Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

BILLYFAN
Debbie
Posts: 907
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:28 pm
Location: Torquay, Devon

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by BILLYFAN »

If you haven't bought a dvd yet, and thinking of getting one. the cheapest I.ve seen
is in the Christmas shop in B.H.S they are selling it at £9.99,
The BHS Christmas shop usually closes by mid day on Christmas Eve, whether they will still sell the DVD after Christmas, I don't know
BillyBob
Small Boy
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:42 pm

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by BillyBob »

post...Post....POST!!!
My BE Live Blueray arrived today (ordered Dec. 4th). And it works!!!
Viewing party for friends begin this weekend. I bet Amazon UK will
get a few more orders soon.
Steamboy
Tall Boy
Posts: 145
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:05 am
Location: Midwest US

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by Steamboy »

My copy arrived today, ordered Nov 30th CST, Dec 1 GMT. Plays just fine in my BDP-S1200 Sony blu-ray player, without any fiddling (I do have a history of jailbreaking dvd players). All the programs and extras ran just fine, although I didn't bother checking the other 17 available subtitle languages. Some of the sub menus lack buttons for returning to the main menu, but that's a disc programming thing, not region related or even necessarily a bug.

It's absolutely wonderful to finally have a version of the musical that I can show to friends and relatives, so they can better understand why I've spent so much time wandering the globe. I do wish that the video director had allowed more time to be spent on full-stage master shots, instead of doing so many mid-range quick cuts. A few of the moments of the show, such as Michael punching George, got lost in the editing choices, and some of the more intricate choreography, such as Solidarity, was made harder to follow by the constant switching of viewpoints. However, the closeups during emotional moments were appreciated, and are something rarely possible to see from most seats.

A few of the shots seemed to have been done from a jib crane camera (and two 'jib assistants' are listed in the credits), but I didn't see any evidence of one in the wide shots of the VPT, making me wonder if a rehearsal was filmed as well as the practice and live broadcast performances. If the jib was there during those performances, it would have been pretty noticeable... a 20' or longer stick of pipe with a camera dangling from the end, waving back and forth. The camera dolly track along the pit wall in stalls rows A and B can be seen in the end, when Billy climbs back onto stage to say goodbye to Michael.

A fun bit for me in the credits was seeing the listing for the head flyman, Chris Kerr. I'd spent some time with him back in 2006, when he was at the first anniversary party for Lin's forum. I can barely imagine still being with the same show some eight years or more later, with over 3,000 performances and countless rehearsals (assuming he didn't leave and come back at some point).

The extras are worth watching as well, Elliot's 'intro' includes a lot of backstage and rehearsal footage, and the 'behind the scenes' segment includes some 2005 footage of the original Billys, James, George, and Liam.
mikey2573
Tall Boy
Posts: 164
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:52 am

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by mikey2573 »

They did film a dress rehearsal prior to the broadcast to cinemas and this footage was incorporated into the Blu Ray. If you had seen the original broadcast it was the entire performance from that Sunday taping. The Blu ray uses footage from the rehearsal and also a lot of different camera angles. When Billy is being called down from his room by Dad, in one version he yells "Coming!" but in another he does not. Also, when the sandwich bit is being done by Big Davey, he has the line "Waste not want not" which is included in one version but not in the other. So there are clues that they used different footage, and a friend of mine who saw both was able to point out many differences.
Steamboy
Tall Boy
Posts: 145
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:05 am
Location: Midwest US

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by Steamboy »

I've been under the impression that the non-live recording was also in front of an audience, I may be remembering the earlier posts in this thread wrongly. In at least one spot in the blu-ray, I heard the crowd's applause crossfade into a different recording track, so I was assuming that was where they switched the audio between two different audiences (could also have been an edit to tighten up timing). If there were two audiences present, then I think a third non-audience rehearsal was filmed with the jib, otherwise I'm fine with the single audience theory.

