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Nintendo claims ownership over gamer fanvids on YouTube

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:43:14 +0000

Alan Wexelblat comment on the news that Nintendo has claimed "monetization rights" to fan videos on YouTube that feature tips on playing its games. Some of these videos are incredibly popular, and while their use of Nintendo's creations are often fair use, Nintendo gets to use YouTube's monetization system to advertise on all the videos:

The basic idea is that if someone makes a video of themselves playing a Nintendo game and uploads it to YouTube any ads shown with that video will be of Nintendo's choosing and revenue from it will flow to Nintendo. Ads may appear beside the videos or actually be inserted before and after the video when people go to play it.
The problem here is that "Let's Play" style videos are a pervasive form of information and sharing throughout the industry. I did a quick YouTube search for "let's play" for this blog post and got back over 9.1 million hits. People create these videos to show off their skills, to highlight interesting things they've seen such as game "easter eggs", to provide guides or walk-throughs, or just to share a bit of fun with friends. There are a few professional or semi-professional games writers who use this style of video to promote themselves or their channels, but they are a tiny minority of that nine million.
Nintendo has positioned its action as a gentler approach; rather than trying to ban content related to Nintendo games, they just want to make money off it by changing the video that an individual uploaded. Yeah, um, guys that's not a whole lot better. It also comes across as cheap and lazy - rather than creating content for YouTube that fans and players would want to watch, Nintendo is just taking over other peoples' content.

Nintendo Decides It Can Own Fans' YouTube Content

Haunted Mansion wallpaper and fabric

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:19:50 +0000

Kristen sez, "The DoomBuggies website has released a version of the Haunted Mansion Corridor of Doors wallpaper in fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap, and according to the DoomBuggies facebook page, it's the same graphic that has been used by Disney. 'This is created from the same artwork that we created for Disney's official Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary CD box set and CD insert,' according to Jeff Baham, the owner of DoomBuggies.com."

DoomBuggies Eye Fabric

My Little Pony fans successfully register a 501(c)3 charity for fannish good works

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:44 +0000

The Brony Thank You Fund spun out of a ~~Reddit forum~~ Indiegogo fundraiser for fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ("bronies" and "pegasisters"). After raising money to run an ad thanking the show's creators for doing such a great job, the organizers donated the hefty excess balance to Toys for Tots. The project continued to gain momentum and it is now a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization through which fans of My Little Pony can make tax-free donations that will be funneled to worthy causes. They claim that they're the first media-related fandom to register as a charity -- I'm pretty sure that some science fiction conventions are run as 501(c)3s, though.

The Thank You Fund Enters a New Phase (via /.)

Bollard transformed into yarn Dalek

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:41:05 +0000

Kevyn Jacobs snapped this knit (crocheted?) Dalek bollard cover at the corner of West Magnolia Street and Commercial Street in Bellingham, WA. No clue as to the manufacturer of said confection, but bravo.

#Knitted #Dalek bollard cover (Thanks, Hagrid!)

HOWTO pose in your cosplay

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:21:34 +0000

Cherazor's "Guide: Posing in Cosplay" was a fascinating look at the thought that goes into showing off your cosplay with well-thought-through body-language that takes into account your own morphology, the depiction of your chosen character, and the line between playful and sexualized posing.

Guide: Posing in Cosplay

Astounding Beetlejuice roller-coaster made in Minecraft

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:45:14 +0000

This five-minute video takes you on a tour of the astounding Beetlejuice roller-coaster created by Nuropsych1 and friends. It incorporates many of the best visual elements from this outstanding film, all set to an excellent remix of the Beetlejuice soundtrack, one of the great instrumental pieces of all time.

This was done on the XBOX 360 in creative mode. We worked on it off and on for two months.

Beetle Juice - A Minecraft Roller Coaster (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

Jawa birthday cake made from a teddy-bear cake mold

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:00:43 +0000

This wonderful Jawa birthday cake was made by adapting a teddy-bear cake mold, garnishing it with chocolate fondant and adding mini-party-light LEDs from a craft store. It was created by the wife of Flickr user Fat Tony 1138 for their daughter's fifth birthday. Lucky kid!

