Recovering fair use, MC Media Culture

I just read Steve Collin's notes. Which had me think of examples where fair use and copyright issues were happening. One example came to mind...


It was this year that there was a copyright issue with the band Men at Work... using the riff from "Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree" in their song, 'Down Under.' It was the publisher not the creator (as the creator past away in 1988) that sued them. The Publisher only obtained the copyright to "Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree"since 1990... I kind of feel Men At Work's use of the riff should be 'fair use' but I might feel different if it was the creator who was complaining not the publisher...etc...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/30/2640727.htm

I guess with this example I feel the use of the riff was used by the writers of 'Down Under' to capture the Australian vibe... so sway towards 'fair use.'
I found this link on the 3aw site: -
http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/3aw-generic-blog/colin-hays-say-on-down-under-ripoff/20100205-nhax.html

There's a fine line between 'fair use' and encroaching on copyright. Finding the balance is hard to do because people interpret laws differently and usually for personal gain...

Fanfiction

Fanfiction - yet another labour of love. Fanfiction comes in all forms and offers different things.
Fanfiction can offer unanswered questions fulfilled, explore character more in depth, turns minor characters/parts into their own series/stories or see the view from a different characters prospective among other things. Fan fiction is written by fans for fans. The creators of the original work(s) sometimes discourage whilst other encourage it. Fanfiction whatever form(s) it takes has been around for years. "Shakespeare's history plays are like Real People Fiction, while many of his comedies and tragedies are based on Italian, classical, and other existing stories." (Explore: fanfic entry on the fanlore wiki) and will continue for years to come...

Vidding

Watching short documentaries clips about Vidding -

Vidding to me seems to be a labour of love were certain fans of entertainment media (i.e. music/film or TV) put together their own pieces work using existing works such as songs over pieces of their favorite film and/or TV footage. They will cut certain bit out of a TV show or movie and put music to it.

2.1 Entertain Me! Who makes your entertainment? Institutions, audiences & participatory culture.

Reading The promise is great: the blockbuster and the Hollywood economy. Media, Culture and Society, 31(2), 215-230. By Cucco M. (2009).

Basic notes: -

The author starts of looking at the blockbuster (movie/film) and the marketing strategy's after WWII. Douglas Gomery states - "whilst Jaws wasn't the first film marketed and promoted by and through broadcast television it was the first million-dollar success proved that that strategy was the one that would redefine Hollywood through saturation advertising."

The author then looked at the "saturation booking strategy" and how it has changed over the years due to the new distribution channels which have been introduced. Jaws taught the film indusdtry the power of saturation advertising.

Then there is the strategic role of the opening weekend - "80 percent of the advertising investment is spent in the week before the release of the film in the theatres (Vogel, 1998)." The author also notes thats the most playing time (coverage) is in the first week in order to get the most out of the TV advertising etc... Also in recent times the marketing cost have been higher then production costs...

Movie are also considered an experiential commodity because its hard for the cosumer to know the quality and will often wait until they receive some kind of feedback or read/hear reviews etc...


To maximize the cost of transfer rights: Tends to be higher if the movie did well during its first week...etc...


To maximize the star and pre-sold identity effect: Stars turn into brand-names that help sell the movie. However a stars brand will only last the first week... This is why the distributor puts its efforts towards the first week...


To reduce the danger of competition: Studios have an agreement to release dates to limit competition (i.e. same audience). Certain times are better for release dates to gain maximum impact.


To exploit the potential of multiplex cinemas: life cycle of a movie and how cinemas work with this.


To maximize distributors’ receipts: "Distributors and exhibitors share the takings according to percentages that change over the weeks."concentration of revenue on the first weekend brings a higher remuneration for the distributor."

(a)concentration of advertising costs and maximization of effects;
(b) avoidance of a debate over quality;
(c) maximization of transfer rights costs;
(d) maximization of the star-effect and pre-sold identity;
(e) reduction of the danger of competition;
(f) use of the potential of multiplex cinemas;
(g) maximization of distributors’ revenues.

