04 march 08 :: SkewTube @ Swarthmore

Slide 1: SkewTube Fan Videos, Brokeback Trailers, and the Future of User-Penetrated Content [ Swarthmore College, 04 March 2008 ]

Slide 2: Julie Levin Russo ‘01 Brown University Modern Culture & Media http://j-l-r.org

Slide 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_sharing_sites

Slide 4: digital video >> • YouTube Poop • mass media mashups • participatory promotions

Slide 5: ? • How will industry and audiences negotiate a balance between creativity and control? • Who decides what content is commodifiable? • Is commercial production the most legitimate production?

Slide 6: : • you don't go up there to fish (slash goggles) • if you’re looking for work (user-generated promotions) • it's nobody's business but ours (fan videos) • if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it (best practices) • I wish I knew how to quit you!

Slide 7: 1) you don’t go up there to fish slash goggles

Slide 9: http://towleroad.com (October 2005)

Slide 10: slash goggles (personal collection)

Slide 11: Technical Specifications • genre • narrative • characterization (stereotypes) • visual codes (e.g. framing) • “subtext” (gazes, body language) • metatext (behind-the-scenes trivia and speculation)

Slide 12: incomplete list of popular Brokeback trailers • Brokeback to the Future • Brokeback Hogwarts • Brokeback Mount Doom (LoTR) • Brokeback Squadron (Top Gun) • Brokeback Island (Lost) • Brokeback Anatomy (Grey’s Anatomy) • Brokeback Snake Mountain (He-Man) • Broke Mac Mountain (Mac/PC)

Slide 13: http://youtube.com/watch?v=omB18oRsBYg

Slide 14: 2) if you’re looking for work user-generated promotions

Slide 15: http://scifi.com/battlestar/videomaker/tools/

Slide 16: contradictions promote the show, using its “look and sound” and be “original” and don’t other recognizable infringe copyright characteristics you’re a TV groupie who you’re a tech-savvy wants TPTB’s attention internet based producer and approval

Slide 17: Terms and Conditions you are granting SCI FI, its licensees, successor and assigns, the perpetual and irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to (a) reproduce, distribute, display, exhibit, host, cache, store, archive, index, categorize, comment on, tag, transmit, broadcast, stream, edit, alter, modify, synchronize with visual material, create algorithms based thereon, and transcode the Submission to appropriate media formats, standards or mediums... throughout the world in perpetuity, in any and all media, whether now existing or hereafter devised...

Slide 18: http://video.scifi.com/player/?id=64712

Slide 19: 3) it’s nobody’s business but ours fan videos

Slide 20: http://profile.imeem.com/25CsW5/video/HsUGuJPi/

Slide 21: from “Pressure” by California Crew (circa 1990)

Slide 23: “Closer” by Killa + T. Jonesy

Slide 24: fake trailers vs. slash vids narrative editing; balance narrative, textual form soundtrack + narration + associations, + spectacle; dialogue fragments song as audio track sincere, at least on one level; tone parodic deeply invested in the source accessible with a minimum speaking to a specific audience of pop culture knowledge interpretive community shared openly on YouTube; shared via subcultural channels; context considered public considered semi-private effective humor > broad effective communication > values appeal > quantifiable community recognition > popularity feedback + joy

Slide 25: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” by Laura Shapiro http://laurasha.imeem.com/video/Af5PXCX7/

Slide 27: 4) if you can’t fix it, you gotta stand it best practices

Slide 29: Terms of Service YouTube does not permit copyright infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property rights on its Website, and YouTube will remove all Content and User Submissions if properly notified that such Content or User Submission infringes on another's intellectual property rights. YouTube reserves the right to remove Content and User Submissions without prior notice... If you believe that your User Submission that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing... you may send a counter-notice...

Slide 30: FAQ about Copyright and Fair Use http://chillingeffects.org/fairuse/faq.cgi the fair use of a copyrighted work... is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include — 2. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 3. the nature of the copyrighted work; 4. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 5. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Slide 31: “Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User- Generated Video,” by Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi http://centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/fair_use/ “many uses of copyrighted material in today’s online videos are eligible for fair use consideration... [and] could be legal” “Unfortunately, this emerging, participatory media culture is at risk, with new industry practices to control piracy... Legal as well as illegal copying could all too easily disappear. Worse still, a new generation of media makers could grow up with a deformed and truncated notion of their rights as creators.”

Slide 32: “Fair Use Principles for User Generated Video Content” http://eff.org/issues/ip-and-free-speech/fair-use-principles-usergen  A Wide Berth for Transformative, Creative Uses  Filters Must Incorporate Protections for Fair Use  DMCA Notices Required for Removals  Notice to Users upon DMCA Takedown  Informal "Dolphin Hotline”  Mandatory Reinstatement upon Counter-notice or Retraction

Slide 33: http://transformativeworks.org

Slide 34: 5) I wish I knew how to quit you! conclusion

Slide 35: ? • How will industry and audiences negotiate a balance between creativity and control? • Who decides what content is commodifiable? • Is commercial production the most legitimate production?

Slide 36: ? • Can queer viewing be monetized? Do we want it to be?