"Remember Shrek and Legally Blonde both had their shows release pro shots at the same time of the release of the show on broadway."
No, they didn't. The recording of Shrek wasn't released until well after it closed, and Legally Blonde was only broadcast on MTV and has never been available since its four broadcasts in 2007.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
I have a friend who works on film crews. He worked on Shrek, The Nance (for LFLC), Act 1 (for LFLC) and Legally Blonde among others. Filming is not as easy as it sounds. For starters its usually a 3 day affair. The audience is chosen from a paper service like Black List or Black Tie and tickets are free for all the shows. Day one is done so that they can make sure all the equipment is working and so the crew can see the show and get an idea of what they want to film. Day 2 and 3 are actual recordings. They do 2 days so they can cut together the best of what they get. At least this was the case for the 4 that I attended.
When I attended one of the taping nights for Taymor's Midsummer Night's Dream in Brooklyn, it was a normal show and we all paid to be there. But I think the unique layout of that theater let them remove a few seats where they wouldn't obstruct people's ability to enjoy the show and not negatively impact the audience's experience.
Sounds like what ya'll really need to do is get Netflix to do it. They seem very big on the exclusive content and have deep pockets.
The Metropolitan Opera does this and I think it would be good if Broadway shows had live HD performances for those living outside of New York. Indeed, the sold out West End production of Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch will have an HD performance in October.
a few key differences: special event, limited runs, usually after closing. It's not, and will never be, for every show.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
"a few key differences: special event, limited runs, usually after closing. It's not, and will never be, for every show."
Absolutely. I don't think it would be appropriate for most shows, but for limited runs, shows that have closed with no revival in sight, or even just a one night showing would probably be beneficial for many shows.
Do you think widely available recordings (e.g. Shrek, Legally Blonde) would cut down on the number of amateur recordings or do you think the people who are brazen enough to do it in the first place would continue to do so?
"Do you think widely available recordings (e.g. Shrek, Legally Blonde) would cut down on the number of amateur recordings or do you think the people who are brazen enough to do it in the first place would continue to do so?"
I don't think that Legally Blonde can be purchased, it was only allowed to be shown on MTV a limited number of times. There are some low-quality versions on youtube though.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
No, I don't think that would make a difference in bootlegs. At all. All movies are released on DVD, bootlegs still happen.
Andd no, LB was never available for purchase.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
And there's a reason why LEGALLY BLONDE was never made available for sale.... it costs a ton of more money for retail/direct-to-consumer distribution than to just have MTV pay you a fee to broadcast it on their channel. In this case, the producers of LEGALLY BLONDE, which likely covered some (or most) of the filming production expenses, are guaranteed a set amount of money from Viacom for the broadcasting rights. It's likely that the producers would then be privy to additional fees if certain ratings benchmarks were achieved. Those numbers are, however, never made public.
With respect to SHREK, many people are forgetting that this is a franchise propped up by Dreamworks Studio. They are a major animation picture company and have more to gain in the longterm by investing in the creation of a high-definition video recording. It's more likely than not that on a very basic level, they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on their video recording. But it's safe to assume that Dreamworks saw it as an important, longterm investment. That was the accepted "price" of increasing exposure for its film/merchandise franchise to a larger audience.