G*DDAMN! ... Deadlands has gone Torrent Crazy.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Last night I was searching the web and ended up tracking over 70+ Different Torrent sites carrying Deadlands. While I am not happy about it being on USENET and TORRENT sites I kind of have to smile about it a bit as it is spread far and wide, and that only means one thing... It will spread to a bigger audience. Now what I find really funny is that the uploaded version floating on the torrent sites actually is compressed incorrectly and they managed to muck-up the aspect ratio cutting of information and characters heads. So those whom download it are getting a messed up rip of the DVD. Ah well, I knew it would happen sooner or later, just never expected it to expand as big as it has spread.

[LouCipherr]

Publicity, man! It's a good thing! Look at it this way - it would be bad if you had millions of dollars at stake in this project, but that's not the case. All this is doing now is spreading the movie all over the PLANET which = TONS of exposure! A first-time filmmaker could only DREAM of exposure like this to the masses. I don't see any other indie titles being pirated like this or at this rate. I see this as a good thing at this stage. Your name, this movie, will be spread over the entire planet for all to see. The more people that view it the better. That way, when you do your next movie, people will already know about you and want to check it out. "Hey, isn't that guy who did this new movie the same on that did that Deadlands zombie movie? That wasn't bad for a first time effort - lets watch it, i'm sure he's gotten better the 2nd time around!" While it does do some financial damage to Tempe (which I'm sure isn't pleased about this) and to you, ya have to consider what's more important at the moment for your career if you choose to go into filmmaking full-time. Money, or massive exposure to the masses. I, personally, think exposure to the masses is more imporant at this point. It's not like anyone can stop it either. Trying to stop pirating is like trying to put a band-aid on cancer, however, it doesn't mean it's a bad thing in certain instances. What surprises me the most is, this thing is being spread around like a goddamn hollywood movie. WTF?! FYI, I downloaded the release on usenet, and indeed they fu*ked up the rip. The top part of the screen is cut off and you can only see the bottom half of the word "DISCLAIMER" at the beginning. I think the biggest question I have now about all this is: how the FU*K can you screw up a DVD RIP!? These guys must really suck at what they do.

[Danny]

taht can only be a good thing, if you cant put your movie out nationwide, it makes sense thats its better advertising for the movie, or at least the talent therein by it getting across the net for free. it sucks that whilst some may buy the dvd not even half will but like lou says, free advertising.

[MinionZombie]

Ah mate, like was said here, how can you f*ck up a DVD rip?! Geeeeez ... mind you, I've seen it before on Bam's Unholy Union, for some reason the image would be cropped a little further than what it was originally - WHY???!!! doi...duh...gol! I suppose it was inevitable, but like is being said, at this stage it means exposure, but I can totally understand some frustration of it being up there.

[Cody]

Id be pissed but happy at the same time. sweet sweet publicity

[DjfunkmasterG]

Tonight I was having a discussion with my Co-screeplay writer for Deadlands 2, Lonnie Martin. I told him how this has spread like wild fire on the Torrent Network and the pros and cons of this event. We both agree that indie stuff should never be bootlegged, but when you take into consideration the sheer number of total torrent sites across the globe carrying this film it does make one wonder why this film was spread out so far & wide. Maybe we were to philosophical about our discussion, but did Deadlands find a bigger audience in the torrent network, even the films overall rank on IMDB pro is up 3400%. Just last week the film was rated 8,618. This week it is #244 (not to be confused with Top 250 which is based on rating, rank is based on popularity) Sales don't seem to be lagging any either, so it is just a matter of time and patience. By Monday when the new ranks are released we should be able to more closely gauge the outcome of the films release. If it has a drastic drop in the rating then we can confirm it was a fluke, but if the drop is small or if there is a gain then maybe the film is onto something and we need to roll with it from there. Like I said I am not happy about the fact it is on Torrent Sites, but I am not going to get it pulled, and I am not too worried as once people notice the aspect ratio is way off, because of a piss poor rip job, it may give them the incentive to at least give it rent or buy it on the cheap from someplace like ebay or Deep Discount DVD.

[LouCipherr]

Like I said I am not happy about the fact it is on Torrent Sites, but I am not going to get it pulled You know as well as I do that would be an impossible task. Once it's out there, it's out there, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. If the MPAA can't get movies pulled with a team of million-dollar-an-hour lawyers... The only thing that can be done now is to wait for the rankings and see how things progress.

[Neil]

Torrent and P2P is going to change the face of so much... and I can't help but fear for the worse. With it becoming easier and easier to:- a) Download stuff - I just changed my host a week ago doubled my speed. I can download an entire DVD on torrent now in a matter of hour(s), depending on available seeds etc. b) More importantly much easier it is becoming to deal with the media being download. For example, watching TV episodes you downloaded directly on your main TV. Listening to MP3s you downloaded in your car or home (easily). At the moment, there's some hassle involved with downloading stuff, and then actually making use of it. But as this hassle gets eroded, so will people motivation for the genuine item... For example, imagine if at a press of a button your could download TV episodes and watch them with minimal hassle on your TV. Are you going to make sure you stay in/up to watch it when it's broadcast? Are you going to bother recording it? No, you'll click a button and download it, and watch it advert free. When enough people start doing this, surely money will start getting diverted away from TV programs (no adverts being watched or DVDs bought), and music comapnies etc (no CDs being bought).