Jawa Birthday Cake (via Geeks are Sexy)

Death Star was an inside job: a Loose Change parody

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:39:16 +0000

` Spocko sez, "Brilliant, and well made parody of the 9/11 video 'Loose Change.' It points out all the 'coincidences' in the destruction of the Death Star. Was it an inside job?"

An examination of some questionable events and circumstances leading up to the destruction of the Death Star, through the eyes of an amateur investigative journalist within the Star Wars galaxy. The focus is mainly on the connections between the people who created and operated the Death Star and those responsible for destroying it.

Luke's Change: an Inside Job (Thanks, Spocko!)

Sheet music for the Mario "coin" sound

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:14:42 +0000

From the Mario Piano site, where you'll find "authentic, high-fidelity Mario sheet music that was entirely faithful to the original Mario themes and sound effects, and which could be trusted to be 100% accurate," the sheet music for the Mario "coin" sound.

Mario Piano Sheet Music - Coin Sound (via Hacker News)

Derp: Mark blogged this one back in October!

Reversible Journey hoodie

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:42:37 +0000

Redditor Volpinazzurra made her own reversible hoodie inspired by the hero of the indie-game smash Journey. Alas, the labor that went into this makes it uneconomical for wider production and sale ("it took me way too long to be profitable!") but Volpinazzurra says she's considering offering the pattern for sale.

I wondered why no one had thought to make a Journey hoodie.... So I made a Journey hoodie! (via Waxy)

Amazing Stories returns, as a social network for fandom (with stories)

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:45:18 +0000

Steve sez, "In 1926 Hugo (Award) Gernsback established the science fiction genre with the introduction of Amazing Stories magazine. Sadly, the magazine ended its run in 2005. Now it has returned once again, this time in the guise of a social networking platform for fandom, featuring multiple daily blog posts from nearly 60 different authors, editors, artists and fans. Amazing Stories' publisher, the Experimenter Publishing Company, hopes that fans of the genre will join the site and by doing so will help bring back a once revered short fiction market. Membership is free and all contents now and in the future will remain free."

I was once published in one of the print incarnations of Amazing -- felt great to join the storied world of those pages.

Amazing Stories

TARDIS dress is bigger on the inside

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 14:11:52 +0000

Jere7my sez, "This lovely young woman brought the house down at Arisia this year with her stunning "TARDIS Princess" dress. A "door" on the skirt opened to show the TARDIS control room, giving it the illusion of being "bigger on the inside"... I believe the creator/model is Sasha Trabane."

TARDIS dress. (Thanks, Jere7my!)

Lionsgate commits copyfraud, has classic "Buffy vs Edward" video censored

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 11:53:45 +0000

Update: It's back up. McIntosh's YouTube comments says, "Three weeks after a bogus DMCA takedown by Lionsgate, I received a one line email from the YouTube team saying that my remix has been reinstated."

Jonathan McIntosh's "Buffy vs Edward" video is a classic: a mashup that's been viewed millions of times on YouTube, discussed in the halls of the US Copyright Office, and cited in a Library of Congress/Copyright Office report as an example of legal, fair use mashup.

But when Lionsgate bought out Summit Entertainment, the company that made the Twilight franchise, they started to aggressively "monetize" the remixes of the series online. That meant that they claimed ownership of them using YouTube's ContentID system, which would automatically place ads alongside all the video clips from the series -- including "Buffy vs Edward."

McIntosh objected to this. His video was fair use -- the Copyright Office itself said so -- and had never had ads placed in it. Lionsgate had no claim over it. He appealed to YouTube. YouTube punted to Lionsgate, who insisted that they were legally in the right. McIntosh hired a lawyer to write an letter explaining the fair use analysis to YouTube, who agreed, and reinstated the video, and Lionsgate (seemingly) dropped the claim.

But Lionsgate came back with another claim: the "audiovisual" elements in the video were fair use, but the "visual" elements were not (yeah, I know). McIntosh went through the process again, with the same result -- and so Lionsgate filed a complaint with YouTube that resulted in it being taken offline altogether.

McIntosh's correspondence with Lionsgate has been very unsatisfying. The company claims that since he refused to let them make money off of his creativity, they had "no choice" but to have it censored from YouTube. The company's representatives refuse to address the fair use claims at all.

Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, McIntosh had to complete an insulting "copyright education" course in order to continue using YouTube (even though he is an expert on fair use and had done no wrong), and is permanently barred from uploading videos longer than 15 minutes to the service -- all because of the repeated, fraudulent assertions made by Lionsgate.

In the past, companies that sent similar fraudulent takedowns to YouTube have faced penalties (remember EFF and the dancing baby versus Prince and Universal Music?). It would be an expensive and difficult proposition for McIntosh to bring Lionsgate to court for repeating the fraud, but let's hope that these copyfraudsters don't get off scot-free.

In the meantime, here's a really cool version of the video with annotations courtesy of Mozilla's popcorn.js tool.

Buffy vs Edward Remix Unfairly Removed by Lionsgate

Star Wars silhouettes cut from vinyl records

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 22:55:38 +0000

Tamás Kánya, who produced the beer-can X-wing fighters, has also done a great series of Star Wars silhouettes cut out of vinyl record albums.

star wars silhouettes vinyl records art (Thanks, Tamás!)

Genderswapped, sexualized comic art

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 00:02:51 +0000

The Hawkeye Initiative is a Tumblr-wide fan-art genderswap extravaganza in which fan-artists redraw highly sexualized images of female superheros, swapping in male superheros and reproducing the original provocative pose (The Mary Sue has the backstory). There's some very good stuff here indeed.

The Hawkeye Initiative

Fan video for Jonathan Coulton's anthem for the Atari 2600

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:45:27 +0000

Craig sez, "Jonathan Coulton and John Roderick have a new Christmas album out entitled 'One Christmas at a Time.' One of the songs, called '2600,' is a tribute to the classic 80's video game console. Here's an unofficial video for '2600.'"

Jonathan Coulton & John Roderick ❄ 2600 (Thanks, Craig!)

Live-in replica of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion for sale

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:46:49 +0000

A Disney contractor is selling a seven bedroom, full-sized, live-in replica of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion that he built in Duluth, Georgia. Mark Hurt 1996 home was built to closely replicate the exterior of the LA Haunted Mansion, and includes an "animated bathroom Hitchhiking Ghost scene." He's asking $873,000. The sale is listed by Theme Park Connections, who specialize in super-rare theme-park merch and collectibles. From Attractions Magazine:

Hurt is selling the home because he has moved on to an even more ambitious project but hasn’t stopped designing and building unique Disney inspired buildings. Mark is working on his current project of a resort themed house modeled after Disney’s Grand Californian along with a replica of Walt Disney’s backyard barn and a pool that will be themed to the Jungle Cruise in Kaua‘i Hawaii. Hurt says that Walt Disney was the mentor that I had but never met.

The ultimate Haunted Mansion collectable? – Disneyland Haunted Mansion look-alike home for sale

Fan art and copyright presentation from ComicCon

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:00:24 +0000

Here's an hour-long presentation on copyright law and fan art from San Diego ComicCon 2012, presented by a lawyer from DeviantArt who once worked as a copyright enforcer for Paramount. It's a pretty good overview, though -- predictably enough -- the presenter waits until quite late to talk about fair use and other public rights in copyright, generally downplaying them and omitting the de minimis exemption to copyright (the idea that it's not infringement if you take a small enough piece, for reasons that are separate from fair use) altogether.

During the Q&A, he also mischaracterizes SOPA and PIPA as having been concerned with "mass-scale" infringement (the laws allowed for censorship if there was a single link to a website that infringed), but makes up for it somewhat by plugging EFF, Public Knowledge and other public interest groups.

Josh Wattles, $makepictures is an expert on copyright law bringing perspective and experience to the issue from multiple creative industries. From art, film, music, and books, Josh has been directly involved in or advised on copyright issues for the biggest properties in the world. He is also a copyright professor teaching courses at at Loyola, Southwestern and the University of Southern California law schools in Los Angeles.

If you want to get a more thorough thorough look at the public's rights to copyright, read Mazzone's Copyfraud.

