Cam (bootleg)
Encyclopedia
A cam is a bootleg recording
of a film
. 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 theater
s.
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 (and to ensure proper framing of the screen) 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 projectionist
s themselves, either for home use or to distribute (with or without profit). These versions can be recognized easily as the audio sounds original, as opposed to "muddy" or noisy. This is owed to the fact that program audio is 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. In parts of the world where the video standard is PAL
, such as most European countries and Australia, where the standard frame rate is 25 per second, a problem with frame rate conversion can be avoided as the projectionist can speed the projector up from film's traditional 24 frames per second to PAL's 25 frame/s and then use a standard PAL video camera to record the film picture.
Starting in 2001, many major motion pictures started to arrive at the theaters with watermarks with unique patterns of tiny dots embedded throughout the film, known as Coded Anti-Piracy
technology. 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. As an additional form of deterrent, for highly popular films ushers might utilize night vision
goggles to discreetly catch a bootlegger in the act of recording.
With exception of the type of cam mentioned above as made by a projectionist with access to connections in the audio rack, 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 silhouette
s 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 copies available. One can often find these DVDs available from street vendors for prices equivalent to US$
1-$2 (PPP
) in the developing world.
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
of a film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. Unlike the more common DVD rip
Ripping
Ripping is the process of copying audio or video content to a hard disk, typically from removable media. The word is used to refer to all forms of media. Despite the name, neither the media nor the data is damaged after extraction....
or screener
Screener
A screener is an advance screening of a film sent to critics, awards voters, video stores , and other film industry professionals, including producers and distributors. A screener often has no post-processing....
recording methods which involve the duplication of officially distributed media, cam versions are original clandestine recordings made in movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
s.
Typically, the person filming the movie will smuggle
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
a compact digital camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
into the theater by hiding it in their clothing or in a bag such as a purse
Handbag
A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....
or backpack
Backpack
A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...
. 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 (and to ensure proper framing of the screen) 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 projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...
s themselves, either for home use or to distribute (with or without profit). These versions can be recognized easily as the audio sounds original, as opposed to "muddy" or noisy. This is owed to the fact that program audio is 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. In parts of the world where the video standard is PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
, such as most European countries and Australia, where the standard frame rate is 25 per second, a problem with frame rate conversion can be avoided as the projectionist can speed the projector up from film's traditional 24 frames per second to PAL's 25 frame/s and then use a standard PAL video camera to record the film picture.
Starting in 2001, many major motion pictures started to arrive at the theaters with watermarks with unique patterns of tiny dots embedded throughout the film, known as Coded Anti-Piracy
Coded Anti-Piracy
Coded Anti-Piracy is an anti-copyright infringement technology which marks each film print of a motion picture with a distinguishing patterns of dots, used as a forensic identifier to identify the source of illegal copies....
technology. 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. As an additional form of deterrent, for highly popular films ushers might utilize night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
goggles to discreetly catch a bootlegger in the act of recording.
With exception of the type of cam mentioned above as made by a projectionist with access to connections in the audio rack, 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 silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
s 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
XviD
Xvid is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile . It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi masking, trellis quantization, and H.263, MPEG and custom quantization matrices.Xvid is a...
). Cams are generally considered to be the lowest fidelity
Fidelity
"Fidelity" is the quality of being faithful or loyal. Its original meaning regarded duty to a lord or a king, in a broader sense than the related concept of fealty. Both derive from the Latin word fidēlis, meaning "faithful or loyal"....
method for duplicating video and film content, somewhat behind Telesync
Telesync
A telesync is a bootleg recording of a film recorded in a movie theater, often with a professional camera on a tripod in the projection booth , with a direct connection to the sound source...
and markedly worse than DVD rips or screeners. For newly released films, however, cams are often the only copies available. One can often find these DVDs available from street vendors for prices equivalent to US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1-$2 (PPP
Purchasing power parity
In economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
) in the developing world.
See also
- Coded Anti-PiracyCoded Anti-PiracyCoded Anti-Piracy is an anti-copyright infringement technology which marks each film print of a motion picture with a distinguishing patterns of dots, used as a forensic identifier to identify the source of illegal copies....
- The Scene
- WarezWarezWarez refers primarily to copyrighted works distributed without fees or royalties, and may be traded, in general violation of copyright law. The term generally refers to unauthorized releases by organized groups, as opposed to file sharing between friends or large groups of people with similar...
- List of Warez Groups
External links
- The Prince of Darknet - feature story in Legal Affairs regarding movie copyright infringement, May/June 2005
- Information for cinema employees on how to fight CAM piracy