dsl@lzwi.UUCP (D.S.LERNER) (07/19/85)
I am looking to trade VIDEO Grateful Dead tapes with some of the people out in net.dead. land. I currently have: 1. Grateful Dead Movie : 2 hrs. VG copy 2. Hell's Angel Movie - Garcia Interview & Garcia Band - 5 mins. 3. Capitol Theatre, Passaic 11/24/78 - 3 hrs. Good copy 4. Closing of the Winterland - 6 hrs. VG copy NYE 12/31/78 -79 5. Dead Ahead - Radio City Master copy 90 mins. 6. SHO - Grateful Dead at R.C.M.H. 90 mins. VG 7. Portrait of a Legend - 25 mins. 8. Dead appearances for 20th Aniv. on PM MAG, and E.T. I am looking for any/all VIDEO Grateful Dead tapes that are available. I currently have a second VCR for the month of August and would like to get any VIDEO Dead I can get. I am even willing to offer great audio tapes for the exchange. My home phone number is 201-591-0215. Ask for Dave. Any quality Dead video would be great. On another note, I don't know why the Dead prevent people video taping their shows. We're not gonna make a bootleg movie out of them. They are stictly for private use and are traded just like audio tapes. A friend of mine was kicked out of Nassau Coliseum in March for bringing in a video camera. They even took his blanks. Video is just another form of taping the music that one loves. Only we want to repeatedly see as well as hear the music. Video will never replace audio but can augment the capture of the Dead concerts we see and hear. Dave Lerner " Singing Thank You for a Real Good Time "
WILKINS@SRI-AI.ARPA (07/22/85)
From: Wilkins <WILKINS@SRI-AI.ARPA> One very good reason for not allowing video is that the experience of a Grateful Dead concert does not evolve in the atmosphere of a recording studio. For some people, the ultimate experience seems to be hearing a hot show on cassette tape. But for many other people, the ultimate experience is being at a Grateful Dead show, sharing it with the people around you, dancing with them, and experiencing all the human energy around you. This cannot be captured and replayed later, certainly not the energy and dancing, and not even the sound. There has already been enough problems with audio tapers preventing the real magic of Dead shows from evolving (they take up lots of space, their space is stationary and cannot move with the flow, they want you to not bump into them, not make any noise near them, and let them have the best spots). The Dead realized this and made the tapers sections which does a lot to help the problem. The problem with video is that it tremendously exacerbates a problem which is already on the borderline of being unacceptable. Good video will bum out a lot more people's trips. The equipment is bulkier, many will want tripods, you need to see the stage not just hear it, you can't tape your camera to the top of a stick and hold it up, etc. I can just see every third person showing up with a tripod, camera, tape deck, microphone stand etc. so that walking thru the crowd without tripping will become impossible, much less trying to dance. Some of us do not want to give up the magic of a Dead show just so we can later listen/see some pale reconstruction of it that misses 80% of the experience. Just thought you might like to hear the other side of the coin from one of the dancers, David -------
jws@dartvax.UUCP (John W. Scott) (07/23/85)
A friend of mine got caught video taping at the Berkeley shows and they just about skinned him alive. They dragged him backstage and told him that he wasn't a deadhead, he was an sh*thead. They threatened to throw him out of any future concert they found him at, with or without video equipment. A pretty harsh penalty especially since he is well known. This certainly seems to demonstrate just how serious the Dead are about not having people make videos. It is a great pity. I am too busy to tour with the band these days and often the only way I get to see them is on tape. The quality of videos varies greatly. Most of the professional stuff is very well done, although the editors can be butchers. The Dead Ahead tape is a good example of this. They cut out first set Cold Rain & Snow and Jack Straw, but included Me & My Uncle. Little short of barbaric. The closing of Winterland was a continuous 71/2 hour PBS broadcast, so that is great (4hrs of Dead without the drums). Audience videos vary greatly depending on location, the setup used, and the taper. Some folks move the camera around way too much, or keep on zooming in on Brent during Jerry's solo. Other folks (such as Shake It Productions) have learned well and produce good shots, mainly limited by where the were able to set up. I have about 24 hours of various material most of which is very good. However, whenever I trade through the mail, the quality I recieve is usually terrible, over half of it unwatchable. Traditional standards of quality seem to go down the tubes when it comes to this new medium. Generations wreak havok with tape quality so many people are willing to put up with trash. I find it just gives me a headache to try and figure out if I am watching Jerry or Donna with a beard. Even with such hassles as bad quality and degeneation, videos are wonderful and it is a shame that the dead don't approve. Perhaps they might feel self concious knowing that their every move as well as every note is being recorded for posterity. It might intensify Bobby's stage presence (a good reason for banning videos). Part of me has to respect the bands request that people don't make videos at their shows. I wouldn't do so myself. But another part of me is glad that others do make the tapes. I think that the Dead should hire a video artist to record all of their shows. Then they could market the years 10-20 best shows. I would rather buy their videos at a reasonable price ($15+ a tape) than put up with guilt and bad generations. One way or another this darkness got to give... -John