Fan Art Law at Comic-Con 2012

Fan-made Sleeping Beauty Castle

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:00:12 +0000

Alexandre de Araújo, a Portuguese Disney megafan, produced this spectacularly detailed model of the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Paris. He gives us a loving video tour of his five-year project, of which he is justly proud.

Sleeping Beauty Castle Model by Alexandre de Araújo (Thanks, Miguel!)

Portal trick photo done with light painting

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:55:42 +0000

Tackyshack's "The Portal is a Lie?" is a beautiful trick "painting with light" photo -- a camera is set with its shutter open in a dark place, and small lights are used selectively to illuminate parts of the image, and to draw shapes in space. The photo simulates a person going through a portal from the game of the same name, and it's a rather ingenious use of the technique.

154/366 - The Portal is a Lie? (via Neatorama)

Real-life Portal adventure

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 23:00:06 +0000

Jason Craft is very good at special effects. As proof, I offer this homebrew Portal video, in which Craft and friends animate an excellent (and rather comical) Portal adventure. I was amazed to discover that the gun itself is also animated.

My interpretation of what a real POrtal gun would be like if one existed. Based on the video game, POrtal. I tried to match the game as close as possible. This was the most challenging project I have ever undertaken, consisting of 3D tracking, seamless camera cuts and 3D camera projection. This started out as an experiment since I didn't think I could even pull it off, if I knew it would've turned out as good as it did I would've put more of a story behind it. O well, it makes up for in Visual Effects, ENJOY!
Breakdowns are coming.
For those of you that think the gun is a physical prop you can buy, well.....sorry to break the news to you, but it's entirely CG. The 3D Portal gun was replacing/covering up a painted up coffee can with tracking markers.

POrtal: Terminal Velocity (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

Print your own MAPO stickers, declare your goods to be of bespoke Disney manufacture

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 03:48:01 +0000

FoxxFur at Passport to Dreams Old and New has created a PDF template for printing out your own MAPO stickers. MAPO (MAry POppins) is the Disney division responsible for fabricating many of the limited and one-off mechanisms and infrastructural gubbins that make up the Disney Parks' underpinnings, and each of their products ships with a MAPO sticker proclaiming its origin. These stickers are highly sought-after souvenirs, especially among cast-members (employees) at the parks. FoxxFur's template can be used to produce your own stickers and add them to things that need a little exotic back-story.

MAPO manufactured basically everything that ended up in Disneyland or Walt Disney World between 1964 and 1990 - they must have printed these things out by a thousands because they're stuck to props, motors, figures, power junction boxes, chain lifts and practically everything else you can think of in the World's Fair attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Horizons, and dozens of others.
As you can imagine, MAPO stickers are prized possessions amongst cast members, who are apt to peel the nearest one off the first available prop. The backstages of Mansion and Pirates are full of tiny rectangles of less-aged areas where MAPO stickers have absconded the premises. Here's mine. It's direct off the actuator frame for Herbert Hoover, which was being thrown away:
The problem is that as time goes by and the gap between the shuttering of MAPO and our own age widens, these stickers are becoming increasingly uncommon and most of the good ones have already been thrown out - attached to props in, say, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - or gone home with Cast Members with an eye for history. This is problematic in that these stickers represent Disney history - Disney history that's vanishing out the Utilidor exit year by year.

Made in Glendale

Beautifully mechanised miniature Disneyland Main Street Electrical Parade

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:46:44 +0000

Guygadbois sez, "Two years in the making, this one-of-a-kind mechanized miniature Main Street Electrical Parade runs nighttime shows from a display the size of a coffee table."

This guy is the poster child for Happy Mutantism. What a wonderful video. I want to grow up to be him.

Mechanizing a Miniature Main Street Electrical Parade

Orange Bird back at Disney World, a victory for trufans

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:05:35 +0000

The Orange Bird, mascot of the Florida Citrus Growers and one-time Adventureland icon from the opening days of the park, has been relaunched at Walt Disney World after a campaign by Disney parks fans and their sympathizers in the park. A source close to the company says, "People had to REALLY fight the system to make this happen, and were almost laughed out of the company for wanting to try. A lot rides on the success of this line." Disney parks management is in a perpetual three-sided war between engaging with its trufans, maintaining margins, and trying to engage people who visit rarely, if at all.

