[Slowhand] Re: 2006 World Tour Video

[Almighty Geetarz]

"All the gigs are being taped, but don't think its for public 
distribution release.
I asked in Uncasville and was told, "We always tape".  I found that 
interesting. "

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Perhaps the best analogy might be that for instance were you in a band, 
you might record your rehearsals, but you'd certainly use more care if 
you were planning on releasing what you had recorded.

With audio, a pure 2-channel board recording can be released, but then 
again if they're shooting for "official" release quality usually a lot 
more work is done, i.e. instead of running 2-channel they will go 
multitrack so that more detailed mixing/editing are possible.  A stock 
straight-to-board recording is a beautiful thing to some of us but would 
tend to put off many buyers who are used to a more conventional "live" mix.

Of course the shows have always been recorded - thanks to a sound 
engineer on the '74 tour we have many nice soundboards, and by the '80s 
they were using cassette racks and then of course on to DAT recorders.   
Back when RF was managing EC I saw him walk back and personally take 
care of the tapes at show's end. (Of course I asked "where's my copy???" 
and just received a thin-lipped smile). Not sure what is being used now 
but many bands have moved away from removable media since ... well, it's 
removable ... and gone to dedicated hard drive recorders, which have the 
added bonus that (1) it's difficult for a crew member to smuggle out an 
entire PC and (2) even if the recorders do escape the venue, quite often 
the contents of the drives are encrypted for that very reason.  Can't 
find it at present but there was an interesting article a couple years 
back about the rise of encrypted recording technology and how most large 
touring bands had gone in that direction for obvious reasons.

With video things get even more complicated, the simple 2 or 3 cam setup 
used to simply provide footage for the live projection screens isn't up 
to the production/quality standards one would expect from an "official" 
release.  Add in the complications of recording and mixing audience 
audio/video for surround mixes which are pretty much "required" for 
major label release and it's a much more involved undertaking than the 
raw audio/video recorded at each performance.  The cameras/equipment 
used aren't in the same league as would be used in today's market for 
potential release.

I can't think of a worthwhile analogy in the EC world but anyone 
familiar with The Who would instantly be familiar with the DVDs of the 
various shows from the 2000 tour, which were taken simply from the 
projection screen cams, versus the "Live at the Albert Hall" footage 
which was professionally shot and intended for DVD release ... two very 
different recording approaches.

Of course it would certainly be welcome if EC took a tip from his old 
friend Pete Townshend and simply released the audio/video from each 
show, with profits going to the Crossroads Center (or the Buy Eric a new 
Ferrari 599GTB fund). Sign me up!

Cheers,
AG