Ethical question - taking one picture with a cell phone/camera at a production.- Page 3

[Elphaba]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 3:48pm

actually Craig, many more museums ARE allowing photography as long as a flash isn't used....
I was amazed at the amount of cathedrals and churchs that allow without a flash.

I still always ask.....especially after an "incident" at Prague Castle, which we no longer speak of.....I will say, she was large, and very indicative of Russian peasant stock....Strong, like two Bulls....

Of course, sometimes when you ask...and pay extra to photograph something, they screw you......as I did in the National Museum in Budapest, as I wanted a picture of the Crown of St. Stephan.....paid extra, went into the room....and apparently it/s the ONLY thing in the whole damn museum that you cannot film, ARRGH........

off on a tangent...sorry

NYSinger.......you obviously want a specific answer......sorry, it is NOT appropriate to take pix in the situation you were in

Updated On: 10/17/05 at 03:48 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:00pm

Kasim....when you are sitting in the front row of a theatre during a performance aiming a camera phone at an actor standing center stage and the actor can see you...I think that shows disrespect. And I have seen it happen. It was rude and distracting. And I feel no need to "lighten up".

[WriteInNYC]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:01pm

Aside from being illegal, it's so incredibly tacky to snap photos during a performance. The theater or local presenter is perfectly within their rights to confiscate cameras and all other recording devices. The reason it's illegal is because people make money selling bootleg photos, videos and recordings. It doesn't sound like you are one of these people, it sounds more like you want to take home a photo by which to remember the evening, but you should know that if you're caught you'll lose your camera or phone/camera (generally, I think they will return the equipment but only after they have deleted the photos or confiscated the film/tape). Just don't do it. I agree with whoever it was that made the comment to get photos at the stage door. Most of the time actors will be more than happy to pose with you--and wouldn't that make an even BETTER photo memory?

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:04pm

Also, in my post, I simply said it was disrespectful. I did not specify whether it was to the cast or the production.

[lildogs]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:14pm

Whoa! kasim and uncageg are having a fight? Did he take his shirt off? Where was i?

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:19pm

Beyond the legality of the taking of pictures, I would think that there are security considerations involved (especially post 9-11).

[kasim]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:29pm

i dont think its a security thing Hanna.

As other said the biggest thing is the boot leg, which i totally understand although i dont recall them saying anything at spamalot about pics. Course i may not have been paying attention.

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:36pm

When you buy your tickets and enter the building, you are consenting to the rules of the house.

It is posted everywhere about no photography. It is usually on the back of the ticket.. in the playbill and on signage in the theatre. It always amuses me when people walk into a theatre and feel as though they are the exception to the rule.

The law is more to protect the design, direction and choreography of the show. Not so much for bootlegs but for future productions. The perfomances belong to those actors, the same goes for the the design team and the creative staff owning their work. Even if it is the act curtain you are photgraphing... it is the property of the designer. Even if your intentions are not to steal the design... the law is there for a reason.. and you consent to it by entering the building.
Updated On: 10/17/05 at 04:36 PM

[StandingO]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:37pm

I say take a picture if it makes you happy! Just don't get caught or bother anyone while you do it.

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:43pm

Is that how you live? Break any law you want.. jsut do not get caught?
Updated On: 10/17/05 at 04:43 PM

[kasim]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:44pm

i take it none of you ever go a mile over the speed limit either??

[Magdalene]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:46pm

If you weren't paying attention at Spamalot, you missed a very funny bit!!!

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 4:49pm

I do not go over the speed limit on purpose. If I find that I accidently have, I slow down. I also use cruise control. Why risk getting a ticket? It is the law not to speed. And I obey that law. Taking a picture in a theatre when told not to is not an accident. It is boldly defying the law.

Updated On: 10/17/05 at 04:49 PM

[Kimo]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 3:53am

I'm sorry i had to respond... this is my first post on BWayWorld...

I took two pictures in the nederlander two summers ago. One of My best friend to my side, and one of me and my friend with the set in the background. The picture was amazing. It's on my desktop right now.

The usher asked us to stop and i complied.

Taking a picture = evil? i dont think so.

This was my first time to NY and if a random person next to me grabbed my camera/slapped me/or yelled at me... I don't know what I would do... It was one of the funest times of my life and I'm so thankful to have my picture.

Dangerous? No. Dangerous picture taking are tourists in hawaii taking pictures of the mountains as they drive. Chances are a flash wouldn't cause a performer to fall of the stage (however i think that a flash during a show would be very irritating).
Disrespectful? Not necissarily. Disrespectful is turning a sacred temple into a tourist destination. A picture of a commercialized image shouldn't equal the demoralization of the B-way community.
Illegal? Yes. But in NYC it is also illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing "body hugging clothing."

