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Student charged over homemade 3D cam rig

Considering we're now entering the realms of 4K displays becoming cost effective and 8K not too many years away, it seems a little surprising that there's still a market for cam-footage recordings of new movies. While they do tend to beat the DVD screeners to the torrent sites, their quality, canted angle and silhouettes of other movie goers can really detract from the experience. They also can't capture the 3D effects that so many studios are pushing on us these days, unless you're British student Ciprian Florea, who has been charged with potentially using a homemade 3D camera rig to record a 3D movie.

Florea was busted in November last year, when Cineworld staff spotted him heading into a screening for Gravity, carrying a homemade system made up of two HD cameras. While he denies all claims that he was planning to use it to record the film, the prosecution asserts that the rig would have allowed for the recording of a separate left and right eye image. This is the first time anyone has been charged with attempting to record a 3D movie in all of its dimensions.

gravity

Florea's claim is that as a film student, he was interested in the idea of filming 3D footage of real life, not the film. He also said that the homemade system would not be able to record 3D footage from the movie, though BirminghamMail states that tests performed later showed that it could.

“[Recording the movie is] exactly what he intended to do. That is why he went to the cinema, that is why he bought the tickets to see the 3D film Gravity on that night,” the prosecution Sally Cairns said. “This defendant made a digital camera that would allow him to make a 3D film.”

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KitGuru Says: Obviously we don't condone any piracy, but why would anyone download cam footage? Isn't it worth to at least wait until it's at a higher quality? 

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34 comments

  1. i say prove it was his cameras switched on so prove it

  2. Punishing ingenuinty

  3. Punishing attempted piracy!

  4. both 😀

  5. If there was no recorded footage of copyrighted material on the cameras, then it’s only reasonable that he is liable to pay a fee/fine for bringing recording equipment into a cinema.

    Piracy != Murder, you shouldn’t get jailed for ‘Attempted Duplication’.

    What they should have done after they noticed him was let him go into the cinema and then confiscate his equipment afterwards to see if he really was up to no good. That way there would be solid evidence rather than circular speculation of “he said, she said”…

  6. While I have no doubt he was intending to film it, they’ve shot themselves in the foot by stopping him from going, and not waiting to film it. Possession of a camera is not proof he was going to film it, otherwise everyone going to see a movie with a mobile phone could charged with the same thing.

  7. At least it would be better than watching one filmed by a toaster 😛

  8. Piracy smiracy, they loose nothing if someone records and freely distributes, bad quality, shaky cinema camera jobs, it if fact has been proven to encourage people to either go and buy the film on DVD/Blue Ray or go and watch it in a cinema.

    I think personally that it is inevitable that people are going to do this, we have HD cameras that can fit in your pocket, my mobile phone could record it if i had a way to keep the phone stable, its got a 20MP camera. Im not an advocate of piracy, but i think the statistics speak for the themselves.

    These anti piracy things are stupid, in the early 90’s i could record what ever i chose of the TV to a Video tape or a DVD towards the end of 90’s the early 00’s or music from the radio to my cassette player, or my MiniDisc player, or convert my CD into MP3, or record a song of the radio and use software on PC to convert it to MP3. There has always been ways to “pirate” and no one used to care, now however, we live in the internet age where it is easily available, which is better, because then no one is making profit selling counterfeit DVDs if everyone can get it for free, they are not going to pay some dude with DVDs.

    As i say i do not advocate piracy, but as i say, they are not loosing anything, and they make more than enough from ticket sales and dvd sales to negate the people who “pirate” a film.

  9. Cam 3d? Scuse me while vomit thinking of the horrible motion sickness that would cause…

  10. Yar-Har fiddlydee I am a pirate and I am as FREE as can be. I am a pirate and pirate’s are FREE, I am a pirate.

  11. yes. but common sense is used in those cases.

  12. Piracy is a real and damaging thing.

    Yes. It allows some people access to something they may not have had access to before (Regional, Economical, Etc) but it is theft.

    Your 90’s argument is very true, we could copy a VHS or tape, but its not easy to distribute. you couldn’t download a VHS. now with 100Mb Broadband and DVD costing 5-6p per disc it is possible.

    They DO lose something. every person who watches a video downloaded online is one person who didn’t go to the cinema and watch it. (if they watch it again after or not doesnt matter). The cinema lost a sale. a sale that they need to recoup the cost of the movies that they license from the movie makers.