Lee's Personal media use and preferences;

I posted this on my uni discussion board on the 5th... so its late. But here it is anyway.... :)


Social Media: - Well I spend a lot of time on Facebook.. (Multi times Daily). I find it a great/Convenient way to stay in touch with friends and family plus for networking! I also use Myspace and youtube heavily for networking and promoting works. Did I mention I'm a Musician?

Television: - I seem to be all over the place with TV... I have been watching Seinfield on the GO channel... lol.. But have also been using Youtube sometimes instead. So its changing a lot these days my TV movements. TV seems to be a passing thing often. What I mean is, if I'm passing through and something catches my eye I will watch it... But I'm finding my internet and business activities are impacting my TV view greatly.

Research: - My Uni work is all done online as well... It seems fitting to research internet communications using the internet! I have even been known to contact Authors directly!Its also very Convenient for me.
Phone: Mobile for almost everything work/social etc.... Texting heaps also instead of talking... Plus e-mails frequently.

Music: - I listen to the car radio heaps. Don't buy CD's as much as I did 10 years ago? Might be a combination of my age and today's technology... I often go on youtube or myspace to hear music. I do this often to research music project I maybe working on.

Commerce: Well I also use online banking, Ebay, online product/softwarepurchases and updating my website(s), e-mails, uploading music and video files... sending off mp3 files...
Literature: online News, Uni Research, Music Industry related text. Sometimes I will youtube in lieu of text...

mini lecture on learning portfolio

Today I watched Helen's i-lecture. I found it really helpful... It just cleared the portfolio assignments for me...

referencing test

I did the ref Test today. My score was really bad. But it was over simple this... full stops etc... I'll take it again... when my eyes from reading so many threads become not so fatigue.... :)

Dr Tama Leaver - ilecture - (‏ - 2.1 entertain me!)

"Can the FREE genie be put back in the bottle or are there different ways content creators can make money?"

I listen/read an ilecture by Dr Tama Leaver...

Tama looks at the independent web series 'Dr Horrible' by creator Joss Whedon to provide an insight into a new convergence culture...

At first Whedon put the series on the net for free... Audience/fan participation was used. Joss Whedon utilized his fan base, which took a life of its own. Through this his loyal fans felt like they had some ownership to movie 'Dr Horrible' and helped promote it through several Internet platforms...like Youtube, Myspace, Facebook and Twitter, even remaking their own Fan versions of the series... Whedon was able to do this with Dr Horrible as he already had a strong loyal fan base already existing through years of film making... However utilizing Internet platforms and an existing fan base and interactivity the web series was able to spread faster and wider than perhaps many traditional means... By doing this Whedon was able to bottle up what was an initial free entertainment product and sell it to the consumer...

Four Puzzles From Cyberspace

Another very interesting piece of reading by: Lessig, L. (2006). Four puzzles from cyber space. In L. Lessig Code version 2.0 (pp 9-30). New York: Basic Books. (available online through the code 2.0 wiki - you can also download the entire book))

I'm sure where to start with this? hmmm... Ok...

The Author takes you through different stories/scenarios in order to get the reader to have a better understanding between the rules of cyberspace in comparison with the real world rules, what maybe so for the real world maybe totally different for cyberspace.

Laws that govern our real world are pushed to the limit of their boundaries... Regulation / privacy laws that are enforced in the real world are questioned due to the new Internet technologies... such as the government using worms to find out things, with-out any suspicious...

These real world laws need to be revised in order to keep up with modern times. Arguments on cyberspace can be fixed with a simply change in the programming codes... and who has the final legal/regulation say in something so global as cyberspace...

A person's persona portrayed in the real world can be complete opposite or different to their online one in cyberspace. This is because they are able to create fictional characters and/or able to release their inner dark secret personality's with the ability of being anonymous to others...

Like I said it makes interesting reading... Four puzzles from cyber space

I Read an interested post by Henry Jenkins, "Critical Information studies for a participatory culture (pt 2)", blog post, April 10 2009

In his blog post, which can be found here Critical Information studies for a participatory culture (pt 2) , Jenkins discusses topics -

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself: -

How the media influences our opinions and the need for education to generate our ethical responsibility and civic awareness regarding unnecessary worries about their fears, safety and well-being.

