In iana J nes and t e K ngdom of the Crys al Sk ll
Besides all the other things that have irritated so many people about the new Indiana Jones movie, has anyone noticed the sound dropping out at random during your screening?
Joel brought this Boing Boing post to my attention where a movie theater posted a sign apologizing for sound drop outs during Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, saying it was the studio’s fault and that they couldn’t do anything about it. Several commenters indicated having the same problem and it’s even happening in the UK.
No one has admited anything but the sign in question says that this is another anti-piracy measure by the studios. The idea being that a unique pattern of sound dropouts will allow them to track the source of copies being downloaded from the Internet.
Those goddamn brown dots are annoying enough, but do we have to cope with the random loss of sound as well?
If this is true, thank you Paramount stooge assholes for punishing the shrinking number of people who’d still like to pay to see your shitty sequels and remakes in a movie theater the way the cinema gods intended just so you can track down the pirate jerkoffs who cater to all the cheap and lazy motherfuckers who haven’t set foot in a movie theater since the last Indiana Jones movie anyway.
Kiss my ass, fuckos.
Filed under: Opinion
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You’re as mad as hell, and you ain’t going to take this anymore :-)
Yep, it happened during the press screening I went to, but not during the commercial screening.
No problems in Marinated County, CA!
Wow, I didn’t notice this when I saw it, but it’s terrible anti-piracy measure.
I’m not convinced it really is an anti-pirate measure, but if it is, it sucks.
I’m not sure. In the opening sequence, I thought Ford sounded odd. But that might just be age.
I hate all those anti-piracy measures. Like the extremely, unbelievably annoying (and unskippable) anti-piracy ad they put on a lot of Dutch DVD’s. It’s all flashy and with loud music, clearly an attempt to be “cool” but failing mercilessly, and the biggest problem with it? The only time you’ll ever get to see it is when YOU’RE WATCHING A LEGAL DVD THAT YOU PAID HARD-EARNED MONEY FOR.
Sorry, just venting. Anyhoo, who even watches cams? Not only is the visual quality just dreadful, but more often than not you can’t hear a word of dialogue.
Well it’s either the worst quality control imaginable on a movie this big or Paramount was testing this new anti-piracy measure by only rolling it out in select theaters.
The brown dots make a lot more sense from a viewer standpoint, but it’s possible that smart pirates have been digitally removing those after the fact. One can’t fix missing audio very easily.
All the same, I’m glad to hear that most of our viewers weren’t affected here at LIC. One of the supposed causes of this is a bad match between the projection equipment and the original source (ie, playing a DTS reel on a non-DTS system), but it’s the first I’ve ever heard of that issue.
I’ll be curious to see if Paramount responds to this at some point. It’s horrible PR for the studio.
Hopefully I’ll find out this weekend….maybe.
I didn’t notice any sound drop out in Vancouver.
The studios are the biggest cause of Piracy. I don’t blame anyone for downloading pirated video, if they have to wait months for the film to show up in their area.
I waited for months for Black Sheep to open up in Vancouver. It never came. I will never wait that long to see a film again!
Interesting point, Colleen. Just curious, Black Sheep - killer sheep or Black Sheep - Chris Farley? I assume the former.
I didn’t notice any sound drop off, but the movie was LAME, and I absolutely LOVED reading Craig’s essay here! This was an attack that these idiots well deserved!
Hey Colleen, glad you stopped by.
Waiting for movies is the worst! We’re pretty lucky in LA with getting things quickly, but NY often beats us.
Glad you didn’t think I was overreacting, Sam. As a guy who loves the theatrical experience, it saddens me to see studios shooting themselves in the foot and just giving more reasons for people to stay home.
@daniel
Black Killer Sheep! The Violence of the Lambs was by far my most anticipated movie of last year. I had originally planned it as a B-movie Bruce Campbell appreciation Society (BCAS) outing. Hundreds of near empty theaters and they didn’t show it in one. I am just glad “postal” opened here…. I am not sure I would have survived if it hadn’t.
Black Sheep is a Kiwi horror spoof about genetically modified sheep going crazy. With 4 million people and 40 million sheep one can’t travel out of the cities very far without seeing the docile and easily startled creatures grazing pasture in large numbers. This is a nice little poking fun effort. There’s even a nod to the stock “having relations with sheep” jokes Kiwi males endure at the hands of Aussies.
http://www.blacksheep-themovie.com/
Unfortunately, the movie theatre experience these days isn’t what it used to be. Most people go to an anonymous multiplex, pay $50 for a couple of tickets and some concessions, then get the privilege of watching a poorly projected film with a crowd of teenage kids who scream, yell, laugh at inappropriate moments and, of course, hold lengthy conversations on their cell phones whenever the mood strikes.
I’m fortunate to now live in Austin, home of the wondrous Alamo Drafthouse cinemas, but I feel the pain of those moviegoers who aren’t so lucky, namely everyone living outside of cities like Austin, Boston, Chicago, LA and NYC.
Frankly, the internet is the future of movie distribution and the MPAA would be wise to start using it before the pirates beat them at their own game…Actually, the studios may have already lost and I don’t feel the least bit sorry for them.
Thanks for commenting Scott.
I agree that, for the most part, theatrical exhibition of films is probably on the way out. Regardless of the reasons, I think it’s regrettable. Though it’s hard to get a perfect theatrical experience, there’s nothing quite like watching a properly projected movie with a few hundred enthusiastic and respectful people.
No matter how expensive the home theater, it’s just not quite the same.