What is so bad about bootlegs?- Page 10

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 4:37pm

"the most grateful for and the first to buy bootlegs"

I call utter and total BS on that statement.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 4:57pm

Some actors may indeed be grateful for the existence of bootlegs, but just as many are bothered by them. I'm actually working with a choreographer right now who was just alerted to a full audio of an Off-Broadway show she was in a few years back that is posted on a website. It was recorded by the writers, but without the knowledge of the cast. She's been on the phone with Equity and been in contact with the writers to let them know that she is not happy that it has been posted (I'm sure the end result will be that it will be pulled from this website), so, again, not all actors are grateful that bootlegs exist.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 5:03pm

"That definitely didn't happen--fansubs still were widely distributed even after the anime was licensed. However, Japan had different laws about it than the USA did, so that was the loophole."

Absolutely and they now happen (digisubs) nearly instantly--though this has caused a lot more studios to release--often online--their official product just as quickly (of course that leads to illegal downloads...)

I agree that it didn't fully work but in the case of anime fansubs certain studios, like Studio Ghibli actually said they would turn a blind eye unless they found them being done for money--in many ways the huge anime boom of the past 15 years would have never happenedwithout fansubs--John Lasseter who brokered the Disney deal with Ghibli said he would have never seen the films without fansubs. So there was some benfit to the studios--it's debatable how much they lost and how much they gained.

That probably doesn't have any relation to theatre bootlegs--I'm not sure if anyone has thought that it would be worthwhile to make a commercial video or recording due to the amount of bootlegs are out there for a show.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 9/27/13 at 5:18pm

"Interestingly enough, it is the authors, composers, playwrights, designers, directors and actors in the shows who are the most grateful for and the first to buy bootlegs of the shows they are working on."

WOW. That's the biggest bullSH*T I have ever heard or read in at least the last couple of decades. Part of what I do for a living includes managing/maintaining the integrity of copyright protected intellectual property for television broadcast. I don't care if it's Broadway or if it's Hollywood - what you just wrote is a horribly inaccurate, asinine, and offensive generalization of the writers and designers who take part in the performing arts and entertainment industry.

*Gets off soapbox*

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/29/13 at 1:54am

My point, however (again), is the argument "it's wrong because it's illegal" isn't cogent.

Then, why hide to do it? If people think that bootlegs are a right to the development of culture, they should stand up for it, fight for it, make a case for it.

I don't know of any movements to fight the right to record a performance and make a good case for it.

This is the case of "good doings that come off as wrong doings".

Think it should be allowed? Then fight for it, don't hide with a camera under your jacket. If not, then you're just doing the right thing in your head.

[Alan Henry]

Posted: 11/29/13 at 2:02am

I was just lying in bed and had this crazy though: what will theatres do when Google Glass comes out? I know right now the video recording max is 10 seconds but apparently there is some easy hack to make it record by winking at it.

The number of bootlegs would probably go up a lot.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 11/29/13 at 2:25am

They'd be treated just like phones. Turn them the **** off.

[stanton]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 2:21am

In reality I think ALL SHOWS should be filmed and released theatrically after a show is closed. This would be new way to expose BROADWAY to millions of people. I would of loved to of seen "Grey Gardens" but I am not rich! Me and millions of other people will never make it to New York. By playing shows Theatrically, on HBO and DVD producers could easily recoup their investment. Also it would make BROADWAY a bigger destination for people who could afford to go.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 2:48am

I for one don’t hide it- I have my own trading site, and openly talk about bootlegs. In many of my posts I mention owning bootlegs for certain shows. Whenever I have filmed or recorded something, I don’t hide the device at all. My audio recorder is sitting in my lap in plain sight and when I film something, I hold the camera up and everyone can see it. If someone started a movement, I would probably join. As long as it didn’t get to extreme- I support bootlegs but don’t believe we should kill people or bomb buildings to get them! LOL.
-I have always believed if you can’t talk about it publicly and have to hide what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be doing it. I’m not saying that bootlegs are recording is right- but I for one will admit I do it.

[elphaba.scares.me]

Posted: 3/10/14 at 9:18am

Kad--

To answer a question from way up thread, the archival videos made by most regional theaters on AEA contracts require that the actors vote/sign off, and are permitted to be made. But they're strictly archival and not for distribution (the rules MAY have changed on actors acquiring them since the new media language was instituted, but I'm not sure). I've been shot down in the past when I tried to get a recording of a show I was in.

