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Alleged drive-in cammer arrested in Australia

18 February 2009 12:07 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 16 comments

An Australian man has been arrested for allegedly recording movies with his camcorder at a drive-in theater. According to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), an organization representing movie studios around the world, the 26 year old was responsible was responsible for recording a number of cam movies made available by the release group PreVail.

Police seized camcorder and computer equipment in a raid. This equipment was allegedly used for recording recent movies, including �He�s Just Not That Into You�, �Marley and Me�, �Yes Man�, �Bedtime Stories�, and �Beverley Hills Chihuahua�.

They were acting largely on information collected by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT). AFACT is an organization comprised of companies in the Australian film and television industry.

The drive-in where the Cam releases were recorded was identified using digital watermarks added to many film prints before they're sent to theaters.

�Anyone thinking of illegally camcording a movie should be aware that the technology exists to identify them, track them down and take them to court on criminal copyright charges,� said Neil Gane, Director of Operations at AFACT.

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Discuss this article!
engage16 (Member) 18 February 2009 13:56
I never thought of camming at a Drive-In Theater... I guess that would be the place to do it... But its his own damn fault for not noticing the watermark on the screen... [ + quote]
nintenut (Senior Member) 18 February 2009 15:19
*Originally posted by engage16:* I never thought of camming at a Drive-In Theater... I guess that would be the place to do it... But its his own damn fault for not noticing the watermark on the screen... Or for going to the same one over and over. [ + quote]
JonnyCabs (Newbie) 18 February 2009 15:41
*Quote:* But its his own damn fault for not noticing the watermark on the screen... We are not necessarily talking about a huge tv channel style watermark....... I remember about 2 years ago the pre-release of the "terminator" tv series "the sarah connor chronicles" This contained a watermark which was approx 12-20 pixels on ONE frame of the whole episode. Only obvious if you knew it was there AND exactly where to look. However, continually using the SAME theatre is a little on the OOPS side... :) [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 18 February 2009 15:43
The stupid thing here is why would you do it in the first place and secondly the quality would be really crappy. Just imagine the sound and picture quality. He deserved what he got. [ + quote]
b18bek9 (Member) 18 February 2009 16:26
they dont even have drive in movies out here anymore use to be fun but i can see why drive ins are closed down. [ + quote]
bomber991 (Junior Member) 18 February 2009 17:04
*Originally posted by borhan9:* The stupid thing here is why would you do it in the first place and secondly the quality would be really crappy. Just imagine the sound and picture quality. He deserved what he got. Picture quality might not be the best, but it would be better than most cams. It's a drive-in so you don't have to worry about other people walking and blocking your view. At drive in's they have little speakers you can put in your car, so you don't have to worry about other people talking and having their cells go off. [ + quote]
ThePastor (Junior Member) 18 February 2009 20:13
The drive-ins out here broadcast the sound on a low power FM transmitter that lets the sound be played over your car stereo. This would be very easy to grab and would not have any ambient sound whatsoever. I hope his windshield was clean! [ + quote]
zdiggler (Newbie) 18 February 2009 21:13
I thought the noises and people walking in front of the camera is to bring you all the experience. [ + quote]
cyprusrom (AfterDawn Addict) 18 February 2009 22:34
*Originally posted by zdiggler:* I thought the noises and people walking in front of the camera is to bring you all the experience. Haha, indeed, true Surround Sound! [ + quote]
cousinkix (Newbie) 20 February 2009 5:54
We used to have a Drive In theatre across town; but it closed last year. A run down low income housing complex was right next door. The tenents could have easily cammed both screens and recorded the low power FM radio audio signals from the comforts of home. A lot of illegal aliens live there. And guess which sub group of people likes to sell bootleg CDs DVDs at the flea markets. I've seen news clips of them getting busted by the police, RIAA and ICE at 11 PM... [ + quote]
cyprusrom (AfterDawn Addict) 20 February 2009 10:10
*Originally posted by cousinkix:* ... A lot of illegal aliens live there. And guess which sub group of people likes to sell bootleg CDs DVDs at the flea markets. I've seen news clips of them getting busted by the police, RIAA and ICE at 11 PM... Haha! Okay, I cannot guess anymore, why don't you tell us which "sub" group of people sells bootlegged DVDs? My guess was that only people that are industrious enough, smart enough to find idiots that would buy a Cam DVD at a flea market...I commend that! So if the "aliens"( wonder what galaxy are they from) are the ingenious ones that produce the stuff, who are the idiots that buy their merchandise? [ + quote]
vballstud (Inactive) 20 February 2009 10:39
Ahhh... drive-ins. Brings back some very good memories. Still have at least one in the area. [ + quote]
c1c (Member) 20 February 2009 10:54
sad to get busted like this [ + quote]
looser_ur (Inactive) 20 February 2009 12:04
Camming a drive-in.............CAMMING ANY MOVIE THEATRE......................HOW GHETTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND watching a cammed movie...........equally ghetto. [ + quote]
avoidz (Junior Member) 2 March 2009 21:35
Most drive-ins closed because the value of the land increased so much, not because they were unprofitable. Most drive-ins were still doing good business when they closed up. I miss drive-ins :) [ + quote]
zorb43 (Newbie) 4 March 2009 17:50
*Originally posted by b18bek9:* they dont even have drive in movies out here anymore use to be fun but i can see why drive ins are closed down. Yeah ... Because to many people were being bitten up by Mosquitoes !!! [ + quote]