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View Full Version : What are the video and photo rules



derraj25
02-01-2004, 07:31 AM
Just read the last thread...no construction photos...What exactly is the rules for photos,video's etc? You always hear the infamous no flash photography, but it seems there is always one on every ride. :confused:

What our intentions are for our trip (come on Feb 24!!!), is to video our entire experience at the resort ;) ...attractions, rides, shows etc. So can I take my own video the entire Pirates ride (without the light on?) or is that not allowed...how about the Tiki Room? Matterhorn? Star Tours?



I want to remember every detail of our trip, but not willing to get busted and forced to erace my camera if possible. :crying:

experiment626
02-01-2004, 07:45 AM
As far as I know officially you can video anything expect movies/films with no video lighting.

Ace
02-01-2004, 08:00 AM
why don't you just go and enjoy yourself and take pictures once in a while but not worry about videotaping everything you see because it's not as exciting when you're seeing everything behind a lens

MonorailMan
02-01-2004, 08:24 AM
My §0.02:

I say don't video tape everything. You think you can get that Disneyland experience at home, but you can't. Not only can video take away from other people's experience, but It can take away from your own. You don't get the full experience, nor do you get the immersive experience of the attaction.


I want to remember every detail of our trip

That's right, you'll remember your trip. Spending your entire time looking at an LCD, or through a viewfinder.

A video camera can't record the magic of Disneyland, but great memories can, and just because you can't see it, doesn't mean that you won't remember it. :|

derraj25
02-01-2004, 08:51 AM
I guess I am more concerned with attraction cues, highlights of attractions (Splash Mt. Pirates burning city scene, View from top of Matterhorn MT. inside of a few "Dark Rides" etc.) Not necessairly the entire attraction itself.:D

Anyone viewed that Disneyland Resort Video that is available? Good momento or waste of $?

adriennek
02-01-2004, 08:59 AM
The only real 'rule" I can think of is that you can't use flash photography or a light on your camera inside most attractions or in shows.

If you go backstage, they'll ask you not to take pictures there, either. If you get to go to Walt's Apartment, sometimes they say no pictures, sometimes they say it's ok. So there are some exceptions but mostly it's about flashes and pictures.

Adrienne

Darkbeer
02-01-2004, 10:36 AM
One attraction that has a no photo/video rule is "Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It", due to copyright issues, and the policy of the original show producers from England.

RickW
02-01-2004, 11:19 AM
I have to say that I pity those people who have an irresistable urge to actually videotape every minute of their trip to Disneyland. Seeing your entire trip through a viewfinder or on a tiny LCD screen will absolutely reduce the magic exponentially!

I would also caution those who insist on doing this: Your "video production" should not interfere with my enjoyment of the park in any way. You do not automatically have the right to step in front of me to take your video, nor do you have the right to raise your camera above your head and interfere with the view of everyone behind you.

I have owned a photo lab for many years and seen hundreds of thousands of snapshots. My number one rule for taking memorable photographs of your vacation (and I believe this also applies to videography) is to take lots of pictures of your loved ones. A photo (or video) of the entrance to POTC, for example, will soon be of no interest to anyone. A photo (or video) of your family posed in front of the entrance to POTC will be a treasured memory for generations.

David R
02-01-2004, 11:30 AM
One of my pet peeves is when someone in my boat/car/whatever is videotaping and has that big LCD that flips open. They are bright and distracting.

stan4d_steph
02-01-2004, 01:25 PM
Mouseplanet's Mike Scopa has written a couple of articles that provide some tips for photographing and videotaping at WDW Magic Kingdom and Epcot that would be useful for DL as well. Here's a link (http://www.mouseplanet.com/mike/) to that section of Mouseplanet.

Definitely do not use any flash or lighting on a ride where it may distract other guests. Lighted LCD screens also fall in the category, especially on rides that are mostly in the dark, like Haunted Mansion and Pirates. I hope you enjoy your trip.

danyoung
02-01-2004, 01:58 PM
Originally posted by derraj25
IAnyone viewed that Disneyland Resort Video that is available? Good momento or waste of $?

It's not too bad. Ther girl that hosts the DL part gets on my nerves after a while - trying way too hard to be cute. The guy that does DCA is much more relaxed. They do a great behind the scenes clip of the making of the video, which is totally interesting to a video geek like myself.

