Ah, BMOrg. Just when you thought it was safe to go out on the Playa…when things couldn’t get any more fucked up with tickets, when lines couldn’t possibly be any longer on the way in…they come up with some strict new rules policy enforcements to implement. Way to create the total opposite of a streamlined gate experience.
Got one of those new-fangled phones? You know, the ones that have a camera in it? Yup, thought so. By 2010, a billion people had them, so now there’s a pretty good chance that if you have a phone, you have a camera. Well, if you’re bringing that to Burning Man, you’d better get your PUA paperwork sorted and ready for inspection!
Greeter jkisha tells ePlaya:
Just got this in a greeters email announce…
We needs ta help each other out. When participants arrive at BRC, they have to fill out a personal use agreement (PUA). The PUA is for anyone using a video capable camera or any technology that can capture video… this includes a Smart Phone. So, basically, everyone needs to fill out a PUA. Just imagine every participant sitting in there car waiting to enter the city filling out a form… YUCK! So, attached is a link where participants can fill out the PUA before they arrive in the city. All they have to do is hand this form to their Greeter. So, Greeters… lets make this link go viral. Post it everywhere… remind everyone to fill out their PUA before they arrive at Greeters Station. Really will make our lives soooooo much simpler.
If you promise to only shoot still images on your phone, perhaps because it’s too old fashioned to have a video capability, then you might be OK. No paperwork required. But don’t even think about shooting video. And good luck explaining all that to the (mostly volunteer) crew of Greeters. There are two different stories coming out of BMOrg.
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/video_cameras.html#.UCrcJmNYuZ0
Burner Lisa: The website says one thing, the form title says specifically for video/dv/film/digital camera, and the very first sentence says “I desire permission to record via video tape, digital video, film or digital still photographs…” Am checking with Greeters to see if we can get clarification.
Surely they can just have some kind of blanket waiver/disclaimer for everyone – either printed on the tickets, or just make everyone sign the same thing. This sounds much harder to implement.
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They did away with camera tags last year, but the form still has a space for it. Without the tag, the only way they know if you’ve signed a form is to march you up to Playa Info and have them go through their paper files, which I’m sure will be in meticulous alphabetical order. And, as in the past, the web page says it’s only needed if you will shoot video, but the form seems to say it’s for all amateur photography. Enforcement would require BM to determine if your camera can shoot video (my old DSLR can’t) and whether you actually ARE shooting video.
BTW, I’ve seen some really beautiful videos from the playa shot with iPhones, so I say go for it, as long as you don’t try to use your phone in a dust storm.
Have GOPro? Need tag
So GREETERS are going to enforce the policy that everybody has been ignoring for years? And you can ALSO turn the form in at Playa Info or Rangers?
It sure sounds to me like, no, we’re not going have “participant sitting in there car waiting to enter the city filling out a form”. If filling out a form prior to entry was to be mandatory, it’d probably be Gate, not Greeters that enforced it.
Calm the fuck down. It’s the same asinine policy they’ve had in place before, almost everybody has had a video camera in their pocket for years, and most folks will continue not bothering to fill out a PUA.
I’m not going to worry about a paranoia-inducing email from a random greeter. If you want to obey the letter of the law, go ahead and fill out a PUA. Hand it to the greeters on the way in and you don’t have to stop by Playa Info later. Great.
Greeters aren’t going to stop you, search you for cameras, administer a lie detector test to make sure you’re telling the truth when you say you won’t be using your cell phone on playa, or force you to fill out a form.
Totally agree that BMorg should be doing this as a blanket waiver if they’re serious about it.
I plan on taking pics…….but your crazy to use your phone! It will get thrashed out there. Turn off the phones and store them far away(in plastic) so that you actually have one to use when you leave the playa. Juss sayin
Of course, there’s paperwork! There’s always the paperwork. How many hurdles do we need to encounter? What more must we endure? “Easy’s getting tougher everyday.”