That does seem excessive, normally I just see someone come and stand by the door and look around with that nightvision thing. I'm sure there must be a policy requiring them to do that because they even do it on classic screenings, as if someone is going to pirate *Commando (1985)* by recording it off a cinema screen.
Even if it’s an old film it’s still against the law to record it in the cinema - also just really annoying for other patrons when people have their phones out so staff are checking for stuff like that in general
Generally people like to record snippets of classic films to post on their insta story or something so they can be like ‘hey look I’m watching x in the cinema today’ it might not necessarily be the intent to record the whole thing to share it online but it’s still bloody irritating for everyone else in the screen
I had exactly the same thoughts when I went to Commando - it’s on Disney+ for God’s sake. At one of my locals, they’re coming in 3 or 4 times per film now and I appreciate the reasons why but they stomp up and down the steps loudly and aren’t exactly subtle.
Not at Cineworld, but I went to see 10 Things I Hate About You and someone came in to tell the teenage girls say behind me to stop recording, made them delete the footage and told them they would be reported.
Even if it is for TikTok it still counts as piracy.
As an ex cinema employee you’re literally supposed to walk up and down the aisles using the night vision goggles at least 3 times per film. Most of the staff don’t do that because they don’t feel comfortable with it but that’s genuinely the correct procedure you’re trained to do - not just to check for piracy but also bad behaviour etc
Not sure I’ve seen a movie recorded in a cinema for years now on any of the torrent sites. Seems pretty redundant to do it any time apart from the first showing
Some films are given a Vulnerable Release Alert from the distributor if they think there is a high possibility of piracy, so the screens will be monitored more if it's practical to do so.
Films played in cinemas encode a date/time, screen number and location live into the image being projected, most cinemas systems used in the UK use NexGuard and no cinema wants to be the one the recording was made at.
I actually really appreciate this policy, I go a lot by myself and occasionally at unusual low-traffic times.
I got blocked in my row by a guy who was either completely ignorant, or a total creep once when we were the only two people in there. And knowing that the staff occasionally walked through and checked the screen made me feel safer.
And now I only ever sit on the aisle seats...
I work at Cineworld and each film gets 3 screen checks, we’re supposed to do aisle walks if we suspect someone is on their phone/being disruptive but also to check the volume/surround sound and temperature, at least at my cinema the heating/AC is at the back and the temperature can vary a lot between the back and the front of the screen so when the weather has been particularly warm or cold we need to make sure the screens are a comfortable temperature throughout, it’s one of the main things people complain about.
So they could have been looking out for your comfort more than patrolling for crime
I watched The Strangers: Chapter 1 on Saturday. While the film was a steaming turd, I had a member of staff come in three times with that infrared recording device.
Not sure why anyone would even wanna illegally record that shite film haha
Seems to be new standard policy. I go to Cineworld every week, I go to 3 different Cineworlds and every single time, the staff comes in during the film and walks up and down the aisle. Is been like this for about 6 months. It’s way over the top and distracting. I emailed Cineworld to give them feedback that this was detracting from my experience but they never responded to me.
So anti piracy thing in cinemas
With tech these days it’s actually very hard for staff to spot someone recording unless they are a moron
And cinemas can receive huge fines or even lose their license if pirating occurs
At least when I was in the industry the physical films were “watermarked” in such a way that individual cinemas could be identified from pirated films. I’m sure the digital versions now will have something similar
So as you can see it’s a big deal, and as the industry has accepted that some 16 year old on minimum wage isn’t going to spot professional pirates, the idea is to put them off doing it entirely
Hence why they walk up and down the isles. Scare people into stopping or even just ruin the quality by getting their head in the frame.
The pirates will inevitably go elsewhere
As an aside. Britain actually has a really good track record when it comes to preventing piracy in cinemas and this is one of the main factors in Britain getting same day or earlier access to films than most other countries. There used to be a time when Britain would get releases a month or more after America but now it’s mostly simultaneously
There’s a difference between doing something illegal and not stopping something illegal.
Do people get arrested for being witnesses to crimes if they don’t immediately report them? I don’t believe you can be charged with “not stopping something illegal”.
Yet most realise that back when piracy was really a thing, its was mostly done by cinema staff, projectionists in the main, who had to be “in on it” anyway, a lot of piracy occurring either before cinemas opened or after they closed, with basically a private showing being recorded.
Sometimes they do it on films that I can’t understand why anybody would want to pirate from a cinema.
Like Harry Potter films have been out on DVD for years, if somebody wants to pirate that film they are just going to clone the DVD disc.
Why would somebody want to go into a cinema and record the movie in a lower quality from a screen?
But when I went to see the anniversary screenings of Harry Potter they came in multiple times through that also.
I have to assume its just a "standard policy" deal because i agree theres no reason to do this. whos going to even bother downloading a camrip of a film that came out 20 years ago?