From Digital Divide to Participation Gap: -

The author addresses the current digital divide amongst the education and work place sectors. Equal access to networked computers is important for everyone to be able to have an equal participatory culture experience where a current unbalanced system is in place and hidden curriculums being addressed.


Remaking Schools: -

“reinvent public institutions (schools, libraries, museums) in order to reflect this alternative understanding of participatory culture” and met its needs... Such as addresses limited access to certain sites which are very important (i.e. Key platforms) to a participatory culture and where new forms/practices do emerge.

Rethinking Collective Intelligence: -
This addresses the need to better understand and aim for alternative platforms, practices and opportunities of collective intelligence, such as ethical, educational, and political values, where people can share there expertise and experiences, which will assist in finding new forms of citizenly engagement.


Promoting Diversity: -

Whilst access to the web enables the possibility of cultural production and distribution to flourish much of the boundaries that already bound us regarding diversity and its promotion in the real only seem to extend and crossover into cyberspace according to scholars - danah boyd and S. Craig Watkins. Dominant groups and majoritarian principles continue to cement its power intimidating the minorities. An issue that has yet been overcome in the real suggesting it will unlikely be overcome in cyberspace.

Reasserting Fair Use: - Touches on the struggles over intellectual property and the future of participatory culture, where fans and companies battle of copyright, intellectual property and fair-use issues within a new participatory culture.

Critiquing Free Labor: - "we produce all the content, they make all the money."
Conflicts between grassroots media producers and the commercial platforms. Where Grassroots (creation of "user-generated content") wants to be recognized more of a form of creative labor then just a form of just playing…

Designing Civic Media: - Looks at changes in media amongst a new participatory culture. The author believe it is profoundly misleading to think professional journalists will be replaced by a citizen journalists… Though citizen may utilize new technologies to inform their community the author feels that media with professional journalist is like “horseless carriages.” However a citizen journalist gives the possibility to work around censorship.

“Huma Yosuf's study of the use of civic media in Pakistan during the recent national emergency suggests that citizens can use these tools to work around censorship, to organize in the face of oppressive regimes, and to alert the outside world about what was happening in their country.” –
Henry Jenkins

Thinking Globally: -

The author looked at new platforms for media sharing and how social networking represents alternative models for thinking about the politics of globalization. These new platforms enable the possibility for many young people (U.S. Bush era) to consume media created from other countries and often through illegal/semi illegal channels of distribution connecting them to people around the world.



Restructuring Activism: -
The author acknowledges that most of the conflicts and struggles are fought by grassroots groups structured on new models of citizenship and activism which stem from participatory culture. He uses a book by Stephen Duncombe (Dream:Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy) as an example of a new model of social change - “channels what we know as consumers as well as what we know as citizens, and embraces a more widely accessible language for discussing public policy.”
Jenkins uses the HP (Harry Potter) Alliance as an example of a new model of activism through examining their movements.
Jenkins states there is a need for many changes and are better understanding these new models and new kind of political discourse looks like such as -
· strength and weaknesses and whether it can effect meaningful change
· How do we build a bridge between participatory culture and participatory democracy?
· In each of these debates, there is a need for critical theory which asks hard questions of emerging cultural practices.
· There is also a need for critical utopianism which explores the value of emerging models and proposes alternatives to current practices.
· There is a need for theory which deals abstractly with these shifts in cultural logic
· There's a need for interventions which test the value of that theory through practice.
· There is a need for academic scholarship which trains the next generation and there's a need for conversations which overcomes the isolation between the various groups which are struggling over these issues.
· There is a need for people who stand outside the system throwing rocks
· There's a need for people who can move into the boardrooms and engage in conversation with those in power. Jenkins says, “It is too easy to draw false divisions between these various causes, too hard to identify the common ground.”

Lee's MED104 Engaging Media

Its been awhile since I did a blog for Uni. So bare with me...

Over the past two weeks I've been watchin vids and reading alot about the media, which is currently going through a transition to a participatory culture. This new wave culture somewhat competes and challanges the existing boundries established by the big media companies globally.. It also at the same time seems to need the media companies similar to how the web needs the internet....

Here's the first vid I have watched....