Filip Brož After four years, the British band Muse returned to Prague at the beginning of this summer. According to many music critics, the trio of men is among the best concert bands in the world. I'm lucky enough to be sitting in the audience. In the middle of the O2 arena stands a stage that stretches out in all directions. The result is a completely intimate club experience. The lights go down and the main frontman of the alternative rock band Matthew Bellamy enters the stage with the others. The Vysočan Arena turns into an observatory almost instantly. Perhaps every fan holds an iPhone or other mobile phone above their head.
I feel a little weird because I leave my device in my bag. On the contrary, I enjoy the atmosphere of the first song. After a while, however, I can't do it and I take out my iPhone 6S Plus, turn off the automatic flash and take at least two photos with Live Photos turned on. However, the result is pretty tragic despite using the current California flagship. I think that colleagues with cheaper or older phones will not be much better off, rather the opposite. Does it even make sense to film or photograph a concert on an iPhone? What do we really need it for?
Unnecessary extra light
Nowadays, at almost every concert, including classical music, you can find at least one fan who has a mobile phone in his hand and is taking videos or photos. Of course, this is not liked not only by the artists, but also by other visitors. The display emits unnecessary light and spoils the atmosphere. Some people don't turn off their flash, for example, at the mentioned Muse concert, the organizers even repeatedly warned the audience that if they want to take recordings, they have to turn off the automatic flash. The result is fewer distractions and thus a better experience.
Recording also involves a number of legal issues that are repeatedly discussed. There is even a strict ban on recording at some concerts. The topic was also covered by a music magazine in its August issue Rock&All. The editors report that singer Alicia Keys has gone so far as to give out special lockable cases for fans to put their cellphones in during the concert so they won't be tempted to use them. Two years ago, on the other hand, Kate Bush told her concertgoers in London that she would very much like to make contact with people as beings and not with their iPhones and iPads.
Patent from Apple
In 2011, Apple even applied for a patent that would prevent users from recording video at concerts. The basis is infrared transmitters that send a signal with a deactivation message to the iPhone. That way there would be transmitters at every gig and once you turned on record mode you'd just be out of luck. Apple has previously stated that it would like to extend the use to cinemas, galleries and museums.
However, similar to smoking in restaurants, the given restrictions and prohibitions would be fully in the hands of the organizers. At some concerts you could definitely record like that. But I always ask myself, how many fans then play the video at home or process it in some way. Many people share the footage on social media, but I myself prefer to watch a professional recording than a shaky video full of grain, blurred details and poor quality audio. When I go to a concert, I want to enjoy it to the fullest.
Classical music is no exception
Very sad examples also appear at foreign concerts of classical music. There are cases when a musician, after seeing an iPhone in the audience, started shouting at the audience or even packed up and left without saying a word. However, recording also has its positive effects. Journalists Jan Tesař and Martin Zoul in the monthly magazine Rock&All gives an example from a recent time when the band Radiohead played the legendary song Creep years later in concert. In this way, the experience reached the people at least indirectly.
However, recording concerts clearly distracts from the music and the experience itself. During filming, you often have to deal with the technical side, i.e. you deal with focusing, ISO or the resulting composition. In the end, you watch the whole concert through a crappy display and before you know it, the concert is over. It is also important to realize that you are spoiling the experience for others. When you stand up, you put your hands above your head, several people in the back rows only see your back instead of the band, or rather your phone above their head.
Technology is improving
On the other hand, it's clear that recording won't just disappear. It should be noted that mobile phones and their recording technology are improving year by year. Before, shooting video was simply not possible because there was nothing to do unless you had a camera with you. In the future, we may be able to shoot a completely professional video with an iPhone. However, the question remains whether in this case it makes sense to go to a concert and not stay at home and wait for someone to upload it to YouTube.
Recording is also connected with the contemporary lifestyle. We are all constantly in a hurry, we live by multitasking, i.e. we do several things at once. As a result, we do not remember and experience the given activity at all, which also applies to ordinary listening to music. For example, I recently gave reasons why i went back to the old ipod classic.
Loyal fans, who often paid several thousand crowns for a concert, do not want to upset even the musicians themselves. The editor of the magazine aptly summed it up Rolling Stone Andy Greene. “You take terrible photos, you shoot terrible videos, which you will never watch anyway. You are not only distracting yourself, but also others. It's really desperate," says Greene.
I was at the concert, it was a wonderful experience. It's a sweetheart. But what really disappointed me was the quality of the pictures taken... There was a person sitting in front of me with an S7 and I didn't understand the quality of the pictures or videos taken. So the phone went into the pocket, just like red 4 years ago. Skoda, Apple should work on this. Quite striking!
I wouldn't want to see that quality on TV. It will be an untraceable noisemaker anyway, unless it surpasses classic cameras.
I have no idea about TV. But as far as I know, the iPhone doesn't hold up well in bad lighting conditions, which is a shame. During the day, beautiful photos, the rest grain and darkness :(
I don't know how much darkness you mean, but this year I just took night pictures with the iP6 on vacation and the photos are quite decent, mostly without noise. Of course, in total darkness when people were only wearing luminous bracelets, there was already a lot of buzz and it was worth a fart. I did better with a SLR camera, but here, perhaps no one can expect more from a mobile phone. We can easily exchange some photos :)
it's not about total darkness, but I'm saying a concert. I think that anyone who has ever photographed (or tried to) in deteriorating conditions cannot say that the photos are worthless. Zoom in on the photo a bit, the amounts, the grains, the details are terrible. I tried the S6 in my left hand and the IP in my right in the summer, same problem in the evening. It came out of the ip, and what about the Korean one... it's a shame, maybe it will only get better. Feel free to change the photo, I need to find out that I have a defective piece :)
I know what noise is and I always check the photo at 100% magnification. Of course, I have no comparison, but the conditions I had with the concert can perhaps be equal. As I say, the tragic noise you describe is only in absolutely bad conditions where the mirror also has a problem with noise. On a different level, of course.
This is difficult, many times the performers do not have a professional record, not even audio. Even more so, recording on the phone is a "need". Because the performer simply decides to play a song that he hasn't played in X years or some rare version. And at that moment I'm glad for the shaky image with sound.
A camera is used to record concerts, not a phone. http://goo.gl/RThaaS
so it's not really a recording of the whole concert or some longer parts, but as mentioned - sometimes a good snapshot, sometimes another version popular with writers, etc.