quote:
The existence of bootlegged footage from Comic-Con is inevitable. That doesn’t make it right. Let’s be clear: recording something after you’ve been told that you’re not allowed to record it (something that happens before every panel) is wrong. The convention asks the audience not to record footage because the studios ask them to do so. Studios want to be able to control the wider release of said footage, both in timing and quality. And in some cases, studios want to give the Comic-Con audience something special, unique and exclusive to their in the moment experience. They want to make the experience worthwhile for those fans who spent the money to come to the Con, then waited in line, sometimes overnight. When you think about it in context, it’s a somewhat noble idea. They want Comic-Con to be special. Yet because there’s a good chance that out of the 6,500 people in the audience, at least one is going to be an arse about it, that idea is often spoiled.

This leads to a lot of talk like we’re seeing today. On Deadline, Mike Fleming asks, Will Comic-Con Leaks Stop Studios From Showing Exclusive Footage? He makes specific references to footage shown by Warner Bros. for Suicide Squad and the Con’s most talked about footage shown by 20th Century Fox for Deadpool. Both panels were major highlights for attendees and both had footage leaked onto the web within 24 hours of the panel. Referencing comments from insiders, Fleming speculates that studios will be increasingly less likely to bring exclusive footage to Comic-Con in the future. And he (and his insiders) place a lot of the onus on the convention itself to beef up security. He even published a statement from Warner Bros. President of Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Sue Kroll, which passively chastises the Comic-Con audience:
“We have no plans currently to release the Suicide Squad footage that leaked from Hall H on Saturday. It’s unfortunate and ultimately damaging that one individual broke a long-standing trust we have enjoyed with our fans at the convention by posting early material, which, at this point, was not intended for a wider audience. We are still in production on Suicide Squad, and will have a big campaign launch in the future. Our presentation yesterday was designed to be experienced in that room, on those big screens!”

quote:
That’s not an unfair position. What we can’t ignore is that studios work very hard to control the message. The who, what, where and when of the releasing of information is something they take very seriously. This is something that’s often disrupted, whether it’s by leaks of information or the more tangible leaks of actual material from their films. And on their end, it’s frustrating. Imagine working in a job in which you are trying to create something, but halfway through the process someone steals your unfinished work and puts it out into the world. Imagine if someone leaked this article three paragraphs ago. It wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. So I get that, it’s hard out there for a studio. They want to show the audience something cool at Comic-Con, but they still want to control the release of their information.

The writer's solution is solid, follow the Star Wars model. However, I'm more interested in the studio response, I both get it and don't get it all at the same time. And their solution, that this is some breaking of trust so we just don't show it, dis ludicrous.

quote:
“We have no plans currently to release the Suicide Squad footage that leaked from Hall H on Saturday. It’s unfortunate and ultimately damaging that one individual broke a long-standing trust we have enjoyed with our fans at the convention by posting early material, which, at this point, was not intended for a wider audience.

The big problem with this is that ANY audience is potentially a wide audience. And that's a good thing, not a bad thing. Even with incomplete footage. People are willing to watch and experience poor cam copies of films. Theaters are routinely a bad place to watch a film (although I'm a bit spoiled now here). Part of me wants to say that you make a film for a big screen, but it's lasting fandom will pretty much always watch it on a small screen after a few weeks. That's just a misguided thought.

quote:
Our presentation yesterday was designed to be experienced in that room, on those big screens!”

Then it was a poor presentation to think that those were the only fans you had.

All at the same time, I get the exclusivity that they want to build at Comic Con, so put that effort into something that sticks there. Something to take home. Some kind of event that fans not in attendance won't really want a part of. But getting an early peek at something as a fan, should be shared by all, imo. (And heck the crappy cam of the suicide squad footage has me MORE interested in the film than I was before.... think about that.)

This post was edited on 7/13/15 at 10:49 am