No thanks Nigel

Yesterday, whilst at the local cinema an advert was shown that linked in many ways with themes that I had been wanting to write about here on the site for a while. The advert in question was in fact a trailer for Pixar’s Ratatouille, well it seemed like a trailer, until the point where Remy (the hero of the film) started talking about movies, specifically how a good movie is like good food (tenuous link but I went with it) and how pirated DVDs lessen the quality and experience, like eating garbage. He then uttered the phrase ‘don’t be a knock off Nigel’, accompanied by the phrase on screen.

Now in case you are unaware (maybe blissfully so) the ‘knock-off Nigel’ campaign is the latest effort by the BBFC to try and discourage pirating, especially that if DVD’s, the current TV advert can be seen here and consists of someone singing about how a guy is basically cheap, mainly because he buys pirated DVDs. Now barring the quality of the advert itself, what gets to me about this is that, as a consumer, it seems to me that every campaign of this nature misses the point completely. Pirated DVDs are illegal, but contrary to dodgy film ads they are often of a much higher quality than they are seen, add to that the expansion of peer-to-peer downloading on programs such as BitTorrent and these adverts seem strangely out of date. You’re average pirater isn’t going to care about supposedly being seen as cheap, or scared of any legal repercussions because, and there’s the kicker, it all seems like scare tactics with very little to back it up.

The nature of digital media nowadays makes it more common than you might think, and therefore nearly impossible to police or monitor. So what can be done? Well personally I don’t have a concrete answer, but my initial thought comes down to improving the service of the actual product. Most people are happy to pay for films in all forms, very few I would say choose pirating because it saves money. In fact I’d wager more people choose pirating in any form because it is easier and saves time and sometimes is better than facing the hassles that come with wanting to watch a film these days. For example how annoying is it to legally buy a DVD only to try and play it and be faced with a 2 minute advert about how bad it is to pirate DVDs, surely the legal consumers should be spared this? And then there’s the key question, that of timing.

Now the advert that hangs all this together was for Ratatouille, as I have said, a film with a real stake in the heart of the matter. Ratatouille you see has been released in America for a good few weeks now to rave reviews and popularity. However the film is not released over here until September. In creating this advert, using the characters from the film, the makers are stating loud and clear that a big reason people pirate is to see something early. To get the jump on everyone else, and to get there first. Personally I am really looking forward to the film and a 3 month wait seems agonizing, if someone came up to me with a copy of the film on DVD it could be hard to say no. However were the film out already, there would be no temptation, and no reason to accept. With our globalised culture now it seems silly that Europe is continually left behind in terms of movies and games. In fact recently movies have made significant improvements in this area with more and more films launching simultaneously, gaming though lags behind. Frequently games are released months before release here, first in Japan then the US, decisions like this frustrate, especially now with the internet where for months we can read about our neighbours across the pond enjoying the games without us. Similarly with television, global blogging meant that with the final episode of the Soprano’s aired in the US last month everyone was talking about, I dread to think what it was like being a British Soprano’s fan desperately trying not to have everything spoiled before the last series shown later this year on Channel 4.

Pirated goods hold their worth primarily whilst there is no alternative, hence the films found on pirate DVD are those at the cinemas, as soon as a film is released officially there is little demand. The gap between formats and locations is what feeds the market, I believe to stop people using it as an option you need to convince them why they should wait. Why the product is worth their money. The adverts against piracy in the cinema’s proudly proclaim that ‘it’s the experience that counts’ but on my recent visits to the cinema, with rising prices to boot, I am yet to be convinced of that. Paying nearly £7 for half an hour of adverts mish-mashed with trailers before a film to overpriced food and quite often rude and noisy patrons is hardly a great experience, and yet is commonly one people find. Now this is not always the case, and the whole feel of going to the movies still excites me, but it seems that this is hardly a priority any more.

Even so for a family of 4 to go to a film and buy food will cost in excess of £30, now give the same family the option of a knock-off DVD of the same film to watch at home on their big-TV with home made popcorn for a couple of quid, and you have a decision that is a lot tougher than it should be. For as long as we see these faceless corporations as profit driven multinationals we will have no specific loyalty to their products, or therefore respecting their rules. The point of films, and games for that matter, is to entertain, to be an enjoyable experience, be it by yourself or as part of a group. However again audience perception of film companies, fuelled by an abundance of commercial tie-ins and sequels, can be rightly cynical at the moment, with the feeling that the executive board room’s collective eyes are on profit margins, as opposed to creative output or quality. Maybe this is why it is a canny move to have a Pixar film promote this cause as they are one of the few studios to prioritise quality and individuality within projects, and yet have created films that are both sequels and that have had creative tie-ins, without losing audience favour or box office receipts. There is something reassuring and pleasing about a company as passionate about films as their audience, and it is this goodwill that the public should feel if piracy really is to be dealt with.

But like I said before, the problem is not that the majority of people don’t want to pay for things, the problem is convincing them what they get is worth the price of admission and until the root of the problem is sorted and the companies listen to the consumers rather than trying to scare them, expect more of these adverts, unfortunately, directed at entirely the wrong crowd.