Film Remix 2006
March 10, 2006 - Created by FredUPDATE (4/2/06):We’re happy to announce that one of the multiple public screenings of the best parody will be at the NYIH’s Comedies of Fair U$e conference. See dates for more info and a link.
Free Culture @ NYU wants to invite people around the world to remix films into short parodies. Specifically, we want people to choose one of four trilogies:
 The Matrix |
 Star Wars |
 Lord of the Rings |
 Harry Potter |
Contents
The Project
How do I Participate?
Format of Entries
Important Dates
Legal Waiver
Resources for converting and editing DVD media and finding free media
FAQ
Examples of what we’re looking for
Contact
The Project
The basic idea is to turn all of the footage from that one trilogy into a 5-8 minute short film. We will then screen your parody on the internet and in real life at the end of April of 2006.
Choosing “The Matrix”, one would take all three installments, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions and edit down that footage into a parody of the original, adding or removing elements (voiceovers, scenes, etc) as necessary. You could even use only one of the films of the trilogy– the point is that the original footage of The Matrix is being used to make a short parody out of it.
The key element here is that the short film you ultimately end up with must function as a parody of the original series. Parody is distinct from satire in that it alludes to and comments upon the work itself, rather than using the work to make some general statement about the world. Weird Al Yankovic’s “Amish Paradise” is a satire; “Baby Got Jack” is a parody. In order to see your work screened and widely disttributed, we urge you to create works that truly parody the original movies: make fun of the characters, the plots, the hyperbole, the visual style, etc. But do not, for example, make a short film from Harry Potter that makes a statement about the benefits of vegetarianism, or satirize Star Wars to comment upon our society’s disenfranchisement with astronomy.
What is the point of this project?
Part of Free Culture’s goals are to promote the notion of fair use. Fair use is codified in the Copyright Act of 1976 as an exception to the general rules of copyright; It states that “the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” It is this valuable exception that enables creators to reuse, rework, remix, re-whatever, other copyrighted work and not be held for infringement. Fair use is what allows journalists to use clips of films when reviewing them, it is what allows artists to make collages using different media, and so on. It is also what enables people to make parody films using original footage.
The Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc case of 1994 set a legal precedent which established parody as a form of criticism, making parody one of the most explicitly protected forms of fair use. Still, there are media distributors who believe that even parodic use of copyrighted material is infringement. Free Culture believes that it goes against the nature of copyright, which was devised as an incentive system to produce more art and innovation, for copyright holders to use it as a weapon to stifle free, critical, and creative speech. Often, corporations and lawyers seek revenue opportunities through so-called “creative litigation” and extortion of artists and musicians for royalties and licensing of copyrighted work. We believe that the chilling effect produced by this constant threat of often frivolous litigation can only be counteracted by informing artists of the protections their fair use rights afford them, and then encouraging them to exploit those rights. If fair use dies, then so does part of the creative process for so many people.
This is then a project in promoting fair use. Think of each parody created as not only a work of art, but another justification for keeping fair use alive and well.
How do I participate?
- Read the waiver and contest rules.
- Choose a trilogy:
- The Matrix Purchase on Amazon.com
- Star Wars Purchase on Amazon.com
- Harry Potter Purchase on Amazon.com
- Lord of the Rings Purchase on Amazon.com
- Get ahold of the footage on DVD or otherwise
- Convert footage into editable digital format
- Devise a plot or angle to your parody. For inspiration, try fan fiction, where fans of movies write their own plots. There is an almost infinite amount of it hosted on Fanfiction.net:
- Edit
- Edit more, perhaps adding Creative Commons licensed music from ccMixter.org, or video from the public domain, available on The Internet Archive.
- Finish and burn final 5-8 minute long short to DVD or save it as a file.
- Notify Free Culture @ NYU by sending us an email so we can arrange to get the DVD/files:
freecultureNYU ~@~ gmail dot com - Have parody distributed on the internet and screened by Free Culture @ NYU at the end of April
Format of Entries
The best possible way that you can submit something to us is on a DVD that you’ve burned yourself. This means it will probably work on a DVD player and will most likely not be difficult for us to show to other people. Another, less preferable way, would be as a file (MPEG2, please) on a DVD or other portable media. We want your work to look as good as possible, so please try to avoid compressing it too much. After you’ve saved your file, please e-mail us and we’ll sort out how to get a hold of it.
Dates
April 14th 2006: Deadline for all remixed parodies
April 29tth: Screening of best parody at the New York Institute for the Humanities Comedies of Fair U$e conference.
Legal Waiver
By entering this contest, you agree to the conditions of the waiver presented below
Free Culture @ NYU Film Remix Contest Indemnification and Waiver
One of the primary reasons for the existence of Free Culture @ NYU is to draw attention to and test the boundaries of free expression in the United States. The purpose of the Free Culture @ NYU Film Remix Contest is to promote the creative fair use and re-use of copyrighted work, specifically film, and to create a backdrop for intelligent discussion concerning the tension between protected fair use of copyrighted material and the legitimate interests of copyright holders.
Unfortunately, there is an impediment in the present law that inhibits the creative fair use of legitimately-acquired film media for purposes such as parody. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) states that “[n]o person shall circumvent a technologica measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.” On the other hand, the DMCA also states that “[n]othing in this section shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright infringement, including fair use, under this title.”
The Free Culture @ NYU Film Remix Contest aims to highlight this tension in a constructive way.