It would be a shame for a first time visitor to see the park thru the viewfinder. But it sounds like you've been to the park before, so go ahead and video away. Take to heart the advice above, especially about not impinging on others in your zeal to get the next great shot. And if you have a flip out viewfinder, DON'T USE IT INSIDE THE DARK ATTRACTIONS! Use the eyepiece, and you won't annoy me.

Have fun!

adriennek
02-01-2004, 02:21 PM
Originally posted by RickW
I have owned a photo lab for many years and seen hundreds of thousands of snapshots. My number one rule for taking memorable photographs of your vacation (and I believe this also applies to videography) is to take lots of pictures of your loved ones. A photo (or video) of the entrance to POTC, for example, will soon be of no interest to anyone. A photo (or video) of your family posed in front of the entrance to POTC will be a treasured memory for generations.

I couldn't agree more!

In my other business, I help people organize and preserve their photos and memories. One of the things I help them do is decide what photos to include in their projects and which to eliminate (usually because they're duplicates or poorly lit, blurry, etc.) Most often the eliminated pictures are the pictures of scenery or the pictures with no family members in them.

Many times, when they're putting together albums with pictures that belonged to a family member (grandparent, deceased relatives, etc,) these are the first pictures tossed. The pictures people value, with or without scenery in them, are photos with family members in them.

And if I may add my own personal soapbox: Pictures are worth a thousand words, but if you don't write the words down, other people won't know what they are. Undocumented photos are meaningless! Record the stories, not just the pictures, and preserve all of your memories: The photos AND the stories behind them! :D

Adrienne

sediment
02-02-2004, 02:56 PM
Originally posted by derraj25
I want to remember every detail of our trip, but not willing to get busted and forced to erace my camera if possible. :crying:

Geez, that's what your brain is for!! Or are you one of those who checks it at the turnstiles?
Not only that, but after a few years, the unimportant parts are deleted for you (the three bathroom trips, for example, the lackluster frozen banana, the chewing-gum pole in the Indy queue, etc.), and in the case of DCA and Tomorrowland, your brain will do an auto-cancel of memories, so you can fill it up right away with new stuff.

Or, is it that you're concerned that another guest will assault you and you want proof, else posters at MousePad won't believe you?

All that said, with some cheeky tongue, make sure your photos are more candid than the, "How long do I have to smile?" kind. Take a photo of your kid hugging Mickey, not just standing there looking at the camera.

Tigertail777
02-02-2004, 04:06 PM
Well I sypathize with you wanting to video everything... as often as we make it to the park it radically changes each time, and there is no way my memory is going to recall every detail of each ride especially if it is removed or added on.

But I do have to agree with some of the others dont make your eyes only be behind the camera the whole time or you will miss some of the great Disneyland experience. I suggest you make a list of all the rides you want to go on, and then check the ones you want to video the most. You will have to do this to a degree anyways, because in my experience vidcam batteries go pretty fast. So sit down and figure out what rides you really want to "bring home" the most. I think it would actually be better if possible to ride the rides once without taping, get a fastpass and ride again expressly to tape... this way having ridden it you will know what parts you want the most, and which way to point the camera.

Taking photos or videos is fine on any ride, as long as you dont use flash, or camera lights (the only exception is the movie based rides... however some of the ques may be taped, and are well worth doing so.) You can actually get some semi decent pictures on slower parts of rides with high speed film and no flash... I got some semi blurry but still nice pics on some of the fantasyland rides this way. If you are a big time shutter bug, you may want to bring a light meter and take a ride to just take down which parts of the rides have optimal lighting for pictures without a flash.

Good luck.. cause taking pictures is makin' memories!:D

derraj25
02-02-2004, 04:47 PM
Geez! Make one stupid comment and you are labeled a brainless geek with a video camera attached to your eye:p

I think that most of you are smart enough to realize that I am only interrested in the highlights of our trip. Now I know what I said, but it is not what I meant. All I am wanting to do is make a memories CD. Not capture each waking moment while I am there. If I go on a ride that blows me away, I want to make sure that I am not breaking any rules by videoing the "cool" parts of the attraction.

