Those dumb piracy commercials before movies

Terin · Huzzah! Gender: Joined: 27 Oct 2003

I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting sick of seeing this commercial before every movie I watch. They kind of disguise the message by giving the impression that downloading ripped movies is piracy, and that piracy is a crime. Nice try, but ripping the movie is piracy, the rest is just downloading information. Illegal, yes, but it's NOT the same as stealing a car. If they wanna fight crime through advertising, they should fight real crime, advertise the effects of narcotics or something. I don't see any film company going broke because 2% of the people viewing their product obtained it illegally.
-T

Silver Adept · Otaku Lord Age: 42 Gender: Joined: 20 May 2003

Movies are expensive prospects these days. It's not much of a wonder that most people wait for DVD releases or download movies.

That said, downloading the movie is considered a crime, much like tape duplication is a crime. In both cases, all that's involved is the copying of information. But Intellectual Property laws say we need a license to own the information, and if we don't get that license, then we're theiving.

Really, the movie industry could help itself by making better movies, and by making them in such a way that theaters don't have to charge $9-$10 per ticket and more for concessions.

Besides, Terin, I don't think there are a lot of people who will heed such a warning, even if they see it.

Ming · DOOM! Gender: Joined: 13 Jan 2003

How about those commercials that try to make you belive that by downloading movies and music on the internet, you're somehow supporting terrorism?

Terin · Huzzah! Gender: Joined: 27 Oct 2003

Daijaga · Chosen of Luck Gender: Joined: 17 Dec 2003

I dunno...this is a hard area to hit. I don't beat aroudn the bush about it though, every mp3 I downlaod and every movie I obtain with out paying for is if not illegal then wrong on some level. Some people when to a lot of trouble to make those movies to make a buck and by watching it with out paying...its liek someone sneaking into a theather production with out getting a ticket, its not right. Even feeling that its wrong I still do it, I just am comfortbal with my immorality as far as its concerned.

Theres the "I wouldnt have bought it anyway" argument, which can help your concious out. I certainly don't like to buy music CDs and I usually don't pay for music, but I have a 400+ song playlist on the harddrive of stuff I probably wouldn't have bought anwyay.

What IS wrong is who gets the shoe end of the deal. Its not the guy with deep pockets, producers, actors...nay, its the little guys - just like the commercials say. The gaffers, makeup artists, set designers, and all those other little names at the end of a movie that get the stiff. Thats not to say they they're really losing so much money, but we've all worked - and we all know there are the pin-prickity-uppity-boob-starightshirts that get paid to make up the retarded project numbers and analyst markets and all these stupid things to tell the production companies how much money they lose when Bob downaloads a copy of Fantastic Four and divert the attention away from his ill-earened salary

Which is why when I DO spend money, I usually buy new (not used) so that my buck supports the game developer/production company/artists/whoever directly. And sadly Mr Pin-Pricky too.

Silver Adept · Otaku Lord Age: 42 Gender: Joined: 20 May 2003

Much of the blame and ire is vented at the "Associations" that were formed for the motion picture and music industries, and how they're squeezing both sides of the operation to make more money for themselves. Artists get pitifully small amounts of money for their work, and consumers get hit with marked-up prices on all the material, whether it's good or poor. Downloading may not be piracy, but it is seen as an alternative to theaters and DVDs which are priced somewhat expensively.

All that does is squeeze the little people, true enough, when it's trying to get rid of the cumbersome and cancerous growth on the industry that the associations are perceived as. So the trading and sharing and ridiculous overcompensation lawsuits will continue.

As for pracy = terrorism, that's playing to the fears of people - how does taking up someone else's bandwidth to download a movie that someone has to have shot/ripped constitute terrorism? (Because you're not spending beyond your means, of course! Spending is how we won the last war, so it'll work for this one, honest!) Unless your ISP is somehow involved in terrorism, downloading doesn't do diddly.

ScrumYummy · bunnyhunches of scrums Gender: Joined: 29 Jun 2005

Kugyou · Katori Shintaro! Age: 44 Gender: Joined: 26 Sep 2005

Damion · Senior Otaku Gender: Joined: 30 Sep 2004

Silver Adept · Otaku Lord Age: 42 Gender: Joined: 20 May 2003

Bootlegs, yeah. That's pretty obvious. Even then, that's not piracy, but it is supporting people who do pirate.

As for ticket prices, well, less people are going to the movies these days, some perhaps because of higher ticket prices, others because they feel the movies that are being produced aren't worth seeing anymore. Less people generally means that prices have to go up to make a profit of some sort. I could actually use some figures, if they're available, about what that expensive ticket goes toward.