One of the most difficult parts of participating in this Contest will be capturing the film excerpts that you are going to use in a manner that does not violate the law. As part of your participation in the Contest, you agree and represent that the films that you use to craft your Contest entry will be acquired from legitimate sources in legitimate ways. You also agree and represent that any copies of the films that you acquire or create to facilitate the creation of your Contest entry will be used only to craft your entry and for no other purpose. You further represent that these copies will not be stored or transferred for private or public use, and will be erased or destroyed by you immediately after you have created and submitted your Contest entry.
Most mass-distributed films are copy-protected in some way. Under the present law, Free Culture @ NYU cannot recommend that you employ one of the many copying processes that have been developed in recent years to circumvent copy-protection schemes. By submitting your entry to the Free Culture @ NYU Film Remix Contest, you represent to Free Culture @ NYU that the film images, dialogue, and soundtrack that you use were acquired in a manner consistent with existing law. You also agree to indemnify Freeculture.org, Inc., New York University, and Free Culture @ NYU and their respective officers, directors, employees, and members in the event that your representation is not true, and you waive any right to seek legal recourse against Freeculture.org, Inc., New York University, and Free Culture @ NYU and their respective officers, directors, employees, and members in the event you or any of them are found to be liable for the violation of any law in connection with the creation of your Contest entry.
You should also understand the legal definition of a “parody.” A parody may constitute a protected fair use of a copyrighted work, where a satire that incorporates part of a copyrighted work may not. The Supreme Court, in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994), discussed the difference between the two (citations are omitted, emphasis is added):
For the purposes of copyright law, the nub of the definitions, and the heart of any parodist’s claim to quote from existing material, is the use of some elements of a prior author’s composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on that author’s works. If, on the contrary, the commentary has no critical bearing on the substance or style of the original composition, which the alleged infringer merely uses to get attention or to avoid the drudgery in working up something fresh, the claim to fairness in borrowing from another’s work diminishes accordingly (if it does not vanish), and other factors, like the extent of its commerciality, loom larger. Parody needs to mimic an original to make its point, and so has some claim to use the creation of its victim’s (or collective victims’) imagination, whereas satire can stand on its own two feet and so requires justification for the very act of borrowing.
The important point is that your Contest entry must comment in some way on the original work or works. Accordingly, Contest entries that are not parodies (in the sole judgment of Free Culture @ NYU) will be rejected.
This entire indemnification and waiver is the unfortunate product of an age where almost all copyrighted digital media is strictly and exclusively controlled under Copyright law, including the DMCA. This indemnication and waiver thus also serves as a reminder of the absurdities and complications inherent in determining what is a legitimate re-use of digital media today.
Resources
Converting / editing your own DVDs and digital media:
Free music and video footage:
- ccMixter.org for Creative Commons licensed music.
- The Internet Archive for Creative Commons and public domain music and film.
FAQ
Isn’t this illegal?
This is tricky. In section 1201, part 1(a) of the DMCA, it is stated that “No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.” This means that to rip DVD footage from a DVD (even one that you acquired through explicitly legal means) is technically illegal. What’s more, part 2 (of section 1201) states that “No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that–
- is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;
- has only limited commercially significant purpose or use other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title; or
- is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with that person with that person’s knowledge for use in circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.”
So, by the letter of the law, it would seem that not only is the act of capturing the content of the DVD into editable format vaguely illegal, but even the very act of Free Culture’s telling you where you can find directions to so could be as well. Also, the DMCA provides
However, the law is discretionary, and to date there is no case-law on this topic. We believe that the exception for fair use is sufficiently strong and the need for fair use sufficiently important to make this experiment highly worthwhile.
Where do I get the footage?
You must buy the DVD’s, or acquire them in some other explicitly legal way.
Can you help me convert it?
If you are having trouble, email us, and we’ll do what we can to aid you in the process.
Why is it so hard?
There are very powerful corporate interests who do not believe that you should be able to use your DVD’s for any purpose outside of watching them on your regionally-coded DVD player.
These are the same people who think that if you want to put a movie on your mp3 player, you should buy a digital copy of it.
These are also the people who feel that movies are something for big-budget studios to make, not just any shmoe with a DVD, some editing software, and a vision.
Will I get arrested for doing this?
Probably not.
Why did you choose these movies?
We wanted to choose films that everyone would have access to in some form, and that had been parodied in some way or another before, so there would be some precedence for fair use of the work. Yes, there are plenty of other, possibly better movies that we could have chosen, but no one has ever done this before, so we had to start somewhere.
What should I use for original Audio / Music?
Your safest bet is to use something you made yourself, or that is licensed under Creative Commons. Check out their ccMixter.org for music, or The Internet Archive for legal footage and more music.
Does my source have to be DVD?
No, you’re welcome to capture from VHS or any other media that you’ve legally acquired, but an unecrypted DVD is likely to yield the highest quality result.
Who is this contest open to?
Anyone who can make a parody and get it to us by April 14th 2006.
Who’s going to choose the “best” parodies?
Free Culture @ NYU’s current members will arrive at a consensus as to which parodies they believe best embody the goal of the project.
Where will the parodies be screened?
We’re still sorting this out, but hopefully at a high profile event accompanied by plenty of press coverage. More details TBA.
How do you plan on releasing the parodies on the Internet?
We’re probably going to use BitTorrent, though we’re currently considering other options.
Examples of what we’re looking for
Shining by Robert Ryang:
Brokeback to the Future by Chocolate Cake City
Brokeback Heat by tian.cc:
Toy Story 2 meets Requiem for a Dream by alienpanic.com:
Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about our project, please e-mail us at :
freecultureNYU ~@~ gmail dot com. We’ll try and get back to you as soon as possible.
Official Poster
