CastleOSullivan said:
All shows have a "no recordings of any sort" policy now.
Any employee may ask you to delete the video or photos. Whether or not they are technically allowed to do that, I don't know.
Well, they can ask, but you are not legally required to comply. No one, not even the police, can compel you to delete photos or video. Once taken, they are your property and cannot be seized except by court order. Attempting to compel you to do so (threatening not to let you leave until you do, for example) can be a prosecutable crime (kidnapping).
CastleOSullivan said:
I really wonder how the whole "no recordings of any sort" policy started with shows. I have heard all sorts of rumors including copyright, which was mainly because of London Rocks.
The official answer is "copyright issues". There are unofficial reasons as well.
Imaginique said:
I could see copyright issues, or maybe even contractual issues with actors?
Actors I've communicated with hate this policy. Most are just starting out in their careers, and desperately need quality video for their performance reels. Before it was prohibited, I was happy to provide footage to any who asked. Now I turn down a lot of requests because of the recording ban.
Gavin said:
Y'all do realize that the park technically owns any photos or videos that you shoot on site.
This is simply not true. Copyrights and ownership of photographs and video is a complex and evolving field of law. One principle that is firmly established is that the person (not animal) triggering the camera owns the photos or video. What can be done with those images or footage, however, depends on a huge range of issues. Even if the park specifically prohibits recording, and you surreptitiously violate their request, you are still the owner of resulting digital files. By violating their request, you become a trespasser, and the park may remove you from the premises and have you charged with that crime. But, they do not gain ownership of your photos and footage.
Personally, the recording bans have affected my enjoyment of the park in a very negative way. I derived great enjoyment from recording shows, and took pains to do in a manner that was respectful to the park, the performers, and other audience members. But, I have observed many other people who did not do so. Those behaviors ranged from setting up in the front row with a tripod supporting a camera with a bright screen (just as bad as a cell phone user in a movie theater) to posting youtube videos of park shows openly mocking the shows, performers, or both. That is not behavior that the park is required to tolerate, and I blame that sort of behavior for the bans, more so than any copyright issues. Any copyright issues would have existed for years, yet were conveniently overlooked. In my opinion, the park stopped looking the other way when "guest" behavior became too rude to ignore.
As it stands, all the shows have recording bans. Not wanting to risk my pass, I respect those announcements. Not everyone does. But, if you record when you have been asked not to, you risk a range of park actions. The mildest is having an usher come ask you to stop.
Occasionally, there are "technical difficulties" and the no recording announcement fails to play before a show. If you just so happen to be present with a video camera at such an occasion, you might be able to record without being harassed by the ushers. Maybe. If you aren't rude about it.
