If you record a firework display..why?

[afrikat]

Went to a school firework display tonight. A good proportion of parents were watching the display through their phones, recording the display. If you do this, can I ask why? What do you do with the recording after? Post it on social media? Watch it yourself?

For me, being at a display and experiencing it in person is the whole point so seriously intrigued into what the recordings are for. If you record please let me understand!

I was actually thinking the same thing yesterday 😂 I have took videos and photos in the past and can definitely say I have never looked at them again.

Lots and lots of people document pretty much their every move on Insta etc. It’s just second nature to them. If they didn’t post an Insta story did it even happen?! (NB I haven’t used Instagram in 10 years)

I am so with you OP. Depressing isn’t it?

I took a short video of the big firework display we went to. I do every year. Tbf this year it was my baby's first so I took a video of her looking up at the fireworks to remember it!
I just record everything I always have. Even before social media I would take endless photo albums and I had scrapbooks I made.
I just like to record things. It makes me happy to look back on and remember.
It only takes me a few mins so it's not like I'm doing it the whole time.
For fireworks I usually take a 30 second video. But I might do a couple if a particularly good firework goes off!
Then I usually put tue best one on social media.
I group everything into albums by the month. I've been doing that since 2010!
I love to look thru them all.
I've got no followers lol. I don't care who does or doesn't look at it.
I do often have some family members who watch things of mine to see what the kids are up to.
But it's mostly for me.

I often look at my old fireworks videos to cheer me up. If i'm having a bad day I will remember I have a beautiful video on my phone of the finale of a 2018 display in Liverpool city centre for example, and I replay it a few times just to remember how good life can be.

I use my photos/videos as a reminder of places I've been, things I've done. I have a very bad memory and my life would be basically lost to me otherwise,

I have been a lot more mindful the past year or so and at something like fireworks I'll take a couple of photos (usually the bonfire) and only a couple of bits of video, rather than loads!

I do sometimes watch them as I'm scrolling through my photos and I love the way my iPad/iPhone makes me 'on this day' or 'fireworks over the years' albums.

I did this once when DD was small as I wanted to capture the magic. I bloody love fireworks. However, I then realised I was never going to watch the videos or post them on social media so I've never done it since.

I did it once when we were in Paris at new year. I do watch the video occasionally.

I can understand taking a couple of photos or short bit of video to watch as a reminder of that occasion later.

It’s the people recording the whole thing through their phone I don’t get. They aren’t even watching the display directly at the time, only through a phone screen.

If they watch the video later and think ah yes that was great watching those fireworks in the sky, that’s not real, that’s not what they did that evening. They should really ask a friend to video them staring at their phone if they want a true record!

I do but then I make sure to capture my kids in the video as well. I don’t just video the fireworks though maybe that’s what they were doing?

A few years ago we went abroad to see a big band playing, in concert. For us it was a huge treat, and a great experience. There were loads of other Brits there, as well as other people from other countries. It seemed that every other person was recording the concert with their phones, but actually not watching the concert live, but through the recording phone. What is the point of most probably spending hundreds of pounds for tickets, flights accommodation, and then to get there and not actually watch the actual live concert because you are busy watching it being recorded? That’s just crazy.

Yes, I thought the same thing the other night. One woman came and stood right in front of all the children (and sitting adults) and just filmed on her phone the whole time. 🤷🏻‍♀️ She could have just stood behind everyone instead of blocking our view and just held her phone up, given she wasn’t actually watching it anyway.

People live through their phones though. We went to the same display last year and ran into one of the dc’s friends and her family. All 5 of them came to fireworks (on the green in front of the village hall), but then sat inside the village hall all night, where the WiFi is, mum and all 4 kids, just scrolling zombie like on TikTok instead of outside with hot dogs and sparklers and music and fireworks like normal people.

people always comment on these threads (similar to filming at a concert) how sad it is and imply that you can't also enjoy it in the moment if you happen to be holding a phone. It's hardly taxing to push record - yes have to momentarily glance at the screen to check whatever you are filming is in frame but after that you just watch normally over your phone. It can be nice to have these things to look back on, not for everyone, but also many people build amazing photo albums they never flick through and you don't get similar snobby threads not understanding why families take pictures...