As a performer, the worst part of bootlegging is seeing the red light(s) in the audience when recording is happening, because it takes me right out of the moment. I'm now thinking that I'd better hit this note or that note perfectly...because while the live audience sees performance nuances and details that won't translate to video, the technical parts of my job are what will be preserved and distributed. If I sing at a nightclub or NYC venue and feel like I had an off night, I can ask the event organizers to take down the video. Not so with the strangers behind the red lights. Or the idiots holding their iphones in front of their faces instead of actually watching the show. WTF?

Plus, it just pisses me off when people think the VERY CLEARLY STATED rules don't apply to them.

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 7:46pm

Since people have stated how performers have asked people for bootlegs, Barrett Wilburt Weed tweeted asking for bootlegs of one of her performances in Heathers.
The Tweet

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 7:53pm

Nothing

Seeing a bootleg of Once saved me from having to get tickets to it. My wife wanted to see the show and after seeing the bootleg said "don't bother".

I may be seeing a lot of shows like that going forward as I refuse to invest any more time is seeing a ton of stuff live. After 3 high profile musicals go belly up this year, I say to myself why am I bothering. For a variety of reasons including this, I no longer have the drive and desire to see a ton of shows live. Occasionally here and there but in the long run I take the attitude why bother. Watching it from home means no contending with constant latecomers and the juvenile antics of many theatergoers.

If you like it, great. Knock yourself out seeing shows. For me, I am totally over it and the spark started in high school is gone.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 7:57pm

I don't have an issues with bootlegs. I watch many on Tumblr (if I've seen the show or if it's closed) and am thankful for them.

That being said, I do NOT like when people charge for them. That to me is wrong. There was a trading site that has Cabaret with Michelle Williams and I asked if there was any way I could get a copy of it because when I saw the show Williams was out and I was dying to see her performance and I wouldn't get a chance to see it again. They told me they wanted $20 by PayPal and they would send me a link.

So I guess I feel that if it is helping other theater lovers out, I'm all for it but to make profit for yourself, that is incredibly selfish and wrong.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 7:59pm

The bad audience behavior one has to put up with is really making me consider bootlegs more and more. And some of the stuff out there is really of outstanding quality. And for me ( and now this is my opinion) ; since some theaters are giving free wifi and telling people to "silence" their phones as oppose to turning it off... they are encouraging it. Hard to tell what is a camera screen or a lit phone screen anymore. If they are making stupid choices by encouraging wifi and twitter and all that crap.. then I am ok with them suffering the consequences of the bootlegs... not that I think there are much. JUST MY OPINION.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:00pm

"I watch many on Tumblr"

People who post them to Tumblr and YouTube should be shot. Taken out in the street and shot. They are the stupidest little kids that have ever lived.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:02pm

I am quite thankful for them. There are many that have TONS on there and I've watched many things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise if they didn't post because most people who have bootlegs will either trade (which I have exactly 2 of) or charge a fortune.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:08pm

I'm sure you are thankful for them because it's easy access to something that should not be easily accessible. If you took a little time, you could get a couple and start trading and help support a "community" that's in big big trouble thanks for the stupid assh(_o_)les who post them online.

Sure it's not instant gratification like most people think they're entitled to nowadays but it's a way to ensure that they continue to exist.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:12pm

They will continue to exist no matter what.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:18pm

Maybe so, but they shouldn't be something everyone and their grandmother can easily find with a few keystrokes. It puts getting more done in danger.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:44pm

Jordan; I don't think they should be that easily available either.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:44pm

A bootleg should NEVER keep a person from seeing a show live. I have a huge collection of them and it has never stopped me from seeing a show live. As we know, because theatre is Live, it is never exactly the same every night. Not to mention when another actor comes in and it's a different take. Also, The feel of actually being there is something you don't really feel on Video. Also, You should never form an opinion about a show from a DVD, as seeing it live can completely change your opinion.

I just wonder how they are able to film them- especially since most shows are now being filmed in HD and shot pretty perfectly.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:47pm

darreyl102;

Have you seen those dead center balcony seats with no nearby aisles? That is how. Cameras are now small.. they fit anywhere. Personally I can't imagine spending money to see something live and spend the evening going thru all that stress.

Updated On: 7/17/14 at 08:47 PM

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:52pm

I've got to say, thank goodness for bootlegs. We got jack squat where I used to live, and they were the only way I was able to enjoy just about any theatrical show. I don't really buy that they prevent people from seeing them, either - if you've got enough interest in a show to watch a bootleg of it, you're probably the type to see it again, live.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 8:53pm

Mystery solved! Thank you Dame!

Posted: 7/17/14 at 9:30pm

Um,.... BECAUSE IT's ILLEGAL!