[DjfunkmasterG]

That is why I love ON DEMAND. I can't stay up late on Sundays to catch Entourage so i wait until I get home from work Monday afternoon and I watch it then, all at the push of a button.

[LouCipherr]

For example, imagine if at a press of a button your could download TV episodes and watch them with minimal hassle on your TV. Are you going to make sure you stay in/up to watch it when it's broadcast? Are you going to bother recording it? No, you'll click a button and download it, and watch it advert free. When enough people start doing this, surely money will start getting diverted away from TV programs (no adverts being watched or DVDs bought), and music comapnies etc (no CDs being bought). We're already damn close to that. My TiVo does exactly that, although I have to record it when it's actually being broadcast, but at least I can watch it when I want, and on my terms - ie: without commericals. I agree, Neil - and y'know, we're not far away from the complete collapse of both the RIAA, the big record companies and the MPAA and the big hollywood production companies. I'm actually surprised it hasn't happened already. With Deadlands, there isn't a HUGE amount of money to be lost - there is money being lost, sure, but it's not comparable to say a hollywood production where the budget was a few million - but I have NO idea how the big movie and record companies can continue to survive as downloading becomes easier and easier for the average person to do so. I personally cannot wait for the fall. These companies refuse to get with the times and innovate and adapt to the current environment - and they're getting their just desserts as far as i'm concerned. Move out of the stone age you idiots! If you'd just price your wares properly, there would be no complaints from anyone. I still don't understand how I can buy a 2 discs special edition DVD and pay $18.99 USD for it, but yet a little goddamn piece of plastic with 10 SONGS on it costs me just as much! It makes NO sense and it pisses me off something fierce. Needless to say, it's gonna be a wild ride - strap yourself in and keep all hands inside while the vehicle is in motion! Weeeeeeeeeeee!!! Yes, that's what people do when they're having fun - they refer to themselves and some other people! (sorry, had to throw the Mitch Hedberg joke in there somewhere ) LC

[MinionZombie]

There's always going to the be the big businesses, no doubt, they're here to stay, however, the change will come in the form of the indie industry growing to potentially very large sizes, and therefore taking a chunk out of the big businesses and forcing them to put some effort in and organise themselves a bit better, rather than the lazy free-for-all that they seem to be sitting in right now. No doubt every show will end up being sponsored by something, we've seen a sharp increase in such advertising - especially on Satellite TV - here in the UK in recent years.

[tdavie7]

I don't think any money is being lost as a result of having this film available online; more money made in my opinion. I wanted this film, but didn't feel like paying 22.95 Cdn on a risk, so I downloaded it, liked it, and then ponied up the bucks at amazon.ca As has been said before, it's free advertising, and as much as you may think it hurt to potentially give it away for free, imagine this.....if you can't give it away for free, how do you think you'd ever manage to sell this. If you catch more sales of of the p2p/file sharing route than you've deferred, you've won. On a side note, I liked this film. A lot. I liked it more than the crapfest LOTD. The camera work was nice, the overall storyline was good, acting was okay, music was decent. It only lagged a bit in the pacing and execution of some of the dialogue. The scene transitions I found were conceptually well pulled off. The only real change I'd like for the next one? At least 90 minutes long. thanks Tom

[DjfunkmasterG]

Hi T, Glad ya liked the movie, and your wish will be granted + 37 minutes to spare. If we film Deadlands 2 by the rule of one page per minute it will run about 127 minutes based on the current script, but I know for a fact it will exceed 90 minutes even if we enter into another draft. Cheers, Dj

[capncnut]

I don't think any money is being lost as a result of having this film available online; more money made in my opinion. I wanted this film, but didn't feel like paying 22.95 Cdn on a risk, so I downloaded it, liked it, and then ponied up the bucks at amazon.ca I agree with that, I'm the type of guy who likes to view berfore I purchase. Hell, I'll even watch a s**tcam, and if it's any good then damn straight I'm going to see it at the cinema/buy the DVD. Piracy does have it's good points, but the bad points far outweigh them...

[MinionZombie]

I know what you mean sometimes, I've certainly 'tried before I buy' before, and like with Grindhouse I watched a VCD out of lame protest to the Weinstein's for splitting them up, but I loved it, so I just know I'll go and see them in the cinema, and get the uber-DVD when it comes out... Like Dj was saying, frustrating, but hopefully it will give the film more exposure and even achieve some sales...hey Dj, got any screen shots of how crap their cropping of the image is? I can't believe they cropped a 2.35:1 image, what the hell's left?!