On another note... i'm so thankful that i got to see a copy of the obc of rent performing. I mean... it's not that i did see it... becuase that would mean it was a bootleg... and i mean... i've never watched a bootleg... because that's illegal!

Life's too short.
Updated On: 10/21/05 at 03:53 AM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 4:03am

It doesn't matter whether or not you think it's not a bad thing to take pictures or what you will or won't be using them for, or if you think it's ok to take them during curtain calls of the last show or if Liza says it's ok from the stage or if it's just of the curtain or gosh, just me and my friends facing away from the stage, etc. etc. etc. You are not entitled to take pictures inside a Broadway theatre. It is NY Law. It is illegal for three reasons:

1. Unions
2. Copywrights
3. Terrorism

Just because one usher was nice or wasn't doing their job doesn't change any of this.

[kec]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 4:20am

"Dangerous? No. Dangerous picture taking are tourists in hawaii taking pictures of the mountains as they drive. Chances are a flash wouldn't cause a performer to fall of the stage (however i think that a flash during a show would be very irritating)."

A flash right in the eyes can be temporarily blinding. But more often than not it's not just ONE flash, it's several. And yes, whether it's one or several, it CAN be dangerous.

[WholeLottaShakin]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 4:29am

"... more often than not it's not just ONE flash, it's several. And yes, whether it's one or several, it CAN be dangerous."

And annoying! Who else was at the last performance of AIDA?? Or at the hurricane benefit the day of the flea market? Once one person took a flash picture, others felt free to do so as well and it became too much. Not only were the performers being blinded, but so was the audience. Just a couple of examples of extreme theatre picture-taking...

[freeadmission]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 8:48am

I don't care about it being illegal, I just have no desire to do it. Not having pictures or video of a performance is part of what makes theatre theatre. It's immediacy. I LOVE that about theatre. I like to keep it all in my head and pull it out on occasion and smile. Or be thoughtful. Or whatever the show inclines me to do.

Pictures kind of ruin that. They're a perfect memory and perfect memories aren't all that fun.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 10/21/05 at 11:55am

I always find it interesting that people justify their personal behavior by thinking that in their case, in THAT instance, at THAT show it was OK to do it.

It is illegal and there are signs everywhere to tell you that. It has simply become easier to take these pictures in a theater with the advent of cell phones with cameras. And the theater staff can't take away everyone's cell phone...so please be on the honor system.

The same thing is starting to happen with stage door photos. Now that people are asking celebs to sign ad nauseum and taking pictures that show up on eBay and are sold instead of kept as souveniers, I wouldn't be surprised to see the stage door thing go to what baseball has done...charge for the autograph. I think it is insulting to ask someone to stand out in the rain or cold and accommodate you so you can make money off of them. If you want the picture or autograph for your own collection, knock yourself out, but to make a profit seems like a bit of usery in my opinion.

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:30pm

bump

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:33pm

it is strictly prohibited, and illegal.. to take photos inside a theatre in new york during or before a performance.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:43pm

I think its wrong to take pictures during a performance even if there is no flash. I've seen people take pictures with their camera phones before curtain or during bows. I would never do that but I've seen some people do it and not get caught but, I have also seen people get caught taking pictures prior to curtain.

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 8:00pm

I was at ACL last month, and during a dramatic moment in the prolonged curtain call / finale, a couple of ushers raced halfway down the ailse and admonished an audience member, and that whole moment in the show was of course ruined...I am pretty sure he/she was taking a picture. I think it would have been less disruptive if the ushers just confronted the person afterwards, but still...JUST DON'T DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!! Whether or not the ushers care, it's rude, self-indulgent, against the rules, illegal, low class, and distracting. ARRRRRRGH. There is no need to even THINK about touching a camera/cell phone/Blackberry/laptop/walkie-talkie/camcorder during a show. What part of "turn off all..." do people not understand??

I thought it a good time to bump this thread due a recent discussion in another post.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 8:20pm

NO! They say do not so do not. I just did Rocky Horror and we said please no flash etc. Some girl was taking pics with her camera and my director went up to her and took her phone. Just do not do it.

[Smartful Dodger]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 8:34pm

No photos inside a theatre -- before, during, or after a performance. Curtain calls on first and closing nights, maybe, are fair game. Otherwise, never ever. Please. Don't even try to justify with an "exception" or "one per show" or "no flash."

By the way, it's not an ethical question. It's a legal one.