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Cory Doctorow at 6:11 am • 
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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!)
Cory Doctorow at 3:53 am • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 2:55 pm • •
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!)
Cory Doctorow at 4:02 pm • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 3:45 pm • •
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!)
Cory Doctorow at 11:46 am • •
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
Cory Doctorow at 3:00 pm • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 9:00 am • •
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!)
Cory Doctorow at 12:55 pm • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 4:00 pm • •
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!)
Cory Doctorow at 8:48 pm • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 5:46 pm • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 6:05 am • •
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
Cory Doctorow at 10:23 pm • •
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.
Cory Doctorow at 11:46 pm • •
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).