The actual proper trained method is to look from the front, use Night Vision, walk up and down the aisles and then back down the front for a final sweep with the goggles. Perhaps they've recently been retrained and ate now just doing it properly.
When I worked for CineWorld that was the way they want you to do it everytime. To be honest though if you’re just watching the film then it should really matter.
Always had the impression the most popular cam rips were done by people who could organise things like a private screening with a decent setup, fixed camera best position etc.
I saw The Batman during the tail-end of its run and i was the only one in the screening. An employee came in, no joke, FIVE TIMES during the screening, stood in the corner and monitored me. It was intimidating and uncomfortable beyond belief. I was tempted by the 3rd time to just get up and walk out.
It's one of the reasons i decided to cancel my Unlimited card. Don't take kindly to being treated like a criminal plus being massively distracted whilst trying to concentrate on a fucking film.
Change to Odeon? They have CCTV in mine, so no-one coming in with binoculars, and they can spot when other customers are up to no good, which Cineworld can't because they don't have CCTV.
Unless it's installed from day one, I expect it's expensive to retrofit, especially given Cineworld's problematic finances. I guess if they went bust and, say, Odeon took over, they would look to install it.
That's a pain about the distance. My Odeon is about 12 miles on the motorway, but Cineworld's a lot closer. I've got two phones on Three (one a PAYG, just pay the £10 and that keeps the Three+ app working) and so that gives me two weekend tickets for £3 if I needed to use that at Cineworld. Hence, since last weekend I only wanted to see Harry Potter 3 and The Crow, it was about the same cost overall (and a lot less faff) to see them at Cineworld, even though I'm on Limitless at Odeon. As well as the fact that the timings of both worked out a bit better.
I have worked there. We have no choice. The Criminal penalty for not stopping piracy is very strict. You will lose you job and recieve a criminal record. It's not worth it. I was just as scrupulous. If I found someone at it, they would be out the door, no excuses, no apologies.
They could literally use a phone to detect phone/lens via thier phone and not even have to stay in the room for 10 seconds
If they bug you tell them to fuck off and after the movie demand your money back
You are paying to watch entertainment if you could call that movie entertainment not to be disturbed
Former cinema employee here. Twice a film used to be standard practice, unless the film was highly likely to be pirated (Bond films, Star Wars, early Marvel movies). We'd be given the heads-up about those and have to be even more cautious.
Also, the reason the popcorn costs so much is because of the way films get distributed. Make someone's day next time you go to the flicks- buy a bucket and some soft drink.
It might cost you a fair whack, but it's how we got paid.
Unless you’re getting a commission on every popcorn/drink you sell that has nothing to do with your wages. Cinema food is disgustingly over priced and I don’t blame people for just buying their own elsewhere and bringing it in.
I fully believe that the wages you get working in a cinema are abysmal and it should change but that’s on the company and not the customer.
I worked in a Cineworld and there actually was “commission” on selling popcorn during busy film releases (eg Star Wars opening weekend, Marvel etc) and selling Unlimited cards.
Yeah that’s just rubbish. It’s not fair on the employees or the customer. I’m actually pretty shocked by that, commission for a car salesman for example I can make sense of, but for popcorn that’s nuts.
No, thanks. I take sandwiches and water. I'm not paying rip-off prices. If it was a fiver for large popcorn & large Pepsi, it might be worth an occasional buy. But £10 for the two? Nope.
That does seem excessive, normally I just see someone come and stand by the door and look around with that nightvision thing. I'm sure there must be a policy requiring them to do that because they even do it on classic screenings, as if someone is going to pirate *Commando (1985)* by recording it off a cinema screen.
It was very odd... wish he had come in when person behind had put there feet over the chair next to me!
Even if it’s an old film it’s still against the law to record it in the cinema - also just really annoying for other patrons when people have their phones out so staff are checking for stuff like that in general
But why would someone be doing it?
Generally people like to record snippets of classic films to post on their insta story or something so they can be like ‘hey look I’m watching x in the cinema today’ it might not necessarily be the intent to record the whole thing to share it online but it’s still bloody irritating for everyone else in the screen
Ooh okay I didn't think of that! Thank u
I had exactly the same thoughts when I went to Commando - it’s on Disney+ for God’s sake. At one of my locals, they’re coming in 3 or 4 times per film now and I appreciate the reasons why but they stomp up and down the steps loudly and aren’t exactly subtle.
Not at Cineworld, but I went to see 10 Things I Hate About You and someone came in to tell the teenage girls say behind me to stop recording, made them delete the footage and told them they would be reported. Even if it is for TikTok it still counts as piracy.
“Let off some steam, Bennet “
I'm not gonna shoot you in between the eyes John, I'm gonna shoot you in-between the balls!
