Footage on DVD/BluRay/Other?

[thewinelake]

I've asked this a while ago, but wondered if things might have moved on.

I've got 4K footage of a recent show and we want to distribute to parents. Traditionally this is done on DVD, but the quality is rubbish compared to High Def or the 4K original.

What do other ballet schools/amateur companies do and what do the professionals do?

I guess ROH issues BluRay at High Def, but a lot of people don't have access to BluRay players. In fact more people have smart TVs that can access YouTube and the like, but the control of distribution there is lacking.

Are there some better platforms to try?

[Cara in NZ]

Recently I've found that when I order a video recording of DD's dances at competitions, they send a link to a download. I much prefer this as none of our computers have DVD drives any more.

[thewinelake]

No worries about people sharing that link on social media?

[sophie_rebecca]

A couple of the production companies I've worked with used Vimeo to distribute pre broadcast versions they didn't want releasing, you can password the video & prevent it from being downloaded if you wish, support for up to 4k

 

You may in the end be amazed how many people still have standard def tv's & DVD players, it bugs me our annual show is always shot in HD then scaled fown to SD for DVD & on my 4K TV it looks like minecraft! 😂

[thewinelake]

There's an idea - a ballet based on Minecraft 😉

[Nicola H]

1 hour ago, thewinelake said:

There's an idea - a ballet based on Minecraft 😉

 

 that's up  there with Alien the ballet , a  discussion which  soon degenerates ...
 

 

[Cara in NZ]

2 hours ago, thewinelake said:

No worries about people sharing that link on social media?

 

I don't know how it works but the person who paid for it can only download the files once (link is valid for 2 months). I could share the link by email but other people could only watch it once and couldn't download it. The dances are in individual mp4 files. I would think they would be way too big to put on social media? Each minute is 100MB and I certainly can't send them to anyone!

[thewinelake]

Well, one can send large files, but I think the main worry is link sharing. 

I'm now told that if the downloadable footage has a disclaimer/warning on it (small but visible at all times) - eg "This video is for personal use only and must not be shared publically or redistributed for child safety and contains copyrighted music." then honour is satisfied.

[Pas de Quatre]

In our area we have an amateur, but very good, person who films many of the dance school productions.  He uses multiple cameras (4 or 5) with a feed from the theatre technicians for sound, and then edits the master himself.  He sends it to a professional company for reproduction on DVDs and Blu Rays.  At first, some years ago, he used to burn the DVDs himself, but did have quality control problems with the quality of the actual DVDs he was burning onto.

[thewinelake]

DVD duplication services are very cheap - eg £150 for 100 DVDs with cases and colour covers. It’s what we will use.

 

Its funny how the ballet teacher/choreographer wants a very simple fixed angle as she cherishes the movement of the dancers in the stage. I find that a bit boring and like the odd closeup! But less faff to do it their way.