Tweaks, Hacks and Homemade Stuff: Forms of pirated film releases

Tweaks, Hacks and Homemade Stuff

My findings while exploring depths of place called home (It's internet)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Forms of pirated film releases

Here is a little guide for all of you torrent downloaders, just to explain what is that R5 and Cam and such....

R5

R5 refers to a specific format of DVD released in the Former-Soviet Union, which is in DVD Region 5, and bootlegged copies of these releases that are distributed on the Internet. In an effort to compete with movie piracy, the movie industry chose to create a new format for DVD releases that could be produced more quickly and less expensively than traditional DVD releases. R5 releases differ from normal releases in that they are usually a direct Telecine transfer of the film without any of the image processing common on DVD releases, and without any special features. This allows the film to be released for sale at the same time that DVD Screeners are released. Since DVD Screeners are the chief source of high-quality pre-DVD release pirated movies, this allows the movie studios to beat the pirates to market.

Telecine (piracy)

The term telecine is sometimes used to refer to a less common form of pirated copies of films created using a telecine machine, as opposed to recording the projected image with a video camera (the camera method with a direct audio source is called a telesync). Since this process requires both a print of the movie on film (which generally cannot be obtained legally by an individual) and expensive equipment, telecine bootlegs are less common than camera bootlegs. The studios have integrated security features, like Coded Anti-Piracy (CAP) to discourage, track and prosecute pirates.

The term is also often seen used as in the naming of pirate movie releases. A naming scheme would look something like this: Movie.title.year-of-production.TELECINE.Codec-Groupname. Alternatively some groups simply use the TC tag instead. The quality of a good telecine is generally comparable to a DVD without any post-processing. The number of pirate telecines released has dropped recently due to the difficulty of making them and the rise of R5 releases.

In 2005, a telecine release of the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith was released on the internet and looked better than the retail DVD, although the release still had dust marks (which appear as little black specs on the picture) throughout the film.

Workprint WP

A workprint is a rough version of a motion picture, used by the film editor(s) during the editing process. Such copies generally contain original recorded sound that will later be re-dubbed, stock footage as placeholders for missing shots or special effects, and animation tests for in-production animated shots or sequences.

For most of the first century of filmmaking, workprints were done using second-generation prints from the original camera negatives. After the editor and director approved of the final edit of the workprint, the same edits were made to the negative. With the conversion to digital editing, workprints are now generally created on a non-linear editing system using telecined footage from the original film or video sources. (In contrast to a pirate "telecine", which is made with a much higher-generation film print.) Occasionally, early digital workprints of films have been bootlegged and made available on the Internet.

There are also Director's Cut versions of films that are only available on bootleg; for example, the workprint version of Richard Williams' The Thief and the Cobbler. Although movie studios generally do not make full-length workprints readily available to the public, there are exceptions; for example, the "Work-In-Progress" version of Beauty and the Beast.

An initial release of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005) was taken from a very late workprint. The release actually made it onto the internet before the movie hit theaters. Speculation was that someone inside Lucasfilm had leaked the film.

Recently, a workprint of the movie Hostel: Part II was released on the internet more than a week before its theatrical release. The copy contained green screens and some missing special effects

Screener SCR

A screener is an advance video or DVD copy of a film sent to critics, awards voters, video stores (for their manager and employees), and other film industry professionals, including producers and distributors.[1] Often, each individual screener is sent out with distinct markings, which allow copies of a screener to be tracked to their source.

In 2003 the MPAA announced that they would be ceasing distribution of screeners to Academy members, citing fears of piracy. A group of independent film makers sued and won a decision against the MPAA. The MPAA later reinstated the screeners with the implementation of a new policy requiring recipients to sign a binding contract that they would not share the screeners with others.

In January 2004, Academy member Carmine Caridi was announced as a "person of interest" in an ongoing FBI investigation into video piracy. He was subsequently expelled from the Academy after he was found to have sent a contact in Illinois close to 300 screeners over a five year period. He was later ordered to pay a total of $150,000 to Warner Brothers for the copyright infringement of their films Mystic River and The Last Samurai[2].

CAM

(also "CAM" and meaning simply, Camera) is a specific method of motion picture copying, usually infringing upon a copyrighted work. Unlike the more common DVD rip or screener recording methods which involve the duplication of officially distributed media, "cam" versions are original clandestine recordings made in movie theaters.

Typically, the person filming the movie will smuggle a compact digital camcorder into the theater by hiding it in their clothing or in a bag such as a purse or backpack. For this reason and people bringing outside food in, some establishments now ban customers from carrying bags or other containers into theaters. The filmer then records the movie using the camcorder as unobtrusively as possible. They may try to pick a seat as far back in the theater as possible to avoid the attention of other patrons or may choose sparsely attended showtimes. The filmer may also know employees of the cinema who deliberately overlook infringement activity. Sometimes cam versions are made by projectionists themselves, either for home use or to distribute it for profit. These versions can be recognised easily as the audio sounds to be 'original', not blurry, reverbed and noisy, because it's not recorded by the built-in microphone of the camera, but rather by a direct electronic link into the stereo monitor output of the audio rack. These versions are typically referred to as Telesyncs. This way the frame rate conversion can also be avoided as the projectionist can speed up the projector to 25 fps and then use a standard PAL camera.

Starting in 2001, many major motion pictures started to arrive at the theaters with unique patterns of tiny dots embedded throughout the film. If the cammer is unable to catch and blur all of these sequences, the studio will be able to determine at which theater the cam was recorded.

A cam uses audio recorded via the camera's microphone. Because of the nature of the audiovisual recording method, the audience can often be heard laughing, or silhouettes can be seen as people head for the restroom or concession stand.

The overall quality of cam bootlegs is highly dependent upon the quality of camera used, the skill of the operator in framing the screen, minimizing camera movement, and the method of encoding used before distribution (Which is most commonly XviD). Cams are generally considered to be the lowest fidelity method for duplicating video and film content, somewhat behind Telesync and markedly worse than DVD rips or screeners. For newly released films, however, cams are often the only illegal copies available. One can often find these DVDs available from street vendors for prices equivalent to US$1-$2 (PPP) in the developing world.

Bootlegged copies of movies, normally taken using the cam method, can be found on the streets of almost any major city in the world.

Telesync TS

Telesync is one of many terms used by movie bootleggers to describe the source material used to make bootlegged copies, normally distributed in Video CD, SVCD, KVCD, DVD, KDVD or DivX/XviD format.

A telesync is a video copy of the movie which was shot in a cinema, often with a professional camera on a tripod in the projection booth, with a direct connection to the sound source (often FM audio provided for the hearing-impaired, or from a drive-in theatre). A telesync is a special type of cam that has the potential of better-quality audio and video. If the telesync is shot from within the projection booth there will be no keystone distortion (there will be keystone correction) of the video. An ordinary cam is usually shot with a handheld camera from a seat in the auditorium and uses the camera's own built-in microphone to pick up the sound.

Telesync, along with DVD-Rip, is a common form of bootlegged movie, usually one that will be released a few days after the first cam versions. It is usually indicated with the letters “TS” in the movie's video file name.

As technology gets better, the quality of the telesyncs also gets better. Some releases in the past have been comparable with a DVD. Some release groups use high definition cameras to get the clearest picture possible.

posted by VB @ 1:52 PM

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