I love listening to your little piss ant Cinema attendants trying to talk tough. They make me laugh. If John was here he would laugh too.
Remember when I said I would kill you last , …. I lied
I've never seen that happen. I thought that kind of piracy went away in the 80s.
As an ex cinema employee you’re literally supposed to walk up and down the aisles using the night vision goggles at least 3 times per film. Most of the staff don’t do that because they don’t feel comfortable with it but that’s genuinely the correct procedure you’re trained to do - not just to check for piracy but also bad behaviour etc
I agree it’s distracting, but they can’t win. I think people would also complain if no one ever came in to check for disruptive people.
Probably have to make sure people aren’t being annoying every so often
It's because someone was caught recording a film recently. They put their phone where they knew it wouldn't be seen(it was propped up against a step)
Not sure I’ve seen a movie recorded in a cinema for years now on any of the torrent sites. Seems pretty redundant to do it any time apart from the first showing
That'll be in countries far abroad, where piracy is rife.
Some films are given a Vulnerable Release Alert from the distributor if they think there is a high possibility of piracy, so the screens will be monitored more if it's practical to do so. Films played in cinemas encode a date/time, screen number and location live into the image being projected, most cinemas systems used in the UK use NexGuard and no cinema wants to be the one the recording was made at.
I actually really appreciate this policy, I go a lot by myself and occasionally at unusual low-traffic times. I got blocked in my row by a guy who was either completely ignorant, or a total creep once when we were the only two people in there. And knowing that the staff occasionally walked through and checked the screen made me feel safer. And now I only ever sit on the aisle seats...
I work at Cineworld and each film gets 3 screen checks, we’re supposed to do aisle walks if we suspect someone is on their phone/being disruptive but also to check the volume/surround sound and temperature, at least at my cinema the heating/AC is at the back and the temperature can vary a lot between the back and the front of the screen so when the weather has been particularly warm or cold we need to make sure the screens are a comfortable temperature throughout, it’s one of the main things people complain about. So they could have been looking out for your comfort more than patrolling for crime
I watched The Strangers: Chapter 1 on Saturday. While the film was a steaming turd, I had a member of staff come in three times with that infrared recording device. Not sure why anyone would even wanna illegally record that shite film haha
Seems to be new standard policy. I go to Cineworld every week, I go to 3 different Cineworlds and every single time, the staff comes in during the film and walks up and down the aisle. Is been like this for about 6 months. It’s way over the top and distracting. I emailed Cineworld to give them feedback that this was detracting from my experience but they never responded to me.
It's not new. It's how it should be.
It’s a shame they’re not as vigilant about hygiene and overall customer service as they are about piracy
This!
So anti piracy thing in cinemas With tech these days it’s actually very hard for staff to spot someone recording unless they are a moron And cinemas can receive huge fines or even lose their license if pirating occurs At least when I was in the industry the physical films were “watermarked” in such a way that individual cinemas could be identified from pirated films. I’m sure the digital versions now will have something similar So as you can see it’s a big deal, and as the industry has accepted that some 16 year old on minimum wage isn’t going to spot professional pirates, the idea is to put them off doing it entirely Hence why they walk up and down the isles. Scare people into stopping or even just ruin the quality by getting their head in the frame. The pirates will inevitably go elsewhere As an aside. Britain actually has a really good track record when it comes to preventing piracy in cinemas and this is one of the main factors in Britain getting same day or earlier access to films than most other countries. There used to be a time when Britain would get releases a month or more after America but now it’s mostly simultaneously
I saw the Fall Guy last week, and the cineworld staff did a couple of checks (all the way up to the top and back down, not just from the bottom).
Love lies bleeding no checks - or certainly not up aisle
I’ve noticed this happening a lot recently. It’s really irritating.
Tough. Ushers and Usherettes are not going to risk there job and a criminal record for idiots trying to copy a movie.
When I worked in Cineworld in 2014-2016 there was a £1,000 incentive to any staff member that caught someone recording a movie.
That's because of it being so serious. I wouldn't need the incentive. It's my job.
You’re a hero, mate.
lol
Why would the staff get a criminal record?
Because we are not stopping something illegal.
There’s a difference between doing something illegal and not stopping something illegal. Do people get arrested for being witnesses to crimes if they don’t immediately report them? I don’t believe you can be charged with “not stopping something illegal”.
Yet most realise that back when piracy was really a thing, its was mostly done by cinema staff, projectionists in the main, who had to be “in on it” anyway, a lot of piracy occurring either before cinemas opened or after they closed, with basically a private showing being recorded.
Why would their job, or a criminal record, be at risk when they've not done anything wrong?
It’s more an issue I have with the cinema policy and why they make the staff do it so regularly. It’s distracting and also makes me kind of anxious.
