An anonymous interview with a former member of the warez scene. Part 3

I present to you the last part of the interview in which I selected all the remaining questions. Of course, there is a chance that I missed something interesting, as some discussions had side discussions, it is unrealistic to read all 1600 posts of the topic, including other people's answers. In this part, there were many controversial and unexpected statements for me. There were also just funny facts, which I also included in the translation, for the story, I hope not too tired the readers.

Part 1 , Part 2

ps I tried to smooth over the existing coarse expression, leaving only in some places the original to be understandable emotional coloring.

How did you hear about the scene?

I still remember very well how I downloaded my first movie through a 56k modem for 4 days. It was something. I really liked it, and I quickly realized that there was some kind of hidden structure that controls all this. This sparked my interest, and I decided to get to the top. Then it seemed difficult to achieve, and so far I have not fully realized how far this has gone, but nonetheless it was cool.

Why komripry, etc. so popular? Is it really worth the opportunity to see the movie a little earlier to watch crappy quality, is it not better to wait and download a good DVD rip?

Patience is a virtue ... most people lack it. Ancient wisdom “all good things come to those who wait” is unpopular these days.

Has the fight between groups ever gone so far as to put competitors under arrest?

Of course. There were several cases in German groups when they betrayed and set up each other. = O

As a person who participates in P2P in order, I want to ask: do you think that the problem is the simplified access of people to pirated content, or the devaluation of works that are pirated? Or, in fact, the latter is the result of the former?

Probably one of the most insightful thoughts that I read here. Congratulations, hit the nail on the head. I do not think that the “problem” is the right word here, but it lies equally in the outdated distribution methods.

It’s interesting to know, have you ever pirated Bollywood (Indian) films?

For each language, as a rule, there is a "scene". The French have their own, the Spaniards have their own ... and also the Indians. As a rule, any available video is taken (usually English), and an audio track in the desired language is screwed to it.

I have never dealt with Bollywood, but there are bands that deal exclusively with Indian material. Bollywood is huge :)

Can I get access to the top site if I do not be a courier and not pay?

Who knows. Maybe your wife works on a music label. Or your uncle is holding a disc store. Maybe you are an admin in a data center and no one will ask questions if you insert an extra block into the rack. Maybe you are writing game reviews. Who knows. Do something!

What kind of law is this that was adopted sometime in 2005-2006, according to which it is now possible to go to jail for filming in a movie theater?

I know a man who was once caught in a projection booth with a huge camera on a tripod. They simply confiscated the equipment (which the group provided him) and in general there was nothing.

Several laws were passed, including the draconian 'Camcorder Law' that Bush pushed through, and there have been changes to Canadian laws and several European countries. It is just a matter of time.

Where do you get clear sound? Is someone sitting with a microphone near the speaker itself?

In many cinemas, the law requires the installation of headphones for the hearing impaired. They can work on FM / IR / RF, etc., sometimes you can connect to them directly, sometimes modification is required. Or from car theaters (drive-in). There are other ways ...

Also, sound is sometimes received from other groups that do not have money for expensive equipment.

Have you considered drive-in, at least for the sound? You can record good quality stereo sound through an FM radio channel, and if you shoot video there, it would be harder to catch.

To shoot in a drive-in is useless. In the hall, light bounces off the walls and hits the lens. In the drive-in, the rays go into space, resulting in a dull picture, which is impossible to watch. Check out the STN releases - this was the experimental division of one major film group that was filmed in a drive-in. However, the sound there is much better than through FM: P.



Were there cases when another person did releases under the name of your band? How did you react, or how would you react to this?

Releases can only be done by a group, in accordance with the rules and standards of scene quality. Typically, many hands put in a release to make it perfect, each with its own special handwriting. It’s clear what I mean?

With all these watermarks, if I just go to the movies and shoot the movie on camera, what are the chances that they will catch me? Well, that is, if you do not delete any watermarks, do not process anything, etc.

Most likely, none.

Problems will be if you decide to repeat this adventure. By that time, the MPAA will know that the pirated release has left, and messages will be sent to the owners and managers of the cinema. If releases are repeated, usually MPAA agents appear there and try to catch the kammer. I know the case when 2 cameras came in one place and as a result they set themselves up.