    If I STEAL a loaf of bread and I share it with my mates, the bakery loses out.

  13. I cant arrest you, it was only attempted murder.

    That terrorist had a bomb strapped to his chest, but he was caught before he detonated it. can’t arrest him though

    He almost raped her, lucky we got there in time, no harm done. you’re free to go.

  14. I know right, shaky cam would add a whole new level of queezy feelings.

  15. Potatoe cameras are the best.

  16. Did the terrorist detonate his bomb strapped to his chest. Intent is a valid reason to get the law involved.

  17. You’re an idiot. You’re using extremes as a comparison. In our justice system it depends on a number of different factors and even identical cases can have vastly different outcomes. Piracy is one thing but (maybe?) attempted piracy is another. He’ll get off and only because they were dumb enough to not wait for him to actually film anything. Don’t bother replying to me personally. I don’t bother reading replies from idiots who have nothing better to do than shove their opinion on others like it’s the law.

    Oh, and he was cleared of it by the way.

  18. I hope that he learns from this and doesnt attempt piracy again.

    And the extreme examples are there for people who don’t believe piracy is a crime. yes they are VERY extreme but it got you and me talking about it so its working as intended (although you are being awfully rude and agressive).

  19. Because all crimes are equal? So the next time you park your car incorrectly does that mean you deserve the punishment for a murder sentence? Or maybe you should have your license permanently removed so as to set an example for others who park badly? So they’ll never park incorrectly again!

    Expand your scope of thinking before blundering blanket statements…

    Only a few crimes can consider an individual guilty before actual implementation, and those are mostly the ones related to the gross violation of human rights (Murder and sexual assault). I’m sure there are a few special cases, such as attempting to violate an NDA.

    But for normal crime you are only guilty once you BEGIN the process of said crime (in this case, click record).

    Like I said, since he was apprehended before actually doing anything he is not actually guilty of piracy. He has only violated the house rules of the cinema by bringing in camera equipment, which means either a fine or a permanent ban from the premises.

  20. All crime is not equal, you are very correct; but all crime should be punished. If you parked illegaly then you should get a ticket, if you record and distribute movies you should go to prison.

    please understand I am not saying that he is as bad as a murder. I’m saying he got what was coming to him.

    My comment was aimed only at “Piracy != Murder, you shouldn’t get jailed for ‘Attempted Duplication’.”

    I agree with the rest of your 1st comment.

  21. You would be stealing a physical item if you stole bread, a digital copy of a film that cost zero to make is not theft, if i can pay for that digital file and then copy it and distribute it and not make money from it, is that theft from the company too? No, because i paid for my file, im using my computer to copy and distribute and its actually costing me money to do it(electricity and the initial purchase) they loose nothing other then potential sales, and every person with money in their pocket is a potential sale.

    I do not advocate piracy, but these companies blow this out of all proportions, and as i said, there have been studies done that prove what i am saying is true, pirates are not vicious criminals going around raping and murdering people, they are sitting behind a screen downloading a digital file.

    These companies need to wake up to the world we live in, we live in an on demand world, where our own impatience and laziness is leading to a more digitized entertainment industry, the idea of paying to watch a film once and never get to see it again, for the price of a dvd or digital download that is yours to watch as many times as you like, is dying out, it is obvious, and proven, that if these companies were digitize these films maybe offer a reduced price stream, that you can tune in to, that has Digital Rights protection built into the stream to prevent copying or record, they would make millions.

    I for one do not go to cinemas any more because unless you pay £15-£20 at “posh” cinemas, you end up with a load of noisy arse holes eating and making noise and being generally disruptive and that severely detracts from the experience, i would rather sit in front of my computer screen and either stream or watch a digital HD version right from the comfort of my chair, a film i could pause and do what ever i needed too, and then return to watch exactly where i left off, i can turn the lights off and throw on my Dolby 7.1 surround sound headset and become more immersed in the film than what i could in a cinema.

    In this case, the person who paid for his ticket to watch the film and then went into record it using his “3D Rig” is in the wrong, i think the people who are recording in cinemas around the world are in the wrong, but, they are responding to the on demand society we live in, the movie companies are not.

  22. Piracy is a horribly inaccurate title anyway. Piracy implies that something is stolen. If I copy your car but leave your car still there how can it be stolen?

    Judging by your other comments I can tell that advanced logic is difficult for you. But the 1-to-1 thinking that every pirated view equals one lost sale is ridiculous. Most people won’t automatically pay if they can’t get a free copy.