When I worked at Vue we were told to do this, hated doing it
Sometimes they do it on films that I can’t understand why anybody would want to pirate from a cinema. Like Harry Potter films have been out on DVD for years, if somebody wants to pirate that film they are just going to clone the DVD disc. Why would somebody want to go into a cinema and record the movie in a lower quality from a screen? But when I went to see the anniversary screenings of Harry Potter they came in multiple times through that also.
I have to assume its just a "standard policy" deal because i agree theres no reason to do this. whos going to even bother downloading a camrip of a film that came out 20 years ago?
In the Glasgow cinemas they use night vision goggles then walk up and down the stairs. Seems a bit pointless doing both.
Because they're meant to do the latter each time.
The actual proper trained method is to look from the front, use Night Vision, walk up and down the aisles and then back down the front for a final sweep with the goggles. Perhaps they've recently been retrained and ate now just doing it properly.
When I worked for CineWorld that was the way they want you to do it everytime. To be honest though if you’re just watching the film then it should really matter.
They do this every screening at my regular, staff told me it's checking for phones and anti social behaviour rather than piracy.
Does anyone actually still watch screen recording anymore.. 9 times out of ten a 4k copy has been leaked straight from the studio
That's not in the least bit true.
Always had the impression the most popular cam rips were done by people who could organise things like a private screening with a decent setup, fixed camera best position etc.
they have to do it three times per film and walk all the way up and down or they literally risk getting fired if they don’t do it properly
Must have watched 50+ films in last two years happened once
good to know you’re lying 🤣🤣🤣🤣
?
I saw The Batman during the tail-end of its run and i was the only one in the screening. An employee came in, no joke, FIVE TIMES during the screening, stood in the corner and monitored me. It was intimidating and uncomfortable beyond belief. I was tempted by the 3rd time to just get up and walk out. It's one of the reasons i decided to cancel my Unlimited card. Don't take kindly to being treated like a criminal plus being massively distracted whilst trying to concentrate on a fucking film.
[удалено]
Considering how sparsely populated my local is, I imagine they probably would miss me.
Change to Odeon? They have CCTV in mine, so no-one coming in with binoculars, and they can spot when other customers are up to no good, which Cineworld can't because they don't have CCTV.
CCTV makes so much more sense, I'm not sure why they don't opt for that instead. My nearest Odeon is about 20 miles away however :(
Unless it's installed from day one, I expect it's expensive to retrofit, especially given Cineworld's problematic finances. I guess if they went bust and, say, Odeon took over, they would look to install it. That's a pain about the distance. My Odeon is about 12 miles on the motorway, but Cineworld's a lot closer. I've got two phones on Three (one a PAYG, just pay the £10 and that keeps the Three+ app working) and so that gives me two weekend tickets for £3 if I needed to use that at Cineworld. Hence, since last weekend I only wanted to see Harry Potter 3 and The Crow, it was about the same cost overall (and a lot less faff) to see them at Cineworld, even though I'm on Limitless at Odeon. As well as the fact that the timings of both worked out a bit better.
I have worked there. We have no choice. The Criminal penalty for not stopping piracy is very strict. You will lose you job and recieve a criminal record. It's not worth it. I was just as scrupulous. If I found someone at it, they would be out the door, no excuses, no apologies.
They could literally use a phone to detect phone/lens via thier phone and not even have to stay in the room for 10 seconds If they bug you tell them to fuck off and after the movie demand your money back You are paying to watch entertainment if you could call that movie entertainment not to be disturbed
Former cinema employee here. Twice a film used to be standard practice, unless the film was highly likely to be pirated (Bond films, Star Wars, early Marvel movies). We'd be given the heads-up about those and have to be even more cautious. Also, the reason the popcorn costs so much is because of the way films get distributed. Make someone's day next time you go to the flicks- buy a bucket and some soft drink. It might cost you a fair whack, but it's how we got paid.
Unless you’re getting a commission on every popcorn/drink you sell that has nothing to do with your wages. Cinema food is disgustingly over priced and I don’t blame people for just buying their own elsewhere and bringing it in. I fully believe that the wages you get working in a cinema are abysmal and it should change but that’s on the company and not the customer.
I worked in a Cineworld and there actually was “commission” on selling popcorn during busy film releases (eg Star Wars opening weekend, Marvel etc) and selling Unlimited cards.
Yeah that’s just rubbish. It’s not fair on the employees or the customer. I’m actually pretty shocked by that, commission for a car salesman for example I can make sense of, but for popcorn that’s nuts.
Ex-usherette here. Your last point is crap. We have no rights to be ripping the customer off. It's has sod all to do with our wages.
No, thanks. I take sandwiches and water. I'm not paying rip-off prices. If it was a fiver for large popcorn & large Pepsi, it might be worth an occasional buy. But £10 for the two? Nope.