dsl@lzwi.UUCP (D.S.LERNER) (07/25/85)
Wilkins, your reasoning is not good enough to make me forget that video exists. First of all, you complain that video recorders requires lots of space and are bulky. These days portable video recorders come in camcorder size smaller than you average NACH or no bigger than your average D5. Second, you complain that video will never capture the Grateful Dead experience. It isn't intended to that buddy. It is to bring back memories and good music you once saw and heard. Every time I see the Dark Star from the NYE Winterland, the thought "this isn't like the real thing" never arises in my brain. I thank GOD I can show my kids, if I ever have any, what the Dead looked like when they played. I can show them what a Dark Star was all about between all of my audio copies and this video copy. Third, you mention that there isn't enough space to dance with all of the tapers now. Wilkins, don't you think that some of the audio tapers would leave their D5s home now and then to video record it. Thus solving the space problem. Fourth, people wouldn't have to record from the ground level but could record from a good loge area spot with the proper zoom lens. Thus valuable floor space for dancing would be left to you dancers. Besides, why do you think Dan Healy video records every show anyhow? When the Dead are dead, he will probably market each film to the general public. We are just beating him to the punch. Why do you think the Dead released their movie? It was released to show people the old Dead Monster MAC system, the Dead history and what a Dead concert was like. I don't know if you ever saw the Monster MAC system live, but it was a sight and sound I will never forget. I thank GOD that they filmed that system. The wall of sound have been captured on my audio tapes from those years, but without film the next generation would never really know what it was like. Three stories of amps can only be captured on film. You dancers like to dance in the back of the halls and rinks anyhow. Nobody would record from there or from the floor unless they could get a clear angle. Thus, allowing video taping sections in the loge if there is a loge. Prediction: Thirty years from now, you will be ordering your video Dead from Healy's vault and thanking the Lord that they made those damn videos. You will probably exclaim to all "I was there". But in reality, you will be thinking "Wow, I almost forgot how hot that show really was". Don't tell me that when you are listening to a really great audio tape you aren't visualizing the show in your mind. A good video tape will recapture those great moments you saw. Due to periodic chemical ingestions, we somtimes forget what songs were played or how hot that jam really was. Wouldn't it be great to replay that "Lovelight or Dancing" in your living room in a clearer frame of mind? The first thing on most people's mind after a really hot show is "Where and when can I get an audio tape of that show". It is on my mind also. However, the second thing on my mind is "I would love to get a video recording of the show. Did anybody video record it? ". I have gotten people who hate the Dead and have opinions on them from secondhand reviews, to see my videos and exclaim "Jerry is great guitarist". I inform them that if they liked it on TV, they will love it live. Video can capture the visuals that audio cannot capture. If you ever get the chance to see the NYE Winterland Dark Star on a VCR, don't tell me you won't get a lump in your throat from the nostalgia. It happens every time to me. Video will never replace a live show nor will it replace a soundboard audio tape. It will however compliment those board tapes as well as return you to that great moment in Dead history. Thank God that Dan Healy has been video recording each show for the past five years. I don't know about you but I would love to see the "Dark Star" from last years' Berkeley show on my 26 inch stero monitor. It would add to my good audio tape I currently have. Video is here to stay my friend and if you don't hop aboard or get with it, it will mow you down like a tidal wave. Welcome to the 20th century ! Go ahead, live in the past. Others like myself will take the next step.
jws@dartvax.UUCP (John W. Scott) (07/29/85)
Although there has been a video camera on the soundboard for the past five years or so, I don't think Healy has been making videos of the dead. I heard that the camera is set up by Morpheus (sp) to check out their lighting of each show. The camera is zoomed way out to show the whole stage and never moves during the performance. Thus the shows are really being saved for posterity. I wish they would put someone on the camera and do it right... --John