    A kid with $0 can watch a pirated movie, but if that copy never existed that doesn’t mean the kid now magically has money to go pay for the movie. So in either case the Movie studio has gained nothing…

    In fact the Movie studios WASTE so much money bribing politicians, paying lawyers and funding anti-piracy campaigns… in an effort to fight the powerful human nature to share with one another.

    It’s an archaic business model that ironically in their arrogance is causing them to waste money trying to fight it RATHER than exploring opportunities to profit from that human urge to share.

    Imagine an easy to use (and fast) online service where you can pay to download a movie and get a extra copy to share with a friend, family or a charity… if you are offering a better service than the illegal ones AND people feel like they are getting their money’s worth while helping out/being nice to someone that positivity will undoubtedly attract customers.

  23. Søren Chr. Nielsen

    A judge has already cleared the guy of all charges, while at the same time questioning why the prosecution was brought at all, since it ought to have been clear that there was no real legal basis for it.

    http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/student-cleraed-trying-pirate-3d-8394047

  24. “a digital copy of a film that cost zero to make is not theft” – Movies cost millions to make, Cinemas pay thousands to show them. They are not free.

    “if i can pay for that digital file and then copy it and distribute it
    and not make money from it, is that theft from the company too?” – no, that’s copyright infringment and is illegal. If I download it then I’m the thief. Money or not; theft is theft.

    “there have been studies done” – links to the studies please.

    “Your 3rd paragraph as a whole” – the continued public demand for more cinemas says to me that people are happy to pay once and then buy the DVD/BlueRay. And Digital Demand systems like Netflix are pushing for big movies faster than ever before but Movie Makers see mto prefer going to box office first.

    “4th Paragraph” – Then you should lobby Hollywood to expedite a Netflix style service for box office movies. Until then you can come to the cinema with the rest of us, chat and laugh, have a night out.

    You seem to have a vested interest in “ON DEMAND” movies. Pursue it and make your millions!

  25. I am not able to go to the cinema, so I download the film to watch it and then decide to buy it on either Bluray or on DVD depending on the film, the cinema has not lost a sale because there was no way I could watch it in the cinema in the first place BUT the movie company has GAINED a sale because I wont buy something I haven’t watched first…….

  26. The Man who eats stolen bread he couldnt buy, loves the bread and saves u to buy another loaf later and his previous crime is now forgotten?

  27. Piracy is not the act of STEALING it is the act of COPYING.

    you can only steal physical objects like cars, bread and tins of paint, if you make a perfect copy of the car or the bread or the paint, take the copy but leave the original intact and inplace, is that really stealing ?

  28. Piracy is not a great word for it no. They were cheated out a movie sale.

    That kid with $0 can afford a PC and an internet connection? that kid should save and scrounge every penny they can like WE did when we were kids. I used found loss change to buy sweets and trading cards when I was young. I could find upto £2 a day, once a week that’s a cinema ticket and maybe some sweets (from Tesco)

  29. http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/student-cleraed-trying-pirate-3d-8394047

    he was cleared.

  30. nah they cleared him of all charges,

    http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/student-cleraed-trying-pirate-3d-8394047

  31. So, do you think every kind of Piracy is a bad thing? I guess you need to change perspective, if he was not going to make any profit over the movie, all he was doing was “protesting against unecessary high profit”, which is also a damaging thing, so, what now?

    Ofc they do lose profit, thats the whole point, systems like steam and spotify have proven that the piracy problem is not a theft problem but a high price/bad service case.

  32. Christian Hargreave

    there is nothing to say that he was actually going to record it, he just had a camera on him. Therefore if you could be arrested for that than everyone who goes in with a phone would get arrested as he did not commit any crime nor was there any evidence that he was going to where as in your example it would be evident that suicide bomber had a bomb strapped to his chest and air-go could be apprehended

  33. ‘Piracy is a horribly inaccurate title anyway. Piracy implies that something is stolen. If I copy your car but leave your car still there how can it be stolen?’

    This is not such a great analysis. Piracy may be copying it and leaving it there HOWEVER piracy is taking away potential clients that, if a pirated copy hadn’t been obtained, would have purchased copies from the rightful owner henceforth transferring money to the rightful people. Therefore, in essence, this is stealing. This IS stealing.

  34. If you found something that was lost, how does that make it yours? Sounds like thievery to me.