By reading some of your replies over the weekend, I would like to know how many of you have some beautiful ocean front property in Montana to sell me:p

Anyway, thank you for all of your input. If any of you see me when I am there, I will be the one with the camera surgically attached to my face, tripping over people, and making an utter idiot of myself (he he he):D

On a serious note, thanks.

sediment
02-03-2004, 09:11 AM
Thank you for posting. It helps my creative juices flow, and then I can practice dialing it back so I offend only about 20% (that's a manageable number).
No thanks, though, to the post-production editing that's been done. I consider that bad form on a forum. Explaining yourself is sufficient.

Currently you are a brainless geek posting unusual statements and asking questions on the internet. We're only trying to help you enjoy your experience at the park. And sorry, some of them were too juicy to resist.

Simple rules:
1. Dark places = no lights.
2. Plate glass window in front of you = no lights.
3. Film screen in front of you = no lights.
4. 3-D film = no video or photo will look good.
5. High-speed rides = risking losing your camera and your stored physical memories to that point.
6. Listen to the spiel in the language that you understand prior to boarding or sitting.

And holy crap, have fun!! I've never had fun trying to record memories.

Morrigoon
02-03-2004, 02:46 PM
As one who took hours of footage on my first trip to DLP...

I taped about half the day's activities.... in other words, nearly continuously. The trick is... well first of all that pop out viewfinder in areas where you can get away with it (w/out disturbing others), and just resigning yourself to the fact that your camerawork is not going to be fabulous anyway, so just bring the camera down to your jawline and look over it!

I love my DLP video!

Oh, another tip... if your camera has nightshot and you want to use it in a darkride:
First of all, if your regular camera has low enough lux level that you can see at all, try to use that. Stuff doesn't look as good in nightshot-green. Second, be advised that in using nightshot, you are actually "projecting" a kind of light, seen by your camera, as well as DL's security cams. CMs aren't too nuts about that, and they can't tell the diff on their cams between nightshot and a regular light, so they may get upset at you for using a "light". One last thing: when pointing at glass areas (such as HM ballroom), point your camera at an angle, so it doesn't pick up its own light (eg: let the glass reflect the light away from you, not back at you).

And a final tip I'd been musing over and just tested the other day with my digital still camera:
For attractions, fix your focus at a certain distance. Low light levels drive autofocus crazy and you end up seeing very little. If you fix it at one distance (my camera liked 3 meters for IASW), you won't get everything in perfect focus, but you'll get a heck of a lot more than you would have. Since you're moving, everything less than 3 meters away from the ride track will be in focus at at least one point!

jswtsang
02-04-2004, 12:11 PM
I'm surprised they don't sell the 'you cam' like when they strap a camera to someone's head or to a dog and you get their point of view. They should make one that goes on top of your head and you see the whole park from your POV...then also it could be hidden under some mouse ears in case you feel too dorky or look like a miner :-P

jt

danyoung
02-04-2004, 01:09 PM
Originally posted by jswtsang
I'm surprised they don't sell the 'you cam' like when they strap a camera to someone's head or to a dog and you get their point of view.

I actually saw one of these years ago in WDW. This was back when the average camcorder was much larger than it is now, and took full sized VHS tapes. This guy had a whole harness thing, with the camera sitting on his shoulder. He could lean right and look thru the eyepiece, or lean left and see things normally. I'd never want to go thru all of that, but I'm sure he got some great tapes!

hbquikcomjamesl
02-04-2004, 06:08 PM
Personally, I have a good 20-30 feet of 8mm FILM (as in Standard 8 Kodachrome!) of Storybook Land (probably the most cinemagenic ride in the whole park) and about 150 feet of the Main Street Electrical Parade (YES, if you have a fast enough lens, you CAN shoot The Parade on Kodachrome-40; my old spring-wound 8mm camera has something like an f/1.4, maybe even f/1.2).

As to pictures with or without your loved ones, where exactly does that leave those of us who vacation alone? It leaves us looking for scenes that are interesting on purely aesthetic grounds.

Oh, and speaking of albums, one small request: CAPTION EVERYTHING! Think about it: if you have any thought at all of sharing your vacation albums with neighbors, co-workers, &c., THEY'RE not going to know that the snowscape with the front end of a train passing a signal is a shot of the train you were riding through Willammette Pass, just by looking at the picture. THEY'RE not going to know that the woman who looks like she buys all her clothes from Fredericks of Hollywood is your sister, Lucy. And THEY'RE not going to automatically notice the F-line trolley car making its way around the Embarcadero in the shot from the top of the Coit Tower.