Thank you for your work. Are you proud of the years you spent working in this field?

Good question. I do not think that “proud” is the right word. I bow to what I saw and what I participated in. So it will be more correct.

Can you compare the film release of your group with the publication of your interview here? In terms of fame on the Internet?

I honestly admit, I'm just fucking crazy about such an offer. I somehow doubted whether they would even ask me questions. Do I like internet fame? Not particularly, although there is one. Playing along with your ego is a sure way to get caught.

What was the volume of the largest site on which you were?
How many sites did you have access to in the best of times?

The largest that I personally was on was about 120TB.

There were too many of them. Enough to limit myself to just a small number of favorites, since I'm not at all interested in Korean porn or Spanish MP3s.

Have you always repeated trips to the same cinema? How did you choose it? How did you choose a session?

I mean, it's much easier to record new items in the morning session somewhere in Muhosransk, Iowa, than at midnight at the Disney premiere or something. But on the other hand, if you come several times a week to a half-empty room in a gray coat and with a suitcase, you will probably be suspected.

Ideally, of course, you want to make sure that you are not tracked for any reason. Try to remove all watermarks. As for how they go to work ... I heard people go in groups of 20 friends, and with his wife and one by one ...

What is your opinion about some people who transfer scene releases to elite torrent trackers within seconds? And the fact that slots on top sites are now sold for only $ 20 ...

There is nothing to be done. Can there be respect between thieves? Not. Respect between friends, but not between thieves. When I look back at the past, it seems to me that the fact that greed never moved me served me like a guardian angel. But each capital has its own red light district.

What was the best TS in 15 years, and why?
How do you choose which groups to say hello to nfo?
What is your favorite nfo drama?

Release "Flight of the Phoenix" telecine from Centropy. Actually it was telesync, shot at 24p in a controlled environment. Cool.
(comment prim.) about nfo he did not answer.



You do not think to return to the scene?

At some point, I decided to do something decisive in real life that changed the course of events, time was lost, and most importantly, I saw how everything collapsed. Do not quit a dead horse. Leave while you can, and do not look back. Now I am a simple Internet user. I’m sure I could start IRC and start sending messages by the names I know - but why? Pull myself back into the world that I with such difficulty left?

Are you watching movies now?

Of course. I have a paid cable and DVR. Seriously. To scroll. I’m downloading almost nothing now, unless something very special, or if my wife asks.

What is your position regarding the illegal exchange of films, music, programs and books?

Once I was completely on the side of downloads, but now I'm somewhere in between. For a person who sees both sides, this is a difficult question. The position that film companies and large companies generally take against their own clients is, to put it mildly, terrifying. However, this does not mean that you can steal their products.

How did you maintain secrecy / anonymity within the group, and at the same time identification, authorization, etc.? How could you verify that the person with whom you are communicating is exactly who he calls himself (certificates? Codewords, passwords, responses?)

Probably the scene and release groups could borrow a lot from the spy community, did this happen?

All communication takes place on the IRC channel with SSL and the blowfish encryption package installed. You usually know all the people with whom you deal for many years, or they were recommended by people with whom you worked for many years.

The scene is as full of secret deals as it is full of honesty. Competitive groups that are apparently in a state of “war” often deliberately create drama, although they actually work together, or are generally one group. It seems that they all hate each other, making it harder to accept the fact that they are at the same time. But it is so.

Of course. There was a lot of secrecy. Encrypted vaults / ripboxes. Encrypted disks of participants. Servers in Namibia. Anything and everything that can only throw a veil of legality on what is happening and to some extent complicate the detection. It is the secretive nature of the scene that supports her life.

How many people are usually in a group?

There are small groups of 1-3 people, and there are 30-40.

There were cases when you filled the face of a competitor that you noticed in the same cinema?

No, but I know one scener who actually burned the car because of his tricks online.

How many cases do you know when agents of different organizations using 3 or 4 letters tried to enter the scene, successfully or unsuccessfully?

I only heard about one real case when the FBI managed to introduce his person to the group. Usually they find a weak link among the existing participants and begin to put pressure on him. More often than not, it ends up becoming an informant.