Soon after his unveiling and introduction in Magic Kingdom, the Orange Bird was recognized nationwide through his association with Florida citrus growers. The character was seen on billboards, television advertisements, and a wide assortment of Orange Bird products that could be found throughout Walt Disney World and the Sunshine State.
But the Orange Bird’s permanent home was in Adventureland, where he swung from a branch of the fabled Sunshine Tree. For many years, park guests could pose for pictures with a strolling character, designed by Disney Legend Bill Justice. Sadly, in 1987, the Orange Bird left the Magic Kingdom when the Sunshine contract with the Florida Citrus Commission expired.
Today, after a quarter century away from his Magic Kingdom home, the Orange Bird has returned, allowing a whole new generation of guests to experience this classic Disney character. “With the 40th Anniversary for Walt Disney World, we thought this was a nice way to bring a slice of 1971 back to the park… bringing back the original figure is a great way to do that,” Jason said. In honor of this milestone, several teams within The Walt Disney Company have come together to celebrate the Orange Bird’s return. At Magic Kingdom Park, the original Citrus Swirl—along with new refreshing offerings—is available once again at the Sunshine Tree Terrace. A whole new array of adorable Orange Bird merchandise will roll out in the months ahead. And the Walt Disney Archives has dug deep to uncover rare documents, photos, and stories that illuminate the character’s origins.

D23 Tweet Meet Reveals the Return of the Orange Bird to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World

Documentary about 1970s northern California Star Trek conventions

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 05:23:19 +0000

Apropos yesterday's post about 1970s science fiction convention costumes, Strephon Taylor sez, "I just saw your post on the 1970's science fiction costumes. I made a documentary on the early northern California Star Trek conventions called "Back to Space-Con", it has a ton of costume footage, I think you will dig it. We have some of the earliest full sound film on the subject. We got contacted by the producers of Trek Nation for our convention footage! "

This feature-length documentary film tells the story of the 1970's Bay Area Sci-Fi conventions called Space-Con. Told by the original organizers and fans. Includes celebrity interviews, costume contests and over 40 minutes of rare convention footage. See the Federation Trading Post in Berkeley and very first Star Trek convention in San Francisco. A real treat for any Star Trek or Star Wars fan. Film stars Bob Wilkins, John Stanley, Ernie Fosselius, and many more.

BACK TO SPACE-CON Trailer B

POV ride-through: Model train replica of Disneyland's Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:46:27 +0000

STNautilus created a detailed model-train replica of the long-gone, dearly missed Disneyland Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland. Dan sez, "I nearly plotzed from this scene being so charming." (Warning: contains animated varmints).

Nature's Wonderland Model: Very First POV

Ice-sculpture AT-AT

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:49:24 +0000

Bill Lin snapped this picture of a ice-sculpture AT-AT in Bend, OR, made with chisel and chainsaw. This is just a little thumbnail, click through to see the full image at Kotaku. AT-ATs make surprisingly good fanac fodder.

Right At Home On Hoth (via Neatorama)

Disney parks fan vidcast: Communicore weekly

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:54:26 +0000

Jeff sez, "Communicore Weekly is a brand new, online VidCast/Podcast with George Taylor and Jeff Heimbuch, exploring Disney news and obscure history. With segments such as the Bathroom Break & The Five Legged Goat, you'll never look at Disney the same way again. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll have a new favorite online show. Come on and get geeky with Communicore Weekly!"

Communicore Weekly - Week Of Jan 23rd, 2012 - Episode 2

Live-action Animaniacs re-enactment: "I'm Mad!"

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:25:44 +0000

My daughter's almost four, and we quite enjoy fishing around on YouTube for great cartoons to watch. I've just introduced her to the Animaniacs (don't tell her, but we've got the whole DVD set coming for her birthday!), starting with the classic I'm Mad, which led me to this kick-ass live-action fan-version posted in 2007.

TARDIS fridge

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:11:30 +0000

The person(s) behind Time Machine Yeah! turned their fridge into a TARDIS, which is as cool as it gets.

Filed under: TARDIS refrigerator I did this I actually did this doctor who (via DVICE)