Watching it with my sister on Christmas Day (on a recent Playstation, not sure of model, no problems), I spotted something small and gold falling out of Mrs. W's bag in 'Shine'. It then alternated between being there and not being there throughout the song, giving definite evidence of cutting between different performances.
User avatar
patc
Mrs Wilkinson
Posts: 1406
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:26 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by patc »

Steamboy wrote:I've been under the impression that the non-live recording was also in front of an audience, I may be remembering the earlier posts in this thread wrongly. In at least one spot in the blu-ray, I heard the crowd's applause crossfade into a different recording track, so I was assuming that was where they switched the audio between two different audiences (could also have been an edit to tighten up timing). If there were two audiences present, then I think a third non-audience rehearsal was filmed with the jib, otherwise I'm fine with the single audience theory.
Both shows were filmed in front of a live audience and the final cut includes footage from both. I can see people I know who were there only on the Saturday :D. The jib crane camera was located at the front far left of Stalls (C30-ish) at the Saturday recording, at least. (I wasn't there on the Sunday).

There may well have been some other shots inserted afterwards from a non-live recording. Possible Example: The Billy wall shadows in Shadow Dance must not have been visible enough to be included so we saw Elliott's shadow on the floor from a higher vantage point instead. I have the impression that these are not his usual movements but would have to watch it again to be sure.

Pat
Image
User avatar
Yorkie
Miner
Posts: 372
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2010 4:21 pm
Location: God's own County

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by Yorkie »

Steamboy wrote:I've been under the impression that the non-live recording was also in front of an audience, I may be remembering the earlier posts in this thread wrongly. In at least one spot in the blu-ray, I heard the crowd's applause crossfade into a different recording track, so I was assuming that was where they switched the audio between two different audiences (could also have been an edit to tighten up timing). If there were two audiences present, then I think a third non-audience rehearsal was filmed with the jib, otherwise I'm fine with the single audience theory.
As Pat has said (and you noticed in Shine) there is definitely footage from the Saturday Matinee & Sunday live shows but I suspect that there is footage from rehearsals (without an audience) too - the sequence in Dream Ballet where the camera passes Liam travelling up the centre of the stage seems to me to be something that couldn't have been done with an audience present and definitely not with a jib on the wide left (and I think that Liam appears on stage with only subdued applause; when I watched the live broadcast at the cinema the audience in the theatre was going mental with applause long before we could see him on screen & I can't think it would have been much different at the Saturday matinee but maybe Pat could confirm. On the DVD he sort of appears to a small amount of applause - about as genuine as the sound affect when Michael punches George I reckon!)
MRS WILKINSON IS A RIGHT COW!
User avatar
patc
Mrs Wilkinson
Posts: 1406
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 5:26 pm
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by patc »

Yorkie wrote:when I watched the live broadcast at the cinema the audience in the theatre was going mental with applause long before we could see him on screen & I can't think it would have been much different at the Saturday matinee
On the Saturday, as far as I can recall, there was some applause as Liam entered the fray but it was far from being akin to going mental. The fan-led Sunday audience would have been a lot more au fait with who he was and the significance of the occasion.

Pat
Image
User avatar
jotunheim
Tall Boy
Posts: 116
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 2:10 am
Location: Milwaukee, WI

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by jotunheim »

Blu-ray was ordered on December 13 and arrived yesterday (December 31). Happy New Year!
North American Tour - (15):

Milwaukee, WI - July 2012 - (1): Noah
St. Paul, MN - October 2012 - (4): Ben x2, Zach, Noah
Omaha, NE - December 2012 - (3): Ben x2, Noah
E. Lansing, MI - January 2013 - (3): Mitchell/Ben (split), Drew, Noah
San Diego, CA - May 2013 - (1): Mitchell/Noah (split)
Grand Rapids, MI - June 2013 - (3): Mitchell, Drew, Noah
User avatar
thm
Miner
Posts: 451
Joined: Tue May 12, 2009 12:12 pm
Location: Copenhagen area

Re: Billy Live Blu-ray/DVD

Post by thm »

Steamboy wrote:... the single audience theory....
I'll be jiggered!!! BETM is going scientific!
We need to launch a committee to research and then publish a disquisition on that theory. If we can proove it, the Billy Nobel Prize would be the crown of all prizes that musical has won.
:ugeek: :ugeek: :mrgreen: :lol:
Post Reply

Return to “Special Shows - London”