Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Study Finds Video Piracy Has Little Impact on U.S. Box Office

Deadline Hollywood posted this fascinating study on the effects video piracy has on the American motion picture industry. The lag-time release to other countries may impact overseas profits, but back home people still prefer the theatrical experience over streaming BitTorrents.

It comes as no surprise that the two genres to show the largest rise in piracy are action and science fiction. Odd when you consider that these effects-driven extravaganzas are the films you'd think most people would want to see on the big screen as opposed to a 15-inch computer monitor.

The study focuses on illegal downloads, not bootleg DVDs which, not unlike CDs, are on the verge of extinction. Everything is going digital. The only place you're likely to find a CD player is in your car.

People still burn CDs to listen to on their morning commutes or take advantage of the USB drive that's become standard equipment. In a few years the only places you'll be able to find CDs are big-box stores like Walmart or Best Buy. Can the end digital video discs be far off?

Remember purchasing an LP, popping it on the turntable, and spending what seemed like hours exploring every inch of the album cover? What can I say? I'm a sucker for packaging and the thought of titling each disc with a Sharpee and housing a DVD collection on a spindle doesn't set well. Chances are, this phenomenon will not last long. Soon every film ever made will be instantly downloadable at the click of a mouse.

Have I ever participated in an illegal download? Guilty as charged, but blame the company I keep. A friend, knowing my desire to see Joseph Losey's remake of Fritz Lang's M forwarded me a link. The image was so degraded I'd have had a clearer shot at seeing it had a Super8 print been projected on Phyllis Diller's underarm.

A colleague skilled at video piracy heard me praise Ninja III: The Domination, a supreme guilty pleasure yet to be released on DVD, and rewarded me with a bootleg copy that appears to have been mastered from a VHS tape.

Legend has it that when E.T. premiered at Chicago's Eden's Theatre, there was a truck containing a telecine bay parked in the lot. As soon as a reel went through the projector, it was brought to the van where it was illegally duplicated. That was definitely an "outside job," but does the same currently hold true?

Studios now send security guards equipped with night vision goggles to ensure advance screening audiences aren't recording the feature on their phone with the intent of peddling it on the streets of Tijuana. A friend whose business takes him to China several times a year has been known to bring back bootleg DVDs of films currently playing local theatres.

The dubs are as clean as store bought copies, right down to the commentary tracks and bonus features. This is not the work of a fan trying to pick up a few bucks on the side. These copies are coming from within studio walls, illegally pirated and sold by colorists or telecine operators who have access to the goodies.

This is by no means meant as an invitation to steal. It's a wake-up call that what's worth having is worth preserving, and film should not be treated as a mere feed-through to television sets or computer screens. Studios that want to keep the moviegoing experience alive and vital need to take a bite out of BitTorrents, and there's no better place to start than in their own backlots.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?

Deadline Hollywood posted this fascinating study on the effects video piracy has on the American motion picture industry. The lag-time release to other countries may impact overseas profits, but back home people still prefer the theatrical experience over streaming BitTorrents.

It comes as no surprise that the two genres to show the largest rise in piracy are action and science fiction. Odd when you consider that these effects-driven extravaganzas are the films you'd think most people would want to see on the big screen as opposed to a 15-inch computer monitor.

The study focuses on illegal downloads, not bootleg DVDs which, not unlike CDs, are on the verge of extinction. Everything is going digital. The only place you're likely to find a CD player is in your car.

People still burn CDs to listen to on their morning commutes or take advantage of the USB drive that's become standard equipment. In a few years the only places you'll be able to find CDs are big-box stores like Walmart or Best Buy. Can the end digital video discs be far off?

Remember purchasing an LP, popping it on the turntable, and spending what seemed like hours exploring every inch of the album cover? What can I say? I'm a sucker for packaging and the thought of titling each disc with a Sharpee and housing a DVD collection on a spindle doesn't set well. Chances are, this phenomenon will not last long. Soon every film ever made will be instantly downloadable at the click of a mouse.

Have I ever participated in an illegal download? Guilty as charged, but blame the company I keep. A friend, knowing my desire to see Joseph Losey's remake of Fritz Lang's M forwarded me a link. The image was so degraded I'd have had a clearer shot at seeing it had a Super8 print been projected on Phyllis Diller's underarm.

A colleague skilled at video piracy heard me praise Ninja III: The Domination, a supreme guilty pleasure yet to be released on DVD, and rewarded me with a bootleg copy that appears to have been mastered from a VHS tape.

Legend has it that when E.T. premiered at Chicago's Eden's Theatre, there was a truck containing a telecine bay parked in the lot. As soon as a reel went through the projector, it was brought to the van where it was illegally duplicated. That was definitely an "outside job," but does the same currently hold true?

Studios now send security guards equipped with night vision goggles to ensure advance screening audiences aren't recording the feature on their phone with the intent of peddling it on the streets of Tijuana. A friend whose business takes him to China several times a year has been known to bring back bootleg DVDs of films currently playing local theatres.

The dubs are as clean as store bought copies, right down to the commentary tracks and bonus features. This is not the work of a fan trying to pick up a few bucks on the side. These copies are coming from within studio walls, illegally pirated and sold by colorists or telecine operators who have access to the goodies.

This is by no means meant as an invitation to steal. It's a wake-up call that what's worth having is worth preserving, and film should not be treated as a mere feed-through to television sets or computer screens. Studios that want to keep the moviegoing experience alive and vital need to take a bite out of BitTorrents, and there's no better place to start than in their own backlots.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pay for Dallas Buyers Club or get sued

Two San Diego residents included in spate of lawsuits over file sharing
Next Article

Bootleg Super 8 Screener Has Howard Stern's Name On It

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.