I am very interested in the technical details. When you record in a movie theater, what efforts do you have to make to synchronize the camera with the frame rate of the projector? I think that in your time in compact cameras that were convenient for stealthy shooting, there was still no 24p mode, and if there was, it would be problematic to force the camera to shoot frames exactly on the 24th second. You don’t know if the new CMOS cameras with the Rolling shutter are good for anything? And yet, do not share what models you used, and your opinion, how suitable they were for work?

Ooh yeah. Technical crap! That's what I like to talk about.

24p is an excellent mode because it matches the projector frame rate of 23.976. Before that, the closest option was PAL cameras (25fps), we used them. If you shoot with an NTSC camera (29.97 fps), the difference with the film at 6fps causes constant epileptic blinking / gating. In 24p this is not, but problems are still possible if the projector is not synchronized and works at the wrong frequency at which it should. CMOS, I believe, has always been worse than large CCDs. CMOS tends to crappy display dim colors, it seems to me.

Favorite line of pirated cameras: Sony DCR - ** E

Why when I downloaded Toy Story 3, everyone there spoke English, and all the inscriptions were in Russian?

Because the video was from the Russian R5, and the sound from the English track.

Have you been in conflict with any Nuke netes ?

Fuck yeah. Sheepnet was the curse of the entire movie scene. A bunch of freaks who themselves could not do anything, but they loved to criticize.

Nuke-net and pre-net are needed in the historical / clerical aspect. You cannot live without them, but it is impossible to live with them.

Are you satisfied with how much time you spent on stage? I know a lot of former sceners, and all of them left because of health problems, or because they regretted that life was passing by, etc. Did you have that? Sorry if the question is too personal.

And yet, do you experience depression due to years spent on stage?

Depression? This is too much. I prefer to think that I have a normal happy life. It seems to most that the people involved in this are some kind of criminals. I would say, for the most part, the scriptwriters are middle-class people under the age of 35. You can’t do one thing forever, at some point you need to think about risk and understand that there are other important things in life. I would not recommend anyone repeating my adventures, laws and technologies have changed a lot now.

Why did you do this? According to your answers, it looks like you are regretting it.

I do not regret it, but when I look back, I realize that it was stupid. Continuing to do this for many more years would be foolish. I do not deny what I have done - this is reality, it is a dark world hidden from most people.



Do you miss the stage? Keeping in touch with any of your friends?

I don’t miss the hours I spent on it, but I miss communicating with my friends and of course miss the feeling of danger and excitement associated with it.

Am I in touch? Not. I know where to find them if you need me. I’m sure they also have clues on how to contact me, if that. People live their own lives, just like me.

Did your real-life friends know? I saw, you mentioned that one ex thought it was a second job.

Of course they did. It was impossible not to notice this: p

Have you met in person with someone from your group, or only via the Internet?

Yes, I personally met. But most will never be able to do this because of the distance, etc.

Those who became informants, they tried to turn in you or your partners? Or have you been warned in advance?

Informants do just that - they inform. In the case of me and my partners, yes, it was. Some immediately ran away, some decided to stay, and some wanted revenge. Many were scared to death. When you consult with a lawyer, you really feel uneasy.

Yes, they warned us. You didn’t think that the police and officials in the bodies also like to download films? :)

I wonder how you managed to leave. You were an integral part of the group, just to leave would be difficult. Did the other participants get mad at you?

Were they angry? Of course. I still get pieces of hatred from the Internet from time to time. This comes from the conviction: “I am not leaving, and you must not !!” Does

knowledge of languages ​​play a role on stage? Are there many people who do not speak English? Do you know any other languages, maybe they learned them from the stage?

There are people from all over the world. This is a desire to contribute, increase reputation in order to gain access. Yes, I know two languages. English is my main language, and the second language is very broken English :)

Did you have a plan in case the police catch you at the cinema or the FBI knocks on the door?

Plan? A pack of chips and 5 cans of cola in the fridge to eat when you get up at 3 in the morning to replace a guy from Germany who couldn't do his damn job because his daughter got sick or something like that. You don’t really think about such things. If I thought, I probably wouldn’t.