Just another dismal aspect of social media and smart phones. No one actually experiences anything any more, they just watch it through a phone. Like you say, no one rewatches a fire work display on their phone, and no-one else gives a shit about watching it.

I’ve stood behind people who have spent entire gigs with their phone in the air, recording. Seriously, why? If you want a recording of the act singing the song live, there will be plenty of professionally recorded videos available online. A couple of photos are fine but whole songs and whole gigs? It really is just nonsense.

It's the sort of thing I do sometimes. I almost never watch the recordings back, they eventually get copied to my laptop or a USB drive and sit there indefinitely. I tend not to delete videos or photos.

There are two main reasons I do this. One, sometimes it is to use a function of my camera I don't get much use out of. Fireworks can be interesting in slow motion, and I recorded them with a 360 degree camera one year so I could capture the whole view of the sky. Two, I might want to watch it back one day.

This second point is the main reason I think people do it - perhaps they might want to watch the recording one day. It's no different to finding an old photo album in the loft and flicking through memories.

I'm the sort of person who archives everything though, I have over a hundred terabytes of data stored (and backed up). Data-hoarding is quite common. Most of the time there's no tangible benefit, but it will give me something to look at when there's a massive cyber-attack that takes out internet services for a couple of weeks.

Not the subject of this but can I ask what you back up to? I have several old laptops and phones with photos that I want to consolidate in one place (and back-up). Do you use portable hard drives, the cloud, or something else?

I film fireworks so my autistic son can watch it later with the sound off as he finds the unpredictable bangs very distressing but loves the pretty colours but I try to film it in a way to still be present with my other child so we can watch them together and then watch them again in an adapted way

But no-one ever did this with stills cameras—you didn't go along to a concert or fireworks display and take pictures all night instead of watching the thing.

I wondered this! We were at our council display on Sunday, no offence to my council but very generic display! Very repetitive and went on for ages 😂 sat with my kids and looked round at so many people recording this genuinely very generic display I was baffled. I just don’t get it! The man in front of us didn’t look up from the phone he recorded from. Hope he enjoys his video of my son crying because he wanted to run on the beach instead of sit down and my daughter giving a running commentary of the colours and if she liked the fireworks!

Bonfire night comes round every year, I just don’t get this obsession with documenting everything. Have the actually memory in your head if you wish but I’m certain your local display won’t be something you’re glad you recorded 5 years from now!

Just in case this happens?

again with the "instead of watching the thing" - how complicated are your phone settings that you cannot watch the event - whatever it may be - over your phone and feeling like you are missing so much when setting up? The last concert I was at I recorded bits and pieces and have loved watching them back, I missed more seconds of the show distracted when I had to reach down and take the lid of my water bottle to have a sip than I did swiping to the camera and pushing record on my phone.

But also thanks for letting me know that before smart phones "no-one ever" took photos at concerts! My memories must be false, how crazy.

Most people aren’t holding it up and then watching over the top/around it, at Taylor Swift earlier this year I was surrounded by girls who genuinely kept watching the screen rather than the concert. Didn’t sing along, presumably not to ruin their videos.

Its dystopian, you see her go over to the crowd and she isn’t seeing fans actual faces it’s the back of their phones in desperation to video it rather than experience it without your phone in your hand

The family next to us were recording the whole thing. Complete with the mother screaming 'you've missed one, you've missed one!' several times, before she wrestled the phone off the father and they then argued and jostled each other for several minutes, whilst their children looked on. Can't believe they are ever going to watch that back. More interested in the filming than the actual display, it's sad really.

There is absolutely no way anyone just sets it up and then ignores the phone and watches the concert. Your arm would drop immediately and you'd lose the framing.

No, people did not sit there at concerts with cameras in their hands all night before smart phones. It just wasn't a thing.

No, people did not sit there at concerts with cameras in their hands all night before smart phones. It just wasn't a thing

Some must have because my husband has the photographs to prove it. Late 1970s onwards.