without permission (permission being granted for broadcast TV) you are stealing.  I don't care if "nobody gets hurt" or any of the other arguments.  It is not only illegal, it is unethical.  Quite frankly I'm a little surprised that not everyone on this site feels the same way.

What baffles me the most about this phenomenon is how easily it is rationalized, especially by the younger members of society.  People truly believe that downloading a song from kazaa is okay.  I could go into the list of excuses I've heard, but I just had lunch and I'm afraid to retch on my keyboard.  It is truly disheartening to me that there is such a large number of people in this country that do not see the value in paying for something you think is worth having.  It's about so much more than commerce, or your views on the corrupt corporate system we have.  If you think you need it, or want to have it badly enough, you should be willing to give something up to obtain it. If you aren't, you don't want it badly enough. Understanding that basic concept (which is completely removed from the concept that "stealing is wrong" for moral and ethical reasons) is one of the keys to life.  NOTHING is free (not even healthcare in Canada.)  

I believe that this technological age we live in offers unbounded opportunities for mankind; in ways we have not even contemplated.  But there is an insidious danger lurking.  A danger that we are allowing our selves as a society to alter the very foundation of our character.  If and when the time comes when the concept of "stealing" becomes an issue of true debate, and cannot be legitimately defined, we will I fear have deluded ourselves